Trouble Shifting While Offroading in automatic

I have a v6 dclb or automatic for starters. Recently while offroading in southern co to get to a trailhead I experienced something kinda funky and disappointing. I think the answer may be obvious which would be even more of a let down but I was curious of your opinions.

I was in 4 hi and had two other passengers and dog and everyones gear so truck was feeling a little sluggish from the start on a loosish bumpy two track. I really felt it more as the road steepened. I was probably going consistently 3-5 mph up a steep bumpy section when the truck began to slow further. I pushed the pedal down to no avail and was flooring it with no reaction. The truck basically came to a halt and I quickly bumped over to manual shifting and popped it into 1st gear. Then the truck was able to keep going. My question...It seems the auto transmission did not know it needed to be in a lower gear to keep powering up from the hill, and basically all power just petered out. Once I manually shifted into 1 it was able to continue. That seems pretty lame if the truck can't figure out to downshift for more power. Anyone else experienced this? I realize some people might say that I should have been in 4 low. To me that is kinda weak sauce considering the road I was on. I did have a 5.2l 98 grand cherokee before this, so maybe I need to be more strategic and switch over sooner with this newer/smaller engine. My old jeep I could have kept in awd and would have gotten up no problem. I did have the TSB done about 800 miles before this incident. Thoughts???

 

i notice that going up any regular hill. you said it perfectly. it seems like the truck has no idea it's going up hill and that it needs to downshift to keep power going up the hill

 

Why didn't you use 4 low? And what is weak about using a truck the way it was meant to be used? There's a difference between 4 high and 4 low for a reason.

 

I've gone up very steep grades in 4hi D position no problems.

 

if it was loose traction try turning the traction control off? I have a 2nd gen so things might be different but when I go though mud or something it will not give me any power because it doesnt want to spin the tires, I turn it off and it will restore the power so I can get through.

 

Good points. OP, how much were the wheels spinning and could you feel/hear the TC engaging?

 

I'm trying to respond and multi-quote for the first time so bare with me.

As far as 4-lo, that's what I mentioned in my original post...that maybe I should have been in 4 lo from the get go. However, when I manually shifted to 1st, it crawled out, indicating that 4-hi in a low gear could handle that road. The auto trans just apparently did not decide to go into that low of a gear which is what is my real question/misunderstanding.

As far as the traction control...that is an interesting point and I have to admit I don't know too much about it. On a side note, I was confused early on to see that turning off traction control is the only way to get the auto lsd activated. I also wasn't sure then if auto lsd only worked when in 2wd and couldnt be activated in 4wd. Anyways, the road was not too loose but more just rocky. If traction control was working I didn't notice or recognize it. It would be interesting to mess around with that. Bottom line though, the truck had no real issues when manually shifting to first. I just woulda thought you wouldn't have to do it yourself and the auto transmission would have figured this out. Not trying to bitch about the truck, just curious as to why this happened, if it's something worth looking further into, is this an issues I need to address or jsut the way the transmission works, or if I just need to manually shift when offroading or going up steep grades. Really liking the input so far and would love to hear more thoughts. Thanks in advance.

 

Did you make it home? and it drive just fine in 4x2...how many times have you actually used 4x4 hi or lo? Thats my thought, if its broke its broke, but it doesn't sound like it...I think you need to educate yourself, the owners manual might help you...if not sell it.

If I am wrong then post a video or go to the dealer...before you sell it..sounds like this aint gonna work for you.

 

I was recently at Pismo Dunes taking mine off road for the first time. With out doing anything (traction controls on), when I would gas it and got wheel slippage, the power from the engine was dramatically reduced (I assume this is to prevent slippage). I found these trucks shine off road in 4-lo, all traction control off, elocker engaged.

 

Sounds like I definitely have to play around with traction control next time. I didn't think wheels were spinning at that point, but maybe that was the case. Thanks for the ideas/help. I'm still just curious why when switching to first manually it did absolutely fine after that. But maybe I was in a loose spot and by the time I basically rolled to a stop and then manually switched to first I was on solid ground again. Certainly will test this more next chance I get.

 

traction control shuts off in 4lo. problem solved. Put it in 4lo and use MTS

 

Also if op has a 3rd gen he can use ETC power mode which changes shift points.

 

I always use ECT. But offroad it doesn't seem to make much difference at slow speeds.

 

ETC power mode also creates more engine braking, i.e. when you let off the throttle the whole drivetrain slows.
Edit: I cannot confirm/deny your comment, as I have a 2wd v6 that doesn't see the dirt, just adding to my point