5eat tranny issues shifting/slipping?

[tighttrash]

All this guy did was drive it around the block, unless he's some kind of car psychic he has no idea what's wrong with it. Rebuild is his goto answer for any car that comes in.

[bmx045]

aaaand what do you think the dealer will tell you?

[tossty]

If you have a VAG-COM Cable you can also use FreeSSM on 07+ CAN bus TCU.

 

Today I reset my TCU on my 08LGT because of a slight jerk in 2-3 shift. No more jerk! I'll see how long this lasts. If it comes back, it's going to the dealer for the 16-72-07 Service Bulletin (Automatic Transmission Learning Control Procedure).

 

 

Having the same problem, waiting for the VAG-COM Cable arrives to do the reset. Will post results once done.

[Apex-XT]

AFAIK, there is no "learning" feature on SSMIII. I think it resets the learned parameters and you jump through a few hoops with the car for it to relearn certain things.

 

So after the reset, warm it up. All while in D, maintaining a throttle angle of between 8-12%, manually shift gears from 1st through 4th. Then maintaining a throttle angle of 10.5-14.5%, manually shift into 5th. Rinse and repeat until shock is gone.

 

If your trans is slipping, this wont help. But if it is slamming in gear @ 2-3...

 

DO THIS! Before you go to the dealer. This is what they will do. Go to Post #40 of this thread to review the procedure, attached as an image. The procedure is available in other posts as well.

 

I went through this problem 18 mo. or so ago. Spent lots of money on flushes, etc. Even had a dealer go through the Learned Codes procedure to fix it the first time. The second time, I used the procedure above and RomRaider (or some such) and did the procedure myself. It has been working well for 80k. My car now has 220k on the OE Turbo and 5EAT.

Edited March 18, 2013 by Apex-XT

[SiSmoker]

Hi ClimberD and everyone else,

 

So I've recently encountered the common gear 2-3 shift shock/hesitation on my 08' Legacy GT. I performed the clear memory 2 with the Vag-com cable and freeSSM and it seems to be re-learning. I did this about 2 days ago. It seems like I'm beginning to see some of the shift shock disappear, but I'm still getting hesitation in certain driving scenarios and the engine is still over revving by about 500-700 rpms when it goes to shift. This usually occurs at high rpms and WOT.

 

The question I'm getting to is, do you think this 2-3 gear change issue could be a line pressure adjust if the relearn isn't taking? Or could it also be the issue of air bubbles in transmission solenoids that need to be purged, and if so, whats the easiest way to purge these lines? I just hope there is an easy solution because I'm actually trying to sell my Subie (sad, I know) and I just want to resolve this one issue before I put it on the market. The transmission has also had the torque converter, valve body and solenoids replaced thanks to the infamous torque converter lock up issue. That was all replaced under warranty and it took Subaru 3 times to get it right.

 

Thanks ClimberD! Your threads have been insanely helpful!

[johnball1989]

KINDA the same issue but when i shift an let clutch go it CLUNKS into every gear not thinking tranny tho, maybe im wrong idk. ANYONE??? IDEAS????

[seabass07]

If you're using a clutch, you've got the wrong thread.

[avk]

The procedure referenced in post no. 40, http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3677490&postcount=40, refers to upshifting the transmission while watching the accelerator pedal position angle. Is the upshifting meant to be done manually in the "Sport" mode? An alternative interpretation is that SSM would be used to command the upshifts, but I don't think that should be the case. Edited May 24, 2014 by avk

[Apex-XT]

Yes, shift up using your stick or steering wheel 'paddle' shifters in sport mode. If you're not in sport mode, the tcu will automatically shift, defeating the purpose of setting in new learned codes. You're trying to tell the tcu when it should shift, not let it do what it wants.

 

I'm about to go through this procedure yet again. 3rd or 4th time....

 

I saw this info elsewhere and confirmed this is why I keep loosing my learned codes:

 

When the battery is disconnected the tcu looses it's 'volatile' memory. Before you start the first time after hooking the battery back up, turn the ignition to the run (not start) position and watch the tach and speedo sweep all the way up and back down. Wait for the sweep to finish. During that sweep, programming is reloaded from non-volatile memory into the volatile memory. The learned codes must be stored in non-volatile and not backed up into the volatile memory. Anyway, if you are impatient, like me, and just keep cranking the key over to start without letting the full sweep finish after you've disconnected the battery, it *will* loose the learned codes. Once you've waited and the sweep finishes, the next time you drive you can start the car immediately without waiting for the sweep. But that first time is a must.

Edited January 13, 2015 by Apex-XT

[JJacek]

AFAIK, there is no "learning" feature on SSMIII. I think it resets the learned parameters and you jump through a few hoops with the car for it to relearn certain things.

 

So after the reset, warm it up. All while in D, maintaining a throttle angle of between 8-12%, manually shift gears from 1st through 4th. Then maintaining a throttle angle of 10.5-14.5%, manually shift into 5th. Rinse and repeat until shock is gone.

