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08 4EAT rpm surge


kegard

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Posted

Just broke 600miles on our 08 legacy, and having a weird issue with the tranny. From a stop, it'll shift like normal, until it gets to 4th (could be 3rd, hard to tell with the smooth shifting ;)). Right after 4th engages, the rpms will surge to maybe 2500 or so, then go back down to normal speed. It's almost like the tranny goes from 4th to 2nd, then back to 4th and everything's fine.

 

We're taking it to the dealer tomorrow to have them look at it. Hopefully just a software issue. But wanted to see if anyone else has heard of this.

Posted

Did some more testing of this tonight. It seems as though it happens right as I start to lift off the throttle. Almost as if when the tranny should engage the tourqe converter, instead the RPMs jump up a thousand, then right back down to normal. And I don't think it shifts at all either. I tested this by putting the trans into the sport shift mode, getting to 4th gear, then downshifting to 3rd, then 2nd.

 

Going to 3rd had the rpms jump up to about 2500; going to 2nd had them jump to 4000. The weirdness I'm having causes the RPMs to go to 3000, so I don't think the tranny is actually "shifting" when the RPMs jump.

 

Sorry this is long winded. I'm just really bummed this happend with my first new Scoobie! I have a WRX and a Forester, (both MT) and no problems. Maybe this is some screwy AT learning technique, but it seems pretty wrong to me!

Posted

I seem to be talking to myself here, but what the he!!, I'll rant anyways:soap_box:

 

Yesterday my wife notices the tranny doing it's weird RPM surge again, so I take it out with one of my WRX buddies last night. Sure enough, problem happens about a half dozen times during our 20 minute drive.

 

I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with the tranny shifting; seems like it's when the torque converter goes to engage. Accelarating normal from a stop, giving it about 20% throttle, everything is fine until it hits 4th and i let up on the gas. This is when the TC should kick in. Instead, I see the RPMs jump about a grand, then settle back down, as if the converter engaged. I don't feel anything, and nothing sounds strange.

 

So first thing this morning I call the Service manager (same guy I talked to on Monday when my wife took it in, and they basically couldn't reproduce the problem, so they did nothing) and go over my testing and results from last night. He thinks it could have something to do with the TCM software and said he could re-program it for me. That sounds fine, and it seems like a good start, so I tell him my wife will be there this morning and he says fine.

 

My wife gets there (it's about 30 minutes from our house) and after an hour wait is told that the tech couldn't reproduce the problem and they aren't doing anything :mad:!! She leaves the dealer and calls me.

 

I proceed to call the SM back express my anger at being told they will do something, then not do anything after she sits there for over an hour! I asked him why he can't just reflash the TCM since that won't cost anything (other than labor) and could fix the problem. He told me that he couldn't do that because he'd have to call SOA and explain why he did the procedure after being unable to find a problem. I told him he should have told me that in the first place and I would not have had my wife drive an hour round trip unless the trans was acting up. He gave a half-hearted apology and the number for SOA to call

 

Called SOA, spoke to a very nice rep, and have a case opened. The rep said I'll hear back from him by the end of the week. Meanwhile, the SM told me that as soon as the trans acts up to bring it in right away (easier said than done when you have 2 kids and live 30 minutes away) and I agreed.

 

One more kicker: When my wife and I signed the paperwork for the car, the dealer put the wrong VIN on everything! Now we have to go back in and sign the corrected docs. I'm very tempted to refuse until this problem is fixed.

 

End Of Rant.

Posted
I've noticed that on my 2006 4EAT that the RPMs increase on their own if I'm losing speed especially going up an incline while not applying enough pressure on the pedal. Its as though the automatic is giving another 25% more throttle than I intended to use, probably to prevent stalling or in preparation to downshift. Personally I only use Sport mode so I know which gears the car is in at all times, you should try the same to know if the tranny in D is actually switching gears or not, if you can't mimic the same results.
Posted

The RPM surge in my case is happing on level ground (live in NW Indiana, nothing but flat out here) and after it hits 4th.

 

I tried it in Sport Mode too and didn't notice the problem, but didn't really drive with it engaged for that long. I'll see about taking it out again in just Sport and see if it happens.

Posted

So far no trans quirks for the last three days.

 

On Wednesday my wife took it to the dealer, and the tech drove it for about 30 miles (!) and of course couldn't replicate the problem. Since then we haven't noticed the RPM surge at all.

 

I don't know if maybe this surge is part of the normal "learning" that the AT does, or a random software bug that worked itself out. My wife saw the tech take a laptop on the drive with him, so possibly he reset something, even though the service manager said they did nothing.

 

Crossing my fingers that the problem resolved itself.:rolleyes:

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