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List of issues, do you see any of these?
- Thread starter Rich
- Start date
RebelRam2019
Active Member
Most of these seem to be things that could be resolved by simple software changes or fixes.
1. When connecting a 4 pin trailer, it doesn't activate trailer odometer, etc. The owner's manual doesn't say that this feature of the vehicle is limited to a certain type of trailer. Note that in "trailer type" option for the cluster it would be nice to have a setting for "Light trailer with no brakes", or "4 pin Trailer with no brakes".
2. Backing up into my driveway will almost always slam on the brakes with Park Sense w/Braking turned on. My driveway has a gentle upward slope, yet there are no obstacles that the system should detect. The system seems overly sensitive. Can any adjustment be made to this so it won't be so sensitive? Right now I have to disable the rear park assist every time I back into my driveway, and then try to remember to turn it back on again once I reach the top.
3. The rear doors sometimes stick in freezing low temperatures. Perhaps freezing water/ice is collecting on the door seals? Note that the front doors don’t appear to do this. It is obviously very dependent on the weather (rain) and then freezing overnight temperatures. It doesn't always happen and very hard to duplicate.
4. Hard transmission "slam" shifts sometimes occur at slow speed. Seems to be 2nd or 1st gear only. The dealer performed an update to the transmission control module yesterday (bulletin 21-002-19). I will test and continue to monitor this to see if it solves the issue.
5. The tailgate is not mechanically fully supported by both support cables. The driver side support cable on the tailgate is slack even with some weight on the tailgate. Disconnecting the passenger side cable causes the driver's side cable to be tight, yet the cables appear the same length. Is there an adjustment available for this?
6. Bluetooth phone calls echo sometimes. I can't reproduce this at will, but has happens sometimes.
7. Remote start doesn't run the windshield defroster long enough to help to melt ice buildup. I checked it by being in the vehicle when it was cold, and then used the remote start, climate was in "Auto" mode. Note that the rear defrost comes on, heated wheel and seat come on. Initially the front windshield defrost seems to blow cold air onto the windshield, but before the engine warms enough to provide any warm/hot hair, the system changes the airflow to the floor, removing the possibility of any windshield defrosting action. As soon as I unlock the doors and open the drivers door, the climate fan speed slows down considerably. This is before pressing the 'start' button to end the remote start and continue to drive the vehicle.
8. Windshield defroster only seems to blow strong air in the center of the windshield, but not all along the defrost ports. The area immediately in front of the driver's position (and probably the passenger also) received significantly reduced airflow so that ice buildup in front of the driver's view is not cleared sufficiently. If there is ice buildup on the windshield, you can obviously see the center portion clear (directly below the rearview mirror) much faster than in front of the driver's view! This is a safety concern under heavy icing weather conditions.
9. Navigation guidance voice volume won't save. It keeps reverting to volume setting 15. This much too loud, is startling and is a major annoyance! It appears that the Nav Guidance Volume resets itself to 15 the first time the voice speaks. e.g. If I first start the vehicle and then immediately change the Nav Guidance Volume to 4 before starting to drive the vehicle, the first time the Nav speaks (warn a speed limit, etc.) the setting will reset to 15! Also, sometimes, but not always, the setting won't visibly reset to 15 (it still displays the setting of 4), but the spoken voice is much too loud (as if the display was at 15). However toggling the displayed setting from 4 to 5 and then back to 4 again will then cause the spoken voice to be the appropriate softer volume. The best way to duplicate this is to turn on the "Speed Limit Warning" feature. Then you will know right away!
10. The SiriusXM traffic display map is not direction of travel up (this should follow the navigation map display settings), and it also doesn't follow the vehicle's position. The Vehicle will also drive off of the traffic map.
11. The time of day clock on top of 8 inch screen disappears when in Android Auto mode even though the software setting is to display the clock at the top of every page (note that the clock does display on the top of every page, except the Android Auto display).
12. If it's desired to raise the cabin temperature by setting the temperatures on HI (or 84 degrees) when in climate control auto mode, the fan doesn't go to a high enough speed to bring temperature up quickly enough even when engine is at normal running temperature. This makes it difficult to raise the cab temperature quickly without using the manual fan speed settings. Auto more should be able to know if a large temperature change is needed and then increase the fan speed to help.
