Ford's 6 speed transmission, likes/dislikes, compared to others?
I have had Fords 6 speed transmission in 3 trucks now. It's a quirky electronic transmission with some real performance.
I had the transmission in my previous 2008 Sport Trac with the 3V 4.6L. It had a lower rated torque converter than the F150s and went by the name of the 6R60.
I had a few hiccups in the shifting performance. Not a defect but programming issue. It had a delayed 2 to 1 shift after stopping. In fact it sometimes shifted to 1st AFTER I accelerated from a stop. This was by design because these transmission have a harder 2-1 shift. Well after 3 program updates, this transmission shifted as well as any other I had but with great performance and mileage. It was very reliable.
In 2009, the torque converter was upgraded to be shared with the F150 and Expedition (which formerly had the 6R75). The newer transmission was the 6R80.
I had the 6R80 in the 2010 F150 5.4L. It was crap. It never shifted right, slamming into 1st when coming to a stop. It slammed so violently, it shook the whole truck. Some valves were replaced and it was good for a while. Then it started shifting again harshly from 2nd to 1st, but not as violently as it did before the valve replacement. It never did shift right and Ford new it was a defective design, because they upgraded the newer 2011 6R80 trans with a different 1-way clutch to correct the harsh 2nd to 1st downshifts. My trans never did shift right and had other problems. I traded it as a lemon that the dealer sold as a certified truck. :S They never repaired anything and that surprised me. Said that they never found a problem. That's why I never buy anyone's used problems, I mean used cars/trucks. ;)
Ok, now I have the redesigned 6R80 in my 2012. It is awesome. It's always in the right gear for awesome torque pull, pushing you in the seat. It downshifts smartly and smoothly. It downshifts under lighter acceleration so that the rpm jump isn't a lot but pushing you more into the higher torque band. This is opposed to downshifting on more aggressive throttle after rpms are already higher, forcing the downshifted gear to be at a much higher rpm, and a much rougher transition. This is what I experienced on my previous 2010 5.4L F150 and the Ecoboost trucks. Likely because they have higher flywheel torque output, where Ford must feel that downshifts are not necessary under lighter acceleration. These trucks just feel less responsive than my 5.0L because of this transmission behavior.
However I love the 2012 transmission in how it provides optimal torque while giving great mileage. I have never had a transmission this performance oriented unless it was a manual.
Now the bad is that this transmission is electronic and used adaptive learning. It sometimes gets confused when you change you driving habits as when driving down a rural back road where you drive more passive, compared to driving a Chicago expressway where you drive more aggressive. The confusion or quirks get annoying but the performance and mileage make it more tolerable. I've heard that the BMWs and Mercedes luxury cars have this issue as well with their adaptive learning.
Also, this 6R80 transmission isn't very reliable. I had the valve problems on the 2010 F150 5.4L and now I already had to have the torque converter replaced on my 2012. I do have a very high mileage extended warranty so I'm not to concerned, but I am disappointed.
I have driven "2" Ram 4.7L trucks (2012 & 2013) with their 5 speed trans (called a 5 speed in some years and a 6 speed in others). This transmission sucks all the power out of the 4.7L making it less powerful than my wife's 4 banger Escape. I drove the last Ram for over a week. So I have to believe that Dodge doesn't use adaptive learning and puts a very conservative shift strategy in the program along with 2 overdrives and less aggressive gearing (compared to Ford, Chevy, Toyota, and Nissan).
I had a 2004 Titan and while it didn't have this sometimes confused transmission , it had awful mileage (13.2 mpg compared to 17.5 mpg) ,was only a 5 speed with 1 overdrive, and didn't have the performance shift strategy. Even the Ecoboost and 5.4L did downshift easier and more smartly than the Titan or Pathfinder I had. They shared the same transmission.
I was wondering how the newer GM, Toyotas, and Titans do.
With Ford, it's a bitter sweet relationship, you take the higher performance and mileage with the quirks.
I had the transmission in my previous 2008 Sport Trac with the 3V 4.6L. It had a lower rated torque converter than the F150s and went by the name of the 6R60.
I had a few hiccups in the shifting performance. Not a defect but programming issue. It had a delayed 2 to 1 shift after stopping. In fact it sometimes shifted to 1st AFTER I accelerated from a stop. This was by design because these transmission have a harder 2-1 shift. Well after 3 program updates, this transmission shifted as well as any other I had but with great performance and mileage. It was very reliable.
In 2009, the torque converter was upgraded to be shared with the F150 and Expedition (which formerly had the 6R75). The newer transmission was the 6R80.
I had the 6R80 in the 2010 F150 5.4L. It was crap. It never shifted right, slamming into 1st when coming to a stop. It slammed so violently, it shook the whole truck. Some valves were replaced and it was good for a while. Then it started shifting again harshly from 2nd to 1st, but not as violently as it did before the valve replacement. It never did shift right and Ford new it was a defective design, because they upgraded the newer 2011 6R80 trans with a different 1-way clutch to correct the harsh 2nd to 1st downshifts. My trans never did shift right and had other problems. I traded it as a lemon that the dealer sold as a certified truck. :S They never repaired anything and that surprised me. Said that they never found a problem. That's why I never buy anyone's used problems, I mean used cars/trucks. ;)
Ok, now I have the redesigned 6R80 in my 2012. It is awesome. It's always in the right gear for awesome torque pull, pushing you in the seat. It downshifts smartly and smoothly. It downshifts under lighter acceleration so that the rpm jump isn't a lot but pushing you more into the higher torque band. This is opposed to downshifting on more aggressive throttle after rpms are already higher, forcing the downshifted gear to be at a much higher rpm, and a much rougher transition. This is what I experienced on my previous 2010 5.4L F150 and the Ecoboost trucks. Likely because they have higher flywheel torque output, where Ford must feel that downshifts are not necessary under lighter acceleration. These trucks just feel less responsive than my 5.0L because of this transmission behavior.
However I love the 2012 transmission in how it provides optimal torque while giving great mileage. I have never had a transmission this performance oriented unless it was a manual.
Now the bad is that this transmission is electronic and used adaptive learning. It sometimes gets confused when you change you driving habits as when driving down a rural back road where you drive more passive, compared to driving a Chicago expressway where you drive more aggressive. The confusion or quirks get annoying but the performance and mileage make it more tolerable. I've heard that the BMWs and Mercedes luxury cars have this issue as well with their adaptive learning.
Also, this 6R80 transmission isn't very reliable. I had the valve problems on the 2010 F150 5.4L and now I already had to have the torque converter replaced on my 2012. I do have a very high mileage extended warranty so I'm not to concerned, but I am disappointed.
I have driven "2" Ram 4.7L trucks (2012 & 2013) with their 5 speed trans (called a 5 speed in some years and a 6 speed in others). This transmission sucks all the power out of the 4.7L making it less powerful than my wife's 4 banger Escape. I drove the last Ram for over a week. So I have to believe that Dodge doesn't use adaptive learning and puts a very conservative shift strategy in the program along with 2 overdrives and less aggressive gearing (compared to Ford, Chevy, Toyota, and Nissan).
I had a 2004 Titan and while it didn't have this sometimes confused transmission , it had awful mileage (13.2 mpg compared to 17.5 mpg) ,was only a 5 speed with 1 overdrive, and didn't have the performance shift strategy. Even the Ecoboost and 5.4L did downshift easier and more smartly than the Titan or Pathfinder I had. They shared the same transmission.
I was wondering how the newer GM, Toyotas, and Titans do.
With Ford, it's a bitter sweet relationship, you take the higher performance and mileage with the quirks.
