Thanks Alex, will give that one a try. That makes sense because I have noticed considerably more engine braking effect than previous TD4 when coasting, with a noticeable throttle blip as the gearbox changes down through the gears.

Alex, once again you have come up with the answers.
From experience with 2 previous FL2 GS Autos I fully understand adaptive memory for transmission.
When I go to Isle of Mull where all roads (except 10 miles) are single track with passing places I notice the totally different change pattern when I return to mainland. For the first few miles on A roads it gives the impression you are in sport mode. The reason I believe is that when attending accidents/incidents during the rally night stages I am driving on closed roads and Not wasting any time. The terrain is very hilly with lots of tight corners.
A colleague with manual Golf 2.0 TDI was struggling to keep up, he was impressed at what FL was capable of.  All FL2's (3) Gone
2011 Mercedes C180 CGI Gone
FL2 GS Auto SD with heated leather, factory tints, alloy spare and a few other bits.

Sorry I am late coming into this guys but I can agree with what Landynut says about moving into sport mode to make slow speed driving more comfortable. My TD4 has just been serviced and the upgrade to the transmission management system was done. The result is that the ride is less comfortable at slow speed than previous with the trnsmission "hunting" below 1900 to 2000 revs. By pushing the lever into sport mode this ensures a lower gear is held and cures the problem. Ralph
Zurmatt Silver, Diesel, Automatic, side steps, mud flaps, mats, boot liner, TomTom Start 60 installed, rubbing strips, removable Brink tow bar, after market tinted glass, front styling bar, Rear spoiler, Motorlicious tail pipe trim. Wood Company centre armrest

Ralphk wrote:

Sorry I am late coming into this guys but I can agree with what Landynut says about moving into sport mode to make slow speed driving more comfortable. My TD4 has just been serviced and the upgrade to the transmission management system was done. The result is that the ride is less comfortable at slow speed than previous with the trnsmission "hunting" below 1900 to 2000 revs. By pushing the lever into sport mode this ensures a lower gear is held and cures the problem.

Thanks Alex. I've been trying "Command shift" today and it is taking a bit of getting used to, since the SD4 is so quiet and I normally change gears upward, based on the sound of the engine. It serves to keep power accessible (if needed) coming into roundabouts and corners. Early days. I have definitely been noticing the computerised braking to charge the battery once you take your foot off to cruise up to traffic lights or corners. It's been very strong over the past fews days so I have to adapt how far out I start to "cruise". I think this is brilliant technology, not new, but very practical now that fuel efficiency is so important.

JohnL the car has the latest upgrade - serviced two weeks ago - and at this time I think that the car is not as smooth as it was before. I am going on holiday at the weekend to South Wales and will be pulling the van (sorry but there it is!) and I will review the situation when we return. If no better then it goes back for a rethink. Ralph
Zurmatt Silver, Diesel, Automatic, side steps, mud flaps, mats, boot liner, TomTom Start 60 installed, rubbing strips, removable Brink tow bar, after market tinted glass, front styling bar, Rear spoiler, Motorlicious tail pipe trim. Wood Company centre armrest

JohnL, again apologies. The car is March 09 -TD4 auto. Ralph
Zurmatt Silver, Diesel, Automatic, side steps, mud flaps, mats, boot liner, TomTom Start 60 installed, rubbing strips, removable Brink tow bar, after market tinted glass, front styling bar, Rear spoiler, Motorlicious tail pipe trim. Wood Company centre armrest

Ralphk wrote:

JohnL, again apologies. The car is March 09 -TD4 auto.

Ralph
I too tow a caravan with a FR2 auto GS 08 and the autobox was never brilliant and would hunt around and often slurr going into 3rd often for a second or too and often hang up in gears when towing.
I have posted about fitting an ectra earthstrap from the battery to the gearbox, originally for HDC being displayed on cold start ups plus numerous other foibles but since fitting the cable at x-mas the car has been brilliant and the gearbox has never ever been as good as it is now. No hunting around for gears and in fact the change is so smooth you only see the rev counter move ! also it hasnt slurred once changing up in 5 months now !
Towing has been brilliant since and faultless ! so may be this is worth a check.
I had over a 3.5 volt drop across the earth at cranking !

