Truck Shuts Off During Acceleration? Need Advice

[Cliffrunner88]

Hi all, I'm not sure if this is the right location or if this has been discussed before. I did a quick search and did not find a related thread but I'm not sure how to characterize my issue/question and am looking for some help on an issue before going to the dealership and them telling me nothing is wrong because they can't replicate the issue.

I have a '21 Limited 5.7L V8 with the eTorque option (ordered it in mid-April 2021 and picked it up beginning of July 2021) and it has now twice shut itself completely off when I was accelerating from an intersection onto a main road. In doing so it would roll forward (of course I'm slamming on the brakes now trying not to get onto the highway with a dead truck), the shifter would auto-rotate into park and the emergency brake would come on (per my settings). I have to then hold the brake down and press the ignition to get to "on", push it again to actually start the truck, put it in drive, and release the emergency brake to then start driving; all while hoping I don't get rear-ended in the middle of traffic.
The first time this happened I thought it was a fluke, but it caught me off guard so I was unsure whether the truck was in the auto-start/stop mode since I was at a light and maybe I just came off the brake and onto the gas too quickly. But it just happened again today for the second time (probably about 3 months apart) and I know for sure that it was not in the auto-start/stop mode this morning when it happened.
In both instances I was coming to an intersection so I may have been in ECO mode (though not 100% sure) but from what I've been able to find online I do not think I was in MDS. Has anyone else had this happen to them and/or does anyone know what is causing this? i.e. do I need to get a new truck, lol.

Also, can anyone definitively explain ECO mode, MDS, and the eTorque auto-start/stop features? The way I understand it, the eTorque auto-start/stop is independent to ECO and MDS. I had assumed ECO mode meant that MDS was activated but after some online sleuthing today it appears that ECO mode just means that I am driving in a fuel-efficient manner and MDS may or may not be activated when ECO is displayed in the dash cluster. If ECO mode and MDS are not "the same thing" then how would I know that MDS is activated (without hearing a difference in my stock exhaust)?
I have seen some posts about the '22 models being a little sluggish/lurkish off the line with the auto-start/stop but I know my '21 doesn't have that "programming" because my auto-start/stop does not turn off while I am rolling to a stop; it only shuts off after I am completely stopped (and my AC temperature is at 68 or above).

Sorry for the long post. I hope I made sense to you all; I'm not much of a "car guy" and this is my first truck. I really just don't want to take it in to the dealer for them to not be able to replicate the issue (again, it's only happened to me twice in 10 months) and tell me everything is fine when this is obviously a major safety concern.

 

[Bob.]

No lights on the dash?
I would for fun twist the battery connections to make sure they are tight. Bad electrical connections can cause all kinds of weird stuff . Good luck with it. I don't (knock on wood) have this problem.

 

[Cliffrunner88]

No lights on the dash?
I would for fun twist the battery connections to make sure they are tight. Bad electrical connections can cause all kinds of weird stuff . Good luck with it. I don't (knock on wood) have this problem.

Good idea, I’ll try the connectors. But no dash lights and no messages either time.

My truck also sometimes beeps at me when I turn it on or back out of the driveway but it’s not the same as the backup sensor sound and the dash doesn’t show a quick message (like parksense disabled due to speed, etc).

 

[Jake2544]

Same thing happened to me the other day. New 22 Laramie G/T with less than 500 miles. I have owned many Rams with both Hemi and CTD engines. Since new this thing has been doing some really strange things including the stalling issue, auto park thing then engaging the park brake, check engine light with evap code twice now, several blank 12” screen issues, one white screen with terrible buzzing noise. Hoping this is all a fluke thing and not a lemon. Wishing I didn’t get the etorque now, any way of keeping this thing from engaging auto park and auto ebrake?

 

[Scram1500]

Make sure all the fuses and relays are properly seated, also couldn't hurt to put a OBD scanner on it even if the check engine light isn't on

 

[Cliffrunner88]

Same thing happened to me the other day. New 22 Laramie G/T with less than 500 miles. I have owned many Rams with both Hemi and CTD engines. Since new this thing has been doing some really strange things including the stalling issue, auto park thing then engaging the park brake, check engine light with evap code twice now, several blank 12” screen issues, one white screen with terrible buzzing noise. Hoping this is all a fluke thing and not a lemon. Wishing I didn’t get the etorque now, any way of keeping this thing from engaging auto park and auto ebrake?