13. Dashboard and radio display brightness is inappropriate when 'turn on headlights with wipers' feature is enabled, yet it is daytime and bright enough to not want the displays to be dim. The display brightness seems to go into 'night mode' when the headlights turn on in the daytime due to windshield wiper mode. The brightness of the displays should only dim if the daylight sensor detects that it is dark enough to require diming of the displays. It seems the display diming is only coupled to the headlights being on, and does not seems to follow the amount of light falling on the 'daylight' sensor on the dashboard. Of course the driver can override this via the manual rotating control, but this could work smoothly and automatically if the daylight sensor was used to detect when to dim the dashboard displays.
14. Weather alerts can't read full text, need a method to be able to scroll text as often it can't be read enough to know what is trying to tell me.
15. No method to disable Weather alerts. Also no method to choose only current county or location for weather alerts, it seems I get alerts from all over a wide area.
If you have any of these issues, please let me know. Perhaps even to simply reply to say 'yes, my vehicle also has #9'.
I have the 8.4 basic 6 speaker system with Nav and according to my dealer I have all updated available.
Yes, some of these are mentioned in other threads (like the tailgate cables) so some could be "within tolerance" or "as desired/designed", but could be better if changed.
Feel free to update or add to this if you can provide details and how to reproduce the issue.
I do like this vehicle, so this is not a complaint list, just things that need improvement!
I have the 8.4 NAV with 9 Speakers on my 2019 Rebel. I have #2,4,5,11,13, 15 I love mine as well, and all of these should be quick software fixes.
I have to say it, but it's good to know that the Alpine version has the same issues.
If you turn on speed limit warnings, do you experience #9?
I bet more would have #1 also if they tried it.
RebelRam2019
Active Member
No issues there.
Jmajercz18
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Keep us posted on 4. 1000 miles on my truck( purchased 2 weeks ago) and I took it in for the transmission software update and still have the same problem. Actually seems to be worse, stop and go traffic on the highway is a nightmare with this issue. Heading back this weekend to see if I get any better results. Seems like this has been happening to quite a few people especially if there is software updates already.
So far, mine seems better as far as the shifts go. It was only happening occasionally for me, so it may take some time to know for sure.
At first my dealer was telling me that these trucks have a learning transmission and it takes time to learn how you drive. I'm not sure why this should cause such a hard slam shift, but he didn't want to even check anything. On a later visit I asked to check for any updates, and they found this TCM update. I haven't noticed any differences yet, but I also haven't experienced the hard slam shift either, so I can't say for sure if the udpate affected it at all.
Dusty1948
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2. Park Sense: Because it happens to me so infrequently, it almost stops my heart. However, it has saved me from backing into people who are dashing by. This is the first vehicle I've ever owned with this feature and although it seems too sensitive at times I'd rather accept it and not have a mishap. If you know it always occurs in certain scenarios, you can disable the Park Sense for that.
3. Rear doors sometimes freezing low temperatures: When I park I always have one side of the vehicle broadside to the west, which is where the predominate winds come from in my area. I've had a few freezing rain scenarios this winter, but none have prevented me from opening any doors. I have to say I've had this problem on just about every car/truck I've owned. Try a heavy coat of silicone on the door gaskets. This has helped me in the past.
4. Hard transmission shifts: I think this is typical of the 8HP transmissions in Ram trucks. It takes awhile for the computer to learn the driver's habits and select the a proper algorithm. Mine adjusted itself by the time I got to 2000 miles.
7. Remote start doesn't run the windshield defroster long enough to help to melt ice buildup: Not a problem on mine, in fact I'm amazed how quickly the windshield gets heat in remote start.
12. If it's desired to raise the cabin temperature by setting the temperatures on HI (or 84 degrees) when in climate control auto mode, the fan doesn't go to a high enough speed to bring temperature up quickly enough even when engine is at normal running temperature. This makes it difficult to raise the cab temperature quickly without using the manual fan speed settings. Auto more should be able to know if a large temperature change is needed and then increase the fan speed to help:
Yes, I've noticed this, too. I think this is working as designed. What I think is happening is the outside air temperature is too cold to immediately produce the selected air temperature at the vents with the available engine heat. So the fan speed is reduced to prevent colder air than selected from being pushed to the vents. I've seen GM and Toyota products work the same way.
Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Now at: 010133 miles.
