2016 Freightliner Cascadia Evolution Automated Manual Transmission Help

it's a freightliner/DD, the jakes suck. Freightliners/DD always have had crappy jakes.

full jake, all the way down and you'll have to use the service brakes to keep it below 2000rpms or so
You'll have to go slower than you think cuz you have to be down a gear or two.

Autos and jakes work great in Paccar's or Volvo's, it's the crappy DD jake that's messing you up.

 

If you leave it in Auto with no jakes on, it will run away at top gear.

If you set it too low in Manual gear it will upshift to the appropriate gear for the speed.

I run mine in Manual mode/ appropriate gear locked in with jakes downhill.

I tried the cruise control/no jakes downhill and it would aggressively downshift/apply full jakes. Too much trust in the computer for me plus I don't like it going over 1700 rpms, this thing would shoot up to 2200 rpms screaming. I can't see how that is good for long term turbo use.

Bottom line, I think you're locked into too low a Manual gear and not enough jake. Mine can handle 10th gear full jakes, fully loaded down 6% grade with occasional snub braking.

 

The engine and transmission work together as one. So go down hill with high RPMs for maximum engine brake and that means less brake pedal.

When going downhill in automatic modes pick your speed you want. Then downshift and raise the engine RPMs for the amount of engine brake you want. The DD transmission is set up to ALWAYS keep the engine RPMs highly. Stage 3 is 1800-2400 and stage 1 and 2 are 1300-1800.

So if your going downhill and don't want transmission to downshift you need to keep the RPMs 1800+ or when your slowing down and reach 1850 you switch to stage 2. Then you let the RPMs climb back up to 2200 and flip stage 3 back on.

Let's say your heavy and your have stage 3 engine brake and truck is speed up going downhill, then you tap the brakes to keep engine RPMs 1800-2300. Don't hold the brakes and let the RPMs go below 1800 because it will downshift. You take foot off brakes and let the truck roll back up to 2300 rpm

If someone turns on stage 3 at 70mph it will always downshift at 1800 to give you maximum eging brake all the way down to 15mph. If you don't need maximum then you turn on stage 1 or 2 and keep RPMs between 1300-1800. Don't let the high RPMs throw you off

Don't forget your not supposed to use engine brake in snow or ice roads. Lots of driver have that bad habit. So now with autoshift they get messed up, because when the computer and engine and transmission all work together to give you maximum engine brake. It's very strong when it drops a gear and raise engine to 1800-2400 RPM.

 

Say your going downhill with heavy load and you only want to go 35 mph. Slow to 35mph. Then downshift the transmission will you bring the RPMs up 1800-2300. The just turn on stage 3 and let the engine brake do the work. If you RPMs drop at 1850 switch to stage 2 let RPMs climb to 2100 or 2200 or 2300 trun stage 3 on.

Then if stage 3 can't hold truck back then you tap the brakes so Detroit say the engine it good to run all day at 2500 rpms

 

I agree with @Brandt. I've been driving my 2017 with the DT12 for several months now. It took awhile to get used to the high RPMs, but that's exactly the way this drivetrain is set up. You can switch between 1, 2, and 3 banks in the engine brake as needed, and it will run just fine at about 2,400 RPMs.

 

They'll replace the shifter by putting an app on your phone or accessible on Facebook. smh

 

Not only that, but you have to roll it forward for Drive and backward for Reverse.

Every other car and truck in America, the auto pattern has Always been P R N D L, leave it to Freightliner to flip the script.

Took me like 2 months to not be putting it in reverse from the get-go all the time.

 

Ahh, it's not that bad. Everything is literally within fingertip reach (forward/reverse, paddle up/paddle down, engine brake all right there).

Yes, but you did learn it, no? And once you've learned it, it has become more and more intuitive, just like when you learned to shift that 13 speed...

 

Sounds like two drivers above have access to the service manual and/or called Freightliner Engineering Dept (they will talk to you, ask for them as soon as customer service answers the phone). At least that's how every other mfg operates—engineering will almost always be happy to hear from an end user. When done talk to the marketing director and explain to him why that info NEEDS to be in the manual.

 

Agreed. It's actually quite nice. If I need my hands on the wheel and need to shift or use jakes, I don't have to take my hands off the wheel at all. It's much better imo.

On a nice day, I'll set cruise control to 6-7mph less than what I want to be driving at the top of the grade and the intelligent cruise will let it accelerate to my desired speed and get me down a hill just fine.

Not use jakes in snow/ice? Yeah. Sure. Don't be an idiot about using them, it's not a magic button, but good luck trying to get this auto in a gear down a very steep grade in snow