Downshifting and transmission wear

[Jeff Thomas]

Hey All,

Had my 2008 GX for about three months now and loving it. I did some baseline maintenance (TB/WP, coolant, power steering fluid, brake fluid, fluid in F/C/R diffs and transmission) at 130k and it really feels bulletproof. I feel like I'm going to be able to keep it for a long time. I'm really impressed what this thing can do stock, adding a couple pics.

One thing I have noticed is this thing loves to run downhill more than any car or truck I've had and, living at the top of a pretty steep hill, I find myself downshift a lot to keep it slowed down (down to L, 2, L, 2, back and forth as the road evens out and then heads down again). First and second gear are pretty far apart, wish there was something right in between! Anyway, has anyone had any issue with transmissions and excess wear caused by all this shifting? I'm trying to keep this thing as reliable as possible and I know the transmissions are pretty bulletproof in general, but didn't know how they like all that manual shifting. I know that the linkage holding the shifter into L can give out and I'm not too worried about that-- just big mechanical problems.

Let me know if you have any thoughts! And thanks for all the support, I've learned a lot about the GX from this forum already and think it's a really unique and special car.

Jeff

GX1

• Jeff Thomas
• Jul 6, 2018

GX2

• Jeff Thomas
• Jul 6, 2018

 

[ewillis]

I wouldn't think it would be a problem at all. Do it all the time in the mountains on my other truck to avoid brake fade...never an issue.

 

[GXer04]

You might try the "2nd Start" button to switch between 1st and 2nd so you don't wear out the linkage. I find it useful because 1st is such a granny gear.

 

[GonzoShinyPants]

Does that button work that way? My impression is it allows you to start from a standstill in 2nd gear to avoid wheel slippage...?

You might try the "2nd Start" button to switch between 1st and 2nd so you don't wear out the linkage. I find it useful because 1st is such a granny gear.

 

[GXer04]

I'm not positive it will shift on the fly, but it won't hurt to try. I use it at long red lights because 1st tends to pull through the brakes at idle without really firm pedal pressure. (600 rpms). I hate to constantly pop it from neutral to drive because of linkage wear.

 

[HomersCanyonero]

The manual seems to indicate that 2nd start is to prevent wheel slippage in mud, sand, ice or snow.

 

[GXO]

If you do second start it just allows 2 to be the first gear vs shifting from 1-2. That's it.

 

[GXer04]

Yeah. After I thought about it some more, I realized it wouldn't help shift back and forth downhill.

 

[Arailt]

For about six months after I bought my GX, I would downshift into 4 and 3 going down steep hills on a daily basis. Eventually, my transmission started shifting really hard between those gears when I was driving normally. I took it to the dealer and they fixed it by flashing the ecu. I stopped downshifting and the problem hasn't come back, two years later. I assume since the transmission "learns" based on driving, it was hesitating with those gears because it got used to me manually changing them, causing the hard shifts.

 

[GXO]

I shift all the time with the torque lockup. Doesn't seem to impact the ECU learning with the torque converter locked.

 

[ZiaMan]

Why not use 4 low going downhill while selecting 2nd or 3rd gear?

 

[Jeff Thomas]

Thank you all for replying.

It sounds like there aren't any known gremlins, so I'm going to keep shifting it and saving those brakes. It really does seem like a very stout transmission.

I agree with GXer04, The 2nd gear start is really nice for around town driving-- nice and smooth and removes the excess creep from that low first gear. Pretty cool feature.