Danged Automatic!

Pitter

Pitter
Contributor
:
2020 CX-5 Signature Azul Metalico
This afternoon (after two months ownership) I was climbing up a twisting mountain road on the way home and came up behind an elderly dump truck with a full load of dead rock. He was crawling along at maybe five miles per hour and I crawled along behind him for a couple of minutes. Then there was a pretty short straight stretch before a blind curve but I knew with the turbo no problem. I pulled out and put the peedal to the metal and...nothing! for a good second or so. I thought Holy mackerel this isn't good! Then the car kicked into first I guess and I got around him before the curve. Also I even had it in "sport" mode thinking I was anticipating such situations. It was definitely un nerving and all I can say is boy I sure miss the stick shift on my last car. The CX-5 has gotten many positive reviews of it's transmission (for some reason) but it sure wouldn't get one from me. Maybe if you do all your driving on flat ground you'd be happy with it but on my twisting mountain road drive home it feels like a bus. I guess the way to overcome it's sluggishness is to keep it in manual mode and upshift/downshift like if you were driving a real manual. It's a shame because I really love just about everything else about the car.
 
Sport mode is annoying on this car. All it does for me is hold a gear too low, leading to unnecessarily high revs and worse fuel economy. Completely worthless.

Maybe you'll have better results in standard mode.
 
Well it didn't hold it low enough but thanks, yes that's I will try on the drive home.
 
At 5 mph youre probably in 2nd gear, which can suck for rapid acceleration as it will take some time for the vehicle to downshift.

Id use manual mode in those situations to be safe.
 
As useless as paddle shifters seem on a CUV, I would like them for the purpose of occasional downshift control. Primarily when approaching a corner or off-ramp, just to settle the chassis a little. Or in this case, being in the preferred gear before you hit the gas.
 
At 5 mph you*re probably in 2nd gear, which can suck for rapid acceleration as it will take some time for the vehicle to downshift.

I*d use manual mode in those situations to be safe.

Probably 3rd or 4th if he was on a level or down-hill slope, actually. Coming to a stop you don't get out of 3rd until only a couple mph many times, I've found.
 
Sport mode is annoying on this car. All it does for me is hold a gear too low, leading to unnecessarily high revs and worse fuel economy. Completely worthless.

Maybe you'll have better results in standard mode.

I tried Sport Mode on a test drive, and backed off the gas before the car shifted because I felt I was over-revving the engine. I've tried it once since I purchased my car and find it to be valueless. Now I DO use Manual Mode every so often when I'm in a sporty mood.
 
Prior to owning my CX 5, the last car I owned with an automatic transmission was in 1982. It took a few days to get used to an automatic again and figure out what to do with my left foot.
I live in the mountains. Most of the time I leave the car in D except for a few areas where there are hairpin turns with a recommended 30 MPH or so speed. For those sections of the highway I switch to manual to use the engine braking and to have the engine torque better matched to the speed. Once out of the tight curves I generally shift manually to the next highest gear and then move the gear lever back to D.
I also switch to manual when driving the mile or so from the main highway up and down the (paved) road that leads to my home. It's fairly steep so I am in 2nd and 3rd gear to climb the hill and then engine brake on the downhill portion. I have found that the gear ratios are fairly well designed for that kind of driving, i.e. between 10 and 60 MPH as I navigate the local highway and streets. I think Pitter's experience was that she was just at that particular speed where the transmission wasn't in the optimal gear for a sudden acceleration burst.
 
DwightFrye I'm not a she ha ha. My avatar just has my compaera standing next to my new car. But as to your last sentence I think you're absolutely right.
 
Pitter, a few things to remember about the skyactiv transmission.
1) In the interest of fuel economy,it's programmed to upshift as quickly as allowed.The more you drive it the more you can anticipate when it will shift and know when to use manual mode (which I love having).You've probably also noticed that under normal conditions ,in manual mode it won't upshift but will downshift when slowing down.
2) I remember that if you start off in manual 2nd gear (like for snow or slippery conditions) it will not downshift when coming to a stop.
3) The accelerator will respond to the speed at which it is depressed.If you depress it gradually (slowly) it will leisurely accelerate.But if you depress it the same amount but with a quick jab,it will pick up and or downshift quickly.Mazda made an amazing transmission.I also love the quick lockup so little to no converter slip and feels like the more direct connection of a manual transmission.Enjoy your new CX-5!
 
You can always trade the CX-5 in for a butt numbing SUV with a CVT. There's plenty of them out there to choose from.
 
Pitter, the accelerator has a "kickdown switch" just for situations like these. When you press the accelerator as far down as you think it will go, press it a little harder, and you should feel a click. This is the kickdown switch. It will force the car to downshift. Try it on an empty back road to see if it helps.
 
Thanks sm1ke yes I have felt it when putting the pedal to the floor.
 
Thanks sm1ke yes I have felt it when putting the pedal to the floor.

Ok sorry, I wasn't sure if you had engaged the kickdown switch when passing the dump truck. If you did, and it still performed like that, maybe something else is to blame (like traction control or road conditions). Maybe this should be reported to the dealer as well?
 
After only two months of ownership I'm obviously still getting a feel for the ins and outs of it's behavior. Hopefully soon I'll be on top of things and be passing slow moving dump trucks like a pro.
 
Im with Jmaz on this. Its a rare and superb example where we have a conventional gearbox instead of a CVT which would have just resulted in a lot of noise and nothing much else under the same conditions. I dont agree that manual mode is necessary, only that you understand what you are asking so that it isnt a surprise to you.

If you crawl up a hill behind a truck the car will choose a suitable gear that brings the revs to a point where it can maintain the speed and not drink all of your fuel. If you yen decide to floor it, the car not only has to find a suitable gear but it has to get the revs away from near stalling speed so you are instantly demanding two things - another gear and high revs. You can prepare the car for the overtake by hanging back a little then squeezing the power in not slowly but in a brief application of the pedal rather than instant. That way it will not need any manual changes and by using full throttle it will automatically drop into a pseudo sport mode that will hang on to lower gears until you settle back to more normal driving.
 
I've never driven a vehicle with CVT. What's the issue with that transmission?
 
Back