Jerky automatic transmission shifting

[SpaceGhost]

Do you not think it happens more in the winter than the summer and more when you first start driving vs the car is completely warmed up. I feel like mine is somewhat affected by temp. Of course maybe where you live it never warms up

 

[G70 Owner]

Go to your dealer and ask for an adaptives reset. Fixed the rough downshifting when cold for me, at least for now

 

[I Stung U]

Do you not think it happens more in the winter than the summer and more when you first start driving vs the car is completely warmed up. I feel like mine is somewhat affected by temp. Of course maybe where you live it never warms up

What's warm mean ? That does not compute to me... up here in Canada... hahahaa.. but even after driving for 30 mins. on hwy and car is warm for sure, still like this.. I believe it didn't in the summer time too

 

[Marc Collins]

mine has the following quirks
- upshifting with paddles, sometimes i have to tap it twice as it didn't work on first tap. Maybe i didn't press it hard enough ? will try and test that and see if it helped, but oddly its usually from 3 to 4th. very little bit times on 4-5 or 5-6
- downshifting with paddles.. relatively smooth and rev match happens pretty good most of the time, with only a tad downshift with wee bit less rev match.. no worries. but from 3-2 is usually a very noticeable and not so nice jerky downshift... never do a 2-1.
- upshifting in auto mode.. no worries every, really...
- downshifting in auto mode, pretty good too, except how it downshifts on aggressive side to bring you to a stop sooner than most other cars would. it doesn't coast much, but gear brakes on aggressive side, which is annoying, so I have to learn to not let go of gas pedal a bit later than my wifes Legacy. it's a good thing in slippery weather, but annoying in reg. dry roads.. why does it bring you down so fast ? I don't like it...

It downshifts more aggressively to keep the car in the proper gear. It's supposed to be a sporty car, not a 1970's Buick.

If the paddles don't work, it's because you are trying to do an "illegal"/inappropriate shift that will result in the engine rpms being either too high or too low. The lock-out programming on the Stinger is much more forgiving than most, but still too aggressive. I have driven cars where pretty much any manual shift you would want to perform (only needed if "D" doesn't already behave properly) is out of the range of acceptability and renders manual shifting useless. Stinger is not that bad, but it won't let its driver have free rein.

Haven't done a thorough check, but I believe the range is narrower if you just hit the paddle while in D versus using proper manual control in sport mode.

 

[I Stung U]

It downshifts more aggressively to keep the car in the proper gear. It's supposed to be a sporty car, not a 1970's Buick.

If the paddles don't work, it's because you are trying to do an "illegal"/inappropriate shift that will result in the engine rpms being either too high or too low. The lock-out programming on the Stinger is much more forgiving than most, but still too aggressive. I have driven cars where pretty much any manual shift you would want to perform (only needed if "D" doesn't already behave properly) is out of the range of acceptability and renders manual shifting useless. Stinger is not that bad, but it won't let its driver have free rein.

Haven't done a thorough check, but I believe the range is narrower if you just hit the paddle while in D versus using proper manual control in sport mode.

so in the upshift mode, if it didn't catch my tap to upshift, it could be because I wasn't driving aggressive and the rpm's may have been lower than it would like to see, so it didn't allow the upshift ? Interesting.
I didn't realize the I.T. part of these tranny's or any car with that.
I didn't know there was a techy tranny reset.. I assumed it's just a tranny... wow, tech. has come a long way

 

[I Stung U]

and the tranny reset is good thing to do regularly and it's free under warranty ?
or it's adjusting to my driving and I should leave it ? again, I didn't even know it has a mind to think and adjust to my driving..

 

[Gilley]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with a jerky transmission. If driving in traffic from a stop light I often get a hesitation / jerk from 2-3. It's not so noticeable in sport mode. The tech said it was normal but I eventually got a higher up tech manager to ride with me and he noticed it when I pointed it out. He said he wasn't going to blow me off and was going to look into it further because he had never experienced the problem. Of course, he blew me off. I'm just going to live with it unless it gets worse.

I wonder if a battery disconnect would reset the ECU and TCU.

