04 4.4i transmission lunging...

jamie392 · #1 04-27-2009, 11:05 PM

I test drove a 04 4.4 and it ran very good. At one point one thing that worried me was when I was going up a steep hill near the top it felt like the engine jerk downshifted for a sec. Maybe this is completely normal, and I can't really explain the feeling other than it downshifted and lunged forward kinda of jerky for a sec and then all was fine for the rest of the trip. It was very smooth. So is this something I should worry about?

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fourpointfour · #2 05-10-2009, 03:20 PM

jamie392: I have an 06' 4.4i and it does the same thing . . . sometimes. My X5 is somewhat jerky on the take-off . . . sometimes. I took it to the dealership to have the transmission remapped, but that didn't really do anything. I have checked other sources and dealerships and they all tell me this is just inherent to this model. They said, the 4.4i is pretty peppy and just wants to take off, so it's shifting is a bit dramatic. I have modified my driving style a bit and things have been fine for quite a while. In general, it's a fabulous car with a ton of power. Never had a better handling car. Good luck.

pmercer · #3 05-10-2009, 04:30 PM

I was just coming on here to ask the same question. I've just bought an 01 4.4i and it has a judder like you describe. I didn't notice it on the test drive though.

I would describe it as the car being indecisive as to what gear it wants. It only does it for a few seconds if I'm going light on the gas and somewhere between 30-45mph. If I put my foot down it doesn't happen.

A mate of mine says "that sounds expensive" when it happens, lol. I've only had the car for a week so hopefully as Fourpointfour says, it's normal.

killcrap · #4 05-10-2009, 07:02 PM

most common a failure of the transfer case. disconnect the motor on the transfer case, and drive the car in failsafe mode, if the vehicle no longer judders, then you have a faulty transfercase.

pmercer · #5 05-11-2009, 05:48 AM

Killcrap, would you be able to elaborate where the motor on the transfer case is, and how you drive in fail safe please.

I'll give this a go, but don't want to disconnect things I don't know about.

I'm also going to try resetting the transmission programming using the method described on here (ign pos 2, acc pedal all way down for 25s)

Thanks

Isambard · #6 05-11-2009, 06:49 AM

I too have a 'similar' problem and was just about to post a new thread.. Basically, its at its worse when its driven from cold, and I mean SLOWLY. It jumps like its got kangaroo juice....on/off/on/off. But when its warmed up after a couple of miles' driving, either near or at normal operating temperature, it stops. No problems.

BUT, another thing I'm finding is that when driven hard (over 4k rpm) its stammers around the 4250 mark, the power dips and then struggles to continue up to the redline. Well, not necessarily 'struggles', but just no way near as smooth as it was getting to 4250.

Any ideas anyone?

Ps. Sorry for the hijack.

pps, pmercer, are you orpington, surrey?