Transmission shifting issues in higher gears

[Slow&easy]

I wanted to share a few issues I have been having. My previous truck was a 2014 Ram 1500 3.6 4x4 crew. My new truck is a 2019 Ram 1500 3.6 4x4 crew also. I bought the truck new with 35 miles about 3 months ago. My previous truck had around 30K miles when I bought it and 99K when I traded it. I never had a single issue in the few years I owned it.
My new truck is a different story so far. To get this moving along, I'm having issues with 5th,6th,7th and sometimes 8th. The truck does not like to down shift in any of these gears. Once it's in 6th or 7th especially I have to almost floor it to downshift any. I drive 40 miles to work each day in varying terrain. I have hills, highway and city driving. I have noticed the worst issues in the city and hills. I have a 5 mile stretch I go from 35 mph to 45 mph back to 35 mph.. My truck will easily get into 6th and 7th and sometimes 8th in this stretch. If my truck is in 7th when in the 35mph zone and I reach the 45 zone and there is no traffic and I try to accelerate it will buck, jump and not want to down shift when pressing the throttle until I really push it hard.. Then it will down shift into 4th and sometimes 3rd and take off like a wild kid on sugar. It will also do this same thing in 6th.. I'm not looking forward to this when the snow gets here. (In lower gears it will down shift with about 15-20% of throttle input.)

So my 8th gear issue is the truck bucks or bumps in 8th sometimes. I know it is hard to explain, but once I'm up to 55-65 and the truck shifts into 8th and I set the cruise control about 10 seconds later it feels like I have been bumped from someone behind me. I know that sounds odd but I have no way to explain it. It feels like the truck gets a push or a bump from behind. It's not gentle either, everyone who has rode with me asks ( wth was that!)

So I figured this was all because the truck is new and it needs miles to break in over all nothing has changes in 3200 miles. Yesterday when driving home, I have a small hill I have to go up to get to the road by my house house. I turn off a major highway to go up this hill.. ( highway speed is 60 mph, the hill is 1/8 mile 5% grade) So my truck is in 8th on the highway as normal and I start to slow down and make the turn going around 15-20 mph and my truck is still in 5th, and I get my truck straighten up to go up the hill and try to gain some speed, my truck starts to buck and shudder.. I'm going 20-25ish and I'm still in 5th!! So I apply more pedal and the bucking it gets worse.. So floor it, and finally it downshift with a loud bang (sounded like hammers smacking) and it revs wildly and goes from 1st to 2nd and then screams up the hill.

I thought I have had enough of this wild ride so I call the dealer I bought it from and "try" to schedule it to have it looked at.. I'm told it will be 2 weeks before I can drop it off !!
So now I wait to see what might be wrong with my transmission.. Oh to top this all off, this does not happen all the time.. Maybe once a week the transmission acts really crazy.. and most of the time it will still not down shift, but it does it much gentler. My 2014 never had this issue and I was hoping my new truck would not have issues.. Transmission issues are the worst ones to have. There have been other weird transmission quirks, but I'm done typing for now.

 

[RamCares]

I wanted to share a few issues I have been having. My previous truck was a 2014 Ram 1500 3.6 4x4 crew. My new truck is a 2019 Ram 1500 3.6 4x4 crew also. I bought the truck new with 35 miles about 3 months ago. My previous truck had around 30K miles when I bought it and 99K when I traded it. I never had a single issue in the few years I owned it.
My new truck is a different story so far. To get this moving along, I'm having issues with 5th,6th,7th and sometimes 8th. The truck does not like to down shift in any of these gears. Once it's in 6th or 7th especially I have to almost floor it to downshift any. I drive 40 miles to work each day in varying terrain. I have hills, highway and city driving. I have noticed the worst issues in the city and hills. I have a 5 mile stretch I go from 35 mph to 45 mph back to 35 mph.. My truck will easily get into 6th and 7th and sometimes 8th in this stretch. If my truck is in 7th when in the 35mph zone and I reach the 45 zone and there is no traffic and I try to accelerate it will buck, jump and not want to down shift when pressing the throttle until I really push it hard.. Then it will down shift into 4th and sometimes 3rd and take off like a wild kid on sugar. It will also do this same thing in 6th.. I'm not looking forward to this when the snow gets here. (In lower gears it will down shift with about 15-20% of throttle input.)

