Tow/Haul mode not working (maybe)?

[mikeri24]

On my 2015 2500 6.4 66RFE, the tow/haul mode seems to not do much. The button lights up, the gauge cluster acknowledges that it’s on, but overall I don’t really notice much of a difference in shift points or anything. As a matter of fact, at lower speeds it always seems to want to be in a higher gear and bogs. I have no codes.

My question is, is this normal for these trucks? This is my first Ram. I’ve always had chevys and the tow/haul on those is very aggressive. Holding out gears longer, firmer shifts, very noticeable downshifts when braking, etc. My Ram doesn’t really do any of that. If that’s all normal then so be it. If not, what’s a good place to start looking for a fix?

About the only thing I tow with it is a roughly 5,000 lb enclosed trailer. I am picking up my new camper this weekend that’s closer to 9,500 so just want to make sure i get it sorted out. Thanks!

 

[Random_Walk]

I think it kind of depends... are you driving on primarily flat/level ground, or are there hills all over the place? I live in a mountain valley, and the owners' manual says I should keep it in Tow/Haul all the time since I drive over a lot of hills/mountains just to get groceries (err, I keep forgetting to do that, and I only really use it when actually towing something or carrying a lot of payload.)

 

[mikeri24]

I think it kind of depends... are you driving on primarily flat/level ground, or are there hills all over the place? I live in a mountain valley, and the owners' manual says I should keep it in Tow/Haul all the time since I drive over a lot of hills/mountains just to get groceries (err, I keep forgetting to do that, and I only really use it when actually towing something or carrying a lot of payload.)

it’s fairly flat where I live

 

[Random_Walk]

That may be part of it (I'm guessing on this one), because I know in my case, in Tow/Haul the hills make the transmission reach way down for gears (lower than they do w/o it), and linger longer before shifting up. However, in the relatively flat roads along I-5 in southern WA, they don't reach down as much, and tend to move up faster, even with a trailer or a load in the bed.

 

[2020PW]

Disconnect the battery and leave it disconnect for an hour or two. This will force the transmission “relearn”.

 

[mikeri24]

Disconnect the battery and leave it disconnect for an hour or two. This will force the transmission “relearn”.

I’m gonna give that a try. Should I drive it around without towing anything for a few days so it relearns normal driving conditions?

 

[62Blazer]

I feel the same way as the OP. My previous truck was a Chevy 2500 and the tow/haul mode made a huge difference in how the trans shifted and was much more aggressive shifts at a higher RPM. On my current Ram 2500 the only thing obvious with tow/haul mode engaged is it locks out 6th gear (obviously on the older 6 speed trans).

 

[Dean2]

Tow Haul on my 6.4 with the 8 speed makes a very noticeable difference in downshifting sooner as you slow to provide more engine braking , even coasting, what gear it is in at a given rpm and holding the gears longer accelerating. I have the display gear enabled on the EVIC, so even without the Range Limiter active I can see what gear I am in. Hard to feel the difference but I can clearly see it in the gears, and Tachometer readings.

If you can't display the gear on yours, set your range limit at 6 or 8, then make note of the revs and gear when in tow haul verses not. That will quickly tell you if you need to fix something.

 

[04fxdwgi]

Tow Haul on my 6.4 with the 8 speed makes a very noticeable difference in downshifting sooner and as you slow, even coasting, what gear it is in a given rpm and holding the gears longer accelerating. I have the display gear enabled on the EVIC so even without the Range Limiter active I can see what gear I am in. Hard to feel the difference but I can clearly see it in the gears, and Tachometer readings.

If you can't display the gear on yours, set your range limit at 6 or 8, then make not of revs and gear when in tow haul verses not. That will quickly tell you if you need to fix something.

Interesting. I tried to get the gear display on my EVIC, using AlfaOBD and the OBDLink MX+, but can't quite figure it out. How did you do it?

 

[Dean2]

Aaa

Interesting. I tried to get the gear display on my EVIC, using AlfaOBD and the OBDLink MX+, but can't quite figure it out. How did you do it?

On my 2021 2500 it was an option already in the selections under Screen optionsJust had to toggle it to on. It does however also show up on the AlphaObd list of things as Display Gear.

 

[04fxdwgi]

Thanx for the reply. Tried turning on gear display with OBDLink, but nothing changed.

