ETorque ? Anyone happy with it? Reliability ?

[PowerJrod]

They also use eTorque to control crankshaft speed - it's why they start and stop smoother at stop lights. Yes, the transmission still downshifts and upshifts, but normally the clutches do work to match the crank speed for the desired gear. With eTorque, the motor can help accelerate and decelerate the crank, so the clutches aren't doing as much work and the shifts are smoother.

Here's an FCA rep talking about exactly that - the gas engine does this to an extent already, but it's just one example of how an electric motor can react faster and doesn't use fuel (edit 4:42 is where he specifically mentions using eTorque rather than clutches)

Makes sense. It's weird how RAMs website doesn't mention the Etorque doing this...same with Mopar. It's cool how it does all of this while replacing the standard style alternator. I wonder how the shifts compare to a non Etorque since I haven't driven a regular Hemi since my 2011 charger....

 

[Cueva del Osos]

I’ve got the 2019 Ltd crew cab w/e-torque and love it. Have 16,500 mile, 4,800 of them towing our 5k# trailer. When in town, the auto stop on idle is seamless (I was leery of it as my Acura‘s auto stop was a convulse/lurch nightmare) though it does cause the AC to blow warmer until some line is crossed and the engine restarts to power the compressor. The added torque on towing starts is worth every penny to me. I was one with a dead battery issue a few months ago, but all service tests failed to ID a problem and I’ve had no issues since that one time.

I factory ordered my truck and avoided the pano roof. Seems to be nothing but leak problems Listed here, so I’d be more concerned with the pano than the e-torque.

 

[BowDown]

I’ve got the 2019 Ltd crew cab w/e-torque and love it. Have 16,500 mile, 4,800 of them towing our 5k# trailer. When in town, the auto stop on idle is seamless (I was leery of it as my Acura‘s auto stop was a convulse/lurch nightmare) though it does cause the AC to blow warmer until some line is crossed and the engine restarts to power the compressor. The added torque on towing starts is worth every penny to me. I was one with a dead battery issue a few months ago, but all service tests failed to ID a problem and I’ve had no issues since that one time.

I factory ordered my truck and avoided the pano roof. Seems to be nothing but leak problems Listed here, so I’d be more concerned with the pano than the e-torque.

Both my pano and etorque are good.

 

[Drewster]

Makes sense. It's weird how RAMs website doesn't mention the Etorque doing this...same with Mopar. It's cool how it does all of this while replacing the standard style alternator. I wonder how the shifts compare to a non Etorque since I haven't driven a regular Hemi since my 2011 charger....

Yeah if anything that's actually only complaint- the engineers clearly put a lot into the system based on interviews, etc... but there's no readout to show what it's doing, how much it's charging and so on.

 

[Rsorrell2]

I have a 2020 picked up the end of April and have 9987 miles in just over 4 months and I have no issues at all so far. Have driven cross country and also a lot of city driving and stop and go highway as well

I like the thought that it is not just idling and wasting some gas.

but I do worry in the back of my mind about the battery as some have had issues

 

[PowerJrod]

I have a 2020 picked up the end of April and have 9987 miles in just over 4 months and I have no issues at all so far. Have driven cross country and also a lot of city driving and stop and go highway as well

I like the thought that it is not just idling and wasting some gas.

but I do worry in the back of my mind about the battery as some have had issues

If the battery pack is a standard lithium ion battery then it's probably safe to assume it'll last just until the warranty is up lol. I know in most hybrid vehicles...the battery usually needs replacing around the 80-90k mile mark

 

[Gman]

It doesn't reduce wear on transmission, only emissions and gas...maybe a little on the engine.

Not true. It adds load on the crank (while recovering energy for the batteries) on upshifting so the transmission clutches don't take the brunt of the shift load which increases both heat and wear.

ETA: Now that I'm all caught up on the thread, thanks to a number of folks that helped in addressing this.

I'll also add that the sound of my truck downshifting due to the regenerative breaking sounds pretty cool.