So my 8th gear issue is the truck bucks or bumps in 8th sometimes. I know it is hard to explain, but once I'm up to 55-65 and the truck shifts into 8th and I set the cruise control about 10 seconds later it feels like I have been bumped from someone behind me. I know that sounds odd but I have no way to explain it. It feels like the truck gets a push or a bump from behind. It's not gentle either, everyone who has rode with me asks ( wth was that!)

So I figured this was all because the truck is new and it needs miles to break in over all nothing has changes in 3200 miles. Yesterday when driving home, I have a small hill I have to go up to get to the road by my house house. I turn off a major highway to go up this hill.. ( highway speed is 60 mph, the hill is 1/8 mile 5% grade) So my truck is in 8th on the highway as normal and I start to slow down and make the turn going around 15-20 mph and my truck is still in 5th, and I get my truck straighten up to go up the hill and try to gain some speed, my truck starts to buck and shudder.. I'm going 20-25ish and I'm still in 5th!! So I apply more pedal and the bucking it gets worse.. So floor it, and finally it downshift with a loud bang (sounded like hammers smacking) and it revs wildly and goes from 1st to 2nd and then screams up the hill.

I thought I have had enough of this wild ride so I call the dealer I bought it from and "try" to schedule it to have it looked at.. I'm told it will be 2 weeks before I can drop it off !!
So now I wait to see what might be wrong with my transmission.. Oh to top this all off, this does not happen all the time.. Maybe once a week the transmission acts really crazy.. and most of the time it will still not down shift, but it does it much gentler. My 2014 never had this issue and I was hoping my new truck would not have issues.. Transmission issues are the worst ones to have. There have been other weird transmission quirks, but I'm done typing for now.

Good Morning,
We are certainly sorry to hear about your transmission concern. If additional assistance is needed while working with your dealer, please reach out to us privately.
Laura
Ram Cares

 

[Billy James]

I wanted to share a few issues I have been having. My previous truck was a 2014 Ram 1500 3.6 4x4 crew. My new truck is a 2019 Ram 1500 3.6 4x4 crew also. I bought the truck new with 35 miles about 3 months ago. My previous truck had around 30K miles when I bought it and 99K when I traded it. I never had a single issue in the few years I owned it.
My new truck is a different story so far. To get this moving along, I'm having issues with 5th,6th,7th and sometimes 8th. The truck does not like to down shift in any of these gears. Once it's in 6th or 7th especially I have to almost floor it to downshift any. I drive 40 miles to work each day in varying terrain. I have hills, highway and city driving. I have noticed the worst issues in the city and hills. I have a 5 mile stretch I go from 35 mph to 45 mph back to 35 mph.. My truck will easily get into 6th and 7th and sometimes 8th in this stretch. If my truck is in 7th when in the 35mph zone and I reach the 45 zone and there is no traffic and I try to accelerate it will buck, jump and not want to down shift when pressing the throttle until I really push it hard.. Then it will down shift into 4th and sometimes 3rd and take off like a wild kid on sugar. It will also do this same thing in 6th.. I'm not looking forward to this when the snow gets here. (In lower gears it will down shift with about 15-20% of throttle input.)

So my 8th gear issue is the truck bucks or bumps in 8th sometimes. I know it is hard to explain, but once I'm up to 55-65 and the truck shifts into 8th and I set the cruise control about 10 seconds later it feels like I have been bumped from someone behind me. I know that sounds odd but I have no way to explain it. It feels like the truck gets a push or a bump from behind. It's not gentle either, everyone who has rode with me asks ( wth was that!)

