Vibration in steering wheel and gas pedal

[northvibe]

I bought my ram 1500 classic hemi in a snow storm. in March? not too long ago, only 3k miles so far. I test drove it and felt a vibration in the wheel/gas pedal but thought it may of been ice in the rim or mds.

So fast forward to a normal day, in 2wd you can feel and maybe hear? a lite vibration in the steering wheel and gas pedal, especially in 3rd gear. In 4wd it is VERY apparent and while not shaking the wheel out of your hand is highly annoying. My last rig was a rubi jku and it was smooth. I test drove my friends 14' ram and smooth. I don't feel like this is normal. When I went to install my tow hooks, I noticed some "wet" on the passenger side axle. The vib's "feel" like they come from the front, but well not sure.

Called the dealer and had it in for this issue. They said, new drive shaft is coming....ok...I mentioned to the service guy that I saw some wetness on the passenger axle, may be a seal or something with that....."we'll try this first".

I picked up my ram today from the drive shaft install....feels the same, maybe a TINY bit better in 2wd. The service guy said, there were some flat spots on the ujoke yoke. Not sure if this may be a common issue, or I have to find out my issue myself and then slowly explain it to them.

Thoughts? Any tests I can do myself to hand hold this dealer? I also have a dealer near work that is in a different city.

 

[huntergreen]

Sounds like your dealer is taking care of you. Some have had this issue, some had success with new drive shaft, others needed new tires or wheels.

 

[northvibe]

The dealer is trying, but my experience with them and my last JKU put a sour taste in my mouth. They couldn't figure out the coolant smell. I'll hit them back up and have them check this out again. I need to hold my assumptions to see what they actually do/say.

 

[Raylan Givens]

I notice it a little in my 17', when in 4wd auto. I usually only notice it when pushing it a little up the canyon getting to the resort.

 

[Fatbob Frank]

I noticed a similar feeling when my MDS was active.
I shut it off now and it hasn't returned...

 

[meedom]

Any updates on this??

 

[northvibe]

Sorry, busy from work. The dealer put a new drive shaft in, no change. I need to call the dealer back.

 

[northvibe]

Appointment is this Thursday back at the dealer.

 

[RamCares]

Appointment is this Thursday back at the dealer.

Hi northvibe,
We're sorry that your dealer was unable to resolve this for you at your first appointment. Please send us a private message if you would like any additional assistance at your next appointment!
Lydia
Ram Social Care Specialist

 

[northvibe]

Thanks Lydia,

I have an appointment tomorrow AM, I will report back with what they find out!

 

[chrisbh17]

Please do, I think my truck (and lots of others, probably) have something similar going on. It doesnt bother all people, but it does bother me!

 

[northvibe]

Please do, I think my truck (and lots of others, probably) have something similar going on. It doesnt bother all people, but it does bother me!

Really? Man I drove my buddies 14' and it was smooth, hell my 16' jku was smoother..Yeah for sure seems odd a new truck would have this issue, but as mean as it sounds, I"m glad I'm not the only one.

 

[chrisbh17]

Between 2000 and 2300 RPM or so, during light to moderate acceleration, I get a buzzing type feel through the steering wheel, gas pedal and floorboard. Picture if you had a vibrating cell phone under your foot....thats similar to what I feel.

Like yours, it gets worse in 4-Auto but is there in 2WD and all 4WD modes. Since 4-Auto doesnt actually do anything other than engage the front axle actuator, I feel like it has something to do with the axles and/or the mounting of the diff, engine and axles (since they all mount to the exact same spot on the frame)

Outside of that RPM range and even in that RPM range but with moderate to heavy throttle, the truck is smooth as glass.

I went to 2 separate dealers with my truck and they both called it normal. They had other trucks they let me drive that did the exact same thing, so I couldnt really argue. I even went as far as picking a random truck out of inventory (a 2018 with 6 miles on it!) and it did the exact....same....thing. 2 of the trucks had different gearing and the xfer case without 4-Auto, so I know its not a rear end or xfer case thing. They all had the 8 speed trans, so it could technically be that but the build dates were so far apart I kinda ruled out a bad batch of transmissions. The one thing they all have in common is the engine/trans/xfer case/axle/differential mounting setup, I feel like thats where the key lies.

 

[northvibe]

what gearing do you have on your truck chris?
Mine is 3.92 gears and I did see seep on the front passenger axle...luckily the tech said he felt the vibration and yes your description of the vibration is what it feels and almost sounds like. Driving me absolutely crazy.

 

[chrisbh17]

what gearing do you have on your truck chris?
Mine is 3.92 gears and I did see seep on the front passenger axle...luckily the tech said he felt the vibration and yes your description of the vibration is what it feels and almost sounds like. Driving me absolutely crazy.

Mine is 3.21. I drove 5 or 6 different trucks with the same issue. 2 were 3.92 the rest were 3.21. The 3.92 trucks had the 44-45 xfer case. They were 2016, 17 and 18 model years.

The only thing they had in common is that they were 4wd hemis with the 8hp70

With the truck parked and idling you can actually feel vibration if you grab onto a front tire, but it's not the same vibration felt while driving (its much "coarser" like its a wuh.....wuh....wuh... type but what we feel is more bzzzzzzz, if that makes any sense).

I only partially feel the same vibration at 2k rpm in park or neutral.... Its only really noticeable when under acceleration in drive. I have not been daring enough to do 2k rpm in reverse.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[northvibe]

Holy moly, this better not be a "normal" thing. I didn't drive any other new ones, so I can't comment on that, but if you felt it in 5-6 trucks, not a good sign. My friend said new Camaro's have this issue and they think it is the torq converter.

This am I dropped the truck off, they had me take a ride with the shop manager and I reproduced the problem real easily as it did it in all gears in the lower rpms on the test drive. We will see what they say when they call me back...

As another user said, I mentioned the audio issue, which I received a text on the test drive and it BLARED the notification....but I will make a new appointment for that. Don't want more than 1 issue at each visit as it can get overlooked easily.

 

[chrisbh17]

If its the same vibration I think I have, there are posts about it all the way back to 2012. The theory is that its harmonics inherent in the Hemi engine, possibly getting "through" the mounts, etc and making its way to the frame and/or the cab, then to your hands and feet.

Some people have said they were able to lessen it with various dampers placed in certain places (on the exhaust, replaced the factory harmonic balancer with an ATI aftermarket unit, etc). