Currently driving a DAF CF45 220 with an 6speed AStronic auto box. Are these little horrors prone to faults or just snatchy by nature? Ir refuses to pull away in anything but first, it dumps the clutch in second and third with near whiplash inducing lurches regardless of throtle position, completely ignores the manual override unless it suits the computer and as for slow rolling downhill in traffic, you’d better have your seat belt tight or it’ll try to launch you through the windscreen as the box kicks in far safer to freewheel in neutral till a decent speed is achieved. It would be a nice little truck if if had a gearbox that wasn’t so bloody temperamental
Juddian is the man to ask. Send him a PM, it’s his favourite gearbox.
I had one of those on a 54 plate and it wasn’t so much of a gear box as a suggestion box to the truck what you’d like to do if it wasn’t too much trouble, you took your life into your hands if you didn’t use the manual option at busy round a bouts.
Apart from that I am sure that someone may have a good word to say about the A S tronic gearbox and they may have improved since then but there was room for improvement to be honest.
eagerbeaver:
Juddian is the man to ask. Send him a PM, it’s his favourite gearbox.
No, don’t, you’ll never make head nor tail of the reply cos the swear filter will blank out 90% of what I type.
The box is known as Arsetronic in our world, they could not have dropped a bigger clanger when they named it 
.
Sounds like you have a newish Daf if manual input is being ignored or timed out? they tend to default back to auto after about 20 seconds, course it might not have manual option anyway I haven’t ever driven one without manual but have read about them here, think those with manual option have PROFI writ on the gearswitch housing.
The irony being that whilst arsetronic might be frustrating it is proving to be very reliable, so it isn’t going away.
Older Daf’s I found the worse for balancing throttle feathering to get smooth starts, bloody clutch like an on/off switch, especially for maneuvers, and i struggled for quite a while to get smooth starts with my MAN with the same box but 12 speed version, but with careful feeding in of the power (ho ho) and reading the box and terrain you can get a smooth drive.
Juddian:
eagerbeaver:
Juddian is the man to ask. Send him a PM, it’s his favourite gearbox.No, don’t, you’ll never make head nor tail of the reply cos the swear filter will blank out 90% of what I type.
The box is known as Arsetronic in our world, they could not have dropped a bigger clanger when they named it
Sounds like you have a newish Daf if manual input is being ignored or timed out? they tend to default back to auto after about 20 seconds, course it might not have manual option anyway I haven’t ever driven one without manual but have read about them here, think those with manual option have PROFI writ on the gearswitch housing.
The irony being that whilst arsetronic might be frustrating it is proving to be very reliable, so it isn’t going away.
Older Daf’s I found the worse for balancing throttle feathering to get smooth starts, bloody clutch like an on/off switch, especially for maneuvers, and i struggled for quite a while to get smooth starts with my MAN with the same box but 12 speed version, but with careful feeding in of the power (ho ho) and reading the box and terrain you can get a smooth drive.
Juddian I think he may have led you slightly astray…The OP is talking about the 6 speed AS- LITE ,feel free to alter lite to what you find acceptable 
It is the same box in manual form ,the only difference between the manual and the auto ,is the take the turret from the manual and fit a powerpack,and 1st and 2 will only have single cones …So it isn’t your fav AS-TRONIC 
…You are correct like all the new modern gubbings AS-TRONIC is here to stay ,until ZF come out with some new technology …Mechanically it is a good reliable box ,but its the software and how it is integrated in to vehicles that lets it down…That is where Volvo have it sorted ,their gearbox and they have it matched to their vehicles perfectly
To be honest Norb, if they sorted the delay on change, but mainly the delay from pressing the throttle at junctions to actually getting a new gear and engaging the clutch i’d be quite a fan of Arsetronic especially it durability…but don’t tell anyone
Luckily the MAN i have now stays in manual mode without reverting to default auto (that would ■■■■ me off big time, hence why i don’t want a Daf next time unless you can tell me how to lock it in manual■■?), and as you say, it is proving to be very very reliable, as is the lorry itself, if our max weight fleet is anything to go by, though i do drive it in manual 99% of the time, and funnily enough mine hasn’t needed a new clutch where others from the same batch have, don’t ask me why?
I think part of what makes Volvo box work so well is that their engines are fast to take up power and lots of it at low revs for pulling away at junctions, and subsequent changes are under full power milliseconds quicker each time, hence the gearbox can select a higher gear sooner than the competion for a given speed/weight/incline IMO, in many ways the engine torque characteristics must be easier for the box.