So I figured this was all because the truck is new and it needs miles to break in over all nothing has changes in 3200 miles. Yesterday when driving home, I have a small hill I have to go up to get to the road by my house house. I turn off a major highway to go up this hill.. ( highway speed is 60 mph, the hill is 1/8 mile 5% grade) So my truck is in 8th on the highway as normal and I start to slow down and make the turn going around 15-20 mph and my truck is still in 5th, and I get my truck straighten up to go up the hill and try to gain some speed, my truck starts to buck and shudder.. I'm going 20-25ish and I'm still in 5th!! So I apply more pedal and the bucking it gets worse.. So floor it, and finally it downshift with a loud bang (sounded like hammers smacking) and it revs wildly and goes from 1st to 2nd and then screams up the hill.

I thought I have had enough of this wild ride so I call the dealer I bought it from and "try" to schedule it to have it looked at.. I'm told it will be 2 weeks before I can drop it off !!
So now I wait to see what might be wrong with my transmission.. Oh to top this all off, this does not happen all the time.. Maybe once a week the transmission acts really crazy.. and most of the time it will still not down shift, but it does it much gentler. My 2014 never had this issue and I was hoping my new truck would not have issues.. Transmission issues are the worst ones to have. There have been other weird transmission quirks, but I'm done typing for now.

What is your build date and configuration? There are a couple TSBs for Transmission software updates that have help calmed other transmissions down. I do get the little 8th gear bump on occasion; it happens when the MDS is engaged and then it disengages at the same time that I give it gas. The combination of the MDS disengaging while applying power sometimes makes a bump. The other stuff you are experiencing isn't right. I would investigate whether or not the TCM updates have been done on your truck and go from there; especially since it doesn't happen all of the time.

 

[Slow&easy]

My truck is a 3.6 V6, so that rules out MDS.. It's a transmission issue, I'm just more upset it will be 2 weeks before they can get to it. I have also heard a lot of truck come with low fluid and it causes issues when cold.. I guess I will see next week when they get to it..

 

[Slow&easy]

I just wanted to update. Took my truck in yesterday finally..explained what was going on and left it. Got a call 3 hrs later that is was done. Picked the truck up after work late.. I had a 45 mile drive home from dealer.. Dealer said they re-flashed everything to the newest updates and test drove. (3 miles is what the odometer difference was from when I dropped it off) So on my way home I noticed 1st to 2nd shift is very noticeable now, almost like a drag car.. Though it might go away after trans adapts. Drive home was good.. The 8th gear bump seem to be gone.. I took the interstate home because it was late and I wanted to get home.

This morning 1st to 2nd was still aggressive all through town.. about 6 stops in all. Finally got to the highway and everything seem to be okay till I got into traffic.. The 5th and 6th gear shutter is still there around 30-45 mph. It's about 50% better now though.. It use to last 5-8 seconds and now its down to 3-4 sec. I will be calling the dealer today and setting up another appointment.. I just hope it's not another 2 weeks before I can get it in. They told me they only have one transmission tech there and he is busy all the time. They did say I was the 1st 2019 Ram truck with transmission issues so far there.

My concern is, what if the fluid has been low all this time? Hasn't some damage occurred already? I bought this truck to last several years and right out of the gate transmission issues.. I'm starting to loose sleep over this. My local dealer closed so I have to drive 40 miles to this dealer every-time I need something.

 

[RamCares]

I just wanted to update. Took my truck in yesterday finally..explained what was going on and left it. Got a call 3 hrs later that is was done. Picked the truck up after work late.. I had a 45 mile drive home from dealer.. Dealer said they re-flashed everything to the newest updates and test drove. (3 miles is what the odometer difference was from when I dropped it off) So on my way home I noticed 1st to 2nd shift is very noticeable now, almost like a drag car.. Though it might go away after trans adapts. Drive home was good.. The 8th gear bump seem to be gone.. I took the interstate home because it was late and I wanted to get home.

This morning 1st to 2nd was still aggressive all through town.. about 6 stops in all. Finally got to the highway and everything seem to be okay till I got into traffic.. The 5th and 6th gear shutter is still there around 30-45 mph. It's about 50% better now though.. It use to last 5-8 seconds and now its down to 3-4 sec. I will be calling the dealer today and setting up another appointment.. I just hope it's not another 2 weeks before I can get it in. They told me they only have one transmission tech there and he is busy all the time. They did say I was the 1st 2019 Ram truck with transmission issues so far there.

