Hello again everybody,
I put out a lengthy post a few months ago about my poor automatic transmission performance. I've more-or-less learned to accept it, for the car is otherwise quite good. The consensus among fellow owners was that Mazda's most recent transmission software compromises performance and drivability far too much, in the interest of fuel economy. "So be it," I said, and tried to look past the rough shifts, grinding sensation, lugging, jerking and near-stalling from cold. Figured I was overly sensitive to these issues since my last car (a Volt) was completely linear with its stepless electric drive system (which I highly recommend).
And yet the Mazda finds new ways to worry me -- in heavy stop-and-go traffic today, it felt as if the transmission were about to fail -- and my passenger took notice. Every time I apply or release the accelerator, the car shunts backwards and forth. It jerks and clunks in and out of first and second gear every time, and it sometimes grinds or lugs, as if caught between two cogs. Worst of all, if I have to apply more accelerator pressure to FORCE a much-needed downshift, then let off (as not to shoot forward and rear-end somebody), there's not only a jerk, but a shift flare. (The revs will rise normally, spike, then drop to the next gear.) If anybody is interested, I can try to replicate this behavior on film.
The car is brand-new, Japan-built, mechanically sound and with just hit 8,000 miles. Not trying to sound whiny -- I'm more curious about these issues than anything. Should it bother me as much as it does?
