Kind of laggy or hesitant in 4th sometimes?

I bought a 2015 DCSB 4X4 V6 auto with 40k miles recently and I'm still trying to get used to the 5 speed auto trans coming from my Gen1 . What I've noticed is that if I've already been going along in 5th gear and say enter a circle and it downshifts to 4th then accelerate out of the circle, it seems laggy and the RPMs go down unless I put more pedal into it and it peps up quick, jets off and then shifts into 5th fine. Another example is if I'm behind someone taking a left or right turn onto the highway and they aren't exactly moving quick, I'll back off the throttle so I slow down and when I put more throttle into it (just light throttle to try and ease into speed) it doesn't seem like it wasn't to pick up unless I push on the throttle a bit harder and it jets off and everythings fine. But there's no ease back up to speed.

Taking off from a stop cycling through the gears everything is just fine and smooth, it's only when I've let off the throttle and want to ease back into it right around 35 or 40mph or so.

Is this normal with these trucks? Am I just not accelerating hard enough? Just want to know I'm not going crazy and my trucks not messed up.

 

Sounds somewhat normal to me. Both my 2nd gens exhibited similar behavior (the 2014 much better). They want to stay there under light throttle for fuel economy. Give it a hair more throttle and it'll kick down another gear.

 

You're describing transmission "kick-down", the decision between staying in 5th or kicking down to 4th. It might be fine but if you're curious, try these few things and see if it alters the transmission behavior

- check trans fluid level, make sure it's full

- clean the mass air flow sensor. Airflow is a piece of info that the trans looks at to determine load and what the driver is asking to do. If the maf is dirty it might not see you getting on the throttle and trying to pass someone or accelerate

-disconnect the battery and wipe out the learned memory of shift points and load calculation. Cleaning the throttle at this time would be a good idea too

 

She'll go if I give her some more foot no problems. I guess it's just me being overly worried about it. New truck for me and everything's gotta be just right. But yea.. just coming up to speed isn't always as smooth as I'd like it to be I guess.

I had the trans drain and filled back in November at the dealership near me along with a coolant flush and I popped the MAF sensor out when I replaced the spark plugs last month and it looked fine. A little grime but not caked. I don't know what the throttle body looks like but I will end up cleaning that here soon.

 

totally normal especially on the 2012+'s with the more "eco" throttle pedal mapping vs 2011-

Double check fluid level just to be safe (and realistically if you dont know the history and are past 60k miles, do a full 12qt trans fluid flush).

 

Pedal commander. Love it!!!!
Look into it

 

Sounds normal to me for a slushbox. If you want firm gear feel and engagement a standard gearbox is what you’re after.

 

Money is better spent on a tune to actually change the throttle pedal mapping. Pedal commander does nothing more than simulate the driver pushing more (sport modes) or less (eco modes) than the driver actually is. You can be your own power commander for free by simply pushing the gas pedal down further/less.

 

normal to me. I find myself manually downshifting into 4th when climbing, rather than stuffing it.

 

If you're on a stretch of road where you're not going to be over 50-55 mph anyway, shift out of OD and run the truck in 4th gear. The automatic wants to shift to OD, but unless you're at constant speeds of 55 mph or more it doesn't need to be there. You'll have more power, you and the truck will be happier and you'll get better fuel mileage.