I recenty bought an '05 Verada AWD. When test driving it I didn't notice any problems but when I purchased it a few weeks later I noticed the auto gear changes are quite rough. There's no unusual noise but it just gives you a sharp shove when it changes up. The lower the gear the worse the change. When changing into 5th gear it feels ok.

Also, there's a rough feeling vibration that can be felt through the floor when the engine is loaded and at low revs, such as when taking off from stationary or even if going up a slight incline where the engine has to supply more power. The best description I could make is something like rotating an old dry bearing that hasn't got smooth surfaces.

Prior to buying this car I had a TJ Magna and I felt nothing like these problems in that. The Verada has done about 85k and I don't know it's service history. I thought about getting a tranny flush to start but I don't know if that'll help and I don't want to waste money if it's not a good idea.

If anyone has any ideas of what could be the problem(s) or if there's somewhere I can take it that specialises in these cars preferably in the Perth northern suburbs, I'd be very grateful.

PS. I can't try to claim under used car warranty as I've left it too long. Time just got away from me.

Thanks

Check the fluid, does it smell burnt and look black? If so, go to Mitsu, pay around $240 for a complete transmission flush.
Because I had the same symptoms with mine when I bought it, so had it flushed and presto, all smooth and no vibes.
Reason I mention Mitsu is these transmissions are somewhat particular with what oil they like, and the genuine stuff is the best for it.

When was the fluid last changed? The Magna boxes benefit from regular from a fluid flush and change. The factory recommendation is to have it changed every 50,000km, but depending on how it's been driven, it may need changing a lot earlier than that - I've had bad experiences leaving it that long in my (lighter) FWD Magna, so I aim to change mine every 25,000km or so.

The factory auto also adapts itself to the driver's driving style. You can reset the auto by disconnecting the battery for a bit. Your car will in initially run rough as guts (it may even stall) but give it a bit and it'll adapt to your driving style. I would suggest doing this since you only recently bought the car.

I would perform these two steps before investigating any further.

Thanks for the quick replies guys. I have no idea when or if the fluid was changed, but it doesn't look black or discoloured. I rang around a few auto trans places near me and I got all different responses. One said no need to flush, just drain the oil and top up and replace the external filter. Another said get it flushed but can't change the filter because it's internal and they use better fluid than Mitsubishi, and the other said don't waste money on changing the fluid without getting a computer diagnostic done first for which they charge about $90.

I was always advised to steer clear of dealer servicing due to excessive cost and questionable quality, but if it's best to take it there then so be it.

(EDIT) I also tried the battery disconnect trick a while ago. Didn't make a difference but when it was running rough straight after doing that I panicked and rang 2 local Mitsu service centres and they both said it needs a full computer retune which only they can do as when the power is disconnected it looses all the factory settings. Needless to say that was wrong so it doesn't instill a lot of confidence in Mitsu service.

G'day mate I'm getting the same after I had charge issues last week when my battery was disconnected for a while. I have interesting gear changes at the moment hopefully it will come good. In the past I've noticed the car takes a little while before it goes back to normal so it doesn't happen straight away when I only drive it from home to work and back. I also get idle issues however it all seems to sort itself out. The flush wouldn't hurt.

Thanks for the quick replies guys. I have no idea when or if the fluid was changed, but it doesn't look black or discoloured. I rang around a few auto trans places near me and I got all different responses. One said no need to flush, just drain the oil and top up and replace the external filter. Another said get it flushed but can't change the filter because it's internal and they use better fluid than Mitsubishi, and the other said don't waste money on changing the fluid without getting a computer diagnostic done first for which they charge about $90.

I was always advised to steer clear of dealer servicing due to excessive cost and questionable quality, but if it's best to take it there then so be it.

(EDIT) I also tried the battery disconnect trick a while ago. Didn't make a difference but when it was running rough straight after doing that I panicked and rang 2 local Mitsu service centres and they both said it needs a full computer retune which only they can do as when the power is disconnected it looses all the factory settings. Needless to say that was wrong so it doesn't instill a lot of confidence in Mitsu service.

I would get a flush done, even if it's not the problem it's good maintenance. The filter is internal on TJ onwards Magnas so it cannot be changed without a tear down.
Also make sure wherever you get it done that they are using genuine Mitsubishi fluid as other brands can cause damage.

Looks like I'll be booking it in for a tranny flush then and see if it helps.

Thanks to everyone for your opinions and help and I'll update this thread with the outcome of the flush.

Whilst there, get the transfer case & rear diff fluids changed too. They're all due at the 90,000km service anyway, I think.

Might as well go a step further after power flush and install an external oil cooler to really insure longevity.

Hey there mate.
I would get a tranny flush done no matter what the colour as you don't know the history. Also as alscall said, get your transfer case and diff done as well. Only use genuine Mitsubishi fluid for all.

