I am curious if anyone has the same issue that when in sport mode, the transmission will not want to stay in first gear. I

You don't state what year van you have, but in the 2018+ forum it's safe to assume it has either a 9-speed or 10-speed transmission. That being said, first gear is rather low in either one of those. I think not being able to force it into first gear is designed to save the engine.

There are a few steep hills that I drive over every day and I don’t like lugging the engine in second gear going up, and I feel like I need a little engine braking power going down, more than what second gear offers. Thank you.

What part of the country are you in? I live in a relatively flat area on the east coast, so I don't encounter the steepness you are seeing.

 

You don't state what year van you have, but in the 2018+ forum it's safe to assume it has either a 9-speed or 10-speed transmission. That being said, first gear is rather low in either one of those. I think not being able to force it into first gear is designed to save the engine.


What part of the country are you in? I live in a relatively flat area on the east coast, so I don't encounter the steepness you are seeing.

You don't state what year van you have, but in the 2018+ forum it's safe to assume it has either a 9-speed or 10-speed transmission. That being said, first gear is rather low in either one of those. I think not being able to force it into first gear is designed to save the engine.


What part of the country are you in? I live in a relatively flat area on the east coast, so I don't encounter the steepness you are seeing.

I have a 2023 model with the 10 speed tranny. And I live in east Texas. Where I live I have a lot of backroads that are steep and curvy. I agree that it may be there as a safety feature but it’s strange, the dash will flash at me when I try to downshift from second to first basically saying hey you can’t do that.

 

the dash will flash at me when I try to downshift from second to first basically saying hey you can’t do that.

As I mentioned before, it's to prevent over-revving, which could cause issues.

 

The 10-speed transmission has a very high first gear ratio (5.246), this is double that of Honda's 5-speed auto (2.563), installed in the 2005-2010 minivans.

The old gear ratios would be like these gears in the new version:

1st (old) = 2nd (new)
2nd = 4th
3rd = 6th gear
4th = 7th gear
5th = 10th gear

This is likely why you cannot shift into first gear - it would rev the engine very high, think of 2nd as being your 1st gear.

 

How slow have you tried to first?
Can you select first if stopped?

If my Ody was handy I could answer both of these myself.

 

How slow have you tried to first?
Can you select first if stopped?

If my Ody was handy I could answer both of these myself.

It won’t allow me to put it in first if it’s moving but while stopped it does allow me to select first.

 

Wow, you must have some insanely steep hill to get the engine to lug in second gear.

 

Yeah it is quite steep. If I lose momentum going up the car will click down into first so I really have to gas it going up. Lol

 

You should consider putting a winch on your vehicle to help with these vertical hills.