Strange thing today on my 2009 Ram with 70,000 km (45,000 miles). Never had any issue with the transmission or selecting Drive or Park when truck is stopped. Started truck this morning as usual, drove about 20 miles, and when I went to put it in Park it sort of "stuck" for a second and then when into Park. I didn't think much about it...figured maybe I hadn't depressed the brake hard enough. Anyway, got back in the truck 30 minutes later and shifting from Park to Drive was "notchy"...stiff. I drove about 5 miles (tranny shifting perfectly as always), stopped, and truck went into Park fine. I shifted into Drive and it seemed a bit "notchy" again (no unusual clunks or anything). Truck was warm so I checked tranny fluid and it was at Fill. (Fluid was changed back in September) I got back in the truck about 20 minutes later and everything was fine. Made 5 or 6 additional stops, and no issues. Decided to drop it at the dealer as truck is under warranty and I'm a bit paranoid about potential transmission issues. I was figuring it might be something as simple as mechanical linkage that needed lubrication, but the fact that gear selection at a stop seems fine now kind of rules that out. I talked to mechanic at dealer when I dropped the truck off, and will wait to hear what they say but I'm half expecting the "truck was fine when we checked it" response. I will post and update, but just wondering if anybody has experiened anything similar or has any thoughts?

 

In my post above I meant to say transmission fluid level was at "Full" not "Fill"....

 

This happens to me on occations. I think it is the brake peddle switch because after I push down on the brake a couple of time I'm able to shift into drive.

 

Thanks, Ironhead. That makes sense. I just picked my truck up at the delaer and the mechanic said the linkage rod under the truck was bent. He straightened it, but said it should be replaced. I asked what would have caused the rod to bend and he said "anything that hit it from under the truck". Dealer ordered a new part and put everything thru under warranty. I'm skeptical that this is the problem though--if the bent rod is the issue the gear selector should be stiff all the time. Your suggestion about the brake switch makes sense. Thank you.

 

Bully,

I could find no service bulletins related to the brake switch as discussed above. Please let us know if the dealer fix corrects your problem.

 

Thanks for checking into this. As I mentioned in my post above, the mechanic straightened a bent linkage rod (not sure if that's the correct terminology) yesterday and ordered a replacement part. I drove the truck all day today, and gearshift selection was fine...no issues. The new part is in and I'm having it installed tomorrow. I'm still not sure why a bent rod would cause what appears to be an intermittent issue, but so far, so good. If the problem recurs I will post an update.