One of the guys you spke to was correct. These cars do not run external filters in the AWD. They have an internal filter which is only accessible by removing the transmission from the car and opening it up. Therefor, its not an option and not needed.

As for the gear shift quality, there is a document on here which tells you how to program your transmission yourself. And it actually works. I have done it on many a Verada. I will try and dig it out and get it for you.

It improves shift quality and also gets rid of the delay from Neutral to Drive and Reverse.

Here you go. Follow as it says and it will work.
Don't worry that it says KE to KH. Does them all inc my KJ AWD.



http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/9649/magnatransshift.jpg

[QUOTE=FamilyWagon;1437924]Here you go. Follow as it says and it will work.
Don't worry that it says KE to KH. Does them all inc my KJ AWD.


Thanks very much for the info, and to everyone else for your help.

I recenty bought an '05 Verada AWD. When test driving it I didn't notice any problems but when I purchased it a few weeks later I noticed the auto gear changes are quite rough. There's no unusual noise but it just gives you a sharp shove when it changes up. The lower the gear the worse the change. When changing into 5th gear it feels ok.

Also, there's a rough feeling vibration that can be felt through the floor when the engine is loaded and at low revs, such as when taking off from stationary or even if going up a slight incline where the engine has to supply more power. The best description I could make is something like rotating an old dry bearing that hasn't got smooth surfaces.

Prior to buying this car I had a TJ Magna and I felt nothing like these problems in that. The Verada has done about 85k and I don't know it's service history. I thought about getting a tranny flush to start but I don't know if that'll help and I don't want to waste money if it's not a good idea.

If anyone has any ideas of what could be the problem(s) or if there's somewhere I can take it that specialises in these cars preferably in the Perth northern suburbs, I'd be very grateful.

PS. I can't try to claim under used car warranty as I've left it too long. Time just got away from me.

Thanks

I had that problem to but at the same time i got the trans flush done, transfer case oil and rear diff oil. After that it all drove completely fine :).

I had that problem to but at the same time i got the trans flush done, transfer case oil and rear diff oil. After that it all drove completely fine :).

I have it booked in for Thursday to get all that done. Fingers crossed.

Hi will this work for me too im experiencing the same issue but i had my tranny fluid change not too long ago
it stop doing when i had it change then few more weeks later its doing it again hit me up the back when changing up a gear.
i notice changes aren't instant ether couple Millie seconds under a second to actually change if that make scene :hmm:




Here you go. Follow as it says and it will work.
Don't worry that it says KE to KH. Does them all inc my KJ AWD.





http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/9649/magnatransshift.jpg

do u have the file if so can u email it to me this one i cant see jrxbox2005@hotmail.com thanks.

I have it booked in for Thursday to get all that done. Fingers crossed.

I had the trans flush done as well as the transfer case oil and rear diff oil changed last Thursday as already mentioned. They also did the auto retraining process.

Unfortunately there's not much difference. I think it's a little smoother but the 1-2 and 2-3 gear changes still aren't great and the drivetrain hashness or vibration is still there too. The Mitsu mechanic and foreman who test drove the car said they can't feel anything wrong.

I suppose I'll just have to put up with it.

The AWDs do have more vibrations then the FWDs. Have you checked your engine mounts.

Yeah the AWD's were never anywhere near as smooth as the FWD with driveline vibration, saying that though, the tranny change is as good as a FWD.
Try that learning process again where you steadily accel to 60km/h then lightly brake to a stop nearly coasting the whole way. You need to accelerate keeping the pedal in the one spot but trying to get it to change from 2 to 3rd at round 55 to 60km/h.
Don't vary the accelerator position. Keep it still in one spot till it changed from 2 to 3 then back off, and very lightly/slowely come to a stop barely touching the brake.
I know the harsh change you mean, mine did it but that re-learn fixed it. It's all about getting the learning process right when doing it.


http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/9649/magnatransshift.jpg

Hi Rog,

Im only new on here but I have an 04 TL AWD and I also notice a bit of acceleration vibration mainly 1-2 under 40ks then its all sorted I will be doing the relearn when I can be bothered to see if I can improve my shifts aswell as the car shifts late into 2nd as the previous owner would appear to like to accelerate to 60 as quick as possible, and that isnt great for my city economy.

vlad: Actually I forgot to mention that the engine mounts were the first thing that mechanics mentioned might be the problem. Apparently they're ok but thanks for the suggestion.

FamilyWagon: Maybe the vibration I'm feeling is normal for the AWD. Unfortunately I haven't driven another one to compare it with. I'll try the learning process when I get feed up with it again. At the moment I've lost interest a little and as I don't drive this car much so it's not a priority. I am amazed that they produced a gearbox that is so reliant on a complex learning process to perform in an satisfactory manner.

