Down shift=Hard shift?

2022, SRS5 TSS Off-Road, 4 cylinders, 74k miles. Auto Trans, Pedal commander enabled. I bought it last August with 66k on it. This has happened about 4-6 times since then I am unable to reproduce it manually, here is what happens. Somewhere between 35mph and 45mph, when I let the gas off to slow down, I can feel a hard downshift. I am not looking at the RPM, but I can feel a sudden jump, a deceleration. What I think may be happening is I think when the trans shifts into a higher gear, almost at the same time (perhaps a half a second or less), I let off the gas and that is when I feel the sudden jump.

This also happens sometimes when I apply the brakes pretty hard, not as when I apply them so hard the ABS goes off or I start peeling rubber off my tires, but harder than normal. The downshift problem seems to always happen when the engine is cold or I have not gone above 45 MPH. If the engine is warm regardless if I have not gone above 45 then there is no hard shifting, but cold and not yet above 45 MPH it will usually do it at least once but no more than once.

But the braking hard downshift when it happens (only has happened three times) does not matter if the engine is hot or cold, and it only seems to happen at 30MPH or less. I recently brought it to the dealership they did not indicate any issues with the trans, and they said I needed to do a transmission change at 120K is that right? And is it normal for the trans to do a hard downshift like that?

 

I would start by doing a drain and fill if that doesn’t do it next I would disable the pedal commander.

 

At comparable speeds and under similar conditions, I experience the same behavior in my Camry, 4Runner and Tacoma.
Cold tranny will exacerbate shifts that might otherwise go unnoticed..

 

You are likely right at the perfect speed where the OD kicks out then right back in. Had other vehicles that seem to have that 45MPH range that would do it occasionally also. Since OD is a lock up ''gear,'' it makes sense it would be harsher then merely a step down to another gear with some ''slush'' built in.