10-Speed Trans Break-in Period?

[TacoJon]

Hey all,

Just bought a 5.0 STX a month ago. After I drove it home (about 50 miles away from dealer), I noticed the shifting was garbage, something I did not pick up on during my 10 min test drive. I soon noticed it was pretty bad to drive all around, shudder during acceleration, harsh up/down shifting and slow to downshift when you need to give it the beans. A month later I have about 1600 miles on it. About 100 miles ago I realized most of those problems seemed to have gone away and it was is reacting quicker and becoming much more enjoyable to drive.

Is this the "adaptive" learning that is going on, or perhaps it's a psychological thing that is going on where I am just getting used to driving it? Did you all notice anything similar when you bought new? I am glad it is driving better, even if it is only in my head.

Thanks,

Sponsored

 

[FaaWrenchBndr]

It may be a bit of both. It getting bused to your style and you it.
I’ve had my truck since June. I drive in normal mode mostly. I do often use tow and sport as well.

 

[franksfords]

Mine was somewhat like that. Bought last April. Now at 3500 miles it has smoothed out to where I feel it's "normal". I have driven a 2020 at work since it was new and it was pretty much the same. We had 3 of us sharing it for a while and it smoothed out by 5 or 6 K miles. No issues with it and it's at almost 90K miles.

 

[ttnuagmada]

Hey all,

Just bought a 5.0 STX a month ago. After I drove it home (about 50 miles away from dealer), I noticed the shifting was garbage, something I did not pick up on during my 10 min test drive. I soon noticed it was pretty bad to drive all around, shudder during acceleration, harsh up/down shifting and slow to downshift when you need to give it the beans. A month later I have about 1600 miles on it. About 100 miles ago I realized most of those problems seemed to have gone away and it was is reacting quicker and becoming much more enjoyable to drive.

Is this the "adaptive" learning that is going on, or perhaps it's a psychological thing that is going on where I am just getting used to driving it? Did you all notice anything similar when you bought new? I am glad it is driving better, even if it is only in my head.

Thanks,

The adaptive learning seems like complete garbage from what I can tell. My 2021 drove fine for a week or 2 after i bought it and then I started getting random hard shifts and aggressive downshifting when I would slow to a stop. The dealer reset the learning settings after I complained and it felt fine again for a couple of weeks, and then settled in on a completely different set of quirks that I guess it think it "learned" from my driving. I got one of the first Livernois tunes and that took care of it.

The concept just seems stupid to me honestly. IMO, a good transmission strategy would be making it as predictable as possible. It's one thing I definitely miss about the 6 speed in the 2012 Sierra I had. I had a Black Bear tune, which tightened it up a little and had a great shifting strategy, and after I got a feel for it, I could practically get it to do exactly what I wanted in any given situation just based on throttle/brake input. Even tuned with the learning turned off, these 10 speeds just have some inherent jank to them.

 

[js312]

My PowerBoost was awful for the first 500 miles or so, then it was fine. It did a lot of what you described.

 

[ks54703]

When test driving ANY new or used vehicle the sales person is told as we leave that this is my test drive and it will be driven like it was stolen. They don't like it but NONE has taken away the keys.

 

[Henfield]

It took many thousands of miles before mine settled in. I think it became far better after I did a towing trip.

 

[Gros Ventre]

Well, I don't get it. My PB transmission was fine from the first. I suppose the adaptive learning was going on also, but frankly I cannot tell that the transmission has changed a bit. Oh well...

 

[5IVE 0HH]

Mine was clunky until around 3500-4000 miles. Perfect ever since. Give it a little time.

 

[ttnuagmada]

Well, I don't get it. My PB transmission was fine from the first. I suppose the adaptive learning was going on also, but frankly I cannot tell that the transmission has changed a bit. Oh well...

Yeah I wish I had an understanding of how it worked. I also wonder if there's just inconsistency from one truck to the next.

The time I had the dealer reset the tables and started from scratch, everything seemed like it was going good for the first few weeks, and I specifically remember, there was a situation where I had to gun it pretty good to merge into traffic, and that one event completely scrambled it. It started doing stuff like holding onto gears for way too long if I did much more than creep up to speed, and shifting way too firm during light acceleration. It also didn't do these things consistently either, so it just made it very frustrating to drive because I never knew fully what to expect out of it. I had the Livernois tune ordered, but the programmer was backordered so I drove it another 2-3 months this way, and it never really straightened itself out. If tuning the truck wasn't an option I probably would have sold it honestly.

