Rough Ride RAM with Air Suspension? An insanely simple Fix.

[NASAGUY]

I was a pro-level race car driver, so my sensitivity to NVH is kind of insane, but I spent 2 months with the Dealer stating that my air suspension in my 2021 Longhorn Limited Edition was "supposed" to ride as it was, yet they never test drove it. We are relying too much on computers these days and not on our "butts" to sense everything. I used the NVH app on my phone (it is pretty amazing) yet their response was "there are no codes spit out". The computer does not measure everything. Applying my physics degree, I connected an accelerometer to the hard plastic area in front of the 12 VOLT DC adapter at the highest point on the dash and the frequency of vibration was pretty bad compared with a new truck with air suspension. All the data in the world, and they refused to fix it.

They replaced the rear axle at 25K miles due to a defect from the factory and my theory was that they never reset the air suspension after the job. They said they had to reset it as part of the process. The info online about how to reset the air suspension does not apply to the 5th Gen 1500 (I have no idea which model has two side-by-side buttons that raise and lower the suspension) and the method where you switch it to tire jack mode and off to reset it did not work either. I did find somewhere that disconnecting the battery might reset the suspension.

After I listened to the district manager and foreman tell me "the air suspension does not in any way alter the ride quality but is just to help with load" , a clear script they were reading, I disconnected the battery, waited for 5 minutes and reconnected the battery. Guess what? The truck now rides like my old Escalade again. Smooth as can be.

They found a brand-new truck with the same issue. I suggested they disconnect the battery on that one as well. They said they would be adding "battery disconnect" to their process and now could probably fix complaints regarding air suspension.

Perhaps disconnecting and reconnecting the battery every so often is a good idea. The Auto Start/Stop feature that stopped working started working again (I have the mild hybrid so it is not annoying at all). I hope this helps others out there.

 

[dajogejr]

(I have no idea which model has two side-by-side buttons that raise and lower the suspension) and the method where you switch it to tire jack mode and off to reset it did not work either. I did find somewhere that disconnecting the battery might reset the suspension.

I had a 2015 Limited with raise/lower buttons under the radio that were top/bottom, but not side by side, perhaps that is what they’re talking about.

I agree… air ride absolutely affects the ride quality. Want proof, but it in Off Road 2 mode and go for a ride, then go to standard and hit the same bumps, etc. It is CERTAINLY stiffer/harsher ride in OR2 mode.
Or, if you’re like me..forget and leave it in entry mode.. that’ll send you to the chiropractor in a hurry… LOL

I’ve had no issues with my 23 limited air ride or ride quality (knock on wood). But good to know tips.

My next question…after disconnecting the battery for 5 minutes.. what “didn’t work” or took a while to initialize and resync?
There is a relay for the air ride (I went through several bouts of issues with my 15) I wonder if disconnecting that for 5 minutes would net the same…

 

[NASAGUY]

I had a 2015 Limited with raise/lower buttons under the radio that were top/bottom, but not side by side, perhaps that is what they’re talking about.

I agree… air ride absolutely affects the ride quality. Want proof, but it in Off Road 2 mode and go for a ride, then go to standard and hit the same bumps, etc. It is CERTAINLY stiffer/harsher ride in OR2 mode.
Or, if you’re like me..forget and leave it in entry mode.. that’ll send you to the chiropractor in a hurry… LOL

I’ve had no issues with my 23 limited air ride or ride quality (knock on wood). But good to know tips.

My next question…after disconnecting the battery for 5 minutes.. what “didn’t work” or took a while to initialize and resync?
There is a relay for the air ride (I went through several bouts of issues with my 15) I wonder if disconnecting that for 5 minutes would net the same…

Great question and the answer most likely has to do with the air suspension "module". Part of the process of replacing the axle was to dismantle part of the air suspension. I saw the flowchart. The last thing done according to the techs instructions were to reset the air suspension module. It appears that the process for this per manufactures instructions did not work. So, the battery disconnect was like a ctrl alt del. The module automatically "reboots" and recalibrates /resets the suspension.

Great analogy re off road 2. Plus read all the reviews praising the ride quality as attributed to the air suspension. Honestly? It appeared to fix other minor issues as well. Definitely the auto start stop engine feature began functioning in a sophisticated manner (with etorque it is not annoying at all). But I cannot put my finger on the other issues that seem to have been resolved, but the truck overall just acted more "civilized". Hope that helps. I wonder how many will try this battery disconnect to find they've been riding around with the air suspension not working. The fact we randomly tested a new Ram 1500 with air suspension and it too needed a reset kinda made me wonder how wide spread the issue. Only a few of my friends who are big babies regarding NVH noticed the poor ride. To me? Night and day.