My concern is, what if the fluid has been low all this time? Hasn't some damage occurred already? I bought this truck to last several years and right out of the gate transmission issues.. I'm starting to loose sleep over this. My local dealer closed so I have to drive 40 miles to this dealer every-time I need something.

Hi Slow&easy,

I sincerely regret to hear that you are still experiencing this concern with your truck. Given your situation, I would like to escalate a case on your behalf to connect you with a case specialist for an additional layer of support while you work with your dealer. If this would be of interest, simply follow up with me via private message to get the process started.

Mark
RamCares

 

[tcutlip89]

I just wanted to update. Took my truck in yesterday finally..explained what was going on and left it. Got a call 3 hrs later that is was done. Picked the truck up after work late.. I had a 45 mile drive home from dealer.. Dealer said they re-flashed everything to the newest updates and test drove. (3 miles is what the odometer difference was from when I dropped it off) So on my way home I noticed 1st to 2nd shift is very noticeable now, almost like a drag car.. Though it might go away after trans adapts. Drive home was good.. The 8th gear bump seem to be gone.. I took the interstate home because it was late and I wanted to get home.

This morning 1st to 2nd was still aggressive all through town.. about 6 stops in all. Finally got to the highway and everything seem to be okay till I got into traffic.. The 5th and 6th gear shutter is still there around 30-45 mph. It's about 50% better now though.. It use to last 5-8 seconds and now its down to 3-4 sec. I will be calling the dealer today and setting up another appointment.. I just hope it's not another 2 weeks before I can get it in. They told me they only have one transmission tech there and he is busy all the time. They did say I was the 1st 2019 Ram truck with transmission issues so far there.

My concern is, what if the fluid has been low all this time? Hasn't some damage occurred already? I bought this truck to last several years and right out of the gate transmission issues.. I'm starting to loose sleep over this. My local dealer closed so I have to drive 40 miles to this dealer every-time I need something.

Sounds just like my dealer, had my truck for 3 days and never even looked at my tranny, for 1st/2nd gear concerns. They said only one tranny guy and they are backed up 2 to 3 weeks. Wouldn't of even left it in 1st place if they would have originally said that. Geez!

 

[RamCares]

Sounds just like my dealer, had my truck for 3 days and never even looked at my tranny, for 1st/2nd gear concerns. They said only one tranny guy and they are backed up 2 to 3 weeks. Wouldn't of even left it in 1st place if they would have originally said that. Geez!

Hi tcutlip89,

I sincerely regret to hear your sentiments expressed here. If it would be of interest, I would be more than happy to escalate a case on your behalf to connect you with a case specialist who can provide you with an additional layer of support while your truck is in service. Simply follow up with me via private message to get the process started.

Mark
RamCares

 

[Slow&easy]

I figured I'd update this. Ram dealer said there is an issue with some trucks having shuttering problems in higher gears. He said "Ram is working on a software update that should be available in mid December" So I have to drive my truck for another month with this issue.. who know what damage this is doing.. I'm not buying it. Feels like a mechanical issue and they are buying some time to see if they can get the check engine light to come on to read a code. So now I have to drive my new truck with trans issues around with family, employee's and customers.. Should be nice telling them what a great product Ram is!!

Next truck will be a Ford..

Ram if you can't fix a vehicle in 2 visits for the same issue do not sell vehicles. Next trip will be my 3rd visit and I'm betting it will not be my last.

 

[User_3336]

I never read what GEAR RATIO your truck has . . . . .

 

[Slow&easy]

My truck has the 3.55 axle's.
I think the bigger issues is the dealer has only done a software update and nothing else in 2 visits. Both times they have only driven the truck 4 miles. I drive 40 miles to work everyday through hills, valleys, city and highway. They cannot replicate the issue on a 4 mile city drive. In my 40 mile drive it will do it once or 2x sometimes in 6th gear. They didn't even check the fluid level the 2nd time there.

