[Miked5420]

Just bought a 2018 hellcat WB (3k miles now) and i noticed at times when i am coming to a red light, the car will jerk when downshifting from 2nd to 1st juat before i come to a stop. It caught be by surprise a few times.

All instances have been during normal or slow deceleration, no hard braking...also normal engine/trans temps.

I saw an old post about this being "normal" but it just does not feel right.

Any one have any updates on this or ideas of what it could be?

 

[Blickie]

Just bought a 2018 hellcat WB (3k miles now) and i noticed at times when i am coming to a red light, the car will jerk when downshifting from 2nd to 1st juat before i come to a stop. It caught be by surprise a few times.

All instances have been during normal or slow deceleration, no hard braking...also normal engine/trans temps.

I saw an old post about this being "normal" but it just does not feel right.

Any one have any updates on this or ideas of what it could be?

What Drive Mode are you using??

Call your Dealer Svc Dept with your VIN to see if there are any updates available.

You could disconnect your Battery Neg Terminal overnight. Sometimes, this works.

Best!

 

[Miked5420]

All street mode. I have never used any other mode yet.

 

[Slowpoke387]

All three of mine have done that. Almost like someone bumps me from behind in traffic. I was told it has something to do with the torque converter. Never did get a clear answer other than it’s normal.

 

[Miked5420]

All three of mine have done that. Almost like someone bumps me from behind in traffic. I was told it has something to do with the torque converter. Never did get a clear answer other than it’s normal.

That's strange. I guess i feel slightly better knowing its something a bit common. I reached out to a few dealers in town and will see if I can get any info from them.

 

[ArchGE]

Mine did the same thing until I cracked the PCM for an engine and trans. tune. Made all the difference although I did go with a higher stall torque converter too.

 

[usmc341]

Totally normal. Don't let the dealership screw with it.

 

[Citrus90]

My Scat even does this on occasion, especially when cold. Don’t worry about it.

 

[CRKFIEND]

Just bought a 2018 hellcat WB (3k miles now) and i noticed at times when i am coming to a red light, the car will jerk when downshifting from 2nd to 1st juat before i come to a stop. It caught be by surprise a few times.

All instances have been during normal or slow deceleration, no hard braking...also normal engine/trans temps.

I saw an old post about this being "normal" but it just does not feel right.

Any one have any updates on this or ideas of what it could be?

Both of my hellcats have had it. If you manually shift at a low RPM (just before the limiter kicks in) you can eliminate the jerking entirely. I've found that if you downshift at like 1300RPM+ you're apt to get it.

 

[Gotgap]

These ZF’s run higher line pressures across the board to accomplish hard millisecond paddle shifts! sadly the trade off is you will notice downshift bumps regularly when coasting down, it’s the nature of the beast..it may have the seating comfort of a Lincoln town car but definitely not it’s transmission feel

 

[GreenMachine15]

Every hellcat that I have driven is like this.
Completely normal

 

[ledft]

Mine used to downshift so hard I thought I would wreck the transmission over time. I tried different modes to soften it but that didn’t help. Eventually it either adapted to my driving and smoothed out or I got used to it. I really think it smoothed out but took several months and thousands of miles. 👍

 

[Ace1894]

Both my 2021 Hellcat and my 2021 Gladiator Mojave do this.

 

[DGatzby]

Drive around in Track Mode for a while, make sure you slow down quickly a lot. Fairly brutal, huh? Then switch it back. Drive normal. There ya go, it will feel very smooth.

 

[Barbell_Cat_717]

Op my car does the exact same thing when coming to a slow stop with the transmission feeling jerky or bucking when its shifting from second to first even in all street mode. It can be annoying at times especially during heavy traffic.

I thought I'd bring the car to the dealership to have it looked at but now that everyone is saying it's normal maybe I shouldn't have the dealership mess with it. It's not unbearable but I guess Dodge's transmissions can be clunky at times.

 

[Dennis H]

Remember, it’s GERMAN. As amazing as the ZF Torqueflite is, it has quirks as you describe. My peeve is the slow to engage dropping in to drive during first 3-5 minutes after start up. I realize its cold, but that fraction of a second - when it can be critical - is surely a German trait.

 

[Citrus90]

Remember, it’s GERMAN. As amazing as the ZF Torqueflite is, it has quirks as you describe. My peeve is the slow to engage dropping in to drive during first 3-5 minutes after start up. I realize its cold, but that fraction of a second - when it can be critical - is surely a German trait.

Those first couple of upshifts into second can be a little slow and clunky, too. After a minute or two, it goes away, but it is noticeable, even when you’ve let your car warm up a little before moving it.

 

[Vet Rider]

There was a TSB about this a while back.