 

[Gros Ventre]

The transmission is a hydraulic machine. There are a bunch of spool valves in it that have to move to shift gears by porting oil to different places. These along with some solenoid valves that operate to capture or release ring gears. I suspect the spool valves are the most susceptible to dirt in the fluid. Such dirt need not be particularly big to interfere with operation. Those spool valves are finely machined and sealed with O-rings. Ford redesigned their transmission plants to enhance cleanliness. Yet there remains alot of opportunity for dirt to get in and we're talking of stuff on the order of 5, 10 or 20 microns. Consider: packaging for shipment from the manufacturing plant, unpacking at the assembly plant, moving within the assembly plant, installation on the assembly line, then filling with transmission fluid. Each case offers an opportunity for dirt to get in. I'm sure Ford works to prevent this, but if you get the one in fifty that gets some... Well life can be bad. Also consider that the bands that capture the ring gears are lined with brake lining. As these wear they put fine particles into the fluid. That's why I'm a believer in early fluid changes. I did mine at 15, 30, & 45K. Its not because I don't trust Ford, It's because I don't want your experience. BTW I do not believe in "flushes." I think drain and refill along with filter change is the way to go. Had I had your experience off the showroom floor... I'd have immediately had a drain, refill, & filter change done followed shortly by doing it again. I might have even split for a complete drain & refill, not just the 5 or 6 quart job. Folks on this website are taken with the computer system and how it controls things. I take a different perspective as outlined above. If the issue is a spool valve that is malfunctioning because of dirt... no amount of resetting things will fix it.

 

[Gros Ventre]

PS Have you ever looked into the bottom of a quart oil bottle after putting the contents into your engine or transmission? You will occassionally find a little "puddle" of dirt down there... How did it get there? Most likely it was already in the bottle when the maker filled the bottle... but be that as it may, that is another way dirt can get into your engine or transmission. Could this only be one in a thousand or ten thousand? Yep, for sure. Still if it's your truck it goes into, it's one of one.

 

[ttnuagmada]

PS Have you ever looked into the bottom of a quart oil bottle after putting the contents into your engine or transmission? You will occassionally find a little "puddle" of dirt down there... How did it get there? Most likely it was already in the bottle when the maker filled the bottle... but be that as it may, that is another way dirt can get into your engine or transmission. Could this only be one in a thousand or ten thousand? Yep, for sure. Still if it's your truck it goes into, it's one of one.

I've considered getting the transmission serviced/fluid changed just to see if it improved anything. I mean it's honestly "fine" now with a tune and the learning off, but it feels like there's something slightly off that I can't quite put my finger on. I always chalked it up to 10 gears being too much to manage as smoothly as a 6 speed. There's just a level of predictability/precision that's missing. Almost like the truck doesn't always know what gear it should be in because it has too many options.

 

[Gros Ventre]

Well... the issue as to "dirt" floating around is that you want to get it before it settles down. This stuff can float around for awhile, sometimes quite awhile. What can you do? Short of changing oil every few thousand miles, which I wouldn't recommend, I think an interval of something like 15,000 miles is a good choice. See what you're comfortable with. In my case I did not have any noticeable things going on at delivery, so 15K seemed reasonable. In reflecting on where you are (right now!) you might do a change in the near future. Then look at something like every 15k for awhile. What you are looking to do is get the stuff out before it settles in. Once something settles into a location it may stick there and draining and refilling may not help much. In any event, when you change oil, change the filter! On your next new truck, change fluids early!

 

[Dizz]

My 22 STX shifted spot on from when I picked it up till now
I’ve been unable to tell it changed
I’ve had the cold start instantly put it in forward and it will slip
Give it 30 seconds warm up and it’s fine
I recently talked to a employee that works for a multiple brand auto seller and he frequently moves new Fords and Chevy trucks
He’s always in a hurry and he said this is common in the Fords and even more do on F250’s
He said he hasn’t noticed it in the Chevy line

Sponsored