2015 300 AWD - transmission 'bump'
 

Hey all. I've had my 300 for about 10 months now and something I've noticed as being odd is the way the transmission downshifts. My car is a 2015 with the V6, AWD, 8 speed transmission, and just over 50,000 kms (30k miles). I've put almost 20,000 km (12k miles) since I bought it, and the behaviour hasn't changed.

When slowing down and coming to a stop, I can feel it drop each gear and feel the noticeable engine braking as a result, which feels fairly normal. But when it drops from 3rd to 2nd gear, I can feel (and often hear) a noticeable 'clunk' in the tranny, and can really feel the engine braking more so than any other gear change.

It's bad enough that passengers (my wife included) have commented on how abnormal it feels, and it's slightly embarrassing when other people are in this beautiful car with low mileage and a clunky transmission. It doesn't happen all the time, but seems to be more common when the car is warmed up.

Does anyone else on this forum experience similar symptoms from their cars? Is this normal behaviour for the current gen of the 300's? Would love to hear feedback.

Thanks.

UPDATE:

I took the car to the local dealer and explained the problem. The service adviser seemed to know exactly what needed to be done without anyone driving it. They checked the transmission fluid (it was fine), updated the PCM & TCM (RRT U-08 update...?), and did a re-learn on the transmission. This was all covered under Chrysler's 5-year power train warranty and cost me nothing. Unrelated, I also had the "AutoPark" recall done while it was there.

I immediately noticed a difference in how the car shifted. In particularly with how it dropped from 2nd to 1st when coming to a stop. It used to wait until the vehicle was stopped before shifting from 2-1, and if you accelerated too quickly, it would pause, downshift, then go. Now it will downshift 2-1 right before coming to a stop and eliminate that delay. Much better driving experience.

The downshift from 3-2 is smoother now than it was before. It can still occasionally be harsh when in slow, stop-and-go traffic, but I will continue to drive it and see if it 'learns' my driving style and smooths itself out. It's certainly better than it was before.

So far I've only put about 100 kms on it since the changes, so I expect that it will take some time to sort itself out.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the changes and hopeful that it will continue to improve with me driving it. I'll provide another update after a few thousand kms for anyone experiencing the same issues.

Thanks so much for following up and closing out your post.