 

[Slow&easy]

Here is the latest and most recent BS story on my truck now. I took it to a different dealer to get a second opinion. The tech drove my truck and didn't notice anything "un-usual". The service advisor did tell me that these trucks take "8000" yes eight thousand miles to learn. It may shift odd or act "funny" sometimes till it learns my driving style. The last dealer that did the "re-flash" told me it took "500-600" miles for it to learn. So the bottom line is Ram has an issue with the V6 E-torque 8 speed trucks and is BSing owners that this is "normal". This is not normal.. (They are buying time)

So I guess for now I'm going to spread the "truth" about how awesome my truck is and all the "real" problems is has with no actual fix. I asked for the dealer to document everything on my ticket. I'm thinking about making a well documented YouTube video about this problem and see what happens then. Maybe if enough people are aware there that is a "REAL" issue with these truck shifting someone will actually come up with a fix.
Just on a side note, this is the 2nd dealer to not check the fluid level on the truck. It seems all they want to do is plug it into the computer and look for an error code. I'm not going to give up on this. I paid for a new truck to work and function correctly. The most frustrating part is knowing there are others with this same issue and nobody cares because it's only a small percent of truck owners.

To sum this all up.. From the dealers mouths.. It takes between 500 and 8000 miles for your truck transmission to learn how to shift. (Bs no printed documentation from Chrysler to back that up) In that time you might have un-usual or odd shift behavior. (truck will buck and shutter and not shift down sometimes) This is "not" an issue says the dealer. Although my paperwork says "Ram is aware of the issue and is working on a new update due in mid December" I will scan in my documents tomorrow so anyone can read themselves.

 

[Billy James]

Here is the latest and most recent BS story on my truck now. I took it to a different dealer to get a second opinion. The tech drove my truck and didn't notice anything "un-usual". The service advisor did tell me that these trucks take "8000" yes eight thousand miles to learn. It may shift odd or act "funny" sometimes till it learns my driving style. The last dealer that did the "re-flash" told me it took "500-600" miles for it to learn. So the bottom line is Ram has an issue with the V6 E-torque 8 speed trucks and is BSing owners that this is "normal". This is not normal.. (They are buying time)

So I guess for now I'm going to spread the "truth" about how awesome my truck is and all the "real" problems is has with no actual fix. I asked for the dealer to document everything on my ticket. I'm thinking about making a well documented YouTube video about this problem and see what happens then. Maybe if enough people are aware there that is a "REAL" issue with these truck shifting someone will actually come up with a fix.
Just on a side note, this is the 2nd dealer to not check the fluid level on the truck. It seems all they want to do is plug it into the computer and look for an error code. I'm not going to give up on this. I paid for a new truck to work and function correctly. The most frustrating part is knowing there are others with this same issue and nobody cares because it's only a small percent of truck owners.

To sum this all up.. From the dealers mouths.. It takes between 500 and 8000 miles for your truck transmission to learn how to shift. (Bs no printed documentation from Chrysler to back that up) In that time you might have un-usual or odd shift behavior. (truck will buck and shutter and not shift down sometimes) This is "not" an issue says the dealer. Although my paperwork says "Ram is aware of the issue and is working on a new update due in mid December" I will scan in my documents tomorrow so anyone can read themselves.

Sadly, there may be a little truth to what the service departments are telling you. I bought my truck in August 2018. The transmission bumped and shifted around like crazy and I initially accepted that it was junk because the dealer and the forums did not have a solution. In January 2019, FCA released TSB 21-002-19. I had that TSB applied in September 2019 and it made a big difference. The strange thing is that when the software is messed up; it doesn't necessarily affect every truck. I was so over this truck because that bumping transmission drove me crazy; but the TSB made things 99.8% better. I may get a little bump or miss-shift on occasion now; but it is nothing like it was before. It was an instantaneous fix when they loaded the software. I would say the "learn" is probably about 500 miles because my transmission feel changed at about 500. I'm normally a very easy driver and I don't think the learn process likes that much. So, every now and then I'll drive it like I stole it and the transmission will behave the way I like it.
The reason the dealers probably didn't check the fluid is because no slipping was detected. Normally, low fluid results in slipping rather than bumping. These aren't the hydraulically shifted transmissions of old; most of it is controlled electrically. I would say keep your service records and see what happens in December when the update is available; you may be surprised. The V-6 and 3.55 is relatively new compared to the 5.7 DTs. I would expect that it would take a little longer for FCA to get the corrections out there; it took them about nine months from the start of 5.7 RAM production before they got a good 5.7 transmission software load (and there were many more 5.7 RAMS for them to get data from than there are V6 RAMS). I know its annoying; but try the software first (when it comes out); it sure is better than someone wrenching on your truck without any direction or idea of what to look for.