 

[Polo08816]

That’s fair...it adds about 80 lb over the standard HEMI.

It's a feature you don't read much about here. Probably because it's not a problem area.

Since you will be towing, get the 33 gallon tank. The 23 gallon seems to be a standard feature etorque engines.

The etorque will significantly reduce your payload capacity by around 200lbs. No bueno for towing.

It’s an 80 lb payload hit, as stated previously.

Ironically, the mythical “max tow” configuration requires eTorque.

For me, I'd probably forgo the eTorque, panoramic sunroof, and multi function tailgate. Those 3 items eat into payload capacity for towing and reliability due to complexity. I'd probably still get a Limited trim for the comfort and features on longer road trips.

 

[dandar]

"For me, I'd probably forgo the eTorque, panoramic sunroof, and multi function tailgate."

I agree but I think E-Torque is standard for 2020 Limited trim and finding one without Pano is pretty much impossible.

 

[silver billet]

The etorque "helping" the transmission is completely bogus. No doubt it works as described (load vs clutches). But in terms of effect, it does nothing. ZF's without etorque will not wear out before the hemi itself does, they are bullet proof transmissions used in very high performance sports cars and suvs. My truck without etorque is so smooth that with ear plugs in, nobody can possibly detect upshifts or downshifts.

You don't get browny points for making something that is already undetectable, less detectable.

Same with taking off from a light; it kicks in for like the first half/whole wheel turn and that's it.

The biggest benefit from etorque is start/stop, the rest is just manufactured marketing.

 

[Jus Cruisin]

At the current pricing, eTorque would be an easy add for me.

As far as those all antsy about towing/payload, it sounds like you're looking to max out a half ton. If that were my case, I'd be owning a 2500.

 

[PowerJrod]

The etorque "helping" the transmission is completely bogus. No doubt it works as described (load vs clutches). But in terms of effect, it does nothing. ZF's without etorque will not wear out before the hemi itself does, they are bullet proof transmissions used in very high performance sports cars and suvs. My truck without etorque is so smooth that with ear plugs in, nobody can possibly detect upshifts or downshifts.

You don't get browny points for making something that is already undetectable, less detectable.

Same with taking off from a light; it kicks in for like the first half/whole wheel turn and that's it.

The biggest benefit from etorque is start/stop, the rest is just manufactured marketing.

That's kind of what I was getting at. As soon as someone posted a link to the "green report" stating it "saves the transmission" I knew it was BS lol. Assisting in loading and clutches is one thing.... claiming that it's a miracle for the transmission is a different story haha

 

[Drewster]

The etorque "helping" the transmission is completely bogus. No doubt it works as described (load vs clutches). But in terms of effect, it does nothing. ZF's without etorque will not wear out before the hemi itself does, they are bullet proof transmissions used in very high performance sports cars and suvs. My truck without etorque is so smooth that with ear plugs in, nobody can possibly detect upshifts or downshifts.

You don't get browny points for making something that is already undetectable, less detectable.

Same with taking off from a light; it kicks in for like the first half/whole wheel turn and that's it.

The biggest benefit from etorque is start/stop, the rest is just manufactured marketing.

Saving wear is saving wear. No one is saying it'll extend the life by ___ amount, but in terms of whether or not it reduces wear on the transmission the answer direct from FCA is "yes".

 

[PowerJrod]

Saving wear is saving wear. No one is saying it'll extend the life by ___ amount, but in terms of whether or not it reduces wear on the transmission the answer direct from FCA is "yes".

Sure and that's true, but how much wear is saved? If it can't be calculated or shown directly then what use is it to claim at all? Without some sort of analysis it ends up being the same argument as "Mobile 1 saves more wear on engine than Pennzoil". Obviously that's just an example but I think we all get the point. I love my Etorque...but sometimes these outrageous claims is just marketing.

 

[SpeedyV]

Sure and that's true, but how much wear is saved? If it can't be calculated or shown directly then what use is it to claim at all? Without some sort of analysis it ends up being the same argument as "Mobile 1 saves more wear on engine than Pennzoil". Obviously that's just an example but I think we all get the point. I love my Etorque...but sometimes these outrageous claims is just marketing.

