Shifter knob issues, 2019 RAM 1500, help- BRAND NEW

[KILMAL]

I need a little input on whether or not there is a real repair for this problem... About 5 out of 10 times i put this truck in Drive, it does NOTHING. Nothing clicks and it acts as if its still in Park. Only when i slowly depress the pedal does it pop into gear and lunge forward. This is not good nor safe. Ive 500 miles on the truck already and am about ready to return it if there is no real fix for this issue. Open to opinions and input! Thanks, Doug

 

[Brandon]

Sorry to hear you're having issues!

I've never had that happen to mine, but it's a 4th gen. Perhaps some kind of glitch with all the new mapping for the transmissions on the 5th gens? I honestly have no idea. Hope you get it sorted out!

I'd maybe take it to the dealer or call them about it and see if it's a known issue.

 

[alacombe]

Yeah this is an issue and not normal at all

 

[Jus Cruisin]

I'd certainly head to the dealer rather than wondering if there's a fix or not.

 

[nerdrock]

is the knob loose at all? my shifter issues started when i noticed that sometimes the gears wouldn't change as the knob turned, and i had to firmly press the knob 'in' to get it to change. The problem got worse and worse, eventually *almost* stranded me (took me 30 minutes to coax the truck into D). I brought it to the dealer and it took them 18 days for a new shift knob to come in. Regardless of if your problem is similar to mine, make no delay and take it to the dealer immediately.

 

[KILMAL]

Thanks much everyone!! I am now at the dealer as I type this response. They are checking tranny fluid and then going to dig into the software and look deeper. They are currently clueless too. lol

 

[riccnick]

Also make sure you're not experiencing the auto parking brake releasing once you press the gas. There's a setting to turn off the auto parking brake when you put the truck in park.

 

[KILMAL]

UPDATE: Dealer couldnt find anything that might fix this. They couldnt even check the tranny level in the ZF tranny. Uses sensors only!! Unreal. All looked as it should look, they said. They did run some self-diagnostic learning program to put things back to default parameters. We shall see if this issue disappears into thin air...not good IMO. I did learn that their software recall on rotary shifters, is a tranny lockout if you open the door just after putting the vehicle in Drive. Tranny suddenly goes back into Park so it doesn't run over you and kill you. They spoke of an actor that had this happen in a Dodge where he was pinned between his sedan and a gate. Stay tuned for future updates on this issue. It is a pretty significant problem if it continues...

 

[KILMAL]

Also make sure you're not experiencing the auto parking brake releasing once you press the gas. There's a setting to turn off the auto parking brake when you put the truck in park.

I will do that!! I read something about that feature but never had a second thought to check this... THANKS riccnick!

 

[RT70808]

I will do that!! I read something about that feature but never had a second thought to check this... THANKS riccnick!

I think I saw a setting in the uConnect for auto enable parking brake

 

[Rustydodge]

This reminded me of this thread:

https://5thgenrams.com/community/threads/auto-parking-brake-not-releasing.701/#post-9623

 

[Jared B]

UPDATE: Dealer couldnt find anything that might fix this. They couldnt even check the tranny level in the ZF tranny. Uses sensors only!! Unreal. All looked as it should look, they said. They did run some self-diagnostic learning program to put things back to default parameters. We shall see if this issue disappears into thin air...not good IMO. I did learn that their software recall on rotary shifters, is a tranny lockout if you open the door just after putting the vehicle in Drive. Tranny suddenly goes back into Park so it doesn't run over you and kill you. They spoke of an actor that had this happen in a Dodge where he was pinned between his sedan and a gate. Stay tuned for future updates on this issue. It is a pretty significant problem if it continues...

Find a different dealer, there is a procedure to check the trans fluid level on the ZF 8 speed using the fill plug, if they don't know that then... Uh oh.

 

[VaderRebel]

Find a different dealer, there is a procedure to check the trans fluid level on the ZF 8 speed using the fill plug, if they don't know that then... Uh oh.

BIG uh oh... don't walk, run. That's embarrassing for that dealer, the service manager needs to have a sharp meeting with his shop foreman.

 

[BubbaRegin]

Whoever told you that they can’t check the fluid on a ZF shouldn’t be allowed to use the term “I work at the dealership”. It’s an annoying procedure but there IS a procedure. Just need to do a series of drive sequences on the lift while
Monitoring the temperature via the scan tool. As for the issue at hand, I’m leaning away from it being a fluid issue. Seems more like an actual Elextronic Shift Module is to me though I haven’t seen any come through the dealer yet that have had tht complaint but I’ll keep my eyes open

 

[Blazn]

I actually have experienced this. My old school F-15 Avionics Electronic Tech brain wrote this off as hoping in and rotating it to D before the computer was ready to receive that signal. I just rotate it to park and back to drive and have no issues after that.

I can duplicate this by pressing the start button and rotating to drive drive quickly regardless of Auto start being on as well. And when I say quickly I mean within the second. I found if I casually rotate to D after a couple seconds (not an obnoxious amount of time) I can't duplicate the glitch

+Note* I didn't reference what I use to do to validate what I surmise...I'm putting that there because it highlights my sketchy thinking.

 

[nerdrock]

I actually have experienced this. My old school F-15 Avionics Electronic Tech brain wrote this off as hoping in and rotating it to D before the computer was ready to receive that signal. I just rotate it to park and back to drive and have no issues after that.

I can duplicate this by pressing the start button and rotating to drive drive quickly regardless of Auto start being on as well. And when I say quickly I mean within the second. I found if I casually rotate to D after a couple seconds (not an obnoxious amount of time) I can't duplicate the glitch

+Note* I didn't reference what I use to do to validate what I surmise...I'm putting that there because it highlights my sketchy thinking.

Note to self : if using the Ram as a getaway truck, keep it running.

 

[Blazn]

Note to self : if using the Ram as a getaway truck, keep it running.

FACTS

 

[KILMAL]

THanks again and i thought it was odd that they couldnt check the tranny fluid level too. And yes, i did cycle back and forth to Park a time or two and it never went into Drive until i accelerated. I did test out the Parking BRake too. This is functioning fine as far as i can tell. When the issue happens the dash Park Brake red light is NOT illuminated. I will get it to a different dealer for sure if it keeps up. Thus far, it hasnt acted up since i took to dealer here in Crestwood KY. Thanks again to each of you. Doug

 

[KILMAL]

FACTS

And NO KIDDING! Will keep this beast running for the escape! lol

 

[Rustydodge]

Check to see if it makes any difference having your seat belt buckled or not, just for kicks.