 

[Slow&easy]

I get what you are saying and appreciate your reply. My truck has been to the dealership a total of 5 times in the last month. 3 times for the trans and 2 times for the brake controller. I get these are not hydraulic shifted like the older trucks. But it is odd that this happens worse around 40 degree's than warmer temps.

I'm going to weigh in on some logic here, nobody should ever get stuck with a brand new vehicle with issues. You said "initially I accepted it was junk" Nobody ever paying this much for something should ever feel this way. You accepting that means you let them do or sell whatever they wanted. Yes they "finally" came out with a fix.. but at your cost of headache and sleepless nights worrying about it. I'm simply not going to settle to wait for them to fix it at their leisure. I bought the truck in good faith that it was new and in working order. The dealers have already put in writing there is an issue and there is no current fix. Some times in life you have to stand up for something that is not right and that is what I'm doing. I'm simply putting the facts out there and giving people the opportunity to know what they are in for if they buy one.

I have 5100 miles on my truck and it shifts like crap and shutters doing who knows what to the torque converter, valve body etc.. how much damage has occurred or has any damage occurred? How long will my transmission last compared to a truck with no issues? This is the real question, I'm the one losing no matter how you put it. Transmissions do not like shutter, they do not like hard upshift and down shifts, miss shift or anything "funny" or "odd".
Who do you think pay the bill at 42,000 miles (out of warranty) if my trans decides to finally die because of this? Do you think I would have bought the truck if the dealer said "hey this truck has some trans issues, were working on it though and will possibly have a fix someday (maybe)"

In all fairness, if I the dealer said "We know there is an issue and we guarantee a fix by xx/xx/xxxx date" I would have been fine with that. Right now I have "We might have fix to this known issue next month... maybe"

Paying 50K for a truck you are embarrased to drive with your friends, co-workers, employee's and family is a hard pill to swallow.

 

[Lil'Mike]

Hi there - I know it’s been a while, but any updates on your situation? I’ve been fighting the transmission/drive line in my V6 Ram as well. I’ve posted about it in a few threads. I received the updated TCM and PCM update, but the truck still shudders like I’m always driving in a headwind. I just found today that if I am cruising in 8th and then put the pedal to the floor, it will shift to 3rd, then clunk and then accelerate. If I do the same from 7th, smooth as butter... I’m currently leaving the battery cable off for a few hours. I’m in desperation mode as I’m still very unhappy after a 50k purchase. Likely will take it into the dealer again only to be told everything is fine.

 

[Val]

I figured I'd update this. Ram dealer said there is an issue with some trucks having shuttering problems in higher gears. He said "Ram is working on a software update that should be available in mid December" So I have to drive my truck for another month with this issue.. who know what damage this is doing.. I'm not buying it. Feels like a mechanical issue and they are buying some time to see if they can get the check engine light to come on to read a code. So now I have to drive my new truck with trans issues around with family, employee's and customers.. Should be nice telling them what a great product Ram is!!

Next truck will be a Ford..

Ram if you can't fix a vehicle in 2 visits for the same issue do not sell vehicles. Next trip will be my 3rd visit and I'm betting it will not be my last.

