GEN 1 Harsh 5-4 Downshift and Hesitation at Highway Speeds

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Raptor Embroidery

aka <b><font color='darkorange'>Raptor_Al_41</font
Joined
Jan 23, 2012
Posts
3,959
Reaction score
1,433
Location
Scottsboro, Alabama
Hey guys,

I'm taking my truck to Ford tomorrow to have my issues seen about. I basically want to avoid the Dealership giving me the run-around on everything and ending up having to pay more than I should.

First off, here are my specs:

2011 Raptor, 113k miles, transmission flush performed by dealership every 50k miles, 5 star 93 octane tune since 10k miles. No check engine lights whatsoever for either problem.

Problems:

1. Harsh 5-4 Downshift: When I begin to slow down, the down shift from 5-4 is harsh. I have tried everything including disconnecting the battery for 1 hour, KAM reset on SCT x3, and re-flashing my tune. The issue is the harshest between 40-60 mph. Anything below 40 is rough but not as bad. To prevent damage, I have been either coasting to a complete stop in Neutral or shifting manually from 5-4 at 30 mph.

2. Hesitation at highway speeds: This one is really stumping me. Once I get up to cruising speed in either 5th or 6th gear, there is a very noticeable hesitation every 12 seconds exactly. I even used the stopwatch function on my watch and confirmed it is every 12 seconds on the dot. The hesitation would be similar to sharply applying the brakes quickly but not holding them. The hesitation will last for about half of a second and then go back to constant power delivery. I understand that a misfire would cause a similar problem but in my mind, I would imagine that it would happen constantly. No CELs so far and this has been happening for over a week. What really confuses me is that it happens exactly every 12 seconds. The idle speed is perfect with no flares. Medium to heavy acceleration is very consistent and does not drop off at all. Just a smooth constant power delivery without the hesitation. The only things that I have thought about doing but haven't gotten around to it due to College and the large volume of orders I have received include: cleaning/replacing the mass airflow sensor, 02 sensors, spark plugs, coil packs and treating the engine with fuel injector cleaner, seafoam or another cleaner of some type.

I basically want to hear your experiences and solutions to avoid getting charged at the dealership for un-necessary parts or labor. The issues are really making me hate to drive my truck on a daily basis. Thank you to everyone in advance and hope I can get everything solved quickly without having to do without my truck for a long time.

Update: 3/7/16 : Dropped the truck off at the dealership. I took the service writer out for a drive so he could take accurate notes to describe the issues.

Update: 3/11/16 : Picked up truck. Ford wants to replace the transmission. $7,227 for a new one, $5,415 for a re-manufactured one.

Update: 3/12/16 : Spoke with a transmission shop out of Georgia. The owner builds F150 lightning transmissions and performed work on one of my friend's Raptors that had similar problems. He installed the Sonnax Zip Kit and he told me that everything was fixed and will be very reliable.

Tip if you're having my problems: These 6R80 transmissions are super strong. If you have harsh shifts, harsh gear engagement or any other odd occurrences, chances are that the Valve body needs to be upgraded with stronger parts. I've done a good bit of research on these transmissions so if you need some advice, feel free to PM me.
 

intow

Full Access Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2014
Posts
98
Reaction score
62
Location
Louisiana
First problem I don't have a clue but I'd bet the hesitation is going to be a coil pack. I've had a couple F150's with the same symptom both just over 100K miles and it was a coil pack both times. Have you checked your coil packs just to make sure you don't have a loose wire or connection? Not likely it's that simple but you may get lucky.
 
OP
OP
Raptor Embroidery

Raptor Embroidery

aka <b><font color='darkorange'>Raptor_Al_41</font
Joined
Jan 23, 2012
Posts
3,959
Reaction score
1,433
Location
Scottsboro, Alabama
First problem I don't have a clue but I'd bet the hesitation is going to be a coil pack. I've had a couple F150's with the same symptom both just over 100K miles and it was a coil pack both times. Have you checked your coil packs just to make sure you don't have a loose wire or connection? Not likely it's that simple but you may get lucky.

Yessir. I checked all connections and cleaned them well and applied dielectric grease to them. Problem still persists. I will make a note for the tech to test the coil packs and replace as necessary. I'll probably go ahead and do spark plugs too. Thank you for the response!!

---------- Post added at 06:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:27 PM ----------

Did you return the tune to stock before taking it over to he dealer?

Not yet. They weren't able to look at it today and they want me to come back tomorrow morning. I'll be sure and do that tonight before I hit the hay. I'm out of warranty though but I feel that if they try to reflash the ECU with the aftermarket tune that something might happen. Thanks for the response!
 
OP
OP
Raptor Embroidery

Raptor Embroidery

aka <b><font color='darkorange'>Raptor_Al_41</font
Joined
Jan 23, 2012
Posts
3,959
Reaction score
1,433
Location
Scottsboro, Alabama
I really don't know, but I wonder if it ends up being the torque converter?
I'm hoping not. I did some research while letting my machines run today and found a part that could be causing the downshift issue. It's from a company called sonnax and it's called the "Clutch A Control boost valve kit." The oem one is made of plastic and prone to sticking. I meant to call Sonnax and talk to them about why the Valve only affects the 5-4 down shift and not any upshifts. I've heard from a few friends that if it was the torque converter that it would slip when leaving the line but once at a high enough speed, it would cause enough friction to stay locked in at highway speeds.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk
 
OP
OP
Raptor Embroidery

Raptor Embroidery

aka <b><font color='darkorange'>Raptor_Al_41</font
Joined
Jan 23, 2012
Posts
3,959
Reaction score
1,433
Location
Scottsboro, Alabama
Update:

My Raptor has been at the dealership for 5 days now and they have no idea what's wrong with it. So far, the only thing they've told me has been "Well, we know that it's not a misfire." They have been communicating with some type of Ford service program that has been requesting that they send in all sorts of data from roadtests to be analyzed. They haven't heard much from them but they said they have their best technicians on the job.

Anyone else had the problems that I'm experiencing? Harsh 5-4 downshift and hesitation every 12 seconds at highway speeds.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk
 
OP
OP
Raptor Embroidery

Raptor Embroidery

aka <b><font color='darkorange'>Raptor_Al_41</font
Joined
Jan 23, 2012
Posts
3,959
Reaction score
1,433
Location
Scottsboro, Alabama
they wont rebuild it?
Well, if they rebuild it, as complicated as a modern transmission is, I don't trust much of anyone around here to rebuild it. I may consider having a reputable shop somewhere do it and go ahead and upgrade it rather than buying a new transmission. I'll have to do some research and find some reliable shops.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk
 
Top