Slight but noticeable shake at idle

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gallifreywho

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Ram Year
2019 Ram Classic Long Horn Edition
Engine
Hemi 5.7
I recently bought (may) a 2019 Classic long horn edition. It currently has 22,000 miles. I have noticed that when the truck is started and the idle slows to 500 there small shake to the entire truck. The shake can not be felt until the idle settles to around 500. The shake can also be felt when stopped at redlights. I can be very obsessive about things so I asked my gf to see if she felt it. She did and so did my father. I took the truck to the dealership (since it's still under warranty) and had the head mechanic start it see if he felt the same shake. He said that he felt nothing and if there was a problem the engine light should come on. He stated it could be trash in the gas or something else minor. My observations are as follows: The engine light has never came on. There isn't a knocking or banging sound. I have tried different grades of gas 93 etc and no help. The shaking is slight, but its noticeable. I haven't noticed a bad shake while driving, but the roads where I live are bumpy so I might miss it. I have bought a K & N Airfilter, and the shake still exists. Any advice or recommendations will greatly be appreciated. Thanks.
 

George N

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Hemi 5.7
I think that I am having the same issue as you at idle. I just purchased (May) a used 2013 Sport with 104,000 miles on the odo. When I come up to a stop sign and am at idle, there is a slight shake that feels like it is surging. If I give it a little gas, it goes gets better. I have no issues when driving. I use mid-grade or usually Premium gas. Just today I allowed the truck to run on empty. I put 26 gallons of premium in. I am going to test it tomorrow when cold to see if the issue is still present. I probably need plugs and am going to check those this weekend. I am an advocate of preventative maintenance yet sometimes the adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" comes to mind. If you look for problems you definitely will find them. The question is are we diagnosing a future issue or chasing a harmless demon? I will let you know what I find with the all premium Chevron gas test.
 

Burla

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Winter gas has less energy the regular gas, it is "possible" this is the issue. Lucas makes an upper cylinder lube, I'd pop one in there and see if it smooths out. It may not, but if it doesn't you can rule out winter gas as the issue.
 

Mleads310

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I have a similar problem, 2013 1500 with 113k on it. I just did a motor swap by a reputable place and I'm bringing it in next week to see what it might be.

I also feel it slightly in the following situation. Stop at light,.... slowly release the brakes (almost half way release) and you feel it sorta tug along if that makes sense? I have a feeling the rpms may be 50-100rpm low etc as if it was anything else the shop would've pick up on it during break in? Also if in park, if I give it just the slightest bit of gas it goes away.
 

PoMansRam

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My 2019 classic hemi also at times, rocks / shakes to the beat of the exhaust note. Nothing major at all and it's smooth on all accounts. I just figured that's what they do. I bought the truck with 15K miles on it, it's got 23K on it now.
 

George N

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Ok after filling the tank with 26 gallons of chevron premium, the so called surging is gone. Maybe it is because it is running richer during the cold weather, but nevertheless it is gone. No more mid-grade or regular for me. Premium all the way baby!
 

First RAM owner

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I recently bought (may) a 2019 Classic long horn edition. It currently has 22,000 miles. I have noticed that when the truck is started and the idle slows to 500 there small shake to the entire truck. The shake can not be felt until the idle settles to around 500. The shake can also be felt when stopped at redlights. I can be very obsessive about things so I asked my gf to see if she felt it. She did and so did my father. I took the truck to the dealership (since it's still under warranty) and had the head mechanic start it see if he felt the same shake. He said that he felt nothing and if there was a problem the engine light should come on. He stated it could be trash in the gas or something else minor. My observations are as follows: The engine light has never came on. There isn't a knocking or banging sound. I have tried different grades of gas 93 etc and no help. The shaking is slight, but its noticeable. I haven't noticed a bad shake while driving, but the roads where I live are bumpy so I might miss it. I have bought a K & N Airfilter, and the shake still exists. Any advice or recommendations will greatly be appreciated. Thanks.
 

First RAM owner

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I have the same problem as you with my 2020 RAM 1500. I have trouble explaining the shake but what you said makes perfect sense to me. My shake is not all of the time. It’s off and on. I did start using one major brand gas’s consistently and it seems to happen less but still does happen. Every time I pull to a stop light it’s different. One stop light it will shake enough to notice two more stop lights and it’s perfectly still. Please let me know if you ever figure it out.
 

First RAM owner

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I have the same problem as you with my 2020 RAM 1500. I have trouble explaining the shake but what you said makes perfect sense to me. My shake is not all of the time. It’s off and on. I did start using one major brand gas’s consistently and it seems to happen less but still does happen. Every time I pull to a stop light it’s different. One stop light it will shake enough to notice two more stop lights and it’s perfectly still. Please let meknow if you ever figure it out.
 

CDNBighorn

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My 2019 RAM 1500 Bighorn does this same thing. Its a shake at idle and can be felt when braking for sure. it tugs along like mentioned above. This creates a rather rough braking experience to other vehicles i have owned. Its subtle but annoying. I have also noticed the incandescent lights in the cab flicker along with this shake at idle. i have had the truck in 4 times to the dealer and each time no resolution. This last time i spoke with the shop foreman and he also recommended trying a different fuel type as the truck doesn't throw any codes and the electrical system checks out ok.

I thought perhaps the alternator might have a bad diode pack but he said it tests fine. I was running 87 Octane so perhaps it is in fact the issue. Gonna try 89 and then 91 and see if this resolves it.
 

tidefan1967

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Half the problem is that the idle from the factory is really too low(use to commonly be like 700 RPM or so, 500 is too low) to begin with and the lower the idle is the more likely it is to have a slight miss. Also more importantly a miss at full throttle would be much worse and more indicative of a problem. Playing with grades and brands of fuel might help but I wouldn't worry about it too much.
 

DaveNC

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I have the same issue with my 19 Rebel. Took it to the dealership and the mechanic kind of laughed and said "yeah, hear that a lot" It has to do with Ram tuning down the idle to conserve fuel, he told me. No way to stop it.
 

Mike Murphy

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It's called horsepower... ;)

All jokes aside, 500 rpm is a little low for idle. Approximately 650-700 rpms is about right. Did you type 500 rpms as an approximation, or is it really 500 rpms? If the truck was not making the idle it agreed with the PCM with set a P0506 code (idle below 100 rpms of desired). I believe you have a vibration, this is where the Dodge fixes the customer's concern, not the truck. Turn on the a/c, the idle should rise and see if there is a vibration. The last thing to do is take it back to Dodge and have them compare it to a like vehicle.

Let us know what happens.
 

JHoward

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Through the years I've experienced the rough idle on my HEMI engines and made note to use mid grade gas and avoid filling up on days the fuel station is being resupplied as this causes settled debris/ contaminates to be stirred up. Yep, it's the fuel filters job to catch this, but ...
I also use a bottle of LUCAS Upper Cylinder/Fuel injector cleaner in the tank at every third fuel fill up. I've been doing these two things for many years now and my HEMI doesn't have a rough idle. IMA, I also agree that the idle is low for these newer HEMI engines
 

seabrook

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its cam shake i love it

i grew up in the 80s and had Z28s that had 135 hp lol- it blows my mind that i can buy a stock na truck that puts out nearly 400hp
 
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