I have a 2008 Pacifica AWD with 77,000 miles. Its been a great car but recently the 1/2 shift in the transmission has gotten very harsh. Sometimes it is just a “bump” and sometimes a “clunk”. It happens whether the transmission is in auto or auto-stick. All other shifts are smooth and normal. I asked the dealer and they serviced the transmission at 70,000 miles, updated the transmission programming and reset it back to factory defaults but no real change. Any suggestions?
I have a 2008 Pacifica (4.0 engine; awd) and it has always had a harsh shift if I downshift at slow speeds (e.g. 4th to 3rd) but not at higher speeds. I have had the car since it had 30,000 miles. It now has 117,000 and still does it but it does not seem to get any worse or be a problem. Not sure if that helps but I pass it along for what it is worth.
Bruce
Northlaker…I don’t know your gender but let an older female drive your Pacifica and see how it shifts. I have a brother who drives like he’s on the dragstrip (I never let him drive my vehicles) and he always has a harsh 1-2 shift in every vehicle he drives. I’m not saying you drive like that but just wanted you to be aware that a driver has a great influence on how a vehicle operates. I used to have a neighbor who wound his engine up to 4K or so every morning just to warm it up. I told him it was not necessary to warm his engine and that he could cause serious damage but he just looked at me like I was crazy.
I am a 71 year old male with a 73 year old wife. She is probably a slightly more aggressive driver than I am (based on fuel economy) but neither of us do fast starts. The problem does seem to get worse as the car warms up but is there no start-up rate that can make it go away.
I understand. Maybe transman will see this post and give you the answer to your dilemna.
A little hard shifting doesn’t actually hurt - unless you really wind things up to where you can break hard parts. Firmer shifts actually produce less wear.
However, it can also indicate an underlying issue of some kind. What you need to know is that a good, reputable transmission specialist has looked at it. I understand that you took it to a dealer, but dealer shops often don’t even have transmission specialists because they don’t work on transmissions. They might remove and replace transmissions. But in this case they don’t have to know what’s wrong with them or how to fix them. They just have to know how to take one out and put another in.
So ask around among people that you know for a locally ownded, independent transmission shop. A place like that can evaluate it for issues.
I bought the car new so the transmission has a lifetime warranty. I’m just trying to figure out whether this is a computer or a hardware problem and whether other Pacifica’s suffer from the same issue.