66rfe transmission in 16 2500 is driving me nuts!

[tnt2671]

i bought a 2016 2500 5.7 regular cab w/ 3.73's the truck now has about 1,900 miles on it and my god this transmission is driving me crazy. the truck driving around town is awful, transmission is in a huge hurry to upshift causing lugging , constant searching for gears causing abrupt downshifts etc. i had it into the dealer and the tech new exactly what was describing and did a relearn but told me before doing so it probably wouldn't help. anybody who has driven a properly shifting truck could never put the truck in drive and go and say it's anywhere near acceptable. it has to either be in tow /haul mode which is much better or i have to lock out gears / manually shift the truck. i've been on the phone with ram 3 times with no avail they just tell me to get it into a dealer to which i've been telling them it has already been in for the issue 2 times and there seems to be no fix. to which i keep getting the same answer get it into the dealer. does anybody know if there is a update in the works for this issue? it does not at all seem like a mechanical or torque converter issue because even thought the shift points are horrible the shifts themselves are nice quick and firm. sorry for venting but if i can't get this sorted i don't think i'm going to have this truck for to long which is a bummer because besides just dropping a good chunk on it i also just did an borla xr1 muffler and a thuren leveling kit and do love everything else about the truck. i know theres lot's of others that have been complaining about the same issues , we need to get together and get with ram /star to get off their butt's and get an update done.

 

[mtofell]

i bought a 2016 2500 5.7 regular cab w/ 3.73's the truck now has about 1,900 miles on it and my god this transmission is driving me crazy. the truck driving around town is awful, transmission is in a huge hurry to upshift causing lugging , constant searching for gears causing abrupt downshifts etc. i had it into the dealer and the tech new exactly what was describing and did a relearn but told me before doing so it probably wouldn't help. anybody who has driven a properly shifting truck could never put the truck in drive and go and say it's anywhere near acceptable. it has to either be in tow /haul mode which is much better or i have to lock out gears / manually shift the truck. i've been on the phone with ram 3 times with no avail they just tell me to get it into a dealer to which i've been telling them it has already been in for the issue 2 times and there seems to be no fix. to which i keep getting the same answer get it into the dealer. does anybody know if there is a update in the works for this issue? it does not at all seem like a mechanical or torque converter issue because even thought the shift points are horrible the shifts themselves are nice quick and firm. sorry for venting but if i can't get this sorted i don't think i'm going to have this truck for to long which is a bummer because besides just dropping a good chunk on it i also just did an borla xr1 muffler and a thuren leveling kit and do love everything else about the truck. i know theres lot's of others that have been complaining about the same issues , we need to get together and get with ram /star to get off their butt's and get an update done.

Did you test drive the truck before you bought it? Or, did this all just pop up after you purchased?

 

[GsRAM]

I just bought a 17 tradesman 2500 yesterday. I have the 6.4 and 3.73s. I noted some of that as well on the test drive and on my way home last night.

Honestly it's not as bad as the 15 Silverado 5.3/3.42 truck i traded in on the ram.

A lot of engine lugging, too fast upshifts, then loud clunks on the 3- 2 downshift, etc. All random without any real regularity. The Chevy dealer confirmed it was normal.

Unfortunately, with the government fuel economy regs that are being forced down the automakers throats, all new trucks are like this except maybe Toyota, but that's not a real truck compared to my 2500 hd.

I'm sure the 4.10 gears would be better, but on the Chevy forums the fix was to get a black bear tune, but that could void the powertrain warranty. So it is what it is. The Chevy is worse and the ford is no better either

When I'm out of power train warranty I'll get a tune and that will make a huge difference from what i understand

 

[tnt2671]

Did you test drive the truck before you bought it? Or, did this all just pop up after you purchased?

I did test drive it and did notice it but chalked it up to the truck only having about 5 miles on it , me driving it really easy after purchase and much more time driving it in different conditions I started to notice it more and more

 

[tnt2671]

If anybody made a tuner for the 15/16 5.7 2500"s id buy it tonight and worry about power train warranty later prob is nobody has one available. Talked to Sean at hemifever and called diablo directly nothing in the works for 2016 5.7 hd's So re gear might be only option not going to change shift points but a set of 56"s at least would bump the rpm range up across the boards. I'm not giving up yet though and going to raise hell with ram about this until I get answers.

 

[SIhemi]

If anybody made a tuner for the 15/16 5.7 2500"s id buy it tonight and worry about power train warranty later prob is nobody has one available. Talked to Sean at hemifever and called diablo directly nothing in the works. So re gear might be only option not going to change shift points but a set of 56"s at least would bump the rpm range up across the boards. I'm not giving up yet though and going to raise hell with ram about this until I get answers.

