Hard Shifting / Thrusting / Clunky Gears

[Lucas]

I’ve found some brief threads on this but no conclusive answer. I have a 2.3L automatic 4-door non-sas OBX and the shifting feels horrible.

• It thrusts forward when shifting down as I slow the bronco, as if my brakes were released or I got lightly rear ended. It makes me feel like I’m going to hit the car in front of me and I have to push the brakes harder.
• When in reverse, the throttling and vehicle can occasionally start rocking/bouncing as if I’m lightly playing with the gas peddle.
• It clunks often when shifting up or down as if it’s forcing gears.

I took it to Ford expressing concern about the transmission. They kept it for 24 hours and said that it’s totally normal, that’s just how the 10-speed works. I have a hard time buying that because there is no way people wouldn’t be throwing a fit if this was the norm. Not to mention mine has gotten worse over the 6 months of ownership (5,000 miles total).

The only possible solutions I’ve found is the Ford Performance tune may help, but I don’t want to run 93 octane. The other possibility is someone mentioned they had similar issues and got Ford to replace their rear drive shaft.

I’m not mechanically inclined, so any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. I love my Bronco, but this is making me not what to drive it, which is a crappy feeling.

Sponsored

 

[Ducati1098]

I’ve found some brief threads on this but no conclusive answer. I have a 2.3L automatic 4-door non-sas OBX and the shifting feels horrible.

• It thrusts forward when shifting down as I slow the bronco, as if my brakes were released or I got lightly rear ended. It makes me feel like I’m going to hit the car in front of me and I have to push the brakes harder.
• When in reverse, the throttling and vehicle can occasionally start rocking/bouncing as if I’m lightly playing with the gas peddle.
• It clunks often when shifting up or down as if it’s forcing gears.

I took it to Ford expressing concern about the transmission. They kept it for 24 hours and said that it’s totally normal, that’s just how the 10-speed works. I have a hard time buying that because there is no way people wouldn’t be throwing a fit if this was the norm. Not to mention mine has gotten worse over the 6 months of ownership (5,000 miles total).

The only possible solutions I’ve found is the Ford Performance tune may help, but I don’t want to run 93 octane. The other possibility is someone mentioned they had similar issues and got Ford to replace their rear drive shaft.

I’m not mechanically inclined, so any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. I love my Bronco, but this is making me not what to drive it, which is a crappy feeling.

The performance tune isn’t going to fix the concerns you listed.
And the driveshaft replacement is only going to fix a clunk feeling when letting off the brake at a stop.

The thrusting forward when coming to a stop is pretty common depending on how fast you’re trying to stop, it’s just downshifting. If start to slow down sooner it won’t typically happen as harsh.

There’s a TSB for various shifting issues that the dealership should’ve done. If they didn’t, I would bring it back and request that they do it. The main control break in procedure does a great job at fixing small shifting issues usually.

 

[JT58Bronc]

Something like this the vehicle would need to be driven to see if it was "normal". Have you driven any other Bronco automatics and did they also do this?

 

[Lucas]

The performance tune isn’t going to fix the concerns you listed.
And the driveshaft replacement is only going to fix a clunk feeling when letting off the brake at a stop.

The thrusting forward when coming to a stop is pretty common depending on how fast you’re trying to stop, it’s just downshifting. If start to slow down sooner it won’t typically happen as harsh.

There’s a TSB for various shifting issues that the dealership should’ve done. If they didn’t, I would bring it back and request that they do it. The main control break in procedure does a great job at fixing small shifting issues usually.

Thank you so much, this is very helpful!

 

[Lucas]

Something like this the vehicle would need to be driven to see if it was "normal". Have you driven any other Bronco automatics and did they also do this?

That’s a great point, unfortunately I don’t know anyone with a Bronco that I could borrow their vehicle. I did drive a 2.7L 10-speed automatic at the Bronco off-rodeo for the full day and did not notice it in the same way I notice it in mine

 

[JT58Bronc]

That’s a great point, unfortunately I don’t know anyone with a Bronco that I could borrow their vehicle. I did drive a 2.7L 10-speed automatic at the Bronco off-rodeo for the full day and did not notice it in the same way I notice it in mine

Try sport mode- I hear it hold the gears a little longer.
Also, you could go to a dealer and test drive one with the 10 speed and see if it does it. Pretend you are just "looking". I have the 10 speed auto with 2.7 and it shifts "normal" to me. 10 speeds it does shift a lot and I am maybe just used to it. My wife feels it is a bit jerky as she drives a 2013 Silverado pick up with 4.8 V8 and 4 speed auto. She feels her transmission is much "smoother" as it has longer gears and shifts less often.

