Anyone else's X5 shift very hard; 1st shift on cold engine?

[Porschesolutions]

My car shifts very hard & will jerk the car a little, only on the first shift on a cold engine. The slower i'm going the harder the jerk, so I have to leave my driveway in a quicker-than-normal fashion to prevent the hard jerk. After two-three blocks, there's enough heat/pressure to allow for more-normal shifts.

Anyone?? anyone??

Mark

[upallnight]

Check to see if you leaking any ATF from the pan or anywhere else? Low ATF can cause these symptoms.

[Porschesolutions]

not a drop, not sure how to check either.

[xsx450]

this is pretty common, at least to be more firm. I dont know about HARD but a delayed/firm shift is pretty common when cold. Mine does it first shift or two.

[epdarks]

Just curious... how many miles on your trans?

Have you tried driving away in "sport mode"?

Have you checked/replaced the trans fluid, ever?

One other test would be to stick it in manual mode, hold 1st gear for a while as you leave home, that should get the fluids moving a bit. From there, switch back to "D" and see if your first up-shift still sucks.

[70-k5]

yes, my X5 does this. So does my '12 F150 and both of my K5's. First shift or two are harsh, then the fluid warms up. At least that is what I tell myself.

[Big "J"]

Same here... cold mornings..first gear revs to a bit higher RPM's (to warm up) then shifts with a mild jerk.

[ArthurCA]

Not too cold in CA but i have same problem, sometimes its very hard shift but only from 1 to 2 thinking about replace transmission fluid soon hope its helps.

[xsx450]

lol i just tried driving off in sport mode cold and 1st gear sounded like i was racing down the drag strip before it shifted!

[tmv]

Pretty sure it's temperature related. It takes longer for the ATF to warm up and expanded, thus the hard shifting. There is no way to check the ATF level.