Auto Box, change points

There are no problems with the auto on my 98 2.1 vxs EXCEPT the change points
2nd to 3rd occurs at 60 kph and 3rd to top at 80 kph. It makes for a high reving trip around town. it also changes down far to soon at about 5kph slower than the change up speeds.Have tried adjusting the kick down cable but can not discern any difference.
Can anyone tell me if this is normal and I just have to live with it or is there any form of adjustment

Hi Kevin

If this is the 4 hp18 box then im affraid there is nothing wrong with it, the wooden manor in which it shifts is the single biggest grip people have with this particular unit, you will learn to love it though

D

I had a 2.1 estate and it was my only point of criticism apart from the colour which was white. The change up speeds were just above the legal limits so for economy I had to exceed the limit momentarily and ease back to the limit. As soon as I did that I would catch up with someone doing 3mph less than the limit and the box would change down.
I thought they were all like that as any others I saw and heard were buzzing along like blue ass flies at high revs. A friend suggested adjustment of the kick down cable but before I got around to it my car was written off in an unbelievable act of carelessness by another driver.
Have you been adjusting the cable by trial or by setting the dimension as per Haynes or workshop manual. I now have that info, if you don't already have it.
I now have a 2.5 exclusive.
Robert.

Thanks for the advice on gearchange points.I have tried the exact setting for the kick down cable and also tried setting the cable to maximum and minimum lenghts and cant detect any real difference, guess I will just have to get used to it although I dont recall having the same problem with my last XM which was a 96 2litre turbo auto.
Thanks for the feedback it will probably save me hours looking for an adjustment that isnt there.

Kgardner

Hello
Mine goes up to 2200rpm to change from 1st to 2nd and so on. I though its too much for the regular traffic!!!
Even in highway its not the way it should be.

cheers
Caique

The fix is easy ..... clutch pedal, cable, flywheel and clutch assembly. Anyone got one they want to sell me ??

Oh yeah.... selector mechanism.

seeya,
Shane L.

No you won't !!

Mike.

Yes you will!

Unless there's a trick I'm missing, the foot-operating parking brake on a manual car is sheer bloody madness and enough to make me want to tear out the stick and third pedal and fit the automated alternative.

(I may in fact do this just to annoy Shane, who clearly doesn't have to sit in slow-moving heavy traffic or perform buttock-clenching hill starts as I do every bleedin' day. Oz is high on open spaces and low on mountains so I'm probably right )

As with the C6/S-Class/7-Series/you-name-it, all of which have identical arrangements, the XM is another not-a-sports-car that was designed from the outset around an auto. It just makes sense in that configuration. It is but a minor downside that its box isn't the brightest self-shifter ever made...

This post has been edited by ThwartedEfforts on February 20, 2009 01:40 pm

Just don't use it.

Which car is manual? The petrol may need more parking brake use than the diesels, but I never use mine except when parking.

Unless you live on a real mountain then you are unlikely to find a hill that is steep enough to need it. The XM does not seem to roll back too quickly and there is plenty of torque to start releasing the clutch before your foot is onto the accelerator. The petrol may not have the torque to do that though.

I just don't understand why everyone seems to have a problem with the handbrake!!
How difficult is it really to use the foot/hand operated system - it's not rocket science!!

Maybe it's just because there's a load of hills in my part of the world...

Andrew

Wasn't ever a problem in my 2.0 8v inj. I virtually never used the parking brake when driving.

Once had it roll away whilst parked though...

OK. Some instructions.

To stop:
Foot brake holding car stationary on slope, hill or other uneven road surface. Left foot
disengages clutch into neutral. APPLY foot operated handbrake and then lock into position
with hand lever on dash (if you hate the ratchet sound - otherwise you can even leave
the hand lever pressed in engaged).

To go:
Select gear and feed in clutch engagement and then release righthand lever when clutch
is at biting point and about to move/stall and foot lever springs off to disengage handbrake.

Drive. Enjoy!

Andrew

This post has been edited by Andmcit on February 20, 2009 08:03 pm

Hey I know what to do I'm just saying it's awkward

It's worse at night when you need to reach for an unlit lever on one side of the car, then perform a half goose step to reach a pedal set against the other side of a dark footwell. Consider that in left-hand drive markets the pedal and lever are directly above one another on the same side of the car and suddenly it becomes far less like patting your head while rubbing your stomach.

There is not a motoring publication in the land that hasn't criticised the arrangement in right-hand drive form and while I can still operate the car it's just a silly nuisance. Later models such as the C5 and C6 use hill assist to stop you rolling back and/or an automatic handbrake release when you move off. Lift the clutch or dab the throttle and clunk, you're done.

Sometimes technology can be good

This post has been edited by ThwartedEfforts on February 20, 2009 05:39 pm

its not awkward! its ...... well. an XM so it will be DIFFERENT!

Instead of pushing in a button on the end of a lever, your pulling a handle instead!

Why is it so out the ordinary! You still got yur foot on a clutch pedal when taking off... and I think its an EXCELLENT built in safety feature, that the car HAS to be in neutral to have the hand brake on! Then theres no starting in gear after, if your one for just jumping in and turning the key to start!

Paul

Gee's guys,

at least the handbrake works...... Imagine, it could have a delightful handbrake like the CX .... That works incredilby well................................... For about 2weeks after it's just been adjusted

seeya,
Shane L.
PS: So no offers of a proper gearbox to drop into my car and be rid of the piece of cr@p slugomatic ??? .... Thought not