The Poor Shifting Transmission Thread

[Edwards]

I've had poor shifting since a few months after getting the truck last September and had the RRTs applied last year and new flashes a few weeks back. In both cases it shifted like a dream when leaving the dealership. So smooth you couldn't tell when it shifted up or down. But then by the next day, it was back to lunging upon acceleration and very rough downshifts, almost like someone popping a clutch to brake. I wasn't sure what was up since I have eTorque and I didn't know how much that might be impacting things.

Today, after reading about how a corroded ground wire was causing a host of issues for @niftyguy239 here, I disconnected my battery and double checked the G2A ground. All was well there but upon reconnecting the battery (and letting the tech components rediscover each other) I took a test drive and what do you know? It was shifting as smooth as anyone could ever ask for. That lasted for about an hour and within the next 30 minutes it was back to misbehaving just like it had before.

This tells me I don't need a new transmission (like some others have gotten) or a new throttle body. It's all in the programming, or adaptive learning. Either I or Ram has a problem. Since many claim to have butter smooth shifting months into ownership, either something is different, or I and a few others somehow drove ours wrong so that they could learn this bad behavior.

I'm back off to the dealership tomorrow to have my TSB brakes installed and willl have them look at this again. I'm not sure what they can do but plan on keeping the pressure on to get this resolved. I really don't want to have to disconnect the battery every day. Just joking. Mostly...

 

[Edwards]

Service adviser got the service manager to ride with me to demonstrate the up/down shifting issues. Of course it did not do it's worst during that time but he did feel the rough downshifting and the rear end slack. He talked quite a bit and I learned a few new things:

1. He believes that the no acceleration/lunging I rarely experience is caused by the fact that this ZF transmission does not immediately downshift to 1 when you come to a stop. He explained that if you stop and stay stopped very shortly you can "catch" the transmission still completing the x-1 downshift where it will obviously not go. Then it completes the shift and since you are already giving it throttle, it goes quick. That made so much sense and sounds like Houston driving that I let that go. I'll be keeping a closer eye on my gear indicator to see if that's the cause but I believe it is.

2. He explained that this ZF 8-speed is designed to assist braking with the downshifts and did that on the DS previous model also. He also said that part of the design behind that is to prevent the gas from "bumping" you since the gas tanks are longitudinal under the trucks and that it's a bit stiffer shifting on the 33gal. I joked and said "so what I need is the transmission program for the smaller tank?" He started to explain that wasn't possible and I cut him off with empathy. Not sure I buy this explanation though.

3. He didn't want to call me a bad driver, but very gently was explaining how transmissions learn and somehow mine had learned to downshift this roughly. I agreed with his explanation of how it got to this point and that disconnecting the battery made it drive like a dream but I do not see how my driving causes this. It drives basically normally if I absolutely baby it (not practical in Houston traffic) or punch it every time (that's not how I drive). Seems like any moderate/normal style of driving leads back to rough up & down shifting.

Anyway, it's at the dealer for them to play with some more. They did give me a 2WD Longhorn as a loaner. It shifts like butter - absolutely smooth. I think I rolled my eyes. It also scoots! It's got the 3.92 also so the difference must be the huge weight difference between this fairly unloaded truck and my fat a$$ loaded Limited. It's noticeable. Oh, and it got 25 MPG on the drive home.

 

[Klute]

My 2011 Bighorn 2WD Hemi was a blast to drive and got better MPG than my 2019 Bighorn 4WD...Mine currently gets up and goes no problem, but nothin like the 2011.

 

[SpeedyV]

Service adviser got the service manager to ride with me to demonstrate the up/down shifting issues. Of course it did not do it's worst during that time but he did feel the rough downshifting and the rear end slack. He talked quite a bit and I learned a few new things:

1. He believes that the no acceleration/lunging I rarely experience is caused by the fact that this ZF transmission does not immediately downshift to 1 when you come to a stop. He explained that if you stop and stay stopped very shortly you can "catch" the transmission still completing the x-1 downshift where it will obviously not go. Then it completes the shift and since you are already giving it throttle, it goes quick. That made so much sense and sounds like Houston driving that I let that go. I'll be keeping a closer eye on my gear indicator to see if that's the cause but I believe it is.

