I'd like to know if anyone else has experienced this.

I was on the highway driving 70-75 going through the mountains, not towing anything. I would disengage the overdrive going up the steep hills to avoid giving it more throttle.

When re-engaging the overdrive at the top of the hill, instead of the transmission shifting and the RPMs going down it wouldn't shift and the RPMs would go up. It would go in after a few seconds or if I let off on the gas slightly.

Sounds like the automatic transmission is slipping right? Transmission shifts normal and this only happens when manually playing with the overdrive at high speeds.

I took it to the dealer while it still had 52K miles on it. I had to take their transmission specialist along for a ride because they couldn't duplicate it. They said fluid was full, clean, and didn't smell burnt. They also told me the computer shifts the transmission depending on engine load and my pressing the button won't necessarily shift the transmission. Normal operation - case closed. They are probably still laughing at me.

I'd like to hear other people's thoughts on this.

Darth Xterra,
Were you using the cruise control while this was happening?
I was coming back from Boston on the pike the other weekend and had the cruise on and set at 65 (yeah, I'm a slowpoke, that's how I get 22mpg). Going up a hill, she'd kick off of OD, as you might expect, but, similar to your situation, at the crest of the hill, she'd stay out of OD and continue to run around 3 grand. I had to shut the cruise off to get her to run at normal RPMs. After a little experimenting, I did find if I set the cruise while not on the level, I could repeat this behavior. However, setting the cruise while on the flats made everything run smoothly.
Oh, well, isn't it great having a computer do your shifting fer ya? :rolleyes:
Bogatyr

Funny thing ... I was also on the Mass Pike. LOL.

Cruise Control made it worse. I guess the dealer was right about the normal operation. Damn computer.

Maybe the owners manual should warn us about driving through the Berkshires.

It's not slipping, you're just experiencing about the only time the tranny will run in 3rd gear with the torque converter unlocked. Wait until you have fully crested the hill and have backed off the gas before turning the overdrive back on. Using cruise control is a bad idea, it won't back off as much as you will and will stay in 3-unlocked until it decides it's time to really back off the gas which is rare.

Brent

Thanks guys for the re-assurances. I feared my transmission's days were numbered.

That sounds like everyone has had that experience with the cruize control.
Before I had my Xterra my wife's 4 Runner did the exact same thing. It's really fun with the air and cruize control on. Yup it's bad computer programming.....probably something to do with the lesser of 2 evils on the emmissions issues.

I was reading about how the cruise control worked and after you crest a hill and it comes back up to speed it will go 3MPH over the set speed before easing back on the gas. Since it probably dropped from 4th to 3rd while going up the hill this means you'll be in 3rd with the engine in high revs past the speed you set. It always bugged me that it was reving so high but it's set to do that.

Like you guys said, its the drawback of having a computer control you speed and shifing. I found that the best way to avoid the problem is to push the pedal down yourself and speed 5 MPH past your set speed then lay off the pedal. It smooths the transition from 3rd to 4th better than the computer does.

I have the same problem with my cruise.
But, it is WAY worse now that I live in the mountains (8500')
It kicks out of OD sooner than it used to because the lack of O2 and therefore power.
but, when I crest the hill I would think it would eventually shift, but it doesn't, often times even after I'm heading back down hill.
It is hugely more annoying now being at elevation. I pretty much never use cruise anymore because of it.
It also seems to pulse from time to time.
I just think the cruise control module is cheap.

Are there any other fixes besides manually accelerating past the set point?
Has anyone explored replacing the cruise control module with a different one? or is it in the main computer?

I don't think there's a market for aftermarket cruise control modules for vehicles that already have cruise control...

Turn the overdrive off, leave it off until after you've crested the hill, and maybe even live life on the edge and use that right foot to push the vehicle a couple of MPH over the set speed before you turn it back on!

Brent

Makes me glad to own a stick shift.

My 2000 Celica would do this, too.. it would hold in third for MILES unless I would disengage and reengage sometimes. The automatic in that damn car never did feel right, sometimes it would slam into second really hard and other times it would downshift going down hills.