Sometimes, sure. But a team of engineers wouldn’t add this complexity to the eTorque system’s programming for marketing reasons. Logically, they did this work to achieve certain design objectives (that obviously have nothing to do with start/stop, since they’re only employed in motion).

 

[PowerJrod]

Sometimes, sure. But a team of engineers wouldn’t add this complexity to the eTorque system’s programming for marketing reasons. Logically, they did this work to achieve certain design objectives (that obviously have nothing to do with start/stop, since they’re only employed in motion).

Why not? If it'll help increase interest and sales there's not reason not to help the marketing department. There's no argument that the Etorque, with the start/stop feature can help with Torque, gas usage and emissions...but that also has been proven and can be measured. Saving transmission wear is still not defined or calculated. Until it is...sorry...it's marketing. Now if you can show me a graph or chart that measured the wear with Etorque vs without it...I'll gladly accept it.

 

[Drewster]

Sure and that's true, but how much wear is saved? If it can't be calculated or shown directly then what use is it to claim at all? Without some sort of analysis it ends up being the same argument as "Mobile 1 saves more wear on engine than Pennzoil". Obviously that's just an example but I think we all get the point. I love my Etorque...but sometimes these outrageous claims is just marketing.

It's useful in knowing your transmission is going to last longer than it would otherwise. Personally it's kinda cool to think about the car saving money rather than wearing down clutches and brake pads.

Unfortunately it's not something they can slap a number on for marketing/ calculate directly, because it all depends on how you drive. If you're on the freeway pulling 10,000 lbs at constant speed through a flat desert for most of the truck's life, eTorque isn't going to do squat to help the transmission's life, just like it won't help your brakes last if you're always slamming on them.

 

[SpeedyV]

Why not? If it'll help increase interest and sales there's not reason not to help the marketing department. There's no argument that the Etorque, with the start/stop feature can help with Torque, gas usage and emissions...but that also has been proven and can be measured. Saving transmission wear is still not defined or calculated. Until it is...sorry...it's marketing. Now if you can show me a graph or chart that measured the wear with Etorque vs without it...I'll gladly accept it.

My point - given that I work in technical marketing and collaborate closely with product development teams - is that nobody has spare resources lying around to do extra development work purely for marketing reasons. Sure, marketing teams will hype whatever they can. But it’s far more likely that they’re hyping the side benefits of functionality that actually serves another engineering purpose. In this case, the additional torque applied to smooth out shifts may be one of the techniques used to keep the vehicle in MDS longer than in non-eTorque applications, which is one of the stated goals of the eTorque system. So sure, the marketing team will talk about it. But it’s not like the development team did this work explicitly for marketing reasons.

 

[BowDown]

Why not? If it'll help increase interest and sales there's not reason not to help the marketing department. There's no argument that the Etorque, with the start/stop feature can help with Torque, gas usage and emissions...but that also has been proven and can be measured. Saving transmission wear is still not defined or calculated. Until it is...sorry...it's marketing. Now if you can show me a graph or chart that measured the wear with Etorque vs without it...I'll gladly accept it.

I seriously doubt they needed etorque to boost sales of this truck.

but that also has been proven and can be measured. Saving transmission wear is still not defined or calculated. Until it is...sorry...it's marketing. Now if you can show me a graph or chart that measured the wear with Etorque vs without it...I'll gladly accept it.

Then why'd you buy it?

 

[BowDown]

It's useful in knowing your transmission is going to last longer than it would otherwise. Personally it's kinda cool to think about the car saving money rather than wearing down clutches and brake pads.

Unfortunately it's not something they can slap a number on for marketing/ calculate directly, because it all depends on how you drive. If you're on the freeway pulling 10,000 lbs at constant speed through a flat desert for most of the truck's life, eTorque isn't going to do squat to help the transmission's life, just like it won't help your brakes last if you're always slamming on them.

Exactly