Suzuki XL7 2007 Service Manual page 1411

Automatic Transmission
Transmission General Description
The AF33-5 is a fully automatic, five speed,
electronically controlled, transaxle. It consists primarily
of a four-element torque converter, three planetary gear
sets, friction and mechanical clutches and a hydraulic
pressurization and control system.
The TCM commands shift solenoids, within the
transmission, ON and OFF to control shift timing. The
TCM controls shift feel through the line pressure control
solenoid valve. The TCM also controls the apply and
release of the torque converter clutch which allows the
engine to deliver the maximum fuel efficiency without
sacrificing vehicle performance. The hydraulic system
primarily consists of a gear type pump, four control valve
bodies, case cover, converter housing and case. The
pump maintains the working pressures needed to stroke
the servo and clutch pistons that apply or release the
friction components. These friction components, when
applied or released, support the automatic shifting
qualities of the transmission. The friction components
used in this transmission consist of seven multiple disc
clutches and one band. The multiple disc clutches
combine with two mechanical sprag clutches, to deliver
six different gear ratios through the gear sets. The gear
sets then transfers torque through the front differential
assembly and out to the drive axles.
The transmission can be operated in any one of the 5
different ranges.
• P - Park position enables the engine to be started
while preventing the vehicle from rolling either forward
or backward. For safety reasons, the vehicle parking
brake should be used in addition to the transmission
Park position. Since the front differential assembly
and drive axles are mechanically locked to the case
through the park pawl and front differential transfer
drive gear assembly, Park position should not be
selected until the vehicle has come to a complete
stop.
• R - Reverse enables the vehicle to be operated in a
rearward direction.
• N - Neutral position enables the engine to start and
operate without driving the vehicle. If necessary, this
position should be selected to restart the engine while
the vehicle is moving.
General Description
• D - Drive range should be used for all normal driving
conditions for maximum efficiency and fuel economy.
Drive range allows the transmission to operate in
each of the five forward gear ratios. Downshifts to a
lower gear, or higher gear ratio are available for safe
passing by depressing the accelerator or by manually
selecting a lower gear with the shift selector.
• M - This position, available on the models with the
Manual Shift Mode (MSM), allows you to change
gears similar to a manual transaxle. If your vehicle
has this feature, see "Manual Shift Mode (MSM)".
MANUAL SHIFT MODE (MSM) (Automatic
Transaxle)
To use this feature, do the following:
1. Move the shift lever from DRIVE (D) to the left into
the MANUAL SHIFT MODE (M).
While driving in manual mode, the transaxle will
remain in the driver selected gear. When coming to a
stop in the manual position, the vehjicle will
automatically shift into FIRST (1) gear.
– A shift is required to protect the engine or
– The vehicle slows almost to a stop, and then
2. Press the shift lever forward to upshift or rearward to
downshift.
A box with the current gear will display in the middle
of the telltale line below the gear select.
While using the Manual Shift Mode (MSM) feature
the vehicle will have firmer shifting and increased
performance. You can use this for sport driving or
when climbing hills to stay in gear longer or to
downshft for more power or engine braking.
The transaxle will only allow you to shift into gears
appropriate for the vehicle speed and engine
revolutions per minute (RPM):
– The transaxle will not downshift to the next lower
– The transaxle will not automatically shift to the
– When coming to a stop in the manual mode, the
Automatic Transmission:
transmission or
automatic downshift will occur.
gear if the engine RPM is too high.
next higher gear if the engine RPM is too high.
vehicle will automatically downshft to the proper
gear based on speed. Upon acceleration you will
need to manually upshift to the desired gear.
5A-1