Hey, so I've got a 2000 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9L 2wd auto trans. w/ ~86k miles. Here recently, I've discovered that it doesn't upshift correctly/efficiently whether it's on the freeway or regular streets. On a rare occasion will it shift through my gears normally while driving.

It has no problem going from 1st to 2nd, but from there, the rpms just keep climbing slowly. This is until I play with the gas pedal a little bit (i.e. floor it for half a second or so and let off until it shifts) that it then upshifts to 3rd, then as I keep driving, finally to 4th normally. It doesn't seem like it's slipping bc the rpms don't shoot up sporadically or anything (at least I'm thinking considering I've never had a car with slippage). Mind you, I typically drive this vehicle keeping it just under 2k rpms daily driving as it shifts.

Downshifts seem fine when braking, and I checked the transmission fluid and it seems fine as it's at the "OK" section of the dipstick. Is there anything else explicitly that could be the culprit, like a sensor or shift solenoid?

Bonus question: are there any other issues around this many miles that I should be looking out for as well?

Thank you!

 

Make sure TV cable is adjusted properly.

If it hasn't happened recently, changing fluid/filter may not hurt. Changing the governor pressure sensor/solenoid may not be a bad idea either.

 

You may be looking into the plenum gasket issue soon. There was question on another forum i believe at what mileage did your plenum gasket start failing. Most was around 130K.