Were any codes or messages thrown up on the dash/screen when yours stalled on you?
If you turn the car off (or apparently if it turns itself off) it will automatically go to park; that's just one of the safety features. You should be able to change one of the settings on your 12" screen to not auto-ebrake when you go to park (because I set that feature on when I got my truck).

 

[Bob.]

I assume (someone will correct me if I'm wrong) ECO mode means that MDS is activated. Or simply it's in 4 cylinder operation. Sometimes you hear it thru the exhaust as the tone changes if you are trying to accelerate on level or slight up hills. You won't hear the note change (because the truck is so quiet) going downhill or coasting.
Eco mode won't work off of the line no matter how softly you take off. It's turns on in 2ND gear.

 

[Bob.]

My truck also sometimes beeps at me when I turn it on or back out of the driveway

That sounds like electrical problems of some sort. Maybe a computer needs to be re flashed. Mine doesn't beep either (knock on wood).
Old school car knowledge would advise you to remove the battery connections off of the battery and let it sit a while, then strike the connectors together one time to make sure the system is 100% drained of electrical power. Then reconnect the battery cables. The computers will have to relearn your driving habits and in a week will be back to new. Your radio presets will need to be re set. Hopefully your gremlins will be gone.

 

[Bob.]

Computers. Sometimes at work (on CNC machines) you got to shut them down and kill the power, then let them sit dead for several minutes. Then power them up and turn on the computers. Functions won't work and gremlins appear until you do. Our modern cars have many computers on them. Anyone of them could have a fault and this would be the only way to reset them is to kill the power fully. Only other option is a dealer visit.

 

[Jake2544]

Were any codes or messages thrown up on the dash/screen when yours stalled on you?
If you turn the car off (or apparently if it turns itself off) it will automatically go to park; that's just one of the safety features. You should be able to change one of the settings on your 12" screen to not auto-ebrake when you go to park (because I set that feature on when I got my truck).

No codes both times mine stalled, but did have a CEL twice

Were any codes or messages thrown up on the dash/screen when yours stalled on you?
If you turn the car off (or apparently if it turns itself off) it will automatically go to park; that's just one of the safety features. You should be able to change one of the settings on your 12" screen to not auto-ebrake when you go to park (because I set that feature on when I got my truck).

no codes or CEL from the stalling issue, only evap code that I cleared both times the CEL came on.

 

[Fatherof3]

Good idea, I’ll try the connectors. But no dash lights and no messages either time.

My truck also sometimes beeps at me when I turn it on or back out of the driveway but it’s not the same as the backup sensor sound and the dash doesn’t show a quick message (like parksense disabled due to speed, etc).

The beeping could be the Rear Cross Path Detection . It's a completely different beep from the rear sensors . Next time you hear that beep see if one of your triangle lights on your mirrors light up .
As for the stalling it is probably electrical as in a ground somewhere ( battery or otherwise ) .

 

[mikeru82]

Also, can anyone definitively explain ECO mode, MDS, and the eTorque auto-start/stop features? The way I understand it, the eTorque auto-start/stop is independent to ECO and MDS. I had assumed ECO mode meant that MDS was activated but after some online sleuthing today it appears that ECO mode just means that I am driving in a fuel-efficient manner and MDS may or may not be activated when ECO is displayed in the dash cluster. If ECO mode and MDS are not "the same thing" then how would I know that MDS is activated (without hearing a difference in my stock exhaust)?

You're correct in assuming the etorque (including stop/start) is independent from ECO and MDS. You're also correct in originally assuming that ECO means MDS is active, at least for 5th gen Ram 1500's. The latter is not true for 4th gen Ram 1500's, which is probably where your online sleuthing took you. Most of the discussion on this that I've seen has taken place in 4th gen forums.

 

[Cliffrunner88]

You're correct in assuming the etorque (including stop/start) is independent from ECO and MDS. You're also correct in originally assuming that ECO means MDS is active, at least for 5th gen Ram 1500's. The latter is not true for 4th gen Ram 1500's, which is probably where your online sleuthing took you. Most of the discussion on this that I've seen has taken place in 4th gen forums.

