Anyone else have an adaptive transmission that appears to act like a manual?

On acceleration, rpms go up, drop slightly while shifting, then up again after shifting...

If you didn't know better, it sounds like a manual transmission but isn't. No slip, no bogging, just... well, manual-like.

I do go very easy on the gas when accelerating normally so I'm wondering if this is an expected shifting pattern?

 

I think you are describing a "shift flare" or clutch slippage at shift points.

 

Yup. Expected. With the 6F35 transaxle and the electronic throttle body, the PCM controls engine speed and shifting. In light to moderate acceleration, it's like a little guy is behind the dashboard, shifting a manual transmission. As long as he keeps doing it well, all's OK.
When we had the throttle body problem as I posted on here a year or more ago about, then shifting and some other operations went into a fault-management mode, then it wasn't so good. I put on a new throttle body and did the retrain procedure, and all has been fine since.

It IS fun to listen to, under lighter acceleration up to higher speeds, all the "manual" shifts!

 

wptski - nope, not flare. this is definitely throttle down, shift, throttle up on accelration.

Torky2-
The Escape had been driven by many and I think it was confused when we first picked it up. Dealer assured us it was mechanically sound. After maybe 100 miles it started doing this and as you described, it's like a little guy in the engine room is shifting the transmission based on the throttle position indicator set by the captain on the bridge.

..and yes, it's kinda cool. I'll see if I can record and post it.

 

Yep, I misread!

 

I rented a Mustang from Hertz in California in ~2005 that did this, I thought it was cool.

 

My ex's New Beetle Convertible would lessen the throttle on upshifts as well, but it had horrible throttle and shift point programming to the point it almost got me run over a few times. At 25 merging onto the freeway, you'd floor it, and the thing would do nothing for literally a second, like it wanted to be sure you meant it. Then it'd go full throttle in 4th gear, downshift really quick 3rd-2nd-1st, hit the rev limiter a few times in 1st, then slam 2nd and start actually accelerating. Terrible disconnect to the actual throttle movement as well.
Luckily the Fords are a bit better.