Transmission third gear and Drive.
 

First can someone explain to me how the tranny works in the F-150? When I put it in third it doesn't have any power taking off from a stop. I am understanding this is Fords way of saving fuel or increasing fuel economy, is this right?

Second thing is when in third gear and driving at 40, 60 Kmh it doesn't upshift. This doesn't seem right as to me third to me in all my other trucks was basically your drive gear without overdrive. When driving 80km and hour it is reving quite high but not outrages. I just don't see the real purpose of the third gear if it revs so high at such moderate speeds within city limits.

Maybe someone can explain this to me so I can understand it. I asked the dealership when I bought the truck and they basically said it is Fords way of trying to give the truck better gas mileage.

Wow - 3rd gear is just that 3rd gear. You leave the line in third gear, you cruise down the highway in 3rd gear. You can try to read the manual...

There are 6 gears in the new trannies. Leave it in Drive, the tranny will do all the shifting for you and maximize your fuel economy. And your dealer is an idiot IF he told you that which I'm doubting.

Here's the GRs:

1st: 4.17:1
2nd: 2.34:1
3rd: 1.52:1
4th: 1.14:1
5th: .86:1
6th: .69:1

3rd is a pretty tall gear to be starting with (IMHO).

You also need to understand that 3rd IS 3rd and NO OTHER gears will be used (as described in your owner's manual). Reagrdless of how fast you go, it will not shift to 4th.

Sounds to me it's working exactly the way it's supposed to.

The dealer did tell me that and it went exactly like this.

Me - "Why is there no power when taking off from a stop in 3rd gear? There is no power on takeoff"

Salesman - "Thats Fords tranny design to help with gas economy"


Keep in mind it is an automatic and when I say no power I mean when sitting at a light in 3rd gear and I go to take off, if I floor the pedal it does not kick down and the takeoff is slower than Ford Fiesta. It very slowly picks up speed until approx 15km/h and then the truck takes off. I would never be able to spin the tires on gravel let alone pavement from a stop in 3rd gear and I am not exagerating this either. But if I put it in Drive all the power I want is there.

I am not saying there is anything wrong with this truck and everything seems great. Like I said every other truck I have owned it didn't matter if I started in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd the truck had the power it wanted right from the get go.

If I understand what you are saying if the truck is in 3rd gear and is sitting at a stop when you go move the truck it is like starting it in 3rd gear on a standard transmission?

I understand when in third it won't shift to 4th but why make an automatic tranny that when you put it in 3rd it starts out in 3rd instead of 1st?

Maybe it simplifies the transmission and makes it more reliable? Maybe it's less expensive to manufacture? Maybe it increases the torque or hp rating?

IDK. I assume the Ford transmission engineers have a valid reason or reasons.

I can't believe I am actually responding to this one...lol... YES, if you keep it in 3rd, it is like starting in 3rd in a manual trans. It is locked into 3rd, so it won't have any power when taking off and won't upshift, causing it to rev higher on the highway... They allow you to select 2nd or 3rd to start off for snowy/icy conditions where you don't want to spin the tires... just a little added safety with the traction control.

And why is this a problem?

Nobody said it was a problem I was trying to get clarification as the dealer really didn't explain it to my satisfaction.

This is the first truck I have owned where the tranny did this. I have owned Chev all my life the last one being a 2000. In the Chev if you put it in 3rd you still had 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears and if you wanted highway gear you put it in Overdrive. I don't know if Chevs are the same now or not but this is definatly different than what I have had before.

Dude, your truck is fine, it's the operator!

Well there is your problem! You just haven't ever had a real truck...

LOL, I am all in agreement with that, I love this truck and once the warranty is done I plan on adding some aftermarket items to it.

Im sorry but this is just funny. You put in 3rd and thats the only gear youll have. Funny story I did this on accident the other day and I hit the throttle and Im like dang why is the traction control coming on is what i thougt cause my drive way is sand, look down no blinking light I just went to far and put it in 3rd lol.

Your right about the older chevys. 3rd gear was "D" or drive. they had a 4 speed transmission so "OD" was actually 4th gear or overdrive. so putting it in drive (3 or D) or putting it in overdrive (4 or OD) would shift through 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th if in OD.

but what would happen if you put that old chevy in just 1st or 2nd gear. it stayed in that gear and did not shift. it the same thing with the 3rd gear on the fords. there are just more gears in the transmission now so therefor you could have more of a selection if you needed it. if you put it in 1st, 2nd or 3rd, it will stay in those gears. put it in drive and it shifts AUTOmatically from 1st to 2nd, and then 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th.

and we all know what reverse does. right???:confused:



one more thing. chevys now have 6 speed transmissions also.

what are you guys talking about?

1. If you put the truck into 1st or 2nd or 3rd gear, the PCM remaps the fuel curves. It restricts the throttle by 50%. You cannot get max power when in 1st or 2nd. PCM won't allow it. Ford did this to help gain traction in slippery areas where too much throttle would be bad.
2. If you drop the vehicle into 3rd gear...you still use 1st and 2nd gears. All it does is prevent the tranny from shifting into 4-6 gears. it does not lock the tranny into 3rd gear only and bypass 1st and 2nd gears


edit: did learn a cool tidbit though. the 6 speed + 4x4lo = locked out 1st gear. the tranny uses 2-6 gears only in that case. pretty nifty