Cold weather screwed up my computer?

[TadsRam]

I'm not sure yet, but it seems that the recent extreme cold weather messed up my computer and how it works with my automatic transmission. It won't kick up a gear when I need it automatically. Stays in wrong gear for too long. Works perfectly fine if I change the gears.
No engine light. Horrible MPG. I'm going to try to flash the computer.
Anyone know anything that might help?

 

[Wild one]

I'm not sure yet, but it seems that the recent extreme cold weather messed up my computer and how it works with my automatic transmission. It won't kick up a gear when I need it automatically. Stays in wrong gear for too long. Works perfectly fine if I change the gears.
No engine light. Horrible MPG. I'm going to try to flash the computer.
Anyone know anything that might help?

Find the outdoor temp sensor on the bottom of the drivers side mirror and put a finger on it to warm it up. The 13's were the first year of the Thermal Management System,and FCA royally screwed it up.The outdoor temp sensor is tied into the tranny's programing,and if the temp is really cold,it won't let the tranny shift up properly.There's a very long thread on the problem over on RFZ,and the general fix is to put your finger over the outdoor temp sensor to warm it up.

 

[TadsRam]

I'll give it a try! Thank you!

 

[West27]

I block off the air hole in the fender with a piece of cardboard in order to get the IAT hotter which seems to help with mpg.

 

[68PowerWagon]

Wow! That is a embarrassing screw up from FCA! With all of the tests that they claim to do in extreme weather you would have thought that would have been caught before releasing? Then again, I have worked in enough manufacturing environments to know there was probably some guy behind a desk saying "enough tests... we need to get these to manufacturing so we can start selling them & start making money!"

 

[TadsRam]

It was 50 degrees this morning and it still had the same sluggish feel staying in the wrong gear for too long. Could it still be the Thermal Management System?

I'm reading in other threads that my temp sensor could be way off... still reading frigid temps when it's warmed up a bit, so my truck is still driving like it's in sub-zero temperatures.

I haven't tried the thumb thing yet. Looking to ask my dealer if there's a computer flash update that I'm missing... or something.

 

[Wild one]

It was 50 degrees this morning and it still had the same sluggish feel staying in the wrong gear for too long. Could it still be the Thermal Management System?

I'm reading in other threads that my temp sensor could be way off... still reading frigid temps when it's warmed up a bit, so my truck is still driving like it's in sub-zero temperatures.

I haven't tried the thumb thing yet. Looking to ask my dealer if there's a computer flash update that I'm missing... or something.

If your outdoor temp sensor is reading wrong,which is a common problem on the 13's,it'll throw a monkey wrench into your trannies programing. At -26C/-18F the tranny won't shift properly.There was a bunch of us that yelled at FCA about the issue a few years back,and according to Transengineer they were working on a computer update that was supposed to address the problem,but as far as I know,they never did get the issue sorted out.I got rid of my 13 shortly after that,so i'm not up on whether they did fix it.At the time there was a lot of us that were having issues with the outdoor temp sensor showing the wrong outside temp,the most common temp that would show on the Evic was -40,even if the temp was above freezing.If your outdoor temp sensor is showing a wildly wrong outside temp,i think they were working on an updated temp sensor,but like I stated,i got rid of my 13 before the issue was resolved.

 

[TadsRam]

It looks like there is a system update that was released in October, 2015. Not sure if it applies to my problem or not.

 

[TadsRam]

Truck fixed!

I tried unhooking the battery for 20 minutes... that didn't seem to work.
Then I tried resetting the computer by holding the "down" and "right" buttons on the wheel and then turning the key from OFF to AC. The whole dashboard lit up and did a little dance and it clearly reset everything.

I noticed an immediate change in performance! Back to normal! I'm so relieved!

 

[Buddy]

Is that a reset method for all these trucks? As in 2013+
I'm not having any issues, just read that and was curious. It could come in handy down the road if ever needed for anyone.

 

[West27]

Truck fixed!

I tried unhooking the battery for 20 minutes... that didn't seem to work.
Then I tried resetting the computer by holding the "down" and "right" buttons on the wheel and then turning the key from OFF to AC. The whole dashboard lit up and did a little dance and it clearly reset everything.