Is this procedure the same in case of MY10 5EAT ? I have European LGT with 5EAT. Transmission is similar to 5EAT in Legacy / Outback 3.6 but not exactly the same (different part number for transmission for example). I have problems with downshifts whan braking before red light so from 2nd to 1st. Also I had problem with P0700 and P1710 one time.

[Neutron619]

So I downloaded the FREE SSM and purchased my cable on Amazon for about $7.

 

Note: Before attempting this I changed transmission fluid, Transmission filter, and took to dealer after reading a TSB about the 2nd to 3rd shift saying a firmware update may help. Only thing I got was a $125 charge and they claimed "yup all better" yet still the same.

 

Pretty much did what post 40 says.

- Connect to OBD than to laptop

- Open FreeSSM

- Click on transmission

- Click clear memory #2

- Follow instructions. It will tell you something like turn ignition off, than to turn ignition back on and to wait patiently.

- Once complete I drove my Legacy for a few miles during which I let the car shift on its own. I did not use the paddle shifters very much. I did however put in sport mode and sport sharp. Also I cruised around a bit and did some semi hard acceleration as well. A few hard decelerations.

 

- Transmission is now smooth as new. Only problem with this fix is that after driving with slippage for a while, its like I would always expect the slippage and really never got use to it. Like "here it comes... yup there it is".

 

So after fix for a short while it's as if your body is waiting for that slip and now nothing. Weird feeling but goes away after about a week. Next day I put into manual mode and used my paddle shifters a bit and slippage is no more.

[SubydudeAU]

Wow - so glad I found this forum.

 

When the car did the 'shift shock', my wife thought she was rammed up the back by another car! Pretty brutal.

 

I did pretty much the same steps as Neutron619 and the car is nice and gentle in changing gears now.

 

I did go for a hoon before so the TCU learnt how to drive the "proper way" though!

[whitexc]

Anyone know if my Innova (3100j) scan tool can be used for this TCU reset?

 

Trying to rid my '09 LGT of the slide/bang 2-3 shift. I did 2 drain and fills on the trans in the past 1000 miles. Car has 54k on it.

 

The car also has a very noticeable 2-1 downshift when coming to a stop. Hopefully this reset will have it running correctly.

Edited December 16, 2018 by whitexc

[whitexc]

I ordered a cable....will do the reset via laptop later in the week.

[whitexc]

I figured I would update this with my action/findings. I received my cable in a few short days so that was nice.....all of $6.42 on fleabay. I downloaded FreeSSM and initially could not get the cable recognized but after unplugging and swapping usb ports I was able to select transmission and "clear memory 2". It asked to cycle the ignition which I did and I then proceeded to drive the car. I did a few regular shifts and also some WOT or near that through a few gears.

 

The car changed drastically. I am very happy I looked into this and performed this procedure. My slide/bang 2-3 shift is gone and my hard jerk 2-1 downshift is gone, all replaced by smooth linear shifts with positive motion. Thanks for posting all of your info on this.

[realrift]

Is this procedure the same in case of MY10 5EAT ? I have European LGT with 5EAT. Transmission is similar to 5EAT in Legacy / Outback 3.6 but not exactly the same (different part number for transmission for example). I have problems with downshifts whan braking before red light so from 2nd to 1st. Also I had problem with P0700 and P1710 one time.

 

Hi,

 

Sorry for the late reply. Just wanted to link to a fix in case someone stumbles across this post.

 

If you have the p1710 code, it is due to "torque converter turbine 2 speed signal circuit malfunction". This is a small HALL effect sensor bolted onto the back of the valve body in the 5eat. In the '08 and up cars it can be replaced individually without needing to replace the entire valve body.

 

I found the fix on subaruoutback forums here: https://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/109-gen-3-2005-2009/499945-repair-p1710-hard-shifts-5eat.html

 

The thread also has a couple of links where you can buy the sensor which is about $100 and looks identical to the stock sensor. There is also a DIY-type fix posted with a generic HALL efect sensor you can get from Amazon.

 

Hope this helps someone.

[JJacek]

Hi,

 

Sorry for the late reply. Just wanted to link to a fix in case someone stumbles across this post.

 

If you have the p1710 code, it is due to "torque converter turbine 2 speed signal circuit malfunction". This is a small HALL effect sensor bolted onto the back of the valve body in the 5eat. In the '08 and up cars it can be replaced individually without needing to replace the entire valve body.

 

Thanks, I had it fixed by AT Specialist. I don't know if they changed this Hall sensor or they didn't sth inside of the Valve body. This is the exact part:

 

"The output speed sensor (3 pin connector) RE5R05A 02-up"

 

Sensor cost was around 50$, whole operation was around 400$. Sensor was coming from some Nissan I think with JATCO gearbox.