Tranmsission issue possibly?

[509Tahoe]

ive got a 2011 tahoe LT. it was a border patrol rig before i bought it
leveled on 285/70r17 tires
when im driving a lot of the times ill be doing 30 mph and itll have me in 4th gear
makes for a very sluggish drive
anyone else having this issue??
trans fluid and filter were replaced about 10k ago
shifts just fine--no slipping or popping

 

[Big Mama]

Welcome from Virginia. I’m not much help on this one but others will chime in.

 

[OR VietVet]

Maybe @Rockola1971 can chime in to help.

 

[kbuskill]

It is probably just the way the factory programs the transmission from the factory. They want you in the highest gear possible to try and save fuel.

Get a custom tune from @BlackBearPerf or buy a Diablo Sport tuner and have Diablew do a custom tune for you. It will make a very noticeable difference in driveability.

If your truck has the tow/haul button on the end of the shifter then try putting it in tow/haul mode and see if you notice any difference.

 

[509Tahoe]

It is probably just the way the factory programs the transmission from the factory. They want you in the highest gear possible to try and save fuel.

Get a custom tune from @BlackBearPerf or buy a Diablo Sport tuner and have Diablew do a custom tune for you. It will make a very noticeable difference in driveability.

If your truck has the tow/haul button on the end of the shifter then try putting it in tow/haul mode and see if you notice any difference.

ill look into those tunes and try the tow button and see what that does

 

[kbuskill]

ill look into those tunes and try the tow button and see what that does

The tow button should hold the gears longer and it will definitely lock out 6th gear and disable AFM, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[509Tahoe]

The tow button should hold the gears longer and it will definitely lock out 6th gear and disable AFM, if I'm not mistaken.

im not very worried about it holding gears for longer and i want to keep 6th gear
the issue is being in such a high gear at such a low speed

 

[kbuskill]

im not very worried about it holding gears for longer and i want to keep 6th gear
the issue is being in such a high gear at such a low speed

I understand... my point in stating that it holds the gears longer was to say that it probably won't shift into 4th gear at lower speeds as early.

 

[xx_ED_xx]

if your tires are much bigger then stock then you need a trans tune

 

[wjburken]

The tow button should hold the gears longer and it will definitely lock out 6th gear and disable AFM, if I'm not mistaken.

FYI-Tow/Haul does not disable AFM.

 

[Big Mama]

The tow/haul mode scared me to death first time I towed my boat up my steep curving street. You’ll definitely notice the difference in the first 3-4 gears.

 

[kbuskill]

FYI-Tow/Haul does not disable AFM.
View attachment 262705

My bad, I thought I remembered reading that it did. Thanks for clearing that up.

My AFM is disabled in my custom tune so I couldn't check it.

 

[wjburken]

My bad, I thought i remembered reading that it did. Thanks for clearing that up.

My AFM is disabled in my custom tune so I couldn't check it.

I was under the same impression based on what had been shared here until I tested it out a couple months ago while driving to Texas.

 

[swathdiver]

ive got a 2011 tahoe LT. it was a border patrol rig before i bought it
leveled on 285/70r17 tires
when im driving a lot of the times ill be doing 30 mph and itll have me in 4th gear
makes for a very sluggish drive
anyone else having this issue??
trans fluid and filter were replaced about 10k ago
shifts just fine--no slipping or popping

In 4th you're loafing along at about 1200 rpms or so? At 35 mph mine is in 5th at about 1000 and at 40 mph, she's in 6th at the same rpm more or less; stock tires. You might be less with that taller tire and several hundred less if you have 3.08s, so yeah, it'll be dog until you wind it up!

 

[509Tahoe]

In 4th you're loafing along at about 1200 rpms or so? At 35 mph mine is in 5th at about 1000 and at 40 mph, she's in 6th at the same rpm more or less; stock tires. You might be less with that taller tire and several hundred less if you have 3.08s, so yeah, it'll be dog until you wind it up!

ill keep an eye on that and see where the rpms are..i have stock gears and bigger tires
are there any handheld tuners worth a shit??
i also dont think i have the AFM active--

 

[kbuskill]

Diablo sport tuners are pretty good depending on what you want to accomplish.

I have a Diablo sport I2 tuner and am running a custom tune from Diablew.

 

[RichardCranium]

I bet its the AFM doing weird stuff, mine kicked in during lower speeds and it drove me crazy......so I had it turned off. I haven't changed out my lifters yet though, YOLO.

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but pretty the button on your DIC and get to the Economy screen.......you should be able to see it go into "4cyl" mode, which indicates AFM is active.

 

[BlackBearPerf]

ill look into those tunes and try the tow button and see what that does

We would be happy to help! I have have had a couple trucks tuned by our tuner (Justin), and that's where I really feel the difference is the shift pattern improvements and throttle response improvements, makes it more responsive.

 

[509Tahoe]

I bet its the AFM doing weird stuff, mine kicked in during lower speeds and it drove me crazy......so I had it turned off. I haven't changed out my lifters yet though, YOLO.

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but pretty the button on your DIC and get to the Economy screen.......you should be able to see it go into "4cyl" mode, which indicates AFM is active.

It doesnt show that at all..just shows trip monitor and trans temp and a couple others
i tried callling my local gm dealer and asked about re flashing the computer and he sounded very confused..said he would talk with his tech and do some research and get back to me..that was about 6 hours ago lol

 

[509Tahoe]

We would be happy to help! I have have had a couple trucks tuned by our tuner (Justin), and that's where I really feel the difference is the shift pattern improvements and throttle response improvements, makes it more responsive.

What do the tunes start at?
im not looking to go crazy just something simple
i use it as my camping rig so lots of highway miles and lots of dirt roads