Jmajercz18
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Thanks for the info. I am actually in another post about this issue and turns out even after I supposedly got my TCM updated to the newest version I am about 5 behind. Going to take it somewhere else tomorrow and see what they say. I have the newest version number down. I would be curious to know if you kept the software version they upgraded to your TCM to compare.
RebelRam2019
Active Member
Went and had the Pedal recall taken care of yesterday and while I was there they updated my TCM which so far has eliminated the shifting issue 100%. Additionally, part of the update was for the brake assist for the park sense. That has also improved and is no longer slamming on the brakes in my driveway like it was before. So if you have time, swing by your dealership and have them check it out, there was nothing showing on the owner's portal or sent in the mail on this. If I hadn't complained they would not have done anything, not everyone is having these issues.
I only know the TSB number as listed in my post above
RebelRam2019
Active Member
Not sure off-hand, but I will try to find out and let you know as soon as I do. It was part of the TCM update not a separate one though.
Electrical
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Regarding the #4 hard shifting, I hear you guys; it should be a smooth luxury-feeling shift. However....
i) A hard shift is not necessarily bad for the tranny; some say it's better than a soft shift because less clutch-pack slippage and therefore less internal wear. I know, it should be soft, I'm just making an observation.
ii) These tranny's are indeed the "learning" type and some people report longer learning times than others. If the TCM update didn't soften shifts immediately, go out and do some driving. Give the truck a lot of activity and miles driving normally, maybe lean towards granny-style driving to give the adaptives a soft-shift target to work towards.
iii) I can't say why but "zero'd" adaptives do tend to result in hard shifts. It sounds like your tranny's are behaving normally... but maybe with longer adaptive cycles for some reason.... or maybe a bug that is not properly storing the adapted values; maybe this is what the TSB fixes?
i) A hard shift is not necessarily bad for the tranny; some say it's better than a soft shift because less clutch-pack slippage and therefore less internal wear. I know, it should be soft, I'm just making an observation.
ii) These tranny's are indeed the "learning" type and some people report longer learning times than others. If the TCM update didn't soften shifts immediately, go out and do some driving. Give the truck a lot of activity and miles driving normally, maybe lean towards granny-style driving to give the adaptives a soft-shift target to work towards.
iii) I can't say why but "zero'd" adaptives do tend to result in hard shifts. It sounds like your tranny's are behaving normally... but maybe with longer adaptive cycles for some reason.... or maybe a bug that is not properly storing the adapted values; maybe this is what the TSB fixes?
Jmajercz18
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I went the lets give it some time to learn route so I will keep you guys posted. So far I had the newest TCM update and its still shifting "aggressively" but went to another dealer and was told to give at least 2000 miles. I am skeptical but we shall see.
My hard shifts sounded and felt like getting slammed by a heavy hammer. I don't think that was very good!
So far, they haven't returned.
Electrical
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When I say "hard shift", I really mean to say FIRM... where you feel it and there's a bit of a lurch. If the honest description is a "slamming heavy hammer" that sounds like something is out of range.
I wouldn't have complained about a firm shift.
Firepower2010
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12. If it's desired to raise the cabin temperature by setting the temperatures on HI (or 84 degrees) when in climate control auto mode, the fan doesn't go to a high enough speed to bring temperature up quickly enough even when engine is at normal running temperature. This makes it difficult to raise the cab temperature quickly without using the manual fan speed settings. Auto more should be able to know if a large temperature change is needed and then increase the fan speed to help.<<<YES YES, this new system is TERRIBLE, lack of fan range, as well as a lack of understanding temp differentials, it seems to always default to blowing ice cold air on your feet!! The fan and temp on Auto should read the cabin temp vs the desired temp vs outside temp and adjust quickly with full range, and it does not, this is a HUGE FLAW.
13. Dashboard and radio display brightness is inappropriate when 'turn on headlights with wipers' feature is enabled, yet it is daytime and bright enough to not want the displays to be dim. The display brightness seems to go into 'night mode' when the headlights turn on in the daytime due to windshield wiper mode. The brightness of the displays should only dim if the daylight sensor detects that it is dark enough to require diming of the displays. It seems the display diming is only coupled to the headlights being on, and does not seems to follow the amount of light falling on the 'daylight' sensor on the dashboard. Of course the driver can override this via the manual rotating control, but this could work smoothly and automatically if the daylight sensor was used to detect when to dim the dashboard displays.,, YES agreed, same was on my 2016
15. No method to disable Weather alerts. Also no method to choose only current county or location for weather alerts, it seems I get alerts from all over a wide area. << FRUSTRATING!!!!
