[DMR89]

I would describe the transmission of my early build 2017 Touring L as 'not inspiring confidence'.

It hasn't failed on me, and I've only experienced the notorious very hard shift twice in 10,000 mi of ownership, but boy does it feel sketchy to me as a driver.

I can't stand the delay in power when shifting from R to D (or vice versa). Trying to make a three point turn with any sense of urgency is not for the faint of heart.

I'm usually soft at braking and accelerating, but even so at most stop-signs I have to consciously adapt my braking and re-accelerating from stop to avoid an unwanted jolt from what feels like a transmission that can't shift anywhere near fast enough to operate smoothly.

And most importantly, I've posted on this forum multiple times about an ongoing, undiagnosed growly knock sound that occurs consistently when engaging the drive train from coasting at around 30mph. This may be the torque converter or some other element that isn't the ZF-9 exactly, but the whole thing just sounds like something that will, one day, fail at the worst possible time.

I really like the van when it performs as it should, so my long-term survival strategy was to buy an extended warranty. Now I'm in it for the long haul.

 

[ewpate@gmail.com]

How does it apply user: Van Go??? Simple. When ESS is engaged and you left off the brakes it is my natural tendency to hit the gas. Well the car takes so long to crank back up that it jerks every time you start with the ESS engaged due to the system trying to play catch up to my foot on the accelerator.

 

[ewpate@gmail.com]

Curious what issues you were having with the trans? I have a 2019 and it is very jerky shifting at slower speeds. Not the slamming people have mentioned. I am wondering if this new update will smooth out my shifting issue?

The issues we experienced were hard jerks during low speed driving up to 10mph. This mostly occurred in parking lots and pulling into our garage. Then when making a left or right turn to pull out the van would just stall. This still happened after all recalls were applied. And the engine or transmission growls (harmonic vibration) at exactly 2000-2500 rpm. We have narrowed this down to the A/C they think.

 

[IOUZIP]

Our 2018 Limited has been awful as regards to the Tranny. However, this most recent update (July 15 2019) that our dealership did to the transmission has fixed all of my shifting issues. I believe ESS is a big problem and we turn ours off every time we crank the car.

I have been running this device since the van was new. Never had any issues with the transmission shift quality. Worked for me.


Smart Stop/Start
https://www.smartstopstart.com/jeep-dodge-chrysler-products.html

 

[Laura]

The issues we experienced were hard jerks during low speed driving up to 10mph. This mostly occurred in parking lots and pulling into our garage. Then when making a left or right turn to pull out the van would just stall. This still happened after all recalls were applied. And the engine or transmission growls (harmonic vibration) at exactly 2000-2500 rpm. We have narrowed this down to the A/C they think.

Thanks so much for the info. I am afraid any updates will make it worse. Will have to deal with it. Appreciate your info.

 

[terraformer]

Well, mine just went out the day before yesterday. My wife was driving, got the CIL, the van sputtered, and barely made it home - thankfully, she was only 1/4 mile from our house.


The dealer called and said the Pacifica needs its transmission replaced, and of course, that it's on "back order" and will be awhile until they get it in for the replacement work. The dealer has given us a Grand Cherokee in the meantime, which is something I suppose. That after they initially said "we don't have any loaners", which seems to be the default response nowadays unless pushed. (My wife is an attorney and was not in any mood.)


2018 Limited, just over 8K on the clock. I suppose I'm one of the "lucky ones."

 

[wacoodude]

Had my first "hard shift" today. I was nerve wrenching. Was taking a turn and the car suddenly lost power (or gear failed to engage and engine reveed up) followed by a sudden jerk and gear engagement. It all happened within a second so a little confused on what really happened. I have 73k miles. Going to go for the dealer and see if they have a newer SW for both ECM and TCM that they can upgrade. With the new 8 9 and 10 speed since the transmissions are shifting very frequently I am thinking all are having shift quality issues with change of mind maneuvers. The older cars with 5 and 6 speed automatic held their gears over a wide speed range and hence felt a lot more natural. If possible I will try and drive a 21MY Pacy and see how it compares to my 17MY.

 

[IOUZIP]

I get it that the ESS feature does not always work and that people feel Chrysler should fix it. I have a 2017 Pacifica with 60k and since day 1 installed smartstopstart device. Love the fact it always disables the ESS. Others may like the fact it shuts down engine and to each their own. IMO it's a worthless feature and should be removed. I almost did not buy the van when I found out the late build 2017 started coming with ESS. If you want to fix the problems with stop/start either disable it everytime you drive or get a stopstart device. Why would you expect that you turn the engine off and then within a second the engine starts and does not act erratically.

Now for the transmission shifting I have run the pedal commander since the first year I got the van. I have zero problems shifting light throttle or heavy. City +2 is the highest I go. Bring it back down to the default setting and the drive experience is flawless. I get it Chrysler programmed the trans to shift like a minivan but the same trans in other FCA vehicles don't have the same problem. Don't expect Chrysler to reprogram the transmission programming in the ECU and problem solved. Chrysler like most new vehicles have adaptive strategy which changes the way the transmission shifts over time. Resetting the ECU is a way to rest the adaptive strategy but it will relearn based on your driving style.

I will get off my soapbox. Thanks for Listening

 

[AndyMartinezNewYork]

Checking in since I just got mine a few days ago and was looking up why I had a really hard shift while taking a turn at a very casual speed. I got a 2017 which I assume is an early one because I didn't even know ESS was a thing and mine idles just rough enough to know it's running. I also realize there are times when I expect it to shift (again while driving casually) upon acceleration and I find myself actually leaning forward because it feels like I'm losing power when the transmission get indecisive about what gear to use. Looks like it's not just me.
+1 for not liking this transmission.

 

[SciTchr]

Checking in since I just got mine a few days ago and was looking up why I had a really hard shift while taking a turn at a very casual speed. I got a 2017 which I assume is an early one because I didn't even know ESS was a thing and mine idles just rough enough to know it's running. I also realize there are times when I expect it to shift (again while driving casually) upon acceleration and I find myself actually leaning forward because it feels like I'm losing power when the transmission get indecisive about what gear to use. Looks like it's not just me.
+1 for not liking this transmission.

@wacoodude

Here is a link to a post with a publication link that will give you a bulletin to take to the dealer if you want to see if anything can be done about transmission issues.

2017 Pacifica Transmission Problems (Heavy Jolt)

We've had our Pacifica since Feb '17 and have generally enjoyed the car except for the constant issues with the transmission. It seems to be a similar problem to what others have reported with the transmission seeming to downshift suddenly when accelerating from a standing start. It's a violent...

www.pacificaforums.com

 

[AndyMartinezNewYork]

Thanks so much! I'll try to update when I can.