You can tune these trucks. You need to buy a new unlocked pcm. It will run you close to a grand to do it but it can be done.

 

[reloaderguy]

It took a couple of thousand miles for my transmission to settle down. If you keep resetting it it'll never improve.

 

[RAM_Designs]

Be happy you didn't have the 65RFE in the latest 1500's. The 66RFE is much better. I went from a 2014 1500 to my current truck and the shift points are so much better.

 

[MADDOG]

Mine is always hunting for gears when in full auto. I just use the manual mode.

You can tune the 15/16 trucks. You get a Diablosport tuner and a blank PCM.

 

[tnt2671]

You can tune these trucks. You need to buy a new unlocked pcm. It will run you close to a grand to do it but it can be done.

Diablo doesn't make one for the. 2015/2016 5.7 2500"s only available for 6.4 , spoke directly to both hf and diablo. is there another company out there that you know of?

 

[River19]

Overall around town the transmission falls in love with 3rd and 4th.......when I am monitoring which gear I am in on the display I am dumbfounded sometimes when it leaves me in 3rd when I am literally barely moving.......for example, cruising along at 40mph, someone takes a right hand turn and I slow down to 15-20mph and start accelerating away IN 3RD!!!! unless I bury the pedal, and even then it may not down shift, and if it does the traction control, torque management etc. will get a workout.

That being said, I don't have much to complain about overall.

 

[Hootbro]

It took a couple of thousand miles for my transmission to settle down. If you keep resetting it it'll never improve.

What this guy says. These transmissions are clunky until you get 5K-10K miles of adaptive learning on them before the shifting smooths out. I had close to 8K miles before mine smoothed out and now runs and shifts great with no clunking.

 

[reloaderguy]

Overall around town the transmission falls in love with 3rd and 4th.......when I am monitoring which gear I am in on the display I am dumbfounded sometimes when it leaves me in 3rd when I am literally barely moving.......for example, cruising along at 40mph, someone takes a right hand turn and I slow down to 15-20mph and start accelerating away IN 3RD!!!! unless I bury the pedal, and even then it may not down shift, and if it does the traction control, torque management etc. will get a workout.

That being said, I don't have much to complain about overall.

It's cause you drive conservatively, I did WOT driving from stops for like 2k miles and now the transmission down shifts into lower gears to maintain RPM's. It almost has too much engine breaking...almost.

Put your foot into it, the transmission will adapt.

 

[GsRAM]

What this guy says. These transmissions are clunky until you get 5K-10K miles of adaptive learning on them before the shifting smooths out. I had close to 8K miles before mine smoothed out and now runs and shifts great with no clunking.

If my ram is anything like my Chevy, this is correct. My Chevys shifting is an indicator, when i hit about 5- 7k miles on it the shifting improved. Although it did still give me the occasional 3- 2 clunk on the downshift

 

[Juvenator93]

I have a 15 2500 with the 5.7 and 4.10s.
Installed a level and went to 35s 6 days after purchase, and haven't had any problems with it. I do like to give her the skinny pedal to hear my Flowmaster 40, but even when I drive like a granny she gets right along just like I'd like. Went from a 12 1500, 5.7/3.55 combo with the 65RFE
The shifting feels better suited in my 2500.


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[tnt2671]

If my ram is anything like my Chevy, this is correct. My Chevys shifting is an indicator, when i hit about 5- 7k miles on it the shifting improved. Although it did still give me the occasional 3- 2 clunk on the downshift

Hopefully that will be the case with mine

 

[tnt2671]

4:10 or 73's? If I can't get the shifting straightened out I'm thinking a regear would prob be next best thing

 

[Juvenator93]

4:10 or 73's? If I can't get the shifting straightened out I'm thinking a regear would prob be next best thing

I like my 4.10s. Wouldn't want any less


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[River19]

It's cause you drive conservatively, I did WOT driving from stops for like 2k miles and now the transmission down shifts into lower gears to maintain RPM's. It almost has too much engine breaking...almost.

Put your foot into it, the transmission will adapt.

That is a fair point. On the tight New England back roads with stone walls on both sides I tend to baby things as it is tough enough not sideswiping other rigs so I keep speeds conservative. And when towing the horses I am very conservative for obvious reasons.

I'll look to mix it up more and punt the whole fuel economy thing

 

[tnt2671]

I like my 4.10s. Wouldn't want any less


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I wanted 4:10"s but they were tough to come by so settled on the 73's due to not having to want to wait on special order and dealer was really dealing on in stock. If I do regear the truck I will be going to 56's for sure , not cheap to do though