2019 V6 Ram Highway Shifting Issues?

[Mission72]

Anyone with 3.6 experience a lot of downshifting on highway with cruise control?


Coming back home from out of town yesterday on the highway we had a little bit of headwind (driving into the wind). We set the cruise control for 115 km/hr (71 mph) and noticed that the vehicle pretty well drove in 7th gear the entire drive home (1 hour). There were times when it would briefly go into 8th, but it would only last 3-5 seconds then back into 7th. I’ve noticed this behavior before but not as bad as yesterday.

The difference between 7th and 8th gear seems to be really noticeable as there is a constant exhaust drone in 7th and sounds like the engine is working so much harder. The bad part is too is we could literally see the gas gage dropping. This was completely different from our drive down. I didn’t think a little bit of wind could have that much of an impact on the vehicle. I find the truck very sensitive in dropping into 7th and just seems to want to rev so much higher between the 2 gears (causes drone and grabs when dropping down).


The truck is a 2019 Classic with V-6 and 3.55 gears. Everything is stock except for Falken WildPeak AT3W (stock size). The vehicle only has 5000 km on it and had the dealership look into a few things at its 1st oil change saying all is normal condition. I just wish it wasn’t so sensitive to drop into 7th and have the constant drone sound when it drops down.

 

[TheEnder]

Anyone with 3.6 experience a lot of downshifting on highway with cruise control?


Coming back home from out of town yesterday on the highway we had a little bit of headwind (driving into the wind). We set the cruise control for 115 km/hr (71 mph) and noticed that the vehicle pretty well drove in 7th gear the entire drive home (1 hour). There were times when it would briefly go into 8th, but it would only last 3-5 seconds then back into 7th. I’ve noticed this behavior before but not as bad as yesterday.

The difference between 7th and 8th gear seems to be really noticeable as there is a constant exhaust drone in 7th and sounds like the engine is working so much harder. The bad part is too is we could literally see the gas gage dropping. This was completely different from our drive down. I didn’t think a little bit of wind could have that much of an impact on the vehicle. I find the truck very sensitive in dropping into 7th and just seems to want to rev so much higher between the 2 gears (causes drone and grabs when dropping down).


The truck is a 2019 Classic with V-6 and 3.55 gears. Everything is stock except for Falken WildPeak AT3W (stock size). The vehicle only has 5000 km on it and had the dealership look into a few things at its 1st oil change saying all is normal condition. I just wish it wasn’t so sensitive to drop into 7th and have the constant drone sound when it drops down.

This is normal, the 3.6L V6 doesn’t have much low end torque, and the 845RE is programmed to compensate for this by shifting frequently when required to. My 2016 and 2019 Chrysler 300s do the exact same thing on slight hills.


Sent from my Blue Onyx RAM 1500

 

[Mission72]

Thanks for reply. I guess my concern is once we start towing our TT, the thing is going to likely never get out of 5th if a little wind doesnt let it go into 8th.
My concern is the exhaust drone too when its in 7th the whole time.

 

[PoMansRam]

That's pretty much how my 2017 quad cab, express 4x4, pentastar with the 3.21 gears has always behaved. If there's any inclines, headwinds or movement of the throttle, it will downshift and stay in 7th gear most of the time at speeds under ~75mph.

This is why I almost entirely keep tow/haul mode engaged. I've never had it shift into 8th with tow/haul mode on and my fuel economy is effected by maybe 1mpg at most fill up to fill up. You can do almost the same thing by just toggling down to 7th by the steering wheel controls.

Like you say, you definitely have more engine and exhaust noise as your RPMs at highway speeds are around 2000 RPM in 7th. To me, the drivetrain feels much better in this RPM range than lugging along lower and I hate having any transmission excessively hunting around. Like I say, I don't notice a drastic drop in fuel economy this way.

If I was doing a long trip without too much weight on the truck, I'd definitely want it to go into 8th for steady cruising.

 

[TheEnder]

Thanks for reply. I guess my concern is once we start towing our TT, the thing is going to likely never get out of 5th if a little wind doesnt let it go into 8th.
My concern is the exhaust drone too when its in 7th the whole time.

Don’t worry, i know how you feel. My 2013 4.7L 1500 with the 65RFE never downshifts from 6th when going up a hill pretty much unless you floor it, and when i first got my 2 300s i thought something was definitely wrong. It’s not, just how it’s made.


Sent from my Blue Onyx RAM 1500

 

[RLJ10X]

I'm too lazy to look it up, Can you get 3.92s behind a Pentastar?

 

[crash68]

I'm too lazy to look it up, Can you get 3.92s behind a Pentastar?

I don't think you could order 3.92 as an option on the Pentastar but there was a trim package that added them(strange huh?). Maybe something changed as for them being an option. This was confirmed by the listing in the SAE J2807
Someone on this forum had a dealer install 3.92 on his Pentastar

 

[TheEnder]

I don't think you could order 3.92 as an option on the Pentastar but there was a trim package that added them(strange huh?). Maybe something changed as for them being an option. This was confirmed by the listing in the SAE J2807
Someone on this forum had a dealer install 3.92 on his Pentastar

This exactly, don’t most Pentastars come with 3.21s while HEMIs come with 3.55s?


Sent from my Blue Onyx RAM 1500

 

[crash68]

This exactly, don’t most Pentastars come with 3.21s while HEMIs come with 3.55s?


Sent from my Blue Onyx RAM 1500

3.55 was option on Hemis with 6spd trans.
3.21 is the standard gearing for the Hemi but it does have the option of 3.92
Pentastar has 3.21 and 3.55 availability
EcoDiesel has 3.55 and 3.92 availability

 

[TheEnder]

3.55 was option on Hemis with 6spd trans.
3.21 is the standard gearing for the Hemi but it does have the option of 3.92
Pentastar has 3.21 and 3.55 availability
EcoDiesel has 3.55 and 3.92 availability

Thank you for furthering my knowledge! It’ll come in handy.


Sent from my Blue Onyx RAM 1500