[bdbaity]

This is my first automatic in 10 years so bare with me a little. I keep the car in sport mode.

Concern:

Car in auto mode at different speeds will hold a gear for longer than it should under acceleration.


Details:

I may be causally accelerating and the transmission will just keep taking the rpms above 3,000-3,500+. Other times I will be already at speed and just accelerating up a hill and it will hold the same gear and the car will slow down and I have to manually downshift. Also, I have checked to make sure the nav shift control is off.


Question:

Is this normal? Anyone else noticing something similar?

Driving a manual for years you always knew what gear to be in during each driving situation and just a little pressure on the pedal did what you needed to do. With the auto I can't tell what the car is trying to do. Am I just pussyfooting it and need to hit the gas harder?

 

[SnowItch]

Question:

Is this normal? Anyone else noticing something similar?

We have the exact same model as you (Q50S Hybrid). I have not noticed this behavior. I would recommend a trip to the dealer.

 

[zookeeper]

I would try driving in normal for a while and see if you notice a difference. In sport mode it defiantly changes the shift points a but and tends to hold the gears, sometimes too long when you go up hill.

 

[InfinitiPlusOne]

Hit the gas pedal harder, puss* It seem the hybrid need to press the gas pedal harder to get the car moving in the automatic mode.
Why are you even using Sport mode with automatic shift?
Put it in Sport mode and do manual shift. It's 100% time better.

Am I just pussyfooting it and need to hit the gas harder?

 

[GTLAW]

Sport mode will hold lower gears so you can get a burst of power. The 7AT is works best in normal unless you are driving aggressive.

 

[ATLGsofAllSorts]

Like you bdbaity, I've driven a manual for the last 12 years and its taking me some time to adjust to the strange shift points and 'perceived' surges in my car. I've noticed the same behavior but usually in the first few miles of driving. Once the car is nice and warm it goes away.

I've even noticed that when using "Normal" mode and coming to a stop, the transmission will drop gears in what looks like all 7 ratios before it drops to EV and shuts the engine down. I can watch the tach needle bounce around 1K rpms a few times until the engine goes off.

Not sure if that's unique to my car or not. But when I really press it... wow! This morning I 'accidentally' showed some dude in a new ATS my tail lights. ... twice...

 

[StevetheTech]

This is my first automatic in 10 years so bare with me a little.

Well...for your first automatic in many years this one can be a weird one. These transmissions have long term adaptive learning capabilities that will learn the average driving pattern over the course of several thousand miles. If you live in an urban area they tend to feel a bit sluggish around 40 mph. Like you I always drive in sport mode and have no trouble but occasionally when I forget about it it will feel like a sled and require 30+% throttle input to overcome its economy minded behavior.

The software in the transmission is designed to be eco minded in regular drive mode. This works fine when cruising on the highway or less than urban situations but can be tough when cruising around the suburbs.

As stated by several others here stepping into it more frequently will teach it that that is how it is going to be and it will learn. But in reality sport mode will always be more responsive.

 

[bdbaity]

Well...for your first automatic in many years this one can be a weird one. These transmissions have long term adaptive learning capabilities that will learn the average driving pattern over the course of several thousand miles. If you live in an urban area they tend to feel a bit sluggish around 40 mph. Like you I always drive in sport mode and have no trouble but occasionally when I forget about it it will feel like a sled and require 30+% throttle input to overcome its economy minded behavior.

The software in the transmission is designed to be eco minded in regular drive mode. This works fine when cruising on the highway or less than urban situations but can be tough when cruising around the suburbs.

As stated by several others here stepping into it more frequently will teach it that that is how it is going to be and it will learn. But in reality sport mode will always be more responsive.

This is what I was thinking... I didn't think there was a problem with the car, just maybe my driving style.

 

[CarolinaQ50]

This is what I was thinking... I didn't think there was a problem with the car, just maybe my driving style.

Keep it off of Business 40 and it will shift just fine!

 

[ATLGsofAllSorts]

These transmissions have long term adaptive learning capabilities that will learn the average driving pattern over the course of several thousand miles. If you live in an urban area they tend to feel a bit sluggish around 40 mph. Like you I always drive in sport mode and have no trouble but occasionally when I forget about it it will feel like a sled and require 30+% throttle input to overcome its economy minded behavior.

Good info... I tend to 'slow roll' up to a traffic signal if I suspect it is about to change in order to avoid coming to a complete stop (when safe to do). This could explain why my car does not drop to EV immediately from time-to-time.

 

[selzini]

Good info... I tend to 'slow roll' up to a traffic signal if I suspect it is about to change in order to avoid coming to a complete stop (when safe to do). This could explain why my car does drop to EV immediately from time-to-time.

That will also allow your brakes to last a lot longer, as well as giving you better gas mileage.

 

[druhoops]

I too have been a manual transmission driver for many years. And I too notice the transmission downshifting as I slow down - so much so that I can feel the "drag" at every shift. Not very smooth, but I suspect it has something to do with keeping revs up to charge the battery. I'm hoping future software updates will delay the downshift and direct less regenerative energy to the batteries. That would smooth it out a bit.