 

[Dean2]

Thanx for the reply. Tried turning on gear display with OBDLink, but nothing changed.

After you activate it in Alpha, you have to go into the screen setup and scroll down to display current gear and then tick the show box.

With the HDs, the display will show you which gear you are in as well as the max gear you have selected while using the range limiter. If you push and hold the + button the transmission will go back to showing a D and back to full auto. Some of the HDs you can select to see current gear to display while in full auto mode without having to change anything with Alpha. The show gear feature is already enabled on some..

Double click to expand picture. From 2021 2500 Owner's Manual.

 

[mtofell]

Same truck as OP and have 130K miles (original owner) and I can say tow/haul is VERY noticeable. I just finished a 2500 mile trip from Portland down to Vegas and back (not towing) and used T/H quite a but in the mountains to alleviate some of the 66rfe's crappy shifting. I suppose on flat ground it's less noticeable but I think I still feel a quite a difference. In the mountains the difference is huge. Quicker shifts, grade braking, etc. I suppose the best you can do is try to find some hills and play around with it. Mine shifts night and day different when heading up a grade so you really should be able to tell I think. Re-programming/learning the tranny is a good idea too and I'd definitely do that.

 

[KyJack]

I used it this past week to tow our 5000 lb. Camper in the mountains of KENTUCKY. TURNED T/H OFF WHEN ON flatter ground.
One thing for sure is the amount of gas that is used in Tow Haul mode. You can almost watch the fuel gauge drop.

 

[Dean2]

I used it this past week to tow our 5000 lb. Camper in the mountains of KENTUCKY. TURNED T/H OFF WHEN ON flatter ground.
One thing for sure is the amount of gas that is used in Tow Haul mode. You can almost watch the fuel gauge drop.

You say are using T/H only when you are in hilly country, and turn it off on the flats. My bet is the hills have more to do with the increased consumption than T/H mode. I have run mine in both on flat ground, I see almost no difference in consumption, using the current consumption read out, on cruise at 65. I have also tried doing the same hilly stretch of road for 250 miles, and get very close to the same mileage with it on and off, though the T/H is a little lower. What I do get in T/H is much better performance and less transmission shifting for the slight drop in overall mileage.

 

[mtofell]

What I do get in T/H is much better performance and less transmission shifting for the slight drop in overall mileage.

X2... driving through some mountains in Nevada where the speed limit is much higher than I'm used to in Oregon I was reminded of just how crappy this 66rfe shifts. Left in 'D' w/o tow/haul mode, the tranny just constantly goes back and forth between gears. Tow/haul definitely helps.... as does just manually locking out 5 or 6 depending on the situation.

 

[Utah]

On my 2017 Ram 2500 diesel i select the tow haul mode and the green engine brake. Everything works great. If you want to go slower down a grade just tap the bake some to go slower. The engine brake does not work under 1000 RPM.

 

[Gr8bawana]

I used it this past week to tow our 5000 lb. Camper in the mountains of KENTUCKY. TURNED T/H OFF WHEN ON flatter ground.
One thing for sure is the amount of gas that is used in Tow Haul mode. You can almost watch the fuel gauge drop.

 

[Bandit1859]

On my 2015 2500 6.4 66RFE, the tow/haul mode seems to not do much. The button lights up, the gauge cluster acknowledges that it’s on, but overall I don’t really notice much of a difference in shift points or anything. As a matter of fact, at lower speeds it always seems to want to be in a higher gear and bogs. I have no codes.

My question is, is this normal for these trucks? This is my first Ram. I’ve always had chevys and the tow/haul on those is very aggressive. Holding out gears longer, firmer shifts, very noticeable downshifts when braking, etc. My Ram doesn’t really do any of that. If that’s all normal then so be it. If not, what’s a good place to start looking for a fix?

About the only thing I tow with it is a roughly 5,000 lb enclosed trailer. I am picking up my new camper this weekend that’s closer to 9,500 so just want to make sure i get it sorted out. Thanks!

Mine is newer but don’t notice much difference going up thru the gears but like the down shifts it will slow you down

 

[CaptOchs]

My 2013 Big Horn is noticeable in two ways. It will downshift sooner going uphill to avoid bogging down. It will also assist the brakes by downshifting when it detects your going down a steep hill. I go though a lot of hills and the brake assists helps even with my boat.