I just bought a 2012 Ram 1500 hemi 5.7 auto. When driving it will surge, sometimes 2000 rpm, before shifting from 4th to 5th gear, then shift hard. I have taken it to the dealer twice and they are telling me it is normal, due to the cylinders dropping in and out. It only does this from 4th to 5th. It does not feel normal to me. Has anyone else had a similar issue. I don't feel like I should have to live with this. Any help would be appreciated.

 

I bought mine new at the beginning of March. Mine has ~2500 miles on it. I've noticed intermittent weird surging and intermittent hard shifting but was never ever to pinpoint exactly what would make it happen. I notice it probably once a week, and I drive to & from work, about 20 miles round trip. If they are contending that mds/eco mode is what is causing it, use your manual shift mode to put it in "6" (which will use 6th gear but not enable mds/eco) and see if it continues to happen. If it still happens, they're incorrect in insisting that it has something to do with dropping cylinders.

I've also had two instances where I'm coming to a stop and the truck just suddenly accelerates. I push even harder on the brakes and it settles down again. It happened when I was stopping at an ATM and one other time at a stop sign. I am going to bring up my list of issues when I take it in for its first oil change.

Please keep me updated, I am curious whether they have a solution for you. My list of annoyances with this truck continues to grow:

1. surging/hard shifting
2. unintended acceleration during stops
3. mds/eco not being able to maintain highway speed on flat ground with no wind and no load
4. constant gas pedal knocking feeling (even with mds disabled, tow/haul mode on)
5. old-sounding engine; this one is hard to describe, when it's running I hear a clacking and clicking like an engine with 100,000 miles on it
6. intermittent difficult starting
7. ball bearing noise when heater is on (not the fan noise, but more like the fan bearings are going out)

I hate going to the dealer because they have the absolute worst reputation for doing crap/sloppy repairs. I knew this when I bought the truck but I didn't figure I'd run into so many problems buying a >$40,000 vehicle brand new.

I also feel like I got screwed because in order to get the options I wanted, I did a "dealer trade" which meant I did not get to test drive this specific truck (I only test drove another one with similar, but not exact options -- and no, it didn't exhibit any of the problems I'm describing).

 

thanks I will give the manual 6 a try. Their explanation just doesn't feel right. I feel your pain, we should not have to deal with these issues on a new truck. I am going to a different dealer and drive another new one and compare.

 

Rambler, if it still continues contact Chrysler directly and open a claim.. It might be a issue starting with the 2011s, since they incorporated the six speed??.. I'd open a claim with them if the dealers refuse to help. It took me two dealers and found one recently (they mostly deal with trucks at their shop) and they have treated me VERY well at this new dealer!

 

Mine's been surging since day one but no shifting issues. Have told the dealer and will have them do some diagnosis when I get a chance.

 

I just tried driving in Manual 6, and no change. Still surges and shifts hard from 4th to 5th. guess I will have to call Chrysler and open a claim, what a pain.

 

Your situation sound similar to what i've been experiencing. A few months ago i took my truck in (2011 1500 crew with 19000 km) because it was stalling when i came to a stop. it didn't feel like a engine problem but more of a torgue converter/tranny problem. The symptom felt more like driving a standard and not putting the clutch in when coming to a stop. it turned out the tranny was low on fluid causing the t/c not to release. After the dealer was done with it they did a pcm update for the tranny. they said that it would take a couple 100 km to relearn shifts and such. Now i have hard shifts and inconsistent shifts. At low speeds and acceleration it feels like its shifting up and down (3rd-4th-3rd) trying to select the proper gear. so i either let off the throttle or put more into it to get rid of the annoyance. also when accelerating to to get to highway speeds the shifts thru 1st to 3rd are seamless then 4th feels like theres a a leg in acceleration. almost like it shifted to soon and the gear is to high for the speed that i'm traveling. And of course i get the surging at stops as well. So maybe another tranny update is requried and a change in driving habbits while its relearning might help but i still think there is something more to the problem.

 

Kind of curious about this, do you have the air conditioning system on when you are getting the surging when slowing down?

I know when the compressor is cycling on and off engine rpm's increase/decrease so maybe it is adding to much to the rpm's

I had a Caravan that did this and it always seemed like the compressor was kinking in at that time and then one day it just went away and hasn't done it again.

Sorry I don't have an answer for you.

 

I'd almost think hat this issue is a problem with the pedal position sensor reading improperly. I mean, it's only a voltage that gets relayed to the T/B and PCM to determine the T/B opening and shift points. It's very possible that the pedal position sensor has some inconsitencies in it's electrical abilities.
That's the first place I would start. I'd tell that to the dealer too. They'd heppily jump all over a $20 item to find out if it works. They Love guess and check games...lol

 

Rambler,

If the dealer is not solving the issue you can contact Chrysler at one of the numbers below and they can get a Chrysler tech onvolved in fixing the issue for you.

800-992-1997 United States
800-465-2001 Canada