I’m having trouble with mine feels like it’s trying to downshift around 40 miles then I hear a grumble with a hard shift...
‘I’m hating so much about this truck and I’ve only got 700 miles nothing like my 2005

 

[Yonko]

I wanted to share a few issues I have been having. My previous truck was a 2014 Ram 1500 3.6 4x4 crew. My new truck is a 2019 Ram 1500 3.6 4x4 crew also. I bought the truck new with 35 miles about 3 months ago. My previous truck had around 30K miles when I bought it and 99K when I traded it. I never had a single issue in the few years I owned it.
My new truck is a different story so far. To get this moving along, I'm having issues with 5th,6th,7th and sometimes 8th. The truck does not like to down shift in any of these gears. Once it's in 6th or 7th especially I have to almost floor it to downshift any. I drive 40 miles to work each day in varying terrain. I have hills, highway and city driving. I have noticed the worst issues in the city and hills. I have a 5 mile stretch I go from 35 mph to 45 mph back to 35 mph.. My truck will easily get into 6th and 7th and sometimes 8th in this stretch. If my truck is in 7th when in the 35mph zone and I reach the 45 zone and there is no traffic and I try to accelerate it will buck, jump and not want to down shift when pressing the throttle until I really push it hard.. Then it will down shift into 4th and sometimes 3rd and take off like a wild kid on sugar. It will also do this same thing in 6th.. I'm not looking forward to this when the snow gets here. (In lower gears it will down shift with about 15-20% of throttle input.)

So my 8th gear issue is the truck bucks or bumps in 8th sometimes. I know it is hard to explain, but once I'm up to 55-65 and the truck shifts into 8th and I set the cruise control about 10 seconds later it feels like I have been bumped from someone behind me. I know that sounds odd but I have no way to explain it. It feels like the truck gets a push or a bump from behind. It's not gentle either, everyone who has rode with me asks ( wth was that!)

So I figured this was all because the truck is new and it needs miles to break in over all nothing has changes in 3200 miles. Yesterday when driving home, I have a small hill I have to go up to get to the road by my house house. I turn off a major highway to go up this hill.. ( highway speed is 60 mph, the hill is 1/8 mile 5% grade) So my truck is in 8th on the highway as normal and I start to slow down and make the turn going around 15-20 mph and my truck is still in 5th, and I get my truck straighten up to go up the hill and try to gain some speed, my truck starts to buck and shudder.. I'm going 20-25ish and I'm still in 5th!! So I apply more pedal and the bucking it gets worse.. So floor it, and finally it downshift with a loud bang (sounded like hammers smacking) and it revs wildly and goes from 1st to 2nd and then screams up the hill.

I thought I have had enough of this wild ride so I call the dealer I bought it from and "try" to schedule it to have it looked at.. I'm told it will be 2 weeks before I can drop it off !!
So now I wait to see what might be wrong with my transmission.. Oh to top this all off, this does not happen all the time.. Maybe once a week the transmission acts really crazy.. and most of the time it will still not down shift, but it does it much gentler. My 2014 never had this issue and I was hoping my new truck would not have issues.. Transmission issues are the worst ones to have. There have been other weird transmission quirks, but I'm done typing for now.

I have a 2020 Challenger R/T that exhibits the same premature shifting issues. 35 MPH in 7th gear... really, Dodge? When I hit the accelerator to achieve a downshift, there is a marked dead-spot (mush pedal), drops from 7th to 4th then takes-off like a scorched cat! WTF? I took it to the dealership, twice. The last visit was elevated to "star" level service. After 6 hours in the shop and one test drive, Dodge says that it is operating normally. I have a difficult time believing that, but what can I do? I'm thinking about letting a transmission shop take it for a test-drive, just to see what they think. We were considering trading-in our FX4 on a Rebel pickup. Given what we're going through now, I think Dodge and I may be through doing business together. Our 2014 FX4 drives and shifts like a dream! No issues in the 6 years we have owned it.

