Engine racing when braking

[bosip]

Hello all,
The last few weeks I've noticed that sometimes when I am braking to slow down the car to make a turn, it seems and sounds like the engine is racing as if I had it in neutral and was putting my foot on the gas. This is a 2013 automatic touring in Drive. Has anyone else noticed anything like that?

 

[PhoenixINX]

Hello all,
The last few weeks I've noticed that sometimes when I am braking to slow down the car to make a turn, it seems and sounds like the engine is racing as if I had it in neutral and was putting my foot on the gas. This is a 2013 automatic touring in Drive. Has anyone else noticed anything like that?

Yes, very normal... The car downshifts as you brake into lower speeds accordingly.

I LOVE this when I'm slowing to make a turn, as it's already grabbed the right gear to start accelerating when leaving the turn.

 

[nizzy1115]

^this. Rev matching downshifting. It is a nice feature.

 

[SmurfaceWarfare]

That is one of my favorite features as well. Should save on the brake life a little also. I don't notice it much anymore until I drive the wifes Jeep that does not have this feature. I find myself not slowing down enough because I am expecting the tranny to help, so I have to hit the brakes harder at the last minute.

 

[deepfriedsushi]

My question is....how high is it revving up when you're slowing down?

It is true that the transmission automatically downshifts as you're slowing down, but the rpm differences are fairly minimal, as it seems like the gear ratios are fairly closely spaced.

If the engine is revving to high rpms (3k+) and all you're doing normal/moderate deceleration, then I would say that is not normal.

 

[CX-SV]

Agreed, it's pretty subtle.

 

[Evan55]

The brake and accelerator are close, like a sports car, and staggered in height so that when the brake is depressed its level with the accelerator- also like a sports car

Its very easy to hit the gas pedal while braking, so make sure thats not happening before you think there is something wrong with the car

 

[bosip]

My question is....how high is it revving up when you're slowing down?

It is true that the transmission automatically downshifts as you're slowing down, but the rpm differences are fairly minimal, as it seems like the gear ratios are fairly closely spaced.

If the engine is revving to high rpms (3k+) and all you're doing normal/moderate deceleration, then I would say that is not normal.

Will have to check the RPM's next time this happens. I mostly notice it when I am close to home and slowly down from about 30 MPH to make a left turn onto our road. It is interesting to see that some people are saying this is a design feature of the car -- I will have to check out the manual again. Basically it sounds as though I have it in neutral and am stepping on the gas. I know that my foot is not hitting the brake and gas at the same time as one person thought was a possibility.

 

[rcs914]

This sounds a bit out of character - nothing like your descriptions of "stepping on the gas when in neutral" when doing this myself.

 

[aperture_shot]

I too have this and have been saying this is annoying. If this is the engine braking to save the brakes id rather replace the brake pads when they go out than deal with this. It usually goes 3k+ and happens consistently when im hitting the brakes to glide down to a stop in a not steep incline. I have multiple of this in my daily commute. I describe it as like the gears are shifting down as I stop but then gets stuck on the wrong gear.

 

[deepfriedsushi]

See if you can override it by putting it in manual mode as you come to a stop. Try first by putting it in manual mode, but don't shift and let the car bring itself to first gear when you come to a stop. See what happens. Second, have it in manual mode and try downshifting yourself as you're decelerating to a stop. See if it will listen to your commands. Then put it back in auto and see if the problem still continues.

I'm not really sure what this could really do, but I figured it's worth a try. It's just a way to see if the transmission would listen to your commands, if not, then it could further indicate that something is wrong.

The symptoms you're describing are definitely not normal and should probably get checked out by the dealer.

Normal transmission characteristics are that the car will downshift/rev match on it's own and hold the gear till you slow down enough for it to grab the next lower gear. There are never any times where it would seem like it's going into neutral and revving itself. The transmission will always stay locked in a gear or revmatch to the next lower gear. The revmatching is very subtle as the engine rpms stay low when decelerating.

 

[jeisensc]

See if you can override it by putting it in manual mode as you come to a stop. Try first by putting it in manual mode, but don't shift and let the car bring itself to first gear when you come to a stop. See what happens. Second, have it in manual mode and try downshifting yourself as you're decelerating to a stop. See if it will listen to your commands. Then put it back in auto and see if the problem still continues.

I'm not really sure what this could really do, but I figured it's worth a try. It's just a way to see if the transmission would listen to your commands, if not, then it could further indicate that something is wrong.

IMO: The downshift behavior is more noticeable in manual mode.