Automatic Transmission Start-Off Gear

[Spiderman]

Okay, this may be a very obtuse question to ask but I have been annoyed with this problem for a while. I have a 1997 Eclipse GST Spyder. When coming to stops and accelerating again, it always starts off in 2nd gear unless I stop the car completely. Even if I were rolling at an extremely low speed such as 2mph, it will still start off again in 2nd gear. Only when coming to a complete stop will it shift down to 1st gear. Otherwise, it shifts well enough aside from 3rd gear hesitation, which only occurs after a long drive.

Is this a DSM automatic transmission quirk (2nd gear) or something more ominous?

 

[Bud92gsx]

Sounds pretty normal to me..I can't shift into first myself unless i'm at a complete stop..Otherwise it wants to chirp all four tires..My vote is normal..

 

[talonsteve25]

same deal

 

[Spiderman]

Thanks Everyone for the input!

I just find the issue strange because it accelerates very sluggishly in 2nd gear from really low speeds. Wouldn't it cause more wear to drive in 2nd gear at low speeds? I'm not sure but pretty much every automatic transmission car I've had shifts down to 1st gear without requiring full stops.

 

[Bud92gsx]

Your in a dsm buddy..They have a mind of there own..

 

[ed1380]

All the vw and Audi's I've had stay in 2nd until a full stop. I can even crawl over speedbumps with it staying in 2nd

 

[Spiderman]

That is strange...must make the car feel sluggish. I am only concerned about damage because it cannot be good for the transmission.

I'm so glad about the input provided by you all. I almost got talked into a transmission rebuild by Metro Mitsubishi. Thanks for saving me thousands!

 

[TunaTalon]

If you really want a lower gear try a quick blip on the throttle. The TCU will understand that. After 200K my Talon reads my mind, or maybe my toe speaks TCU fuzzy language.

Don't worry about wear on the engine, the torque converter slips at low speeds to let the engine go faster.

 

[99gst_racer]

Until I read this thread, I never noticed that it usually stays in 2nd gear at very low speeds.

But I also noticed yesterday that with enough throttle, it will definitely drop to 1st gear while rolling. Mine dropped to 1st while turning onto the interstate ramp and I was rolling around 10-12 MPH. Must be load or throttle position based, and it seems to take quite a bit to drop down from 2nd.

 

[CharlieGTGSX]

It souns like problem with the speed sensor or throttle position sensor... the gearbox senses the speed and load of the engine to get the correct gear... if you floor your pedal the gearbox should downshift to gain speed... if you touch a little the gas pedal and the car speed the gearbox upshift to gain speed... all of this is proportional to the data given from the TPS and SPEED sensor...

I don't know if the 2g gearbox uses sensors direct in the gearbox case... like the older... or reads directly from the TPS and VSS...

Check that... sorry for my english... i'm from outside

 

[TunaTalon]

The TCU uses fuzzy logic to "adapt" to the drivers style. If the driver has been using the throttle and brakes aggressively recently it will down shift more quickly and hold the lower gear longer on lift throttle. If you have been trying to save gas or driving like a blue hair it will need a much harder throttle down to downshift from second at low speeds.