"Any transmission updates available?" is one of the first questions I ask when taking Cars.com's 2014 Jeep Cherokee long-term test car into the dealership for service. The nine-speed automatic transmission's operation has been an annoyance in an otherwise easygoing 12,000 miles. From the start, harsh upshifts have rocked the car from 2nd to 3rd gear, and the transmission sometimes struggles to find the right passing gear in our four-cylinder Cherokee with all-wheel drive.
Related: More on Cars.com's Long-Term Fleet
Last month, we had Jeep technicians plug in the latest transmission control module update, "68241129AB," while we were at the dealership having a second-row power outlet replaced. It had been inadvertently yanked out of place somehow. Chrysler spokeswoman Wendy Orthman said in an email about the transmission update, "It is to enhance throttle responsiveness and shifting smoothness across all nine gears. Some customers may notice the improvements, to others it may be seamless."
Our staff piloted the Cherokee for three weeks with the latest transmission programming. Did it do the trick? Read our staff's impressions below.
In short, most were not impressed by the new update, and some even think there are more issues than before.
Mike Hanley, senior editor, research
The transmission doesn't seem any better to me — maybe a little worse. At city speeds when accelerating from a stop, the transmission regularly lurches into the next gear when upshifting. It's really unrefined for a modern automatic.
The transmission programming also mightily resists kicking down a gear. I kept pressing the pedal lower and lower waiting for the transmission to downshift, but it wouldn't do it soon enough. This was at midrange speeds. It just magnifies the four-cylinder's modest power. With nine speeds, you'd think the transmission would be itching to downshift, but it's not.
Kelsey Mays, consumer affairs editor
The transmission refresh makes things no better than before, and possibly worse. The nine-speed hunkers down in high gears far too long after your right foot calls for more power. Then it meanders through a series of downshifts before finally settling on a lower gear. It's a tendency that worsens the passing power — at all speeds, not just on the highway — in an SUV that was barely quick enough to begin with.
Joe Wiesenfelder, executive editor
If anything, Normal mode throttle progression seems even slower, the transmission even less willing to kick down. Sport remains an improvement over Normal. In both modes, 2nd-to-3rd upshift is really hard regardless of how gradually you're accelerating.
Joe Bruzek, road test editor
With the new update, I observed smoother shifts in low-speed city driving. The problematic 2nd-to-3rd gear shift is less offensive even though it's still considerably harder than the other gear changes. I don't like how the transmission now shifts through the first few gears quickly and lugs the engine where there isn't much usable power, especially now that it takes more throttle to induce a downshift. The effect is our four-cylinder Cherokee feels pokier than ever, which I didn't think was possible.
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