I had been of the mind to have my transmission serviced in the next 7.5k to 12.5k miles (55k-60k total).

I've noticed that on a cold start (usually the morning), shifting into reverse entails slight delay up to 1 second with a jerk involved. Forward gears are fine, and gear selection when warmed up is smooth.

Is this normal when the fluid is at ambient temperature and "bottomed out" in the trans?

 

I'd be curious on this, as I have this exact issue myself, and it's almost ALWAYS in the morning (sometimes at night if it is cool and the car has not been driven all day)

 

Have experienced this w/ every X308 I've owned.

 

Same thing happens to my '308.

 

Could this in any way possibly be related to faulty valve body or clutch packs?

Anyone with the 722.6 gearbox ever have this issue?

For me when it's below 40* outside in the morning and I start the car, if I do not let it run for at least 5 minutes and warm up, I have this issue, when it's warmer it's not nearly as bad, not sure if there really is a "delay" per-say but I do get the sharp jerk.

 

This must be the first problem I've read about on the forum my old girl doesn't have!


I feel somewhat left out

 

I can't give the actual answer to the question whether it's a clutch pack or PRV issue, but the best thing to do is either get the upgraded PRV done or get the transmission serviced. We all know of the A drum failure. My wife's 00' XJ8 has only 33K on it. (We bought 2 1/2 years ago with 23K on it.) I drained and filled it twice with the Pentosin within about 1K miles of each other. We just got the 20L from Amazon. We all know that these transmissions are also expensive to repair and can spell doom for many customers cars. Do yourselves and your car a huge favor and get the transmission serviced immediately to prevent the inevitable!

To answer the question about the Mercedes 722 transmission, my 98' XJR when cold will immediately go into reverse or drive quickly and smoothly.

 

The ZF's have that piston problem that causes reverse to drop and it can trash the A drum.
I have heard many excuses/ reasons for the A drum to fail -- the piston sticks and then releases too fast -- it's just too much pressure in the box to begin with. The A drum is not reinforced in the original ZF box as supplied.

 

My car seems to want to make a liar out of me lately. I decided to test if there is actually a delay/jerk by getting my foot off the brake as soon I work the shifter.

Reverse works instantly and doesn't jerk (though one does "feel" the shift). It seems as though the jerk is the car going against the brakes.

My working theory is that this is part of normal operation. I can't detect any other trans issue under any other circumstance (including selecting reverse when the car is at normal operating temp).

On another note, why all this talk of the A drum in prior posts. My understanding is that reverse uses the B drum.

 

Sounds like the fluid level needs to be checked. The level is significantly higher warm than cold.