Want a '14? Don't Get the V6.
#21
08-30-2013, 10:44 PM
Champion
Orin that feeling your getting is one of the benefits of more speeds in the trans. Its supposed to always be in teh right gear to match throttle input and speed.
As Crew Member said it was designed to increase gas mileage by spreading the torque out better thus giving the feeling of more power and smoother delivery.
As he said there are first year teething problems as there were with all models and their respective transmissions.
I am ok with the way mine shifts for now and once I can afford a tune that may help with a few of those shift points as well.
STEVE
As Crew Member said it was designed to increase gas mileage by spreading the torque out better thus giving the feeling of more power and smoother delivery.
As he said there are first year teething problems as there were with all models and their respective transmissions.
I am ok with the way mine shifts for now and once I can afford a tune that may help with a few of those shift points as well.
STEVE
#22
08-31-2013, 07:07 AM
All Star
What is the percentage?
Thanks but I'll trust the word of Consumer Reports and the folks who've actually owned these things for a few thousand miles over a dude who's test driven one or two.
CR: "The new transmission is generally smooth, but tends to upshift early to save fuel, which adds to response time and can be annoying around town. Turning off the default Eco mode helps a lot, but you'll have to do that each time you start the car. Ours tended to shift in and out of top gear frequently to maintain a steady 65 mph, hurting fuel economy there. The electronic shifter is somewhat quirky and may take some getting used to. Finding reverse on the first try can be challenging. Zero-to-60 mph acceleration is improved by a full second, but overall fuel economy remains 18 mpg. We did measure a slight boost in city mileage."
Full disclosure; that's my only complaint with the '13s 5-speed. It upshifts too early even when slightly accelerating. But welcome to CAFE standards.
One guy on the jeep forums said the response to pedal input was so unexpectedly slow he literally got in an accident.
Hey I'm not claiming the new tranny is junk when paired with the 8-speed. I'm just saying what I'm seeing on the Jeep owner's forum and the impartial reviews is that it might not be the night-and-day you're claiming (based on a couple short drives?) and there are clearly first year teething problems. Those that can't wait to go plunk down thousands more than the '13 to get the first 8-speed Durango off the line might want to consider that. That's all.
Thanks but I'll trust the word of Consumer Reports and the folks who've actually owned these things for a few thousand miles over a dude who's test driven one or two.
CR: "The new transmission is generally smooth, but tends to upshift early to save fuel, which adds to response time and can be annoying around town. Turning off the default Eco mode helps a lot, but you'll have to do that each time you start the car. Ours tended to shift in and out of top gear frequently to maintain a steady 65 mph, hurting fuel economy there. The electronic shifter is somewhat quirky and may take some getting used to. Finding reverse on the first try can be challenging. Zero-to-60 mph acceleration is improved by a full second, but overall fuel economy remains 18 mpg. We did measure a slight boost in city mileage."
Full disclosure; that's my only complaint with the '13s 5-speed. It upshifts too early even when slightly accelerating. But welcome to CAFE standards.
One guy on the jeep forums said the response to pedal input was so unexpectedly slow he literally got in an accident.
Hey I'm not claiming the new tranny is junk when paired with the 8-speed. I'm just saying what I'm seeing on the Jeep owner's forum and the impartial reviews is that it might not be the night-and-day you're claiming (based on a couple short drives?) and there are clearly first year teething problems. Those that can't wait to go plunk down thousands more than the '13 to get the first 8-speed Durango off the line might want to consider that. That's all.
And this seems like a good review to me....lets see the same review of the 11' V6 with the 5 speed!
CR: "The new transmission is generally smooth, but tends to upshift early to save fuel, which adds to response time and can be annoying around town. Turning off the default Eco mode helps a lot, but you'll have to do that each time you start the car. Ours tended to shift in and out of top gear frequently to maintain a steady 65 mph, hurting fuel economy there. The electronic shifter is somewhat quirky and may take some getting used to. Finding reverse on the first try can be challenging. Zero-to-60 mph acceleration is improved by a full second, but overall fuel economy remains 18 mpg. We did measure a slight boost in city mileage."
1-smooth...not clunky like the merc 5 speed. The downshifts in the merc 5 speed...LOL.....like an old truck.
2-can turn OFF eco
3-shift in and out of 5th because the WEAK V6 is not adequate for the HUGE Durango...same as 11-13' Also tuning here....
4-0-60 is 1 second faster.....1 second. Thats HUGE!
5-CR measure slight boost in city mileage!
#23
08-31-2013, 07:11 AM
All Star
Orin that feeling your getting is one of the benefits of more speeds in the trans. Its supposed to always be in teh right gear to match throttle input and speed.
As Crew Member said it was designed to increase gas mileage by spreading the torque out better thus giving the feeling of more power and smoother delivery.
As he said there are first year teething problems as there were with all models and their respective transmissions.
I am ok with the way mine shifts for now and once I can afford a tune that may help with a few of those shift points as well.
STEVE
As Crew Member said it was designed to increase gas mileage by spreading the torque out better thus giving the feeling of more power and smoother delivery.
As he said there are first year teething problems as there were with all models and their respective transmissions.
I am ok with the way mine shifts for now and once I can afford a tune that may help with a few of those shift points as well.
