Well give my suggestion a try next time you drive, just to rule it out.

The transmission doesn't have a clutch in the sense a manual would. The torque converter locks up above 3rd I believe when the conditions are right. In the lower gears, the torque converter will keep feeding power even during the shift, as the ECU doesn't cut power between shifts and the RPMs stay the same. Obviously you only feel this sort of stuff between large gear ratio changes, so even a locked up torque converter shift from 5-6th would hardly be felt. However, if it stayed locked up all the time, you would feel an even greater surge when going from 1st to 2nd and back.
When the car is in fully automatic mode, I believe the ECU will cut engine power for a second to make sure at least some decent rev matching is performed before the shift occurs.

 

I work at mitsubishi dealer and we have receive a tsb for update a new calibration for tcm (transmission control module) ask your dealer

 

Do you have a TSB number? Does it cover 2009 models?

 

Welcome to the board andre110! Great to see somebody that works at Mitsu Canada on the forum.

 

I agree with that! Welcome Andre110! I didn't notice you were new -sorry bud!

 

Driven it down to -35C and never had a problem with the transmission. I let it shift automatically and go easy for the first 5-10minutes. Never so much as a hard shift. Try to let it do the shifting for the first little while and drink a coffee or something. 2007 LS.

 

Temperature was 5°C early this morning.
I could feel a rougher down shift when stopping until everything warmed up but not nearly as bad as in the winter when things are -10°C or colder.

I am looking forward to a TSB number to tell my dealer about and see if that applies to the 2009's.

 

Hey there,

I do let it do the down shifting when just starting out when cold and it does the awful jerk and loud clunk - has done it since I got it a year ago - hasn't gotten worse though.

Maybe there is something off with my transmission..ugh.

 

Is this an "adaptive" transmission? I would disconnect the battery for an hour, then take it out for a very gentle drive in full automatic and see if it helps. Can't rule out an actual transmission problem, but the transmission is designed for bigger, higher torque engines than the outlander has and as such should hold up rather well.

 

Was it left overnight at -35*C? If so, then even Mitsubishi didn't know what their cars are capable of...as the manual clearly states it won't shift until it warms up.
I've noticed it won't go above 3rd when below ~10*C until it warms up, but the manual states that is normal and you should manually shift if it doesn't.