13. Dashboard and radio display brightness is inappropriate when 'turn on headlights with wipers' feature is enabled, yet it is daytime and bright enough to not want the displays to be dim. The display brightness seems to go into 'night mode' when the headlights turn on in the daytime due to windshield wiper mode. The brightness of the displays should only dim if the daylight sensor detects that it is dark enough to require diming of the displays. It seems the display diming is only coupled to the headlights being on, and does not seems to follow the amount of light falling on the 'daylight' sensor on the dashboard. Of course the driver can override this via the manual rotating control, but this could work smoothly and automatically if the daylight sensor was used to detect when to dim the dashboard displays.,, YES agreed, same was on my 2016
15. No method to disable Weather alerts. Also no method to choose only current county or location for weather alerts, it seems I get alerts from all over a wide area. << FRUSTRATING!!!!
I was patient and worked through this list with my original dealer (that didn't want to even look at any of these), and then working through RAMCares I went to a new dealer that was patient enough to look at these issues.
The long and short of this is that my truck is up to date with all software/firmware, and so most all of these are 'worked as designed'!
RAMCares on the phone told me that unless enough customers complain about these issues, that the list would probably fall on deaf ears.
So if you want any of these things changed in the firmware of our trucks, you must contact FCA and complain about the issue and ask for a formal complaint to be registered. Because if the dealer can explain as this is 'works as designed' and you don't register a complaint, then FCA will assume that you're happy with the dealer's explanation.
RAMCares couldn't seem to escalate my complaint, and said it may help to send an email or message via www.ramtrucks.com / www.chrysler.com, both of these end up dating you to your mopar.com account where you login and then when you click the "Contact us" link on the bottom of the page, you end up here: https://www.chrysler.com/webselfservice/mopar/EmailPage.html
So please register a complaint about all of these, or of the issues that bother you. If enough people don't complain to them, they won't change anything. I couldn't get them to tell me how many was 'enough', nor how else to escalate to someone that would care enough to get our complaints to an engineer that could review and tell us if something could be done.
If you don't like the way any of these things function, please get a formal complaint registered both with your dealer and with FCA via the contact method stated above.
The long and short of this is that my truck is up to date with all software/firmware, and so most all of these are 'worked as designed'!
RAMCares on the phone told me that unless enough customers complain about these issues, that the list would probably fall on deaf ears.
So if you want any of these things changed in the firmware of our trucks, you must contact FCA and complain about the issue and ask for a formal complaint to be registered. Because if the dealer can explain as this is 'works as designed' and you don't register a complaint, then FCA will assume that you're happy with the dealer's explanation.
RAMCares couldn't seem to escalate my complaint, and said it may help to send an email or message via www.ramtrucks.com / www.chrysler.com, both of these end up dating you to your mopar.com account where you login and then when you click the "Contact us" link on the bottom of the page, you end up here: https://www.chrysler.com/webselfservice/mopar/EmailPage.html
So please register a complaint about all of these, or of the issues that bother you. If enough people don't complain to them, they won't change anything. I couldn't get them to tell me how many was 'enough', nor how else to escalate to someone that would care enough to get our complaints to an engineer that could review and tell us if something could be done.
If you don't like the way any of these things function, please get a formal complaint registered both with your dealer and with FCA via the contact method stated above.
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2019 Ram 1500 BigHorn W/Tow Package
1) Same as others with whiplash from truck abruptly stopping when backing into
nonsteep driveway w/zero obstructions
2) Power Steering sticks between 9-12 o’clock when turning left, does not automatically return to 12 o’clock (since new, going in 6/1 for Dodge to look at it along with whirling noise
3) Whirling noise from rear axle or wheel when put in anything other than 2wd
4) 8.4 Nav Uconnect at times display does not power up only sound, have to shut off truck and restart (occurred since new)
1) Same as others with whiplash from truck abruptly stopping when backing into
nonsteep driveway w/zero obstructions
2) Power Steering sticks between 9-12 o’clock when turning left, does not automatically return to 12 o’clock (since new, going in 6/1 for Dodge to look at it along with whirling noise
3) Whirling noise from rear axle or wheel when put in anything other than 2wd
4) 8.4 Nav Uconnect at times display does not power up only sound, have to shut off truck and restart (occurred since new)
