Another ETorque problem

[Funky2me2]

Having the exact same issue with 6109 miles. First they said it was my battery. One week later I'm back at the dealership. Then they told me they need to reflash my computer. Came back not even after 10 minutes with my dash lit up like a Christmas tree. A week later they told me the eTorque generator failed. Part arrived last Monday May 17, 2021. Called them again today May 30. WTF is going on with my truck. Now they are telling me I need another part. A Hydra boost PTO. Was this what they told you? My vehicle has been in the shop for over two months now.

Reading these reviews reminds me of why I traded in my 2016 Titan XD with the 5.0, with 23K on odometer, it had issues since the week after I purchased it. I traded it with a check engine light, that came on immediately after leaving the Nissan Dealers service Department just as the were closing the door for the day... Drove right to the Ram dealer and took a big hit on the trade I was so sick of the Titan issues I had for years, under warranty. I had even purchased the extended warranty, never had to use it, tried to once, etc.. Sorry could go on and on... I just hope the Ram don't bring back bad memories..

 

[Bpebler]

I’ve had my first Ram, 2021 with etorque, since January of 21 and have put just shy of 27k on it so far and it’s the best vehicle I’ve owned - SO far. No issues whatsoever. Just wish it had 3.92’s. I normally turn the auto start and cylinder deactivation off every time and really romp on the skinny, even put it in tow/haul mode just for fun and rip it on some back roads. I drive a ton of highway miles obviously but even with all that I’m still averaging around 15-17 mpg’s and my father & brother in law only get 1-2 mpg’s better than me in their Ram’s without turning those features off.

 

[ghpdx]

Was driving from Oregon to central Washington today in my 2020 1500 Big Horn with 28k on it and had the belt powering the etorque system start to fray and slip. It caused the truck to hesitate then slam into gear when starting to accelerate at a green light. I thought I had ruined the motor or something based on the sounds, etc coming from the truck. It was pretty awful. Once I deactivated the start/stop feature all the noise pretty much went away. Best part, I'm on a business trip. I will be at the dealer bright and early hoping they at least have the belt I need. I bought the truck in October with 175 miles on it. I've put a bunch of miles on it rather quickly and it's been great up until a couple of weeks ago when the belt started to make a whining sound. Tried to schedule a service appointment but the CDJR dealership was booked pretty far out so hear I am. Mpg wise, I've been getting roughly 17.5 combined and almost 21mpg on the highway sometimes, but typically 18.5 when traffic is doing 75+. Etorque would be sweet if it worked with the ac on and in park while idling. I work in my truck and spend a solid amount of time on my computer in the truck. With the heat, unfortunately I have to sit in the truck with ac on. Wish I had got the Laramie/ecodiesel sometimes. I'm thinking about trading in on a 2500/cummins but supply is so low that the 2500 Laramie w/cummins is 65k+.

 

[Nibis]

I’ve had my first Ram, 2021 with etorque, since January of 21 and have put just shy of 27k on it so far and it’s the best vehicle I’ve owned - SO far. No issues whatsoever. Just wish it had 3.92’s. I normally turn the auto start and cylinder deactivation off every time and really romp on the skinny, even put it in tow/haul mode just for fun and rip it on some back roads. I drive a ton of highway miles obviously but even with all that I’m still averaging around 15-17 mpg’s and my father & brother in law only get 1-2 mpg’s better than me in their Ram’s without turning those features off.

Man, that is a lot of miles in a short time

 

[NorthStar]

Was driving from Oregon to central Washington today in my 2020 1500 Big Horn with 28k on it and had the belt powering the etorque system start to fray and slip. It caused the truck to hesitate then slam into gear when starting to accelerate at a green light. I thought I had ruined the motor or something based on the sounds, etc coming from the truck. It was pretty awful. Once I deactivated the start/stop feature all the noise pretty much went away. Best part, I'm on a business trip. I will be at the dealer bright and early hoping they at least have the belt I need. I bought the truck in October with 175 miles on it. I've put a bunch of miles on it rather quickly and it's been great up until a couple of weeks ago when the belt started to make a whining sound. Tried to schedule a service appointment but the CDJR dealership was booked pretty far out so hear I am. Mpg wise, I've been getting roughly 17.5 combined and almost 21mpg on the highway sometimes, but typically 18.5 when traffic is doing 75+. Etorque would be sweet if it worked with the ac on and in park while idling. I work in my truck and spend a solid amount of time on my computer in the truck. With the heat, unfortunately I have to sit in the truck with ac on. Wish I had got the Laramie/ecodiesel sometimes. I'm thinking about trading in on a 2500/cummins but supply is so low that the 2500 Laramie w/cummins is 65k+.

Something doesn’t make sense as the recommended replacement interval for the accessory drive belt is 15 years or 150,000 miles. Surely the Ram dealer replaced that belt under warranty and are trying to understand why it shredded so soon?

 

[Bpebler]

Man, that is a lot of miles in a short time

Yessir, most driving for a job I’ve ever had to do so far. I cover MO, KS, & OK - sometimes a trip into IL until that position is filled. Fortunately, the company pays a healthy vehicle allowance (opposed to company car so I can be picky) and covers fuel which is a huge help. But I’ll be putting every Ram I’ll ever have to the test every year or 2 I pick one up and report back on this site to hopefully benefit some folks. I’ll drive 50k per year, no problem.

