I am not sure if I am having a problem or not....so I thought I would hand it out there to all of you and hopefully someone will be able to help me figure it out.

When I put my car into the "I" shift position, it accelerates fine through the first shift, but then when the time comes for it to make the next shift......it doesn't seem to want to.....I am running anywhere between 45 - 50 mph and it still hasn't shifted into what I would think should be just a plain drive gear....and the engine sounds really tached out when this happens....is this normal behavior for these transmissions or should I be looking at something that may be failed or failing? I am getting no codes......

I just thought that because "I" is a drive gear and I do understand that there is a difference between the "D" position and the "I", but still feel that the transmission should be shifting into a less strained gear....hope this makes sense.....


Thanx again for all the help! Anita

 

Anita, It is working the way it should. (I) stands for INTERMEDIATE. It will never go into what you call a plain drive gear. For example:Think of a car with only 3 gears, 1st, 2nd and 3rd. (I) would be like having only 1st and 2nd. That is why it sounds really tacked out at 50 MPH. Good for hilly twisty roads but bad for economy. Just stick it in (D) until you take a run over to the Blue Ridge Parkway or Skyline Drive then try the (I).

This is what is says in the owner manual: INTERMEDIATE (I): This position is also used for
normal driving. However, it reduces vehicle speed
without using your brakes for slight downgrades where
the vehicle would otherwise accelerate due to
steepness of grade. If constant upshifting or
downshifting occurs while driving up steep hills, this
position can be used to prevent repetitive types of shifts.
You might choose INTERMEDIATE (I) instead of
DRIVE (D) when driving on hilly, winding roads and
when towing a trailer, so that there is less shifting
between gears.

 

I had thought (I) went up to 3rd gear. Was surprised when I tried it tonight. Hard to understand how you would want to use it for normal driving.

Up,down hills I can see but normal driving? I must be missing something with the wording in the manual.

 

I often drive in I, keeps the engine in a higher rev range, no more mashing the gas pedal to pass. It also uses engine braking to save brake wear. I shift back to D when I want to coast.
It does hit third in I, but not until the tach hits 3500-5000 rpm, depending on acceleration rate.

 

I'll try (I) again tomorrow. Maybe I didn't go far enough with the RPM's. When the Rev's got seemingly high at 50 MPH I backed off. I only have 1500 of my driving miles on the car. I am thinking that I have much more to learn about this vehicle.

 

Just put it in "D"... mine is only winding 2400 rpms' @ 72 mph..

 

Understood Sleeper- Just checking out (I) because I am planing on towing a 850LB Teardrop this Spring and I have heard (I) may be needed under certain circumstances.

 

Yep, agreed.. "I" is there for a reason..