I know when we had auto 420 FMs and auto 420 Scanias as car transporters if you were running together same loads the Volvos were gone at junctions, if behind a Scani with an FM you had to be careful not to hit it up the arse when it lurched off at snails pace 
and took three or more changes just to cross the bloody road 
, but soon as up to about 30 mph and above the Scanis would make the ground up and pass them on an normal uphill drags.
Its quite a balancing act to set them all up i suppose, must be days upon days of code writing to get even one engine suited to a box, then you’ve got a different map for each and every engine and its specific power/torque.
I know, lets put a third pedal in and a long metal stick that goes down into the box, and then let the driver shift the gears directly, eh? eh?..nah that’ll never catch on
Two days ago I was bestowed the great honour of taking the hire TGM out, with a good old stick to stir the gears. No problems, no dramas, but certainly no quicker of the line at junctions or roundabouts. But then i dont drive it like a teenager with his baseball cap on back to front… I don’t know what the fuss is all about Juddian.
Got the same box in my iveco.
Horrible, just horrible.
Can’t reverse slowly without kangarooing all over the place, can’t drive slowly without the same. Pulling out of a junction requires at least 2 miles of vehicle free road to ensure you actually get out of it without causing a pile up.
Roundabouts are now known as stop… wait for the box to figure out what gear it’s in, wait until it put it in neutral, wait until it puts in it first, start to pull out, wait for gearbox to change to 2nd, wait for gearbox to panic and go back to first, sit in the middle of the roundabout with no drive as other vehicles coming bearing down on you, wait a bit more, scream… drive away as your head thumps against the headrest and then whiplashes forward.
The clutch is either on or off, there is no middle ground, don’t try and roll down a hill in say 4th gear, the box will suddenly downchange to first and break your neck.
If you use manual override, pull the stalk at least 5 minutes before you want to change gear. This will give ample time for the message to be relayed to the box, don’t worry, the rev limiter will hold you at engine dectruction revs until the message is received. It will then let you know, by violently thrusting you forward.
Talking of which, always stop at least 20 meters behind a vehicle at traffic lights etc, as the box has a habit of deciding to lurch your forward even after you have come to a full stop and think everything is good.
The as-tronic is junk because it’s an auto box. The Volvo wins every time because is a manual box with an automatic shift
OVLOV JAY:
The as-tronic is junk because it’s an auto box. The Volvo wins every time because is a manual box with an automatic shift
Isn’t as tronic a manual box as well?..
Seany:
OVLOV JAY:
The as-tronic is junk because it’s an auto box. The Volvo wins every time because is a manual box with an automatic shiftIsn’t as tronic a manual box as well?..
No
OVLOV JAY:
Seany:
OVLOV JAY:
The as-tronic is junk because it’s an auto box. The Volvo wins every time because is a manual box with an automatic shiftIsn’t as tronic a manual box as well?..
No
The Volvo box will win everytime just because its Volvo. The only truck maker who actually make a decent product…
OVLOV JAY:
Seany:
OVLOV JAY:
The as-tronic is junk because it’s an auto box. The Volvo wins every time because is a manual box with an automatic shiftIsn’t as tronic a manual box as well?..
No
I’ve always thought it was an AMT like most other HGV autos ?
Terry T:
OVLOV JAY:
Seany:
OVLOV JAY:
The as-tronic is junk because it’s an auto box. The Volvo wins every time because is a manual box with an automatic shiftIsn’t as tronic a manual box as well?..
No
I’ve always thought it was an AMT like most other HGV autos ?
The website said it’s an automatic transmission
It automatically changes gears, it’s an automated gearbox not a traditional auto. Same as the Volvo.
Steevo:
It automatically changes gears, it’s an automated gearbox not a traditional auto. Same as the Volvo.
No, that’s the zf ecotronic. The as-tronic is a full automatic box
AndrewG:
The Volvo box will win everytime just because its Volvo. The only truck maker who actually make a decent product…
If it’s I shift it probably wins every time because it’s an automated Fuller.On that note D13 v Detroit 60 series or ■■■■■■■ N14 can only make it even better.
OVLOV JAY:
Terry T:
I’ve always thought it was an AMT like most other HGV autos ?The website said it’s an automatic transmission
It depends on the definition of automatic v automated manual.Usually if it has a conventional clutch and gear train then it’s an automated manual type. 
If only DAF had properly developed the Variomatic… no problems reversing either… 
Carryfast:
OVLOV JAY:
Terry T:
I’ve always thought it was an AMT like most other HGV autos ?The website said it’s an automatic transmission
It depends on the definition of automatic v automated manual.Usually if it has a conventional clutch and gear train then it’s an automated manual type.
Well the zf site describes the ast as an automatic box, and the ecotronic as a manual with automated shift