I just picked up a new 2012 Caravan R/T and am curious about what constitutes normal shift behaviour is for this vehicle.

After driving mine for a few hundred kilometers, I find the the transmission shifts into the higher gears far too quickly during normal start/stop city driving. As a result, it appears that the engine is lugging along at very low rpm most of the time. (Econo is off.)

However, if I apply a slow and progressive increase to the gas pedal from a dead stop, the shift points seem more normal, the gear transitions seem smoother and the acceleration is quite consistent.

Moderate hill climbs at highway speeds invariable result in a really jumpy downshift or two in order to maintain a constant highway speed.

Finally I noticed a bit of shuddering when attempting to back up a hill.


Thanks

 

Same thing for shift points. I learned to gradually push more on the pedal to get it to accelerate smooth. I really like the tranny now that I've learned how to drive it that way.

As for the van driving in higher gear, I manually shift mine every day going home as it lugs in 5th gear at 30 mph going up a hill. I do not beleive that strain is doing the engine any good. I manually shift to 4th and it keeps the rpms right where they should be and then put it back to auto at the top of the hill.

I haven't had the reverse issue. I also have not tried backing up a hill though.

 

I think the new 6spd auto has a really high ratioed 1st gear. So, like most, you set your foot at the acceleration level you want and leave it there until you reach your desired speed. But, like you, I've found I have to give it a bit more gas after 1st gear to get the shifting more to my liking.

 

This is a know issue with these new 6spd transmissions. The reverse shudder you are feeling is "normal" at least what Chrysler states. The shifting issue is quite nice. It will shift fast when you are not on the pedal and no load on the engine, when you get a load on it it will shift on demand. Transmission is great, there is just a software issue that causes these minor and erratic shifts as well as the reverse shudder but till now there is no new software flashe that completely solves the issues....

 

You can change the shift points for city stop and go driving by turnoff off the Fuel Economy (ECON) Mode on dash, the “econ” switch is located in the center stack of the
instrument panel and a green light will indicate the ECON mode is engaged.

 

Notice that the OP has Econ off in his post?
Now that I've pulled your chain , there is a difference in how the tranny behaves with econ off but it's still shifts all over the place. Keeping it in 4th seems to flatten things out a bit but there is a penalty in fuel consumption. I really wish Chrysler would get off the pot and provide a software update.

On another note, is there an adaptave fuse on these vans? On the 300's the adaptives can be reset by pulling a fuse (#11) for 20 seconds. This resets "learned behaviour" back to factory settings.

 

As a new member, I appreciate everyone's input greatly - thank you.

After some additional driving, I'm getting used to applying my accelerator pressure more progressively. This definitely results in a much more pleasant acceleration for me.

By watching the tach, I do notice that shift points for the first 4 gears, under moderate progressive load, occur at about 3200 rpm. When there is little load, the same up shifts seem to happen very quickly, somewhere in the low 2000 rpm range.

Is this the way the Caravan's are set up to operate ?

 

This can be done with a scan tool and proves very usefull..