2. He explained that this ZF 8-speed is designed to assist braking with the downshifts and did that on the DS previous model also. He also said that part of the design behind that is to prevent the gas from "bumping" you since the gas tanks are longitudinal under the trucks and that it's a bit stiffer shifting on the 33gal. I joked and said "so what I need is the transmission program for the smaller tank?" He started to explain that wasn't possible and I cut him off with empathy. Not sure I buy this explanation though.

3. He didn't want to call me a bad driver, but very gently was explaining how transmissions learn and somehow mine had learned to downshift this roughly. I agreed with his explanation of how it got to this point and that disconnecting the battery made it drive like a dream but I do not see how my driving causes this. It drives basically normally if I absolutely baby it (not practical in Houston traffic) or punch it every time (that's not how I drive). Seems like any moderate/normal style of driving leads back to rough up & down shifting.

Anyway, it's at the dealer for them to play with some more. They did give me a 2WD Longhorn as a loaner. It shifts like butter - absolutely smooth. I think I rolled my eyes. It also scoots! It's got the 3.92 also so the difference must be the huge weight difference between this fairly unloaded truck and my fat a$$ loaded Limited. It's noticeable. Oh, and it got 25 MPG on the drive home.

Paying attention to how the ACC brakes when coming to a stop, I noticed that it brakes in stages, i.e. rolling the truck forward at low speed to let the 4-3, 3-2, and 2-1 shifts finish. I’ve learned to emulate this in my own driving, and it makes stooping notably smoother.

 

[Edwards]

Got it back with the dreaded "could not duplicate." They put 26 miles on it so at least they tried. I joked that the tech who drove it should now hop in the 2WD, 3.92, Lonestar loaner they had me in. It shifted like a dream with never a hint of what I've got in mine. He was already gone for the day...

So I drove it home like I stole it. No bad shifts up or down. I did get 1.5 MPG less than I normally do so I guess I have options.

 

[Edwards]

I must be slipping but I just had this thought. Most trucks I've ever driven use the transmission hard downshifts to slow the vehicle in tow/haul mode. Ram decided to do it in both modes. Not sure why but that seems like an odd choice when so many other things are done on purpose to make a smooth ride.

 

[Billy James]

Mine has been pretty strange as well. I remember being very impressed with it when I first got the truck a year ago; but I think it has "learned" bad habits. Most of the time I drive really easy and "baby" my truck in order to save gas, which is probably why it shifts like it does. I am going to see if my Service Department can apply the TCM updates and go form there. @Edwards: it looks like we close build dates; maybe some defective parts are in play here because your problem sounds the same as mine.

 

[Edwards]

Mine has been pretty strange as well. I remember being very impressed with it when I first got the truck a year ago; but I think it has "learned" bad habits. Most of the time I drive really easy and "baby" my truck in order to save gas, which is probably why it shifts like it does. I am going to see if my Service Department can apply the TCM updates and go form there. @Edwards: it looks like we close build dates; maybe some defective parts are in play here because your problem sounds the same as mine.

Yep, that's what the service manager basically told me. It was my fault in how I drive. Now I still don't understand how one of the many transmission programs available to learn is "pop the clutch when downshifting" but it doesn't do it if I drive very aggressively.
The killer was when I had the Lonestar loaner with the same 3.92 in it. You could still feel the downshifts but it was a dream to drive (shifting smoothness) compared to mine. Apparently three days of driving wasn't enough time for it to learn my bad driving habits.

 

[shaveman]

Hey @Edwards I know what you mean about the Houston traffic. I think having the truck try to learn our driving patterns when you deal with something as chaotic as Houston traffic is an exercise in futility. The truck should drive how it drives, and let the driver do the learning and adapting. It boggles the mind...

 

[Dvose]

I've had poor shifting since a few months after getting the truck last September and had the RRTs applied last year and new flashes a few weeks back. In both cases it shifted like a dream when leaving the dealership. So smooth you couldn't tell when it shifted up or down. But then by the next day, it was back to lunging upon acceleration and very rough downshifts, almost like someone popping a clutch to brake. I wasn't sure what was up since I have eTorque and I didn't know how much that might be impacting things.

