A vehicle includes an engine and a transmission assembly having a stationary member, gear sets, an input member connected to one of the plurality of gear sets, a binary clutch assembly, and a transmission control module (TCM). The binary clutch assembly includes a freewheeling element which holds torque only in a first rotational direction and a binary device that, when engaged, prevents rotation of the binary clutch assembly in a second rotational direction, and that allows the binary clutch assembly to freewheel in the second rotational direction when released. The TCM executes a method via instructions to determine a total amount of clutch energy of the binary clutch assembly, compare the determined total amount of clutch energy to a calibrated clutch energy threshold, and delay an execution of the requested shift when the determined total amount of clutch energy exceeds the calibrated clutch energy threshold.