STEVE
#24
08-31-2013, 11:53 PM
Just my 2... The 845RE 8 speed IS SUPERIOR to the 545RFE/645RFE 6 speed. But please stop implying the 645 an archaic POS. GMs TH350 is archaic, ancient, yet extremely reliable. The 6 speed is a 16 year old transmission and is OUT CLASSED By the new 8 speed. However it does it's job effectively and reliably. It's smooth, shifts positively with decent line pressure aka WOT/ tune and has lived behind some of the fastest stock and modified hemi engines and is one reason the manufacturer went to 100k mile powertrain warranties. Reliable, can be built to handle high horsepower cheap. The 8 speed will never handle BIG HP as cheap as the 6 speed. And the 6 speed will never outclass the 8. I'll keep mine.
#25
09-01-2013, 12:22 PM
All Star
sorry...didnt mean to imply the 6/645rfe was a POS. Its been very good in MANY applications. I had an 06 4.7 laredo and its 545rfe was not very smooth...although very reliable. Also gas mileage was a joke. My experience with the merc tranny...ie. SRT and V6 wk and wk2....was what i was comparing. My 13' SRT was pretty rough and harsh shifting in sport and track. This 14' has LIGHTNing fast shifts that are barely felt in any mode. Its pretty impressive. One statistic that stood out to me....from 30-90 the 14' with the 8 speed is 3 seconds FASTER! Thats impressive. Anyway...hope I didnt step on any toes...I just think this 14' Durango will HOPEFULLY keep the Rango alive on this platform.
#26
09-01-2013, 02:53 PM
#27
09-04-2013, 12:12 PM
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wow...you back your agrument with that joke of a mag CR? We had a v6 laredo e for almost 3k miles while my piece of crap durango had both heads changed twice....so yeah I have driven the 14' v6 8 speed quite a bit. My 11' V6 couldnt even hold 5th gear on cruise. It was a JOKE. I didnt experience the upshifting is 8 gear....so who knows? Im not saying the 5 speed merc is complete junk...its the same tranny that was in my 13' Jeep SRT...but its a JOKE compared to the new 8 speed. In the real world(not CR's world) owners are seeing upwards of 26-28 MPG's. Also...CR quotes above that as soon as ECO is turned off...it stops upshifting...someting the 11-13' absolutely could NOT do. We never saw more than 18-19 mpgs on our 11' V6.....real world. Sure...there are problems with any new tech in a vehicle...but its nothing that cant be solved with updates.
And this seems like a good review to me....lets see the same review of the 11' V6 with the 5 speed!
CR: "The new transmission is generally smooth, but tends to upshift early to save fuel, which adds to response time and can be annoying around town. Turning off the default Eco mode helps a lot, but you'll have to do that each time you start the car. Ours tended to shift in and out of top gear frequently to maintain a steady 65 mph, hurting fuel economy there. The electronic shifter is somewhat quirky and may take some getting used to. Finding reverse on the first try can be challenging. Zero-to-60 mph acceleration is improved by a full second, but overall fuel economy remains 18 mpg. We did measure a slight boost in city mileage."
1-smooth...not clunky like the merc 5 speed. The downshifts in the merc 5 speed...LOL.....like an old truck.
2-can turn OFF eco
3-shift in and out of 5th because the WEAK V6 is not adequate for the HUGE Durango...same as 11-13' Also tuning here....
4-0-60 is 1 second faster.....1 second. Thats HUGE!
5-CR measure slight boost in city mileage!
And this seems like a good review to me....lets see the same review of the 11' V6 with the 5 speed!
CR: "The new transmission is generally smooth, but tends to upshift early to save fuel, which adds to response time and can be annoying around town. Turning off the default Eco mode helps a lot, but you'll have to do that each time you start the car. Ours tended to shift in and out of top gear frequently to maintain a steady 65 mph, hurting fuel economy there. The electronic shifter is somewhat quirky and may take some getting used to. Finding reverse on the first try can be challenging. Zero-to-60 mph acceleration is improved by a full second, but overall fuel economy remains 18 mpg. We did measure a slight boost in city mileage."
1-smooth...not clunky like the merc 5 speed. The downshifts in the merc 5 speed...LOL.....like an old truck.
2-can turn OFF eco
3-shift in and out of 5th because the WEAK V6 is not adequate for the HUGE Durango...same as 11-13' Also tuning here....
4-0-60 is 1 second faster.....1 second. Thats HUGE!
5-CR measure slight boost in city mileage!
I wonder if you had a bad model or issue. I have an '11 with the V6 and it has no problem holding 5th gear and at 75mph with a large pod on top with four adults I'm getting 24-25mpg!
Last edited by BadBenz94; 09-04-2013 at 12:29 PM.
#28
09-04-2013, 09:17 PM
All Star
we had head issues the entire time we had the Durango. They changed the heads twice each....but it ran fine...just kept throwing codes. We have had rental V6 Jeeps as well and thye were the same. Funny enough...my wifes 13' JKU rubi 10a doesn't do it and it has the same drivetrain! Could be its not an overweight SUV. LOL
Honestly...if anyone can HONESTLY say either of the previous gens trannys are better than either ZF tranny...they are just lying to themselves. The public, press and more applaud Jeep/dodge for the new ZF trannies. hye
Honestly...if anyone can HONESTLY say either of the previous gens trannys are better than either ZF tranny...they are just lying to themselves. The public, press and more applaud Jeep/dodge for the new ZF trannies. hye
#29
09-05-2013, 05:44 PM
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#30
09-05-2013, 10:46 PM
All Star