 

[mikes454]

I wanted to share a few issues I have been having. My previous truck was a 2014 Ram 1500 3.6 4x4 crew. My new truck is a 2019 Ram 1500 3.6 4x4 crew also. I bought the truck new with 35 miles about 3 months ago. My previous truck had around 30K miles when I bought it and 99K when I traded it. I never had a single issue in the few years I owned it.
My new truck is a different story so far. To get this moving along, I'm having issues with 5th,6th,7th and sometimes 8th. The truck does not like to down shift in any of these gears. Once it's in 6th or 7th especially I have to almost floor it to downshift any. I drive 40 miles to work each day in varying terrain. I have hills, highway and city driving. I have noticed the worst issues in the city and hills. I have a 5 mile stretch I go from 35 mph to 45 mph back to 35 mph.. My truck will easily get into 6th and 7th and sometimes 8th in this stretch. If my truck is in 7th when in the 35mph zone and I reach the 45 zone and there is no traffic and I try to accelerate it will buck, jump and not want to down shift when pressing the throttle until I really push it hard.. Then it will down shift into 4th and sometimes 3rd and take off like a wild kid on sugar. It will also do this same thing in 6th.. I'm not looking forward to this when the snow gets here. (In lower gears it will down shift with about 15-20% of throttle input.)

So my 8th gear issue is the truck bucks or bumps in 8th sometimes. I know it is hard to explain, but once I'm up to 55-65 and the truck shifts into 8th and I set the cruise control about 10 seconds later it feels like I have been bumped from someone behind me. I know that sounds odd but I have no way to explain it. It feels like the truck gets a push or a bump from behind. It's not gentle either, everyone who has rode with me asks ( wth was that!)

So I figured this was all because the truck is new and it needs miles to break in over all nothing has changes in 3200 miles. Yesterday when driving home, I have a small hill I have to go up to get to the road by my house house. I turn off a major highway to go up this hill.. ( highway speed is 60 mph, the hill is 1/8 mile 5% grade) So my truck is in 8th on the highway as normal and I start to slow down and make the turn going around 15-20 mph and my truck is still in 5th, and I get my truck straighten up to go up the hill and try to gain some speed, my truck starts to buck and shudder.. I'm going 20-25ish and I'm still in 5th!! So I apply more pedal and the bucking it gets worse.. So floor it, and finally it downshift with a loud bang (sounded like hammers smacking) and it revs wildly and goes from 1st to 2nd and then screams up the hill.

I thought I have had enough of this wild ride so I call the dealer I bought it from and "try" to schedule it to have it looked at.. I'm told it will be 2 weeks before I can drop it off !!
So now I wait to see what might be wrong with my transmission.. Oh to top this all off, this does not happen all the time.. Maybe once a week the transmission acts really crazy.. and most of the time it will still not down shift, but it does it much gentler. My 2014 never had this issue and I was hoping my new truck would not have issues.. Transmission issues are the worst ones to have. There have been other weird transmission quirks, but I'm done typing for now.

I have the same truck, I also had no issues with a2014 and 2016 but my transmission problem is it won’t up shift and it’s random. Sometimes on the highway passing I’m at 5500RPM and it won’t shift. I slow down and finally have to stop and turn off the engine and wait a few minutes restart and it’s fine for a while. Yesterday I left the grocery store and with a 2 mile drive home I drove 10MPH the entire way at 5000RPM. Parked at the street and called the dealership which towed it again. Dealer has technicians checking but no answers. HELP!

 

[User_3336]

Ever tried using the +/- buttons on the steering wheel to "lock out" a specific gear? In other words, if it feels "bogged down" in 8th, use the buttons to lock out 8th, and it will only shift up to 7th gear....

These trucks DO shift quickly to get in the highest gear, for example 7th gear and not even at 35mph.

 

[Sbrown49]

I've been having issues with my 2019 ram 1500 3.6l bighorn crew cab for some time now. I took my truck to the dealership and they updated all the "new" updates and flashes and it has progressively gotten worse since. I dri e 45 minutes to work and about an hour home due to heavy traffic and construction. The transmission never seems to be in the right gear and is continuously over or under geared for the traveling speeds. I'm not sure if my truck has ever fou d 8th gear for more than 5 seconds at a time. I've got a rear end clunk, shutters, and groaning/moaning from the drive train as well but the dealership says it's fine. Something is not "fine!"