2010 Hemi "Pulsing" at low speeds, ideas?

Hey all,

I recently took position of a 2010 Ram 1500 Sport Hemi from my dad. 76k on the clock and going strong.

The issue I am having is the truck sort of “pulsates” at 5mph or less. It’ doesn’t matter if the brakes are applied or not and goes away once the truck gets past the 5mph mark. It’s almost like the computer is fighting itself in deciding if the tranny should engage or not.

My research in this has come up dry as most suggest that it is warped rotors, which it isn’t for 2 reasons. 1, the brakes don’t need to be applied for it to happen and it has done it since day 1 of rolling off the lot.

I daily drive this truck and sometimes get caught in LA commute so I have to find a solution or I might go insane.

I plan on getting a superchips tuner to wake the truck up soon. Would this possibly help? Any suggestions appreciated.

Thank you!

Check tranny fluid level cold, at idle in Neutral. A little low can cause these symptoms. Also if the engine RPM is surging you could have a vacuum leak.

RUMBLE BEE 1546 said:

Hey all,

I recently took position of a 2010 Ram 1500 Sport Hemi from my dad. 76k on the clock and going strong.

The issue I am having is the truck sort of “pulsates” at 5mph or less. It’ doesn’t matter if the brakes are applied or not and goes away once the truck gets past the 5mph mark. It’s almost like the computer is fighting itself in deciding if the tranny should engage or not.

My research in this has come up dry as most suggest that it is warped rotors, which it isn’t for 2 reasons. 1, the brakes don’t need to be applied for it to happen and it has done it since day 1 of rolling off the lot.

I daily drive this truck and sometimes get caught in LA commute so I have to find a solution or I might go insane.

I plan on getting a superchips tuner to wake the truck up soon. Would this possibly help? Any suggestions appreciated.

Thank you!

Click to expand...

Hi RUMBLE BEE 1546,

If you decide to visit your local dealership for further diagnosis I'd be happy to follow up with them for you if needed. Just PM our page with your VIN and let me know!

Andrea
Ram Social Care Specialist

I was going to post something similar. I've got a brand new 2016 with 4000 miles hemi 8spd doing the same thing. It happens until the transmission warms up which takes a long time. I don't drive in slow traffic much, but that is when it is worse. The stop and go idle only traffic. It feels like the transmission isn't fully engaging 1st gear or the torque converter isn't completely unlocked. It seems to get better if I shift to neutral and back to drive again. It doesn't happen until after the engine is warm enough to idle at its lowest rpm, but the transmission is still not warmed up. It pulses maybe 2-3 times a second shaking the whole truck will make you sick. Has anyone else seen this? I know the 8spd is in a lot of high end cars so this can't be considered normal. I know this thread is for a 2010 which isn't the 8spd so could it be the ram torque converter?

As transmission warms up the fluid expands and the level rises. The 8 speeds are a booger to check and fill I'm told but that's what I would do. I know the 5/6 speeds need to be idling in neutral to check because the convertor won't fill with fluid in park. Definitely sounds like symptoms of being a tad low.

That's something I didn't think about. I will definitely look at it and report back when I can check it.

Mine does it sporadically also, since as long as I've owned it, not consistent, hard to force it to do it, I've always wondered if it might be the hill assist feature, but never have taken the time to test with it on or off, one of these days I'll get around yo it

I checked my fluid and the level is good. Within normal limits both cold and hot. Guess i'll try the superchips at some point.

This had always bugged me with mine and the other day sitting in the drive thru I decided to put it in neutral while it was doing it. It was still there. Seems like it was more a rough idle during warmup than transmission issue. Not sure if this is the same for you it not.

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RUMBLE BEE 1546 said:

Hey all,

I recently took position of a 2010 Ram 1500 Sport Hemi from my dad. 76k on the clock and going strong.

The issue I am having is the truck sort of “pulsates” at 5mph or less. It’ doesn’t matter if the brakes are applied or not and goes away once the truck gets past the 5mph mark. It’s almost like the computer is fighting itself in deciding if the tranny should engage or not.

My research in this has come up dry as most suggest that it is warped rotors, which it isn’t for 2 reasons. 1, the brakes don’t need to be applied for it to happen and it has done it since day 1 of rolling off the lot.

I daily drive this truck and sometimes get caught in LA commute so I have to find a solution or I might go insane.

I plan on getting a superchips tuner to wake the truck up soon. Would this possibly help? Any suggestions appreciated.

Thank you!

Click to expand...

Does the truck have any mods? It almost sounds like it could have an aftermarket throttle body as they can cause surge issues at low speeds

Mine is completely stock pulsing felt only when stopped. Don't notice it once engines warms up. I've been meaning to test if 91 octane gets rid of the rough idle when cold.

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Had the same issue with my stock 11 sport. Never found the cause. It wasn't the trans nor did different octaine make a difference. Never had the dealer check. It was a minor announce that didn't seem to hurt anything.