Jerky automatic transmission shifting

[Kia Stinger]

You can't simulate a manual transmission (what we all want in a sporty car) with 1970's Buick slushbox coasting/gliding.

This is a good point and I didn't think of this beforehand - because I'm one of those people who like to cruise/glide along when my foot is not on either the brake or the accelerator. To me, this is how a car should drive. I don't want to be braking if my foot isn't on the brake - just like I don't want to be accelerating when my food is not on the accelerator. Make sense?

But what you said also makes sense. It sounds like you're indicating that if you want a high performance car that's fast-shifting, you can't also have a car that shifts like a 1970's Buick slushbox... But... It's 2018... We really can't have it both ways - or even close to it - with the way everything is programed by computer? Something tells it can be done with relative ease. Not sure what you or anything else thinks about that...

 

[Marc Collins]

This is a good point and I didn't think of this beforehand - because I'm one of those people who like to cruise/glide along when my foot is not on either the brake or the accelerator. To me, this is how a car should drive. I don't want to be braking if my foot isn't on the brake - just like I don't want to be accelerating when my food is not on the accelerator. Make sense?

But what you said also makes sense. It sounds like you're indicating that if you want a high performance car that's fast-shifting, you can't also have a car that shifts like a 1970's Buick slushbox... But... It's 2018... We really can't have it both ways - or even close to it - with the way everything is programed by computer? Something tells it can be done with relative ease. Not sure what you or anything else thinks about that...

Trust me, just like hybrid and Tesla drivers, it will only take you a short time to remember to leave a gentle pressure on the throttle if you want to waft along. When you go back to a glider, you will feel like the car is driving itself (which is bad!).

 

[Kia Stinger]

Trust me, just like hybrid and Tesla drivers, it will only take you a short time to remember to leave a gentle pressure on the throttle if you want to waft along. When you go back to a glider, you will feel like the car is driving itself (which is bad!).

I hear ya - I've done the same with my own car. I guess I'm just lazy and wish cars behaved like they used to...

 

[upsidedown]

This is a good point and I didn't think of this beforehand - because I'm one of those people who like to cruise/glide along when my foot is not on either the brake or the accelerator. To me, this is how a car should drive. I don't want to be braking if my foot isn't on the brake - just like I don't want to be accelerating when my food is not on the accelerator. Make sense?

We must be old?

Anyway after giving some previous feedback I've now done more testing with a change in driving style. The first thing I noticed is that ECO has the softest downshifts which makes sense. When driving around town I changed my style from coasting to a stop with light braking needed at the end to driving further up to the intersection and braking more at the last minute. The downshifts were barely perceptible doing this but they were still happening as per the gear indicator on the display. Now my take on this is that because the deceleration was mostly being controlled by the brakes then the downshifts were playing no real part in slowing down.

Maybe next I'll try the leave the foot on the throttle technique. Anyway if KIA would just give us full manual mode and let the driver pick when he wants an upshift / downshift (with safety limits built in) then that would solve most of the issues.

 

[Royalstorm]

Hey guys. I just picked up a new Stinger GT and also quickly noticed a similar issue with inconsistent braking. Like other members have noted, the issue is most notable in sport mode though even in comfort and eco, I still cannot manage to decelerate in a smooth fashion. It would be nice if they could reprogram at least the comfort setting to a less aggressive mode or enable drivers to maintain continual manual control via the paddles. Anyone else had any success with the dealership reprogramming and it actually helping?

 

[Kazz]

This is somewhat confusing to me. Throttle input and drive mode seem to be the major impacts on shifting. It's very different than an Acura with a 4cyl, but otherwise I'm used to driving manual transmissions only. Yes, the shift points change a bit, but it's not harsh, etc. in my estimation.

Now, if you're giving a lot of throttle input in order to try to get the trans to downshift, yes. That's going to take me a lot of work to figure out with the different drive modes. I'm better off leaving it in Sport if I'm going to be hustling a bit from point A to point B. But I've tried on more than one occasion to accelerate hard from a slow roll in order to change lanes and get around someone and had it be almost neck-snapping because I keep digging my toe in until I get the downshift, there's a very brief delay, and then BAM I get hit in the seat, THEN I lift off the gas because it's more than I think it should be and am sent forward against my seat belt a bit. LOL

Not sure I'm describing all of this well. But to me it's about learning throttle input with the different drive modes. Because otherwise, I'm very happy with the trans. None of this is to say there may not be those out there with real issues, of course.