I noticed an immediate change in performance! Back to normal! I'm so relieved!

Hmm iv never heard of this before. What does it all reset?

 

[TadsRam]

Hmm iv never heard of this before. What does it all reset?

I believe it reset the computer's memory of how I drive.. and I think a few other things (like the clock). It's been acting up for a couple weeks since the extreme cold weather. Now it's back to normal.

 

[West27]

I believe it reset the computer's memory of how I drive.. and I think a few other things (like the clock). It's been acting up for a couple weeks since the extreme cold weather. Now it's back to normal.

Cool I will have to try it and see if it will reset my trans memory and maybe it will shift better!

 

[West27]

Truck fixed!

I tried unhooking the battery for 20 minutes... that didn't seem to work.
Then I tried resetting the computer by holding the "down" and "right" buttons on the wheel and then turning the key from OFF to AC. The whole dashboard lit up and did a little dance and it clearly reset everything.

I noticed an immediate change in performance! Back to normal! I'm so relieved!

I tried this but I didn’t notice the dashboard doing anything different or the truck acting any differently....

 

[Wild one]

I believe it reset the computer's memory of how I drive.. and I think a few other things (like the clock). It's been acting up for a couple weeks since the extreme cold weather. Now it's back to normal.

The battery disconnect probably was what did it.Next time you do the battery disconnect,step on the brake pedal and turn the headlights on for a couple seconds to drain the system

 

[TadsRam]

You may be right about the battery... but the dashboard thing seemed to help. I drove it after the battery thing and didn't notice much... but after the dashboard re-set it felt good as new. Maybe I didn't test drive it enough after the battery disconnect to really notice the change. Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[TadsRam]

I tried this but I didn’t notice the dashboard doing anything different or the truck acting any differently....

Sorry, I believe it is "DOWN" and "LEFT" that you hold down for a brief moment, and then turn the key from OFF to AC.

 

[TadsRam]

With the recent return to the bitter cold weather, I am sad to report that my truck's computer did the same thing again...

I did both reset methods again, and found out that it was definitely the battery disconnect method that reset the computer properly. It literally drives perfectly normal AFTER resetting the computer. Beforehand it sometimes feels like I'm towing an imaginary boat.

With obvious interest in not having to reset the computer every time it gets cold outside, I am still searching for a "permanent" fix to this problem. I feel like if I contact my Ram dealership, they should take care of this for free... as it is a manufactured computer issue... but all they will do is attempt to diagnose the problem at my expense. I still have an update that I could get, and that may fix it, but the dealership said it will be $100 to update the computer. It is quite absurd that they charge $100 for practically zero labor on their part.

 

[West27]

With the recent return to the bitter cold weather, I am sad to report that my truck's computer did the same thing again...

I did both reset methods again, and found out that it was definitely the battery disconnect method that reset the computer properly. It literally drives perfectly normal AFTER resetting the computer. Beforehand it sometimes feels like I'm towing an imaginary boat.

With obvious interest in not having to reset the computer every time it gets cold outside, I am still searching for a "permanent" fix to this problem. I feel like if I contact my Ram dealership, they should take care of this for free... as it is a manufactured computer issue... but all they will do is attempt to diagnose the problem at my expense. I still have an update that I could get, and that may fix it, but the dealership said it will be $100 to update the computer. It is quite absurd that they charge $100 for practically zero labor on their part.

I was told on another vehicle I own from dodge that if the update has anything to do with the PCM then that will be covered under the 5 year warranty. Might want to call and talk to them and tell them you only want them to perform an update.

I still think it is BS that from your vin and vehicle history that they can’t tell you from a phone call if you have a software update or not. It really ****** me off having to take my truck in for a update but I can tell right online when my Uconnect is out of date.

 

[West27]

Sorry, I believe it is "DOWN" and "LEFT" that you hold down for a brief moment, and then turn the key from OFF to AC.

I also tried this and it definitely worked. Truck seems to shift a little better but I will see after it learns.