 

[G70 Owner]

The transmission reset is covered under warranty and I’ve only done it once. It’s not a regular thing, just need to unlearn bad behavior essentially. Disconnecting the battery does nothing! Only a dealer can reset the adaptives. I’ve tried everything and the adaptive reset is literally night and day difference

 

[Gilley]

Thanks for that info. No sense losing the radio presets for nothing.. I'll ask the dealer to reset the adaptives next time I take it in.

 

[BCull68]

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 this same symptom with my 2018 GT Stinger V6...mostly cold, on 2nd gear shifting.

 

[Toby]

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).

had this issue.. and they reset the gear box... working perfectly now.. even when cold.

 

[I Stung U]

anyone having the paddle shifters not catch sometimes when tap it to go up ? Not often, but I know I tapped it hard enough and it doesn't catch from time to time, and gotta tap it 2-3 times.

Re: tranny reset, local dealership said I have to pay agree to pay the $69 fee for inspection and if it needs the reset everything is free.. WTF ? I said I ain't paying for shit, just do it cause I know it's downshifting more aggressively than before... they just said I had to, etc.. I'm going to call back and ask to speak to a manager, cause I'm not paying if their mechanic for some odd reasons doesn't think I need it.

 

[Elmo82]

Read several post about the jerky transmission shifts. I have a 2019 gts that downshifted perfectly until I changed the wheels and taller tires. So in doing that, will the taller tires rotating less trick the transmission into shifting to a lower gear before coming to a complete stop? I will change back to the stock wheels to see if I have the same problem. Hopefully someone has already tested that theory.

Took my car to the dealer to have them do an adaptive reset, surprised me, but that reset corrected the issue.

 

[I Stung U]

Took my car to the dealer to have them do an adaptive reset, surprised me, but that reset corrected the issue.

did they ask you to approve to pay for the check up or just took it in and did the reset under warranty, no questions ?

 

[Elmo82]

did they ask you to approve to pay for the check up or just took it in and did the reset under warranty, no questions ?

I had to get an oil change and a front end alignment, but they didn't charge me for the adaptive reset.

 

[siegs7]

I have read through this entire forum/thread. I have a 2019 GT2 AWD for about 2 years and 3 months now. For the first 2 years and 2 months I never had any issues with the 3rd-2nd shift-jerking while slowing down. All of a sudden, about 3 months ago and ~12,500 miles, the jerkiness started. I have taken my Stinger in twice already to have the learned transmission codes cleared. Each time it resolves the issue, but only for a short time. The issue has returned now for the third time and the dealer said it's going to keep happening and it is by design and nothing more they can do. They performed a complete point inspection and said that everything, including the transmission and fluid is normal and operating as designed. But at the same time, test drove the vehicle and can feel the same jerkiness that I am complaining about.

I drive primarily in "SMART" mode, but occasionally drive in "COMFORT" mode. I have tried all available modes and the jerkiness is present in every single mode, even "ECO". I cannot imagine this is 'By Design'.

I allowed a friend to borrow my car and when they returned it they said something is really wrong with the car and they described the jerkiness while breaking. I told them Kia said this is normal. It's a shame because prior to that, they were interested in maybe purchasing a Stinger, but have since changed their mind.

I called Kia Consumer Affairs to see if they could assist, perhaps pull in a Master Technician and see if this can be addressed. They told me to find another Kia dealership and see if they can take a look at it, but they could not do anything else. They said they'll keep my case open for 10 days, but there's nothing they can do. Ugh - then what's the point of keeping the case open?!

This is very frustrating. For more than two years I loved the Stinger - Fun to drive! Then all of a sudden the jerkiness began to happen and dealerships cannot fix it.

I haven't seen that anyone has any lasting resolution, other than the temporary clearing of the learned codes. Did anyone have any better luck with a permanent fix?

