Trans or MDS issue?

Just bought a 2012 1500 express 5.7 4x4 last week. I know it sounds like a lot but i have already put 400 miles on it in the 1 week I have owned it. I have followed the break in instructions suggesting easy driving the first 300 miles and then giving it full throttle a few times while crusing at 40mph. Yesterday while driving home from work I noticed while going up a hill that it felt a little sluggish so I gave it a little more gas, but all that did was make it "shake" a little. I say shake because I cant really explain it, I figured it was either having trouble coming out of MDS or having trouble down shifting. I noticed the same problem this morning while driving to work.

Anyone have any similar problems?

Sounds like the common issue many guys are having with the factory tq converter. I would take it in to the dealer, and let them know what it is doing. There have been many guys that had to replace their converter because of this.

dtru1222 said:

just bought a 2012 1500 express 5.7 4x4 last week. I know it sounds like a lot but i have already put 400 miles on it in the 1 week i have owned it. I have followed the break in instructions suggesting easy driving the first 300 miles and then giving it full throttle a few times while crusing at 40mph. Yesterday while driving home from work i noticed while going up a hill that it felt a little sluggish so i gave it a little more gas, but all that did was make it "shake" a little. I say shake because i cant really explain it, i figured it was either having trouble coming out of mds or having trouble down shifting. I noticed the same problem this morning while driving to work.

Anyone have any similar problems?

Click to expand...

mine does this also but mostly under light throttle when it shifts into 3rd i think

I bought a new Express a week ago too and I also find the throttle response sluggish in some hilly situations and I also feel & hear a kind of vibration. Personally I think it's normal because it only does it when the "ECO" is displayed. I think they're trying to squeeze every mpg out of it and they have the MDS set to stay on as long as possible. I have discovered 2 ways of working around it. If I set the transmission to "5" it won't use the MDS and the ECO light stays off. No wierd sounds or vibration but it's still slightly sluggish. I tired the tow/haul mode and that works a little better for me. It also seems to shut off the MDS and lets the truck downshift a little sooner. I run it in the normal mode when I'm on level ground or higher speeds but below 45 in a hilly area the tow/haul mode works OK.

Are there any other signs i need to look out for that will indicate its the torque converter? I will def keep paying attention.

Dale, it sounds like were having the same issue. It is kind of like a vibration and it just lacks power like it needs to down shift but its not. I will try the tow mode and the 5 to see if it changes anything.

I will also try to pay attention to what gear im in when it happens.

Wish there was a way to shut off the MDS...

Take it back to the dealer soon, and have them replace them diagnose it. Don't put up with that crap from a brand new $40K truck.

I have a 2012 Express and have some of the same issues! The vibration and drone heard around 40-50mph seems to be the famous MDS drone. See below!

I took mine to the dealer and he said the Dodge Factory Rep says it's considered normal...i.e. it's not a malfunction, just a result of the engine under load in the MDS mode which generates the viberation and the exhaust drone. If you upgrade the exhaust, the drone will get louder!

Here is a tel# to Chrysler to complain. (1-800-992-1997) The only way to get it fixed is to complain. A simple fix would be to lock out the MDS, through the tune, until say above 60 MPH. Hell, that's where you want the MDS efficency, if there is any!

Personally, I drop mine down to manual 6th while in city and all is well, although, shouldn't have to do this!.

So I have been paying attention to it for the past few days and I have realized it is the transmission shift point. It doesnt matter what set up im using, whether im in 6, 5, towing mode. Around 30-45 MPH when going up hill, my RPM's are at 1k and I have to give it 70% throttle in order for it to downshift and give me the power needed. If im at 20% throttle and go to 30-40-50% absolutely nothing happens.

I dont know if this was just the way the truck was made but it is VERRY annoying... It feels like my truck has NO power. Im taking it in for the first oil change soon and im going to bring it up.

There is a company who makes a module that changes the electronic sensitivity of the gas pedal but I don't know if they make one for the Ram. The gas pedal is really just a variable switch assembly since the actual throttle is driven by an electric motor under control of the engine computer. The module changes the responsiveness but it doens't make more power at any particular throttle opening it just gives more throttle opening in relation to the pedal position. They used to be sold on the Porsche Boxster forum.

I a person would eventually internalize the pedal response and unconciously press it down more after you've owned the truck for a while.

I myself have started to worry about my truck.

I have had it about 6 or 7 weeks, and it seems like once I went past approximately the 1500 mile mark, that the MDS more is much more "active" i guess I would say.

It seems like mine will come on when just taking off from a light, while accelerating, as low as 30 mph or so.

Does the computer use it more after a certain amount of miles / hours of break-in?

I have started to use the "6" setting in order to stop it from going to MDS. I hate rolling around at 40mph at 1000 rpm and MDS on. Yes it may be better gas mileage but I feel like im driving a miata and not a 400hp truck.

