Q: Hesitation of the transmission before downshifting
I've been having problems with the transmission in my car, for which I went to the dealer but he said that was normal. So, I'd like another opinion. When I'm bringing the car to a halt, like at traffic lights, and then accelerate, there is some hesitation of the transmission before it downshifts. This doesn't last long but I would like to know if there is something to worry about. Please give me some advice. Thanks.
The transmissions in older vehicles have a cable hooked to the transmission and the throttle and when you stepped down on the throttle, you manually moved a valve in the transmission and the downshift happened pretty quickly.
Now, the computerized transmissions rely on sensor input, programming of the computer, and time to process the information, then operate a solenoid to downshift the transmission for you.
The problem is with the programming; when the engineer programs the computer, they have to think of all the possible times you may want to downshift. You may be asking for the transmission to downshift when there is no programming in place to downshift at that speed or throttle opening, and there are many other things it looks at.
The bottom line is that the transmission is shifting normally for its year, make and model, and it cannot be changed, except by the engineers.
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