I think it’s the electronic locking torque converter locking under light throttle to boost efficiency. Under heavy acceleration it will allow it to reach its actual stall speed before locking. The programming may be allowing it to lock up early with too much throttle making the clunk more noticeable. Also a worn out electronic locking torque converter can do this by being able to spin-up with less resistance then locking.
I think if enough complaints get filed, a TSB will be issued for a reflash.

 

Fortunately issues like this are drive-train related, and the warranty on that is 100K miles.

I think I've heard this occasionally, but assumed it was the engine going from 4 to 8 cylinders on take-off.

 

Ok, went to pick up my 11 R/T AWD today and they showed me a STAR report about the 40-80 surge I was feeling, Chrysler refers to it as a fish-bite or tugging feel. They told me they recommend using 89 octane or better fuel to greatly reduce it. I did notice it got pretty bad after I fueled up so maybe the gas sucked. They currently have no fix but are working on the software for it. When I went to pick it up the tranny went into limp mode. It went right to 4th gear, auto stick did not work and the shift from D (4th) to reverse was really harsh. They hooked it up and said the solenoid pack in the transmission took a crap. The tech said he had a minivan in last week with the exact same thing so maybe there was a bad bunch. They show 63 of them in the system but are currently waiting for QA to release them. He said it sounded like they identified the issue and are making sure it is correct before pushing it out the door, and added that it very well may include the fish-bite tugging fix. I Will let you guys know how it goes and if I still have the bump after takeoff after it is replaced.

 

I just had my '11 in and they did a ECM flash for a hard shifting transmission issue. I didn't feel a clunk and it was just in for an oil change.

 

Any updates to this? I'm taking mine in for an oil change soon and will be bringing this issue up as well.

 

Just in case anyone else finds this thread looking for answers, I had the same issue with clunking just before 2nd gear (~10mph) that my dealer wasn't able to resolve for over 6mo, despite their efforts to flash the ECM, replace the valve body, and other various other efforts that only left me with a lighter wallet.

I eventually gave up and brought the vehicle to another dealer, who suggested changing the transfer-case fluid (only 60k on the vehicle, so I was skeptical). Surprisingly, this simple maintenance item cleared up this issue for me.

 

It is funny you posted this, I forgot about the thread but I just changed my X-fer case, and both front and rear dif fluid and it is gone, just like yours! Seems the X-fer case one some of these likes new fluid every 30K or so....

 

Frankly, I was surprised what a difference it made given that the typical service interval for transfer-case fluid change is 128k miles. Glad it helped you as much as it did me!

 

Thanks for posting your resolution, adkent! Hopefully it will be helpful for others down the road!

 

hey, did you ever get the flash done for the fish-bite? was it covered? i heard it may be covered under the emissions warranty...