 

[Franklin Bing]

I believe the torque converter was intended for longevity and reliability, since they use the same transmission (I think?) in the Sedona and Sorrento - vehicles that have a substantial towing

Stinger has 8 speed transmission, same as the k900. Sorento and Sedona have never had an 8 speed.

that being said, I've only noticed a few hard shifts and they were in the first few hundred miles. the downshifting in sport did take some getting used to, it def feels like a hybrid or ev, but I now appreciate it because it seems to hold the right gear better when slowing into and then accelerating out of a right or left hand turn.

 

[ballistic]

Hey guys. I just picked up a new Stinger GT and also quickly noticed a similar issue with inconsistent braking. Like other members have noted, the issue is most notable in sport mode though even in comfort and eco, I still cannot manage to decelerate in a smooth fashion. It would be nice if they could reprogram at least the comfort setting to a less aggressive mode or enable drivers to maintain continual manual control via the paddles. Anyone else had any success with the dealership reprogramming and it actually helping?

i've seen a few discussions around the forum where people are saying the downshifting is abrupt. but then somebody answers saying it's perfectly fine. i think most of us have been driving long enough to know when something is happening out of the ordinary. i think we can or should expect rough downshifting in sport mode. but in eco and comfort, not so much. it should be smooth.

if you primarily drive a manual transmission, even rough downshifting in an automatic is going to feel normal.

if you just so happen to prefer rough downshifting, then that's your personal preference.

but since i keep seeing people complain about rough downshifting in eco and comfort, something is definitely wrong. it's probably just a computer setting but it needs attention.

 

[Marc Collins]

but since i keep seeing people complain about rough downshifting in eco and comfort, something is definitely wrong. it's probably just a computer setting but it needs attention.

Maybe. Or maybe some people haven't driven EVs or hybrids or even quite a few 2017/18 pedestrian vehicles to realize that full deceleration (foot off the gas) often comes with more aggressive downshifting than in the past. It's part of the way to address lack of manual transmissions...make the automatic ones behave more intelligently by keeping you in the right gear at the right time. This is not as smooth, no matter how well designed, as an old "slushbox" coasting along almost free-wheeling.

Some people want the car to be able to respond quickly to commands--even in ECO, and just like would be the case with a manual transmission. To get that, the car has to keep itself in the proper gear as you slow down, not remain in a high gear until you come to a complete stop like a 1970's Buick.

 

[Murray crane]

Most of the time my automatic transmission shifts very smoothly when in D mode. However occasionally the shifts are unpleasantly jerky. I haven't been able to figure out what exactly triggers it, there is no consistency in the behavior, except that it mostly happens under light acceleration (on the contrary when accelerating hard the shift are smooth, quick and nice). It also seems to happen a bit more often with cold engine.

Did anyone else notice anything similar? This happens quite rarely so I am hesitant yet to drive to my dealership since I (they) may not be able to reproduce it easily.

(This is 3.3 GT AWD in ECO mode).

I have done 6k on my 2 lite turbo and the transmission at low is jerky and always looking for another gear. I also get a dead spot. But today it got stuck in 2 gear and just revved to about 2.5 rpm and then shifted. If the dealer can't fix it I'm going to consumer affairs dept. Not happy!!!!

 

[RVance]

Most of the time my automatic transmission shifts very smoothly when in D mode. However occasionally the shifts are unpleasantly jerky. I haven't been able to figure out what exactly triggers it, there is no consistency in the behavior, except that it mostly happens under light acceleration (on the contrary when accelerating hard the shift are smooth, quick and nice). It also seems to happen a bit more often with cold engine.

Did anyone else notice anything similar? This happens quite rarely so I am hesitant yet to drive to my dealership since I (they) may not be able to reproduce it easily.

(This is 3.3 GT AWD in ECO mode).

I have a 3.3 AWD. I just answered a Kia survey (3rd one) and spoke about the same problem, which came up after 4K miles. I get a thump shifting into 2nd gear at slow speed in Comfort or Eco, but not in Sport. Sometimes it feels like it could be the 2nd to 3rd shift, but it's hard to tell. My dealer is 80 miles away and I can't leave it unless they can really fix it. It's not that annoying...as long as it's not a reliability issue. It reminds me of the shifts in a Ford C4 after I modded the modulator valve so that it would hold revs and shift harder- back in 1975. Sheesh. So, I'm wondering if it's a ball bearing/spring/check valve kinda thing in the valve body (like my C4). I really don't know what could be going on with this new-fangled 8 speed/ multi mode trans. Shifts fine when slightly to majorly aggressive on acceleration, tho.

 

[MerlintheMad]

It reminds me of the shifts in a Ford C4 after I modded the modulator valve so that it would hold revs and shift harder- back in 1975. Sheesh.

Don't complain if it works. Just don't mess with the Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator.

