[Seth]

I bought my Atlas new a month ago (I have driven about 600 miles) and have found driving in "Normal" mode to be unbearable at in-town speeds. The transmission wants to shift up to 8th gear as soon as possible, such that when you are driving at a consistent speed of between 30-40 mph, it's already in 8th gear and the vehicle vibrates every time you step on the gas (like the kind of vibration you would get with a manual transmission if you were in a gear too high for your speed and it feels like it wants to stall). Switching to manual mode and shifting down to 6th gear fixes the problem (shifting down to 7th gear makes it better but still not great). Switching to "Sport" mode also fixes the problem (I assume because it remaps the gear shifting to stay in a lower gear at those speeds). But I find it annoying that I can't use "Normal" mode. Is anyone else experiencing this?

 

[hfqkhal]

Have the dealer reset the transmission. Pay attention to your driving style as the trany learns that

 

[Seth]

Have the dealer reset the transmission. Pay attention to your driving style as the trany learns that

Thanks. I will try that, but it has been doing this since the day I drove it off the lot (with less than 20 miles on the ODO). Unless it was bad habits the trany picked up in the first 20 miles??

 

[hfqkhal]

One thing you have to remember the Atals is tuned to be more on the economy side so you will see faster shifts and higher gears. So if you are going steady in 40 mph it could very well get up to 8th gear in eco and norm mode. 2200 miles and 5 months on mine and have not noticed it yet. This is mostly due to my driving habits Also look into OBD11 where you can you can adjust the throttle to pedal to be 1 to 1 many have done it and most say they have at least gotten to the point of the old normal pedal response feel

 

[Iobpb63]

I bought my Atlas new a month ago (I have driven about 600 miles) and have found driving in "Normal" mode to be unbearable at in-town speeds. The transmission wants to shift up to 8th gear as soon as possible, such that when you are driving at a consistent speed of between 30-40 mph, it's already in 8th gear and the vehicle vibrates every time you step on the gas (like the kind of vibration you would get with a manual transmission if you were in a gear too high for your speed and it feels like it wants to stall). Switching to manual mode and shifting down to 6th gear fixes the problem (shifting down to 7th gear makes it better but still not great). Switching to "Sport" mode also fixes the problem (I assume because it remaps the gear shifting to stay in a lower gear at those speeds). But I find it annoying that I can't use "Normal" mode. Is anyone else experiencing this?

Try staying in the Sport mode, less shifting and higher RPMs to shift down and up.

 

[KarstGeo]

Just use sport mode, I use it 100% of the time around town and it sorts out most of teh complaints I read here.

 

[ssingh]

I have 2018 Atlas SEL 4 motion with 33000 miles on it. I was also experiencing the same slower response in normal mode in city, and occasional famous sound of gear shift at slower speeds (30 miles). Something strange happened last month. I had a coolant leak, so took it to VW dealership on December 15th, and they replaced water pump and serpentine belt under 6 year warranty. it's been 2 weeks and my Atlas is much quicker and in normal mode, it runs like sport mode, without any sounds. Whatever dealership did, it made the car very quick. I checked the mode change dial and gear shifter few times to make sure I am in normal mode. Not sure how long it will last.