Today, after reading about how a corroded ground wire was causing a host of issues for @niftyguy239 here, I disconnected my battery and double checked the G2A ground. All was well there but upon reconnecting the battery (and letting the tech components rediscover each other) I took a test drive and what do you know? It was shifting as smooth as anyone could ever ask for. That lasted for about an hour and within the next 30 minutes it was back to misbehaving just like it had before.

This tells me I don't need a new transmission (like some others have gotten) or a new throttle body. It's all in the programming, or adaptive learning. Either I or Ram has a problem. Since many claim to have butter smooth shifting months into ownership, either something is different, or I and a few others somehow drove ours wrong so that they could learn this bad behavior.

I'm back off to the dealership tomorrow to have my TSB brakes installed and willl have them look at this again. I'm not sure what they can do but plan on keeping the pressure on to get this resolved. I really don't want to have to disconnect the battery every day. Just joking. Mostly...

Did you just disconnect the negative at battery?
also notice when accelerating and trans just about shifts exhaust gets much louder ?

 

[Edwards]

Did you just disconnect the negative at battery?
also notice when accelerating and trans just about shifts exhaust gets much louder ?

In that case I removed the ground wire which I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND. In practice this is the same as disconnecting the battery negative.

I don't quite understand your second question?

 

[Raydar]

I really like the way mine shifts, except for when it jumps down into 1st when I hit the gas at a stop sign. I would be just as happy if it remained in 2nd unless I really hammered the gas from a stop. I'm sure that FCA could modify that in the programming. I'm not sure they WOULD, however.
I especially like the downshifting when the brakes are applied. Makes driving in congested traffic a bit easier.

Did you ...
also notice when accelerating and trans just about shifts exhaust gets much louder ?

I didn't notice this until yesterday, when I got my FlowFX installed. It seems to be most noticeable at full throttle.
It's probably the PCM pulling timing advance in preparation for the upshift, in order to make the shift smoother (and easier on the mechanicals.)
I know that some GMs do that. I've seen it in the programming. I haven't datalogged the Ram, or watched what the timing does, real time, but I'd almost bet money on it.
First time I heard it, I was like, "Son of a..." Figured immediately what it was. This PCM is busy. (I won't even mention the MDS.)

 

[joshuajames87]

Just bought a 2020 Ram Limited on 12/15 and just under 600 miles on it I have noticed the downshifting big time now that i am driving it in traffic more. Had it parked until my other truck was bought back but now I am concerned. Do I take it in before I hit 1,000 miles to have them check it?

I just went through another truck (can’t say much because of the agreement I signed) being bought back as a lemon after going through 3 rear axles in 6 months of having it. Lesson learned there was take it in at the first sign of a problem. So am I being paranoid to take it in already or do I let it ride out a bit longer? Thanks for the advice ahead of time!

 

[RamCares]

Just bought a 2020 Ram Limited on 12/15 and just under 600 miles on it I have noticed the downshifting big time now that i am driving it in traffic more. Had it parked until my other truck was bought back but now I am concerned. Do I take it in before I hit 1,000 miles to have them check it?

I just went through another truck (can’t say much because of the agreement I signed) being bought back as a lemon after going through 3 rear axles in 6 months of having it. Lesson learned there was take it in at the first sign of a problem. So am I being paranoid to take it in already or do I let it ride out a bit longer? Thanks for the advice ahead of time!

Hi joshuajames87,

I'm sorry to hear of the trouble you are experiencing with your new truck. This is certainly not how we expect our customers to feel about our vehicles. Please know that our team is just a private message away if you do end up addressing this with your dealer. We would be happy to connect you with a case manager for extra support for that process.

Mark
RamCares

 

[airgas1998]

Just bought a 2020 Ram Limited on 12/15 and just under 600 miles on it I have noticed the downshifting big time now that i am driving it in traffic more. Had it parked until my other truck was bought back but now I am concerned. Do I take it in before I hit 1,000 miles to have them check it?