 

[CaliSting]

I’m noting a couple things not only does trans logic sometimes get confused but now trans seems not to engage as sharply sort of slides and a positive feeling. I’m saving up all my warranty crap for one visit since it seems like these cars are plagued with issues.

So far to be addressed at 8K miles.

Paint chips in places where I should see any
Foreign debris under paint
Out of round rotors
Intermittently working auto off
Stereo fader resetting to rear
Trans logic getting mixed up
Slipping trans
LSD making clunking noises when in reverse

This is a lot like owning a BMW but with a good warranty!

 

[MerlintheMad]

I’m noting a couple things not only does trans logic sometimes get confused but now trans seems not to engage as sharply sort of slides and a positive feeling. I’m saving up all my warranty crap for one visit since it seems like these cars are plagued with issues.

So far to be addressed at 8K miles.

Paint chips in places where I should see any
Foreign debris under paint
Out of round rotors
Intermittently working auto off
Stereo fader resetting to rear
Trans logic getting mixed up
Slipping trans
LSD (Limited Slip Differential) making clunking noises when in reverse

This is a lot like owning a BMW but with a good warranty!

None of those seem terribly serious, and several seem to me to be the result of "spirited" driving, which, I gather from your track experience, is your "comfort mode". You meant "should not see any" paint issues, but how much imperfection are you seeing? One spot, a few? "Out of round rotors" is likely brake pad deposits anyway; so, put in pads that are up to your demands (which are not normal, I am guessing). The fader is not a car issue per se, it is something to do with the media center, which has already been addressed; you just need to get yours attended to, it isn't permanent. Transmission issues are more the driver's demands; not every driver is going to "interface" with the Stinger in a compatible relationship: this is a case of finding out what the car IS and then you adapt to it: don't make demands. I wouldn't have a clue about LSD, but again, it could be making "noises" because of what you do to the car. You are a hard driver? Maybe. I baby my vehicles, even when accelerating. I'm not in a competition and I want everything to last. The manual is replete with warnings about how to abuse the car.

This car across the population in service is not "plagued with issues". If it were, the boards would be flooded with echos of your list. Where are the dissenting voices to Kia's "hype"?

 

[Slackitude]

After 2 weeks of having this car, I feel like there is some weirdness in the shifting. If you gently push the pedal from zero to about the middle, in any mode, it shifts up very smoothly. Downshifts are often abrupt, which surprised me. To be fair, this is the first car I've owned with an automatic transmission, maybe 32 years of driving manuals has me programmed to be overly sensitive to this.

I wonder whether Kia may update the software at some point to address some of these issues. My buddy has a Tacoma TRD Pro that had bizarre transmission behavior, shifting at odd times, harsh shifts. Toyota created an updated ECU / tuning / whatever recently and his dealer updated his truck. He says it's now an entirely different car. Since it's all software, it can be improved.

 

[MerlintheMad]

After 2 weeks of having this car, I feel like there is some weirdness in the shifting. If you gently push the pedal from zero to about the middle, in any mode, it shifts up very smoothly. Downshifts are often abrupt, which surprised me. To be fair, this is the first car I've owned with an automatic transmission, maybe 32 years of driving manuals has me programmed to be overly sensitive to this.

I wonder whether Kia may update the software at some point to address some of these issues. My buddy has a Tacoma TRD Pro that had bizarre transmission behavior, shifting at odd times, harsh shifts. Toyota created an updated ECU / tuning / whatever recently and his dealer updated his truck. He says it's now an entirely different car. Since it's all software, it can be improved.

Yeah, I noticed a "bump" in the shifting for the first time this week. Always has been smooth as butter, now a soft yet distinct "bump" as it shifts up. Downshifting feels exactly the same as before, hardly noticeable. Of course, all we new car owners are "overly sensitive" to the slightest perceived change or difference.

 

[Johnny B]

I find the transmission to act this way on my car when it is first started and the transmission is not up to operating temps. But once warmed up it seems to act "normal".

 

[Marc Collins]

I find the transmission to act this way on my car when it is first started and the transmission is not up to operating temps. But once warmed up it seems to act "normal".

That would describe 99% of all automatic transmissions in history.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I find the transmission to act this way on my car when it is first started and the transmission is not up to operating temps. But once warmed up it seems to act "normal".

Yes. I neglected to mention that I only notice the "bump" as it shifts up when I pull out of my subdivision onto the highway, i.e. within a couple of minutes at most after starting up.

 

[SoCalPearl]

I been having shifting issues around 2nd and 3rd gears, as well as loss of power after resuming movement after stopping at a stop sign. As well as a few instances of loss of power and having the traction control light come while moving on all under normal driving. Took it to dealer for the concern and was told that my K&N intake could be the issues as the fuel injectors can not keep up... And this is what I was told "KIA" said to them.