BiDDo88: Welcome to the forum (I'm new too). Please let us know how you go when you get around to doing the learning. Don't forget to have your radio code available and that the engine will go through it's own learning process so may not idle well and stall for a while. I was told to let it idle for at least 5 minutes. Also you'll need to tell the car that it's an AWD model via the trip computer as explained in the handbook. From memory it's 4d for 4 wheel drive. Good luck.

I recenty bought an '05 Verada AWD. When test driving it I didn't notice any problems but when I purchased it a few weeks later I noticed the auto gear changes are quite rough. There's no unusual noise but it just gives you a sharp shove when it changes up. The lower the gear the worse the change. When changing into 5th gear it feels ok.

Also, there's a rough feeling vibration that can be felt through the floor when the engine is loaded and at low revs, such as when taking off from stationary or even if going up a slight incline where the engine has to supply more power. The best description I could make is something like rotating an old dry bearing that hasn't got smooth surfaces.

Prior to buying this car I had a TJ Magna and I felt nothing like these problems in that. The Verada has done about 85k and I don't know it's service history. I thought about getting a tranny flush to start but I don't know if that'll help and I don't want to waste money if it's not a good idea.

If anyone has any ideas of what could be the problem(s) or if there's somewhere I can take it that specialises in these cars preferably in the Perth northern suburbs, I'd be very grateful.

PS. I can't try to claim under used car warranty as I've left it too long. Time just got away from me.

Thanks

Gee, this sounds extremely similar to my issues, which I've just posted about in a separate thread.
I wanted to add something here that I didnt mention in the other post; I had the dealer replace the front and rear engine mounts hoping that would improve the shift quality. I did that becaues of a previous experience with my other car that had a leaking engine mount. Basically the ride became very harsh.
Anyhow, this didnt improve the shift quality *but* it did introduce a vibration that you can feel through the floor pan when first taking off from a standstill. Its only there for a a few seconds until the cars moving. The dealer told me that Mitsubishi had changed the design of the rear mount (this is a 2004 AWD Verada) and that the vibration I'm feeling is because of the different mount. I havent followed up further on it because the new mounts did reduce some of the idle vibration which was an improvement, even though it didnt affect the shift quality issue.
So the problem that Rogerwilco is experiencing here may be due to the engine mounts.

Here you go. Follow as it says and it will work.
Don't worry that it says KE to KH. Does them all inc my KJ AWD.



http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/9649/magnatransshift.jpg
Just re the up shift procedure; I'm sure that my car shifts to 5th by 55KMH, at least 4th anyway.
So how to do this? Does it apply to KW?
Also, do I need to reset the ECU given that it was reset a few weeks ago?
Finally, I was informed that the idle has to be adjusted by a dealer after disconnect of the battery (unlike my KH).

Idle will learn itself; no need for a dealer to do it. It may not be ok straight away but after a few starts it'll get back to normal.

Thank you alscall, MadMagna also just told me the same thing. i will try it later today and update my other thread.

Still on the shift learning procedure;
I did this late yesterday and have noticed an improvement already, but I think I'll need to drive it fir a few days before I can assess the full impact. Fir example this morning I had a straight run in to work so not much of a test (5th all the way).

I had some trouble with the procedure; I'd finished the first part and then went to drive off and noticed "4d" flashing at me from the dash and realised I hadn't set that! (My KH flashes the startup prompts from the centre console display and I just hadn't noticed this and I didn't even think about it cos I was too busy following the procedure)!

I assume 4d means AWD. It then asked me 3.5, I just pressed the mode button for both.
(I think the KH has other prompts).
Anyhow, I didn't have time to start over again. Do you guys think it affects the result?

The other thing I noticed was that you need a LOT of road to do this as per the procedure.
My area doesn't have that and it's really hilly here. No level roads. So I wonder if it's learning some harsh shift points because of that... Basically I drove it fairly sedately for a few clicks then just normally. I'd like to try this with a really long flat road, or some kind of loop road.

It would be good if someone who understands the electronics and mechanics could explain exactly what's required for optimum learning. I'm thinking that the transmission just needs to shift through all the gears in sequence (1 to 5) at "normal" speeds/RPM to kinda set a baseline for the shifting points. After that i assume it modifies the baseline based on a rolling average of the driving conditions. That would explain why the procedure makes such a difference straight up, but has less effect after that.
So that initial baseline probably has the greatest influence for the rest of the time until next reset. Anyone correct me if this is wrong.

Well, I've noticed a significant difference in the shift quality so far, much improved. Fingers crossed it stays this way!
I would say the quality of the shift is now good.

I assume 4d means AWD. It then asked me 3.5, I just pressed the mode button for both.
(I think the KH has other prompts).
Anyhow, I didn't have time to start over again. Do you guys think it affects the result?


It won't as the dash display computer is totally separate from the ECU (which doubles as the TCU).