Hello all,

I've got an 09 Avant with around 12,000 miles on it. Love the car... but from day 1 have had a problem with the engine RPM fluctuating under certain conditions. Typically this occurs when I am going up a slight to moderate grade around 40-50 mph, not accelerating but just keeping my foot steady on the gas....with the Transmission in D6. The RPM under these conditions are around 2000-2500 RPM. What will happen now is the the engine will start to hunt around in a 250-400 RPM range. You can hear it, see it happening on the tach. and feel it as you drive. Give it just a little more gas and the tach jumps up and the 'hunting' stops. Let off the gas slightly...problem goes away also. I have had it to the dealer but could not replicate the problem as there were no suitable hills close by! Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Regards
CMSC

 

It sounds to me like the trans is looking to downshift, and that is exactly the type of behavior you'd expect here IMO. Maybe I'm wrong but it doesn't sound like anything is wrong at all, except maybe that you're trying to squeeze blood from a stone in the MPG dept. It's okay to let loose once in awhile

 

Check with the dealer for any software updates on the transmission. Modern trans are supposed to be programmed to avoid "hunting" for gears but, like any software, there is usually plenty of room for improvements. It may just be that this particular engine/trans combo has shown to be "problematic" in situations like this and an update has already been developed.
Let us know if the dealer can help.