Thanks Mike. After I had posted that and kept researching, I was starting to get that impression. Glad to have another confirmation.

 

[Cliffrunner88]

An update to fix slow speed stall is available.

Wanted to share here as well for maximum distribution. Thanks to Cbty2050!
I called today and luckily one of the CDJR dealerships in my area has a service appointment opening tomorrow so I'll show them this and see if they agree and/or discover anything else.

 

[Cliffrunner88]

Hey everyone, so I took the truck in to the dealership this morning and explained the situation and they called me back about an hour later and said that they came up with the same service bulletin that I had mentioned to them (that Cbty2050 posted), and that they didn't have anything else showing up as a fix/update/service that was needed. All still covered under the warranty so no issues there and hopefully this fixes it. I'll still try to replicate the issue a few times just to give myself the warm-fuzzy but so far it's driving really smooth, just as I remember it did when I first got it.

 

[Cliffrunner88]

Also, just to further the debate, I asked the dealership to talk to the tech to confirm if ECO is the same as MDS in the 5th gen and he said that ECO is NOT the same as MDS, even in the 5th gen. So, there is not a way to tell if the truck is in MDS mode unless you have an aftermarket exhaust and can hear it, though I suspect that if you're in ECO, you're in MDS...but I guess technically you could be in ECO but not MDS.
It just seems weird to me that there is not a live notification that you're in this mode, but maybe that's just me.

 

[mikeru82]

Also, just to further the debate, I asked the dealership to talk to the tech to confirm if ECO is the same as MDS in the 5th gen and he said that ECO is NOT the same as MDS, even in the 5th gen. So, there is not a way to tell if the truck is in MDS mode unless you have an aftermarket exhaust and can hear it, though I suspect that if you're in ECO, you're in MDS...but I guess technically you could be in ECO but not MDS.
It just seems weird to me that there is not a live notification that you're in this mode, but maybe that's just me.

This was argued to death when the 2019's first came out. The forum consensus at that time was that MDS tracks with the ECO mode light, unlike on 4th gens. My previous truck (2020 Laramie) had an aftermarket exhaust, and I could hear and feel every time MDS was active. And every time it was active the ECO light was on. I never experienced an occasion when the ECO light was on and MDS wasn't active. And vice-versa. You're free to believe what you want, and who you want. I'm going with what I've experienced first-hand.

 

[User_3336]

I don't have to "hear" MDS to know its active. The truck just acts sluggish, like something in the engine is a low level vibration. There a very low pronounced "thump" as it transitions.
(A lot more pronounced in a GM 5.3 with cylinder deactivation (AFM))
I normally hit the "-" button everytime I get on the highway up to speed, but there are a few times I forget, and I can detect the second MDS has kicked in. when it happens, I see the green ECO light on. I just hit the "-" button, and I'm all 8 cylinders again.

My truck RARELY sees MDS, and I'm surely thankful I didn't opt for the Etorque. Seems more trouble vs the benefit.

 

[mikeru82]

I don't have to "hear" MDS to know its active. The truck just acts sluggish, like something in the engine is a low level vibration. There a very low pronounced "thump" as it transitions.
(A lot more pronounced in a GM 5.3 with cylinder deactivation (AFM))
I normally hit the "-" button everytime I get on the highway up to speed, but there are a few times I forget, and I can detect the second MDS has kicked in. when it happens, I see the green ECO light on. I just hit the "-" button, and I'm all 8 cylinders again.

My truck RARELY sees MDS, and I'm surely thankful I didn't opt for the Etorque. Seems more trouble vs the benefit.

It definitely varies from truck to truck. Unlike on my previous truck, it's very difficult to tell when MDS is on in my current truck. It doesn't act sluggish. When I press on the accelerator it instantly goes back to 8 cylinder mode. No "thump" as you described it. If I turn off the ECO light I can't usually tell when it's active. On my previous truck, besides the sound of the exhaust, there was a slight vibration that could be felt in the steering wheel and the floor when MDS was active. Like you, I got into the habit of disabling it every time I shifted into D with that truck. I just let it do its thing on my current truck since I can't tell when it's even on. I do keep stop/start disabled all the time though. That's very noticeable to me, especially when the AC is running.