Something I've noticed the last few months is that shifts occurring from 3rd to 4th gear in the 30mph to 40mph range sometimes cause a jerking feeling. Kind of like its bouncing between gears and can't make up its mind what gear it wants to go in. If I pound hard on the accelerator and don't let up until it hits 45 or 50, it doesn't happen. In fact, then I don't feel the shift to 4th gear until after I let up on the gas. Anyone else experience anything like this?

 

Mine stays in third if cruising under 45. I find a steady cruise at 45, it has that feeling and switches into 4th at 47. So I do 50 in 45 zones to negate that, which also nets me less RPMs. IMO, your tranny should not shift into 4th until it hits a steady vacuum reading above 50mph, or pushing it past past 100.
Luckily, local LE gives about a 10mph buffer most days.........

Also, 47 in 4th is about 1500rpm, so a lower speed in 4th would make it seem it's bogging down, barely running feeling at lower R's

 

my tranny has always shifted strangely in my opinion. since i added the louder muffler i notice even more how strange it is. i pay attention to it very often and still haven't figured out when or why it it changing. i've put 40000 mile on it. 08 2.4 auto. i keep forgeting to order one of the b&m shift controllers. i always wanted to try one. i think they are only about $40.

 

UPDATE: I took it in to the dealer yesterday. The service writer drove it with me in the passenger seat. The car did what I described and he thought it was pretty weird too. When we got it back, they said they couldn't find any problems. No codes, nothing to indicate what might be going on. Of course when the mech drove it, it worked fine. They even dropped the trans pan in hopes they would see metal shavings. Nothing, they said it was super clean. Now I noticed it shifts perfectly normal, like the day we bought it. No hint of any "bouncing" what so ever. This was a little like dealing with AT&T.

 

at the dealing with AT&T. Definitely been my experience as well.

 

Thanks for the update. Maybe them dropping the pan dislodged a piece of fumunda that was blocking a valve body passageway causing the issue.

 

I sort of wondered that myself. It hasn't shift this smoothly and correctly in months.

 

Fresh fluid??

 

I thought about that but somehow I doubt it. My assumption is that they only replaced what was in the pan. The question I have then, is why would a fraction of the fluid change make such a dramatic difference? Its only got 26k on it.

 

When you take off the pan almost all the fluid in the transmission dumps except what is in the converter.