 

[ghpdx]

The dealer ordered parts the next am. While I drove the 2.5 miles from my hotel to the dealership the truck overheated, I threw on the heat and it calmed down a bit. The dealer had me back in my truck 130pm the next day all covered under warranty except for cost of 1 day of rental car. Apparently the dealer would have covered the rental if the company had a Chrysler product to rent me, haha. Despite that I was pretty happy with the service. I have roughly 6k to go before the warranty is up, time to swap it out. Plus with car prices/demand I should get good value for my trade. Long story long, it was the belt tensioner. Mpg seems like it might have gone up a wee bit. I got almost 23mpg traveling from Bellingham, Wa to Enumclaw, Wa (empty of course). I have a 1600lb truck camper and I'm thinking of just buying a higher mileage 3/4T truck as a dedicated camping rig and then get something for work that will navigate the mean streets of Seattle with more agility.... Maybe a new Ford Maverick or Bronco Sport? Just kidding.

 

[tocker]

Test drove a '21 etorque Big Horn. Nice, it was anything but smooth approaching stop lights and accelerating. Very jerky. Nothing like test driving the non-etorque version. Forgot to mention that there are a lot more etorques on the lot vs non. At first I thought that might be due to a decision to scale back non-etorque production, now I think that it may just be the product isn't well engineered. Time will tell, but reading these stories can help everyone make better decisions. It is clear to me that manufacturers are not backing their products.

 

[cantonmidas]

. I have no idea why the service guy would tell me the part was 10 grand. I still don't know why it takes 3-4 weeks to get one in though. I'm wondering if my ETorque system/power pack was flawed from the beginning, and that's why my city gas mileage has been so poor. I don't baby my truck, but I'm not a lead foot either. I guess I can wait and see what happens after the new unit is installed.

 

[Trooper4]

The only thing E-Torque does is auto stop start in city driving. I does nothing *** far as power to the rear axle except to get the truck moving from a standstill. If you do lot of stop/wait/go driving it will ad a little to economy, but not a lot.

 

[Alter Ego Trip]

The only thing E-Torque does is auto stop start in city driving. I does nothing *** far as power to the rear axle except to get the truck moving from a standstill. If you do lot of stop/wait/go driving it will ad a little to economy, but not a lot.

Yes, I did find it interesting however that tuners claim more power with E torque motors than without; so there must be something more to it. I hate the system, and curse Ram for forcing it on us.

 

[mikeru82]

Yes, I did find it interesting however that tuners claim more power with E torque motors than without; so there must be something more to it. I hate the system, and curse Ram for forcing it on us.

What tuners?

 

[Alter Ego Trip]

What tuners?

Greene and Hemifever claim more hp from the E torque than non; at least when I last inquired about a tune on my 20 Ram.

 

[Trooper4]

Yes, I did find it interesting however that tuners claim more power with E torque motors than without; so there must be something more to it. I hate the system, and curse Ram for forcing it on us.

It adds a little from the stop, but that's all. I actually leave auto stop on, and have no problem at all. And, it even helps with the mpg with where I drive.

 

[Trooper4]

Greene and Hemifever claim more hp from the E torque than non; at least when I last inquired about a tune on my 20 Ram.

Everything I have heard it is only from the stop.

The Motor/generator will also act as a regenerative break, and generates electricity while slowing the vehicle during braking. This process captures energy that would dissipate as brake heat. This energy flows from the 48-volt motor/generator to the battery pack where the energy is stored and re-used to propel the vehicle when needed. This actually helps take some of the work off your brake pads and rotors.

The Benefits Of Ram eTorque​

All this great new technology is great. But what are the benefits or Ram eTorque? The list of benefits begins with Improved fuel economy. This is something you would expect from a hybrid system. The next is better towing and hauling capabilities. The eTorque motor/generator applies torque right to the crank shaft adding up to 130 lb.-ft of torque when taking off with a payload to heavy tow. This makes a big difference when getting a heavy load moving.

The advanced stop-start technology trumps the originally introduced technology. The original stop-starts of all makes took a noticeable amount of time to get you going again. The Ram eTorque works so smooth because of the direct connection to the crankshaft. It only takes 400 milliseconds for the vehicle to be moving forward after pressing the accelerator. This is more than twice the speed of typical stop-start systems.

 

[mikeru82]

Greene and Hemifever claim more hp from the E torque than non; at least when I last inquired about a tune on my 20 Ram.

Do you know how much more hp they claim they can get from the etorque? And at what rpm?

 

[Alter Ego Trip]

According to multiple tuners it's overall hp, not just from stop (aka 2000ish rpm improvements). Here's one dyno chart for comparison. Check out the massive torque curve difference. That's a fat curve on the e torque.

 

[Leoace467]

Welp, my 2023 RAM 1500 e-torque’s 48V battery pack unit needs to be replaced - at only 5k miles. It is now being advised that it will take 4-6 weeks for the part to be shipped + however long it takes the dealership to do the installation. Very disheartening for this to happen with such a new truck - RAM rather keep producing new vehicles rather than to allocate the part to stranded already purchased vehicles. Or better, figure out where the fallout at the factory is! Very bad business practice - I think I am done with RAM, should have stayed with my 2017 Tundra.

RAM represents itself as a working reliable truck - however, how I am gonna go to work, or be reliable, when the truck will be out of service for 4-6 weeks? It’s comical. Luckily, I have a take home vehicle from my company, and don’t depend on RAM. But, I know not many have this luxury, and many are stuck with the same issue without a proper working vehicle. For the price ranging from 48k to 82k for most models is insane to have these issues from the factory. Anyways, rant over.