I just went through another truck (can’t say much because of the agreement I signed) being bought back as a lemon after going through 3 rear axles in 6 months of having it. Lesson learned there was take it in at the first sign of a problem. So am I being paranoid to take it in already or do I let it ride out a bit longer? Thanks for the advice ahead of time!

my truck had the firm 4-3 downshift for about 3k miles, and then it was like magic one day and all is very smooth now...so who knows...

 

[joshuajames87]

my truck had the firm 4-3 downshift for about 3k miles, and then it was like magic one day and all is very smooth now...so who knows...

Took it in Tuesday and got a call Friday. The valve body in the transmission in opening too early when downshifting causing the rough downshift by releasing fluid early. Part is on order to replace the entire valve body and they said that should take care of the issue. 903 miles on it so far. Little concerned but hopefully its just a fluke thing and it will be clear shifting (haha) after this. Did come out with a few scratches on the chrome and tailgate that wasn’t there. I forgot to ask them to not wash it as it was a touch wash and I always hand wash. You can definitely tell on the chrome it was that. What can you do though.

 

[joshuajames87]

my truck had the firm 4-3 downshift for about 3k miles, and then it was like magic one day and all is very smooth now...so who knows...

Took it in Tuesday and got a call Friday. The valve body in the transmission in opening too early when downshifting causing the rough downshift by releasing fluid early. Part is on order to replace the entire valve body and they said that should take care of the issue. 903 miles on it so far. Little concerned but hopefully its just a fluke thing and it will be clear shifting (haha) after this. Did come out with a few scratches on the chrome and tailgate that wasn’t there. I forgot to ask them to not wash it as it was a touch wash and I always hand wash. You can definitely tell on the chrome it was that. What can you do though.

Hi joshuajames87,

I'm sorry to hear of the trouble you are experiencing with your new truck. This is certainly not how we expect our customers to feel about our vehicles. Please know that our team is just a private message away if you do end up addressing this with your dealer. We would be happy to connect you with a case manager for extra support for that process.

Mark
RamCares

Took it in Tuesday and got a call Friday. The valve body in the transmission in opening too early when downshifting causing the rough downshift by releasing fluid early. Part is on order to replace the entire valve body and they said that should take care of the issue. 903 miles on it so far. Little concerned but hopefully its just a fluke thing and it will be clear shifting (haha) after this. Did come out with a few scratches on the chrome and tailgate that wasn’t there. I forgot to ask them to not wash it as it was a touch wash and I always hand wash. You can definitely tell on the chrome it was that. What can you do though.

 

[2019bighorn_crew]

Took it in Tuesday and got a call Friday. The valve body in the transmission in opening too early when downshifting causing the rough downshift by releasing fluid early. Part is on order to replace the entire valve body and they said that should take care of the issue. 903 miles on it so far. Little concerned but hopefully its just a fluke thing and it will be clear shifting (haha) after this. Did come out with a few scratches on the chrome and tailgate that wasn’t there. I forgot to ask them to not wash it as it was a touch wash and I always hand wash. You can definitely tell on the chrome it was that. What can you do though.

Took it in Tuesday and got a call Friday. The valve body in the transmission in opening too early when downshifting causing the rough downshift by releasing fluid early. Part is on order to replace the entire valve body and they said that should take care of the issue. 903 miles on it so far. Little concerned but hopefully its just a fluke thing and it will be clear shifting (haha) after this. Did come out with a few scratches on the chrome and tailgate that wasn’t there. I forgot to ask them to not wash it as it was a touch wash and I always hand wash. You can definitely tell on the chrome it was that. What can you do though.

Did the new valve body correct your problem?

 

[Dusty1948]

Did the new valve body correct your problem?

Are you having shifting problems?

Best 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. Build date: 03 June 2018. Now at: 045573 miles.

 

[frostymug]

Paying attention to how the ACC brakes when coming to a stop, I noticed that it brakes in stages, i.e. rolling the truck forward at low speed to let the 4-3, 3-2, and 2-1 shifts finish. I’ve learned to emulate this in my own driving, and it makes stooping notably smoother.

Can you explain this some more? I have the same issue with my 2021 and it’s very annoying.