 

[MerlintheMad]

I have read through this entire forum/thread. I have a 2019 GT2 AWD for about 2 years and 3 months now. For the first 2 years and 2 months I never had any issues with the 3rd-2nd shift-jerking while slowing down. All of a sudden, about 3 months ago and ~12,500 miles, the jerkiness started. I have taken my Stinger in twice already to have the learned transmission codes cleared. Each time it resolves the issue, but only for a short time. The issue has returned now for the third time and the dealer said it's going to keep happening and it is by design and nothing more they can do. They performed a complete point inspection and said that everything, including the transmission and fluid is normal and operating as designed. But at the same time, test drove the vehicle and can feel the same jerkiness that I am complaining about.

I drive primarily in "SMART" mode, but occasionally drive in "COMFORT" mode. I have tried all available modes and the jerkiness is present in every single mode, even "ECO". I cannot imagine this is 'By Design'.

I allowed a friend to borrow my car and when they returned it they said something is really wrong with the car and they described the jerkiness while breaking. I told them Kia said this is normal. It's a shame because prior to that, they were interested in maybe purchasing a Stinger, but have since changed their mind.

I called Kia Consumer Affairs to see if they could assist, perhaps pull in a Master Technician and see if this can be addressed. They told me to find another Kia dealership and see if they can take a look at it, but they could not do anything else. They said they'll keep my case open for 10 days, but there's nothing they can do. Ugh - then what's the point of keeping the case open?!

This is very frustrating. For more than two years I loved the Stinger - Fun to drive! Then all of a sudden the jerkiness began to happen and dealerships cannot fix it.

I haven't seen that anyone has any lasting resolution, other than the temporary clearing of the learned codes. Did anyone have any better luck with a permanent fix?

Fascinating; again, "Smart mode" is involved. It seems that something "learned" is contributing to this. It could be your driving style, though what or how that could be pointed to is for you to say. I think that the "reflash" is only a Band-Aid; as you've pointed out. But, it does work. Sort of like rebedding the pads to scrub deposits off the rotors: but it still comes back. I've been refusing the trans reflash each time it's offered (my records show them that I haven't had it done), because, "If it ain't broke, don't mess with it." But, if I started feeling unacceptable levels of jerk as the car downshifts I'd be in there tomorrow getting that reflash done; and I'd do it until the trans fell out on the ground: then, warranty time. Hah.

You do know that this is a common (relatively) issue, but not a recurring one, like yours? This is the first time I've read on here of reflashing the trans logic only being a temporary fix, and the jerkiness returning so soon.

Do you drive with the paddle shifters much? I use them (GT1 in manual gate) 99% plus of the time. Of course, even then, the trans auto downshifts (you can do your own downshifting, but I don't when rolling to a stop, or in traffic). But if I started experiencing this, I know that I'd be trying my own downshifting to see if that affects a smoothing out of the trans: I'd do this in Smart mode to see if the "learned" component in the logic picks up on how I drive. Try changing driving styles, manually downshifting in Smart, and monitor it closely to see if anything seems to change in the feel as the logic reprograms itself. After a complete reflash is probably the best time to do this. (anyway, just thinking out loud with you )

 

[Buklau]

So I’ve experienced some jerking from auto downshifts 4 -> 3, more often when the car is cold, only sometimes when fully warmed. To remedy this, I now always manually downshift from 4 -> 3 and it’s smooth and normal. I’ve gotten used to downshifting myself now so it’s part of my habit these days. Lol

 

[Revvdmedia]

So I’ve experienced some jerking from auto downshifts 4 -> 3, more often when the car is cold, only sometimes when fully warmed. To remedy this, I now always manually downshift from 4 -> 3 and it’s smooth and normal. I’ve gotten used to downshifting myself now so it’s part of my habit these days. Lol

Good point on the manual shift. I actually had a rough 3-4 upshift when cold only in my Stinger, yet if I changed from 3-4 with the paddles, it was NEVER rough, even when dead cold.

Truly an odd phenomenon, IMO.

 

[SafetyPilotCal]

I have read through this entire forum/thread. <snip>

How much time passes between getting the adaptives reset and the problem coming back? I had mine reset back in January, and everything is still good 3K miles later. In fact, it still shifts just as nicely as the day I drove it back from the dealer. This is not normal behavior. Call the Kia Premium Concierge line at 1-855-454-2847 and explain what's going on. It's worth a shot.