Forester transmission

[P T]

I have ~10,000 miles on my 10 month old Forester. The transmission is a
little disappointing. Oh, it works fine 99.9% of the time. I guess it's
just not as smooth as the AT on my last car, a 99 Altima. For example,
coming down from speed, sometimes I feel a little reverse-surge as the
gears downshift. Or sometimes when I engage D, the power comes on funny,
over about 1/2 a second, not just a -BOOM-I'M-ON- but more like
-I'm-engaged----I'm engaged-more-

These are really very subtle little things. I think a lot of drivers
would not notice them. It doesn't feel like a problem, more like it it
just the way the beast was engineered. Does anyone else notice this? I
presume it's normal for the car; have no intention of taking it in
(unless someone tells me, you have the dreaded J7Q43 defect!)

 

[ed]

What is the dreaded J7Q43 defect? Google comes up with nothing.
I've also used Lucas trans oil additive with great success, smoothes out the
shifts.

 

[Ian Brown]

Must have been a typo, shurely he means J7Q48.

;-)

 

[rick]

He DID mean J7Q48.......and stop calling him Shirley.
=========================================

 

[Rat]

I have ~10,000 miles on my 10 month old Forester. The transmission is a
little disappointing. Oh, it works fine 99.9% of the time. I guess it's
just not as smooth as the AT on my last car, a 99 Altima. For example,
coming down from speed, sometimes I feel a little reverse-surge as the
gears downshift. Or sometimes when I engage D, the power comes on funny,
over about 1/2 a second, not just a -BOOM-I'M-ON- but more like
-I'm-engaged----I'm engaged-more-

These are really very subtle little things. I think a lot of drivers
would not notice them. It doesn't feel like a problem, more like it it
just the way the beast was engineered. Does anyone else notice this? I
presume it's normal for the car; have no intention of taking it in
(unless someone tells me, you have the dreaded J7Q43 defect!)

My wife's '04 forester xt does some very strange things as well. I think
the drive by wire throttle has alot to do with it. The 4eat in my svx is
very predictable. The same tranny (although upgraded over the years)
seems to be schizophrenic in the forester.

Sometimes a very slight change in throttle position causes a 2 gear
downwhift and a quick run to redline, other times (usually when you need
it) the tranny hunts for the right gear for 3-4 seconds before passing
with the pedal to the floor.

 

[MN]

My wife's '04 forester xt does some very strange things as well. I think
the drive by wire throttle has alot to do with it. The 4eat in my svx is
very predictable. The same tranny (although upgraded over the years) seems
to be schizophrenic in the forester.

Sometimes a very slight change in throttle position causes a 2 gear
downwhift and a quick run to redline, other times (usually when you need
it) the tranny hunts for the right gear for 3-4 seconds before passing
with the pedal to the floor.

Is your wife's driving style similar to yours? I think this
may hold the key to question.

I've heard that the EAT is some sort of electronic controlled
transmission that has a degree of learning ability i.e.it remembers
and adjusts to your driving style (?).

I also have the reverse-surge type sentation described by
the original poster (Impreza '00). This happens especially
after a long highway-speed trip. I suspect the tranny's
electronics have set up for highway type driving and
when style changes it gets out of sync briefly, so I get
some infrequent weird reaction from it..

This is my very subjective explanation of what is going on,
- I am not a mechanic. Anyone familiar with this issue
please comment on the theory.

MN

 

[Losiho]

I've heard that the EAT is some sort of electronic controlled
transmission that has a degree of learning ability i.e.it remembers
and adjusts to your driving style (?).

This is my very subjective explanation of what is going on,
- I am not a mechanic. Anyone familiar with this issue
please comment on the theory.

You are correct. Most electronic autos have a small amount of "learning
ability" and can and do adjust to different driving styles (even if you
don't use the power/economy switch, if it has one).

 

[Edward Hayes]

If you want to reset the transmission and engine to the origional
default parameters just disconnect the neg battery cable for about 1/2
hour and press the brake pedel several time to discharge the units. It
will then learn your driving style over the next 2? takes of gas. So
if your an easy driver the shift points will reflect it and if you run
to the redline many time the shifting will accompany that driving
style. If your an easy driver like me 95% most of the time, then when
I race to the red line and over ride the easy style I am only changing
the shift pattern one of of how many easy shifts the computer has
stored. Try it and I think you;ll like it. O-Yes record your radio
stations as they will ned to be reset. ed