I have a 2015 Rubicon DTC ES and auto transmission. The question, when in ES mode and at a stop should I be able to shif up to 2nd or 3rd before moving. I can not. If I try it goes to 2nd and right back to 1str. If I try this two or three times it shows a dash mark on the display. I have asked the Honda dealer this question and have recieved different answeres depending on who I ask. The other question I have, when in ES mode and 5th gear and begin to slow down the transmission shifts down depending on speed and will go all the way to 1st gear if I come to a complete stop. I thougt it would stop at 3rd gear. Mabey this is all normal. The machine is 150 miles from a dealer and I do not want to bring into the dealer if this is norma operation. If anyone has a 2015 Rubicon that could verify this it would be appreciated.

Thank You,

Larr

Took the new quad out for it’s first ride. It how has a total of 6 hours. It was a good mixture of wide open spaces and tight trails with VERY steep inclines/declines and lots of creek riding and mud. A very nice verity to test the capability of the 2015 Rubicon. My model is the TRX500FA6 which has independent rear suspension, power steering and the dual-clutch transmission (DCT) w/ESP manual option.

A few observations:

1. First, this quad is f**king awesome!

2. I was surprised the places it could go WITHOUT 4WD engaged. I was using it way too often in the beginning until I got to know its capabilities.

3. I didn’t get stuck once (maybe I wasn’t trying hard enough). There was one instance where I was trying to go up a vertical creek bank and it just wouldn’t go. The quad was pretty much sticking almost straight up. Had it in Low and in 4WD, but still couldn’t crawl it up and over. I was thinking about using the winch, but I thought I would try the differential locker first. I engaged the locker and BAM! Up and over she went with no problem. It was a really good feeling.

4. I pulled a Yamaha Grizzly out of a hole.

5. I’ve heard folks state that the DCT can have a hard time finding the correct gear, especially when going up steep hills. I didn’t experience that at all. I used the auto DCT the entire trip.

6. Once warmed up, the DCT shifted VERY smoothly. No harsh shifting up or down like some have stated.

7. When going down very steep hills (using the automatic DCT) it crawled down perfectly slow in first gear without me having to touch the brake. The engine braking is amazing.

8. It was about 80 F outside and the coolant bar graph didn’t go over 2 out of 5 bars the entire time.

If you have any questions, please let me know. I’m sure I’m missing something.