 

[RCR]

Anyone with a 2.7L 4-Door have a similar issue when coming to a stop and an audible clunk can be heard when the transmission shifts down into first gear? No thrusting, just sounds like a harsh drop into gear. Wondering if I have the 10R60 transmission and if the mentioned TSB would correct it. Any way to tell if you have the 10R60 transmission? Thanks for the help.

 

[xtreme_exploder]

I'm currently dealing with the forward thrust issue when downshifting, but I only notice it in 4L. It's pretty extreme; it acts like someone is hitting the gas while I'm trying to stop. As mentioned, there's at least one or more TSBs related to shifting for these vehicles and there should be new PCM/TCM software. I'm going to have the dealer install updated software and see if it addresses the issues.

 

[Ducati1098]

Anyone with a 2.7L 4-Door have a similar issue when coming to a stop and an audible clunk can be heard when the transmission shifts down into first gear? No thrusting, just sounds like a harsh drop into gear. Wondering if I have the 10R60 transmission and if the mentioned TSB would correct it. Any way to tell if you have the 10R60 transmission? Thanks for the help.

The Bronco only comes with one automatic transmission. So you have the 10R60.

 

[JadeMyWorld]

2.3 L Outer Banks Sasquatch here, currently 900 miles, mostly driven in town. I experienced a mild thrust right before the Bronco stops, feels like it's the 2-1 shift. It starts after a long highway driving at 800 miles and has been like that. It's more predominant in hard stops. If I brake earlier and let it slow down it will downshift from 2nd to 1st at ~ 5 mph and avoid the thrust before stopping. I don't know if the transmission is still in adapt learning at such mileage.

 

[Ducati1098]

2.3 L Outer Banks Sasquatch here, currently 900 miles, mostly driven in town. I experienced a mild thrust right before the Bronco stops, feels like it's the 2-1 shift. It starts after a long highway driving at 800 miles and has been like that. It's more predominant in hard stops. If I brake earlier and let it slow down it will downshift from 2nd to 1st at ~ 5 mph and avoid the thrust before stopping. I don't know if the transmission is still in adapt learning at such mileage.

That’s completely normal. The faster you try and stop the harsher the downshift is going to feel. It’s going from a much higher gear to a lower gear far faster instead of gradually downshifting through multiple gears.

 

[JadeMyWorld]

That’s completely normal. The faster you try and stop the harsher the downshift is going to feel. It’s going from a much higher gear to a lower gear far faster instead of gradually downshifting through multiple gears.

Overall I feel satisfied with the shiftings, it’s not the smoothest one but is reasonable. However, I just realized that the N to D and P to D shift are jerky, I can feel the clunk every time I do the above shift, even when the transmission is warm. Is that a normal behavior? The tsb applies to 2023 only, but mine is a 2024. Thanks.

 

[Ducati1098]

Overall I feel satisfied with the shiftings, it’s not the smoothest one but is reasonable. However, I just realized that the N to D and P to D shift are jerky, I can feel the clunk every time I do the above shift, even when the transmission is warm. Is that a normal behavior? The tsb applies to 2023 only, but mine is a 2024. Thanks.

Depends how jerky it is. Hard to say if it’s normal or not without feeling it. Some amount of clunk/jerk is always going to happen between shifts.
The TSB will likely be updated by ford eventually to include 24MY, it just hasn’t yet.

 

[JadeMyWorld]

I would say I can feel the Bronco lurching forward, it‘s not very strong but definitely noticeable. It’s just not too annoying because I only get those shifts once or twice a day.

 

[Ducati1098]

I would say I can feel the Bronco lurching forward, it‘s not very strong but definitely noticeable. It’s just not too annoying because I only get those shifts once or twice a day.

You can always bring it to your dealer and ask them about it.
Personally if one of my customers had a similar concern that I was able to duplicate it, I would check to make sure the PCM is up to date and then more than likely perform something called an accelerated main control break-in procedure. In my experience that usually tends to fix a lot of intermittent odd shifting and engagement concerns.
It's basically doing the same thing the TSB outlines, just in this case it would be a normal warranty repair instead of a directed repair.

Sponsored