I have been trying out command shift recently and find something a bit strange. Because the gearbox will change down automatically to prevent the engine labouring I have only been changing up manually and letting the gearbox change down automatically. Whilst driving like this the engine is never allowed to labour as it is prone to do in drive. I can't even up-shift manually to replicate the labouring as described in this thread because the gearbox won't let me labour the engine. So why does this labouring happen in D? I have also noticed that the engine picks up better from circa 1200 revs driving like this whereas in D it can really struggle.

Something else I have noticed is a strange fluctuation of revs at around 1900 revs in 2nd, almost like it is changing gear, which it isn't. This also happens in D but I thought it was a gear change. Maybe someone could enlighten me?

Many thanks all

That fluctuation is when the TCC (torque converter clutch) engages and therefore linking directly the engine's output to gears inside the box. From that moment, the box is like a manual. No energy waste on torque converter.
Of course, until the next change where the process is repeating, but you won't notice it so obviously because of the gear's ratio. The TCC is working from second gear up, the 2-3 change being the obviously one.

You don't want to labour the engine and still want to change up as soon as possible?
For best performance, try to keep the RPM over 2000 mark...

Thanks Alex that explains it very well.

alex_pescaru wrote:

You don't want to labour the engine and still want to change up as soon as possible?
For best performance, try to keep the RPM over 2000 mark...

Is this a similar issue that one of the forum members had until they added the additional earth connection? 2002 Honda VFR800
2002 Toyota Celica 140 Silver (mid life crisis - again!)
2007 FL2 GS Manual Army Reconnaissance Green + freel2.com sticker
2004 Toyota Celica 140 Black - Gone
2000 Toyota Celica 140 Silver - Gone
1998 Toyota Celica ST Pearl Green - Gone
1996 Nissan Primera 1.6 - Gone
1994 Rover Montego 1.6 Auto - Gone

JonL
I may be wrong here, since I have a manual, but it sounds to me as though the command shift changes are replicating "sport mode", which holds gears to higher revs. Others with more knowledge may be able to confirm (or contradict). If the gearbox has a sport mode button, try pressing it and then doing your comparison again.

After 3 days bush & beach with the new SD4 (still running it in!), I found Sports mode to be a great all-round option for offroading as it kept the revs up in case responsiveness was needed at short notice without working the engine too hard. My observations were that if any of the 3 special Terrain Response modes are selected, sports mode didn't work and by shifting the gear lever to the left, you were in fact selecting Command Shift straight away. This caught me out a few times when the going was tough and I needed to increase revs sharply (eg: soft sand suddenly covering the track) or decelerate quickly (eg: severe washouts in the track). Can anyone enlighten me here as this would suggest that there is 1 standard mode, sports mode (only aplicable in normal) and 3 special terrain response modes. ie: 5 modes in total rather than 8 (Std/Sport x 4). I'm now confused just typing this!
In "Sand" mode, the engine would 'red-line" before changing up, which was a bit nerve racking at first as I hate to 'scream' any motor, but in the end I was comfortable enough knowing it would eventally change up. Possibly the most satisfying though, was knowing it would change down once the revs went as low as the 2000 rpm mark, as torque is everything in thick sand and is often the difference between a pleasant drive and getting stuck! I found that there were "comfortable" speeds to be found if conditions were constant (eg: 52-59Klm/Hr on medium packed sand). I also tested my dealer's advice to turn-off traction control in the sand. It made a massive difference in tough spots. On one approach I was stuck deep (traction control on) but cruised thru after reversing and trying again with the traction control off. It's very important to keep wheels turning in deep sand.