About a year ago, a mechanic did not top off my trans fluid when flushing it and there wasn't any on the dipstick. The symptom I was having was that my truck would shut off when coming to a stop. After weeks of troubleshooting that problem I finally took it to a different mechanic who found that there was no trans fluid on the dipstick. They topped it off and it problem was no longer a problem. Well, in the other mechanics troubleshooting, they reflashed "PCM"... Ever since this whole incident, I noticed a loss of power. Could them reflashing PCM have something to do with it?

 

Well,

Yes, It is possible.

Could you possibly elaborate as to a time line, how recent all this has happened. Any additional details may be helpful.

Was the reflash an update for a TSB or Recall at a dealer? etc------

 

This happened in October of 2011 and the mechanics couldn't fix my problem over the course of 3 weeks. I finally took it to the dealer who fixed it that same day. Two of the different shops who couldn't find out what the problems were tried "reflashing PCM" to fix it. All it says is "Reflashed PCM, no further problems noted after procedures." which is a lie haha. I just know that it doesn't perform like it used to. Just to scared to have any mechanic touching it ever since. Would a custom tuner get me sorted out? I don't know if it had one before all this.

 

Well only a dealer can really reflash the PCM unless the independent shop you took it to had all of the software for your truck... I cant really understand how low trans fluid is going to cause the truck to shut off when coming to a stop.. Just doesnt make sense to me... Do you by any chance know what kind of fluid it was topped off with?

 

Unless they were a certified Dodge-licensed mechanic with a starscan tool, they did not "re-flash" squat. I'm not even sure if non-dealerships can own a starscan...but anyway, what they very most likely did was disconnect the battery and "reset" the ECM to defaults. After a reset, the computer must relearn your driving habits, etc. which takes about 50 miles or so. Unless they messed something else up (likely), you should have noticed no difference afterwards. If they did not fill up your transmission, I would be more worried about whether or not they even used the correct fluid in the first place. If they did not, that would likely explain your issue.

 

Well, I was trying to not throw names around but two different shops claimed to flash it. One was pepboys (The sons of bitches who created the problem) and the other was Pomoco which is a chrysler dealer over here. Neither of these shops fixed the problem. I took it to my dealer, tysinger who got it sorted out. I wonder how much damage was done from that whole incident.

 

The 545RFE is a pretty stout transmission, but it is picky about the type and amount of fluid it contains, as you experienced with your truck dying. Transmission flushes are cheap, especially when comparing to the price of a rebuilt transmission, so I would take it some place you know to be reputable, and have another flush performed. This will ensure that you are running the proper type and amount of fluid.

Also, I though Pepboys only sold parts?

 

Codeblox,

I Think Brandon pretty much sumed it up. You might consider taking it back to Tysinger have them kinda look it over, if nothing else for peace of mind. It is possible that when the computer relearned your driving style it dialed back the power, if in fact the unit was reflashed with an updated program, it may have increased torque management, its really hard to tell without the starscan. If everything gets the OK nod, a programmer like a Super chips (great tranny control from what I understand) or a Diablo might up the power curve a bit.

 

So does a programmer (Such as the diablo tuner) actually reflash "PCM" with performance specs? Forgive my ignorance, I don't know entirely how they work.

 

Yes.....In fact if a previous owner of your truck installed a performance tune and it was re-flashed that would explain the loss in performance.