 

[dajogejr]

Coming from a 2015 RAM limited, I knew what to expect with ride quality, and I’ve yet to be disappointed. My new rig has 22” rims, and i was wondering if ride comfort would be sacrificed. I’ve not yet felt that is has, but I do feel more stable cornering then I did with the old 20” rims. That could also be in part going from a 6’4” to a 5’7” bed. It IS easier to park, just a tad.

There are a lot of etorque haters, each for their own reason. I’ve yet to have a problem…but I’m still young at a little over a year and 18K on my truck. So I get that.

Any car/truck prior, I always disabled S/S as I found it annoying. Not at all with this truck. I do turn it off in drive through and in bumper to bumper traffic, but leave it on for normal day to day driving.

While I’m tempted to remove the cable just to see, I’m also of the opinion, I don’t feel anything is broke, so why fix it.

Good to know there are options if that changes…appreciate the write up.

(And since I’m a tech guy.. CTRL ALT DEL simply gets you to the ability to reboot. If you wanna get technical, just run a shutdown /r at the command prompt to “reboot”……LOL.)

 

[NASAGUY]

Reconnecting the battery, I did not notice anything that stopped working. I don't know if having the Etorque, but clearly the circuit was broken disconnecting the battery. Again, little things like the S/S worked properly again. I don't like the S/S on every vehicle I've driven except the RAM with Etorque. I don't turn it off, as it has no impact on me at all. I barely notice it, as they did a great job with the integration of Etorque to make the Startup occur without any drama at all. Pretty impressive. I'm not sure if it is due to the 3.92 axle, but when towing with the 3.92 and Etorque, I can barely feel the trailer when taking off from a red light. Is it true that the Etorque adds 100 ft-lbs. of torque when leaving the red light? Not sure, but it feels like it. My order was run by engineers at FCA and all told me to get the Etorque and I do not regret it.

After disconnecting the battery? I wish I had a pre-post documentation of what changed, as all I can say is that little things seem to work better. Some are almost imperceptible, but the S/S was a big one. Also, something changed in the lighting on the interior. If you haven't seen that youtube video of Jimmy Kimmel supposedly upgrading Iphones for people for free, you get a glimpse into the power of the placebo effect. They all thought the phone was so much faster with the photos being so much better yet the truth? They were looking at their own phones unmodified. But I measured the vibration with an accelerometer pre and post battery pull, and no question it was night and day (all lower frequency up/down motions post battery disconnect).

 

[dajogejr]

etorque offers up to 100lb ft of torque for the first half tire rotation from a dead stop.
Two benefits I notice…. Upshifts when accelerating are very, very smooth.
Braking is also affected by regenerative charging…and I’ve read brakes last much longer, which I believe.

 

[Upupandaway]

This is very interesting. I recently picked up a 2020 limited that had an air links lift, likely 2” in the front with 3/4” in the back. I wasn’t impressed with the ride even coming from a 4” RC lifted fourth gen, so I put the stock links back in - still rides as rough with stock tires as my 325/60/20s did!

Not sure if any work was done on this since there’s no record of it but I may have to try this and see if it softens up the ride.

 

[NASAGUY]

I had a 2015 Limited with raise/lower buttons under the radio that were top/bottom, but not side by side, perhaps that is what they’re talking about.

I agree… air ride absolutely affects the ride quality. Want proof, but it in Off Road 2 mode and go for a ride, then go to standard and hit the same bumps, etc. It is CERTAINLY stiffer/harsher ride in OR2 mode.
Or, if you’re like me..forget and leave it in entry mode.. that’ll send you to the chiropractor in a hurry… LOL

I’ve had no issues with my 23 limited air ride or ride quality (knock on wood). But good to know tips.

My next question…after disconnecting the battery for 5 minutes.. what “didn’t work” or took a while to initialize and resync?
There is a relay for the air ride (I went through several bouts of issues with my 15) I wonder if disconnecting that for 5 minutes would net the same…

Actually, they say it would do the same thing. But, the battery disconnect is sure-fire. I would try one and if no change, try the other. Well-written!

 

[85octane]

I've had my 22 for about 9 months now and feel the ride quality isn't correct. It seems to take straight on bumps fine, but driving on a road where the right side dips a little and I'm rocked side to side pretty strongly. Is that normal, because it doesn't feel like it to me at all. I upgraded from a 2004 Dakota and it rode like a Cadillac compared to my 22 1500 with air ride. Wife's 24 Subaru Outback rides about the same as my old Dakota.