Yup sounds like crap torque converter once again. I had same thing and I only have the "5 speed" auto. Even though they are basically the same. The converter being replaced fixed my issue got a tranny fluid flush and filters out of the deal too not that you would need that but I did.

$miley

I don't know about the computer trying to use it more at greater mileage, but engine break in results in higher engine efficiencies so less energy wasted on friction and more mds use.

Well I took it to the dealer to get an oil change and told them about the problems I have been having but they were unable to reproduce the problem. I told them I could reproduce it any time I want and we set up a time next week to take it for a drive so I can show them.

Also, I dont know if this fits into the same problem but a few times now when I park my truck it will not release the key. This happened to me once on my 09 and after some research I found out that if the truck is not fully in park for some reason it will not release. It only happened once on my older truck but has happened 4 times now on my brand new one that only has 1000 miles on it...

jlb said:

I don't know about the computer trying to use it more at greater mileage, but engine break in results in higher engine efficiencies so less energy wasted on friction and more mds use.

Click to expand...

Reason I am thinking that it may be something in the computer is that it changed very suddenly, one day it seemed to work ok (went into ECO mode once you maintained a speed)

Now, the thing comes in and out of ECO while accelerating. Using light enough throttle settings I can get it to go into MDS mode while accelerating from a light at 10mph. Think it sounds / feels weird when it is running on 4 cyl while at 50mph? Feels like you have a washing machine with a bowling ball in it on spin cycle when the truck is lugged down at that low of speed.

It actually will stay in MDS mode when it shifts.

Okay... a lotta stuff on this thread.

400 miles a week is awesome - like I tell my wife, these things are mean to be DRIVEN (you never see a line of cars on trailers at a car lot).

for the key thing, my '10 Hemi would do that occasionally - I had a column shift on that and the problem was I wasn't completely in PARK. The sloppy, non-succinctness of the shifter was noted in an automotive journal (cannot remember which one off the top of my head - it was in a compare between the BIG 3 light duty trucks).

The MDS was originally programmed to kick in whenever <20% throttle was being used. This may have been changed. I'm not sure. I've owned 3 vehicles with MDS ('06 Charger, '07 Charger, '10 Ram) and my only dissatisfaction with any of them was the drone.

I was never pleased with the auto transmissions in my Chargers or '10 Ram, especially under load and even with the TOW/HAUL on in the Ram. I'll admit, I probably do not know how to drive an automatic transmission. I finally solved this problem earlier this year buying a 6-spd Challenger and 6-spd CTD 2500. I've been thrilled with the responsiveness whenever the transmissions doing what needs done rather than what it thinks needs done.

And my Challenger's got 26 more horses than my Charger did and without MDS is pulling an easy 2-3 more MPGs.

I'm not knocking MDS, in fact, I never minded it. Just thinking that for folks that LOVE to drive their vehicles (rather than get from point A to point B), the manual transmission would create a higher level of satisfaction.

Ya if there was a manual option I would have def purchased it instead.

I just dont understand the park problem. I have tested it out a few times when the key would not release, i try to wiggle the shifter to see if there is any play but it is stiff. It is fully in park and the truck doesnt move so I have no idea why this keeps happening.

Update: I took it to the dealer for its first oil change a month ago and they didnt have time to take it for a test drive. Its time for another oil change and this time I took a rental and told them all of the problems im having.

I got a call last night right before they closed and the guy tried to say that it was the MDS and since I put on a new muffler, that it didnt have enough back pressure to kick it out of MDS... This ****** me off because I told them when I dropped it off that I know its not the MDS because it does it when I put it in 6 and MDS is turned off. He said he would have the guy look at it again this morning and try to mess around with it.

Has anyone else been told by the dealer that an aftermarket exhaust will mess with MDS>

ECO vibrations

I just bought a 2012 Lone Star Qaud Ram (Hemi 5.7) on Oct. 30. I notice a annonying
vibration after it enters into ECO mode when I was going out of town.
I now have over 1500 mile. Today when picking up mine tags I walk over to the service department and ask if this was normal thing. They ask to bring it in.
So in two days I will see what they tell me. any suggestions.

Has anyone had luck getting this problem fix?

Im still having the same problem.

Only advice would be to play around with it before you take it in. Each dealer I have talked to has tried to blame it on the MDS. I have argued (havent got anywhere so far) that the owers manual and the ramtrucks . com says that if it is in 4 cyl mode then the ECO light will be on. Doesnt always mean that since the ECO light is on that its in 4 cyl mode but if you switch it to 6 or tow/haul then it will not enter ECO mode. I have this problem whether or not im in ECO mode.

I have also noticed it under 70% throttle. I could tell that the rep I was talking to didnt know wtf he was talking about as he kept trying to blame it on my new muffler not letting the MDS turn off and on like it should. When I told him I turned the truck in for the same problem before I had the muffler he just danced around the subject.

Anyways, let us know how your trip to the dealer goes.