2019 Ram 1500 Limited 5.7 Etorque shifting issues

[MTW406LIMITED]

So I've been trying to figure out why my 19 Ram 1500 has been shifting hard and also hesitating a lot while trying to just maintain speed with very light throttle. Mainly around 40 to 45 mph. It also does it around 75 on the interstate as well. It's not smooth at all. This morning I went out to get in it and it was totally dead. Battery was shot. Part of me hoped that there was some electrical gremlin causing my shifting issues. Not the case. Had it at the dealership last week and they said there were no codes at all. They did do a TSB software update for the transmission. That hasnt helped at all either. Also the weird shifting/hunting for gears seems to happen a lot more when the trans is at normal operating temp. From records it looks like trans fluid was done at 45k miles. Im at 101k now. Wondering if I should have the fluid done again. Any insight would be appreciated. Sick of going to the dealership and having them tell me everything is fine with it.

 

[TC5]

It is possible the fluid is low, perhaps when it was changed at 45k miles not enough fluid was added. The procedure is intimidating when reading or watching youtube, but is very doable for DIY. You can use Valvoline MAX life ATF $23/ gallon, if you are out of warranty, it works fine with the ZF and is compatible with OE fluid. You should get 5 - 5.5 quarts of fluid when draining if it is at proper level. If you get less than 4.5 quarts, it was low on fluid. You can follow the procedure below to refill, or like another member on here just posted in another thread, park on the side of a hill with passenger side facing uphill and fill the transmission. Not sure how jacked up the truck needs to be in order to accomplish this but if you can get it done this way, it could be the bomb. Based on my experience you need a minimum 5 quarts after a drain. You may have to crank the truck and run thru the gears to get fluid into the torque converter so you can add remaining fluid. Most folks who change their transmission fluid follow the instructions below but do not jack the rear end to level the transmission pan, just park on flat ground. I would recommend at least getting the rear end on jack stands so you can follow the procedure below, running up to 2000 rpm in D. I have performed this procedure four times on Gen 4 Rams using Valvoline MAX life fluid. I used cheap pans off ebay for three of the changes and a PPE aluminum pan on the last one. One of the cheap ebay pans had a slight leak after 10k miles, due to cheap gasket. I reused OE gaskets afterwards with ebay pans and had no leaks. The last truck had a hard shift between 1 and 2 gears, after fluid change the hard shift was gone and shifts were smooth as butter. If you take it to a shop, I would print the instructions below and hand it to the mechanic ask if they could follow to a T.

 

[RamCares]

Hi there, if you would like an extra layer of support alongside the dealer, feel free to send us a private message for support.

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Ram Cares