Rough ride

[KWAWD]

I drove my KH to work today, while the AWD is still at the repairers, and wow what a difference in the experience. "chalk and cheese" doesnt even begin to cover it. The KH is near silent and smooth as silk. Taking off is smooth abd ditto for pulling up. This is the Verada experience i remember and loved so much.

The AWD, in contrast, is jerky on take off and when pulling up and the gear changes are harsh.
Well, now im on a mission to do something about it. I accept it will never be as quiet because its a different car with the additional drivetrain, TC, diff, etc, but surely i can do something about the jerkiness of it.

So please post any suggestions you have. I'll try to explain "jerkiness": The car seems to take off very quickly, and its difficult to take off smoothly as it kinda lurches forward. I dont mean dangerously, but enough so you feel the sudden lurch forward, which is uncomfortable. You can take off slowly by being very careful with the pedal. When pulling up it lurches into first. Gear changes are rough with harsh gear changes. By harsh i dont mean noise, i mean a minor thump feeling when changing into the next gear. I dk how to explain better, but just overall jerky experience.

So, the car is fully serviced, ATF fully flushed, engine oil done, timing belt, drive belts, wheel balance, front and rear roll stoppers replaced, lower front control arm bushes replaced, TC and diff oils replaced. All oils are correct type (see my other thread). The car has 40,000kms on it. No error codes. Tried the learning procedure already. TPS has been re-adjusted.

I'm thinking engine mounts (especially drivers) but what about TPS and other sensors? Which sensors could possibly contribute to this if they were faulty? While the car is practically new from the mileage perspective, its still old timewise and i dk what driving history. i want to start looking at all the typical possibilities, and not exclude possibilities because of low k's. Maybe some sensor is on the way out, or not working perfectly, or had a manufactering fault to start with.

Now im comparing this to my KH and i know they're different cars, but i want to try a few things. I want to stress that depending on who drives it and what they're coming from you would get different opinions. Im sure many would say "no problem, normal" etc, but im looking to fine tune it as much as possible. Something isnt quite right somewhere and i will try a few things by process of elimination.

[burfadel]

I would be surprised if the engine mounts are had it, especially considering the mileage etc. Have you tried the transmission relearn procedure?

[Madmagna]

Please with all these posts about how bad the AWD is if you dont like it, sell it and buy a FWD KW or another KH

I know both of your cars, both are immaculate BUT and AWD will never be as smooth as a FWD< they have more drive line, more weight, more un sprung weight and are in generally a totally different car from not only the drive system but even in the floor pan. All these things make differences.

As I said, your car is immaculate and most people would be amazed at how clean and good condition it is, you cannot compare these cars to each other, yes they both have mitsu badges but that is about where it ends. The L and W even have differences in the construction to that of a H series even when you compare the FWD of both models.

[KWAWD]

hi Mal, dont get me wrong, i love the AWD, the confidence it gives in the wet is awesome, just want to have a go at improving this jerkiness in it if possible. May not be possible, but wont know unless i try.
After reading some stuff im going to swap the drivers side engine mount first. Probably should have done it ages ago.

[munkeymanz]

I agree the Veradas are very smooth to drive and feel like a refined car. I've driven a friend's KH Verada a number of times and notice it's a fair bit different to my TW AWD. KH is slightly smoother and more relaxed... if you like being a grandpa. But start driving it in the wet or spiritedly (like I do sometimes), you'll wish you were in the AWD any day! Think of the AWD as a family rally car and the Verada as a grandpa car for sensitive people - they're almost a different league completely.

AWD > FWD

[KWAWD]

-KH is slightly smoother and more relaxed... if you like being a grandpa. But start driving it in the wet or spiritedly (like I do sometimes), you'll wish you were in the AWD any day!

grandpa! I know what u nean, but i wouldnt say that! Yeah, KH is refined, but i think my AWD could be a little better than it is.

[macropod]

See if you can find another AWD to take for a test drive (https://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/...o=Stock&eapi=2). It may be that your transmission has a fault. A comparison with another AWD will give you a better feeling for that.

[AWDWSBTT]

Would maybe cleaning your throttlebody or lubricating your accellerator cable smooth things out a tad?, i had that problem in a corolla i owned, the throttle plate was sticking and it would leap forward when taking off, my AWD TL is smooth as, i owned a TF sports and that wasnt as smooth as this

[HaydenVRX]

I agree with macropod, possibly drive another member's AWD and compare, that will let you know if it's going to be an easy thing to improve or not.

[KWAWD]

Comparing with another AWD is a good idea, would help to confirm the problem or otherwise.
Cleaning the throttle body also sounds like a good suggestion, thanks.
So far i'm thinking engine mount, TPS or that.