I experienced the rough 4-3 downshift for a while after resetting my adaptive tables. For me it was a clunk you could feel and/or hear. It went away after approximately 3000 miles of city driving. My theory is because the 10R80 likes to upshift early and hold higher gears as long as possible, at least in normal mode, when braking to a stop there's a lot of downshifts it has to do either 6-5-4-3-1, 6-5-3-1, 6-4-3-1, in addition to unlocking the TC usually going down into 3rd. As such, it takes a long time for it to learn and correctly predict which downshift strategy to use based on speed, driver input, not to mention choosing the correct line pressures based on slip targets.
The whining is normal as well unfortunately. This is due to the offset gear driven pump for the ATF. If it makes you feel better, my 10R80 sounds like its a Hellcat.. LOL
Yeah its normal then. I find the torque converter lockup strategy in the 10r80 is tuned for fuel economy and emissions first and foremost. Comfort is an afterthought unfortunately. Almost all the hard shifts, jerks, clunks, are when the transmission is shifting the the TC locked, or when it is locking/unlocking during transitions between braking, coasting, and throttle.
This is analogous to someone driving a manual, and releasing the clutch way too fast, and shifting in between with very little slip of the clutch. If it makes you feel better, your transmission and ATF will last longer because of this (less slip = less heat). It just feels less refined when driving in traffic.
Remember most older cars wouldn't lock the torque converter up until highway speeds, or at least 30mph or so. I find with light throttle, in normal mode, the TC likes to lock up as low as 15 mph on the 10r80 (I have 3.73 rear end). This makes it a very busy transmission around 3-4-5 gears where the TC is generally locking/unlocking. ideally for comfort the TC would be unlocked during these busy shifting schedules to soak up harshness on the drive line. The solution to this is aftermarket tuning.
Appreciate that feedback. My feeling continues to be it is operating "normally"... its just the busiest most annoying "normal" transmission I've ever experienced.
And if this happens in 3-4-5 with the torque converter locking/unlocking then that makes total sense too. 3 ->4 and 4 -> 5 will "drop" into the next gear under light throttle quite often. I've got Powerboost 4x4 so I believe I also have the 3.73 rear end.
I've been driving in ECO mode the last 2 days and so far this is operating a bit more smoothly I'd say. The gears seems to kinda slide more into gear like a regular old automatic, rather than drop on the upshifts. 6 -> 5 downshift conditions are still there, however. Honestly it is much better and I'd like that shifting to occur in normal mode as well.
Still baffled how after... is it 7 years now (2018 first year?) that Ford has not smoothed this thing out, or adjusted some internal components to make this transmission act better. Relative has a Lexus with a 10 speed and while it does have the occasional rough downshift coming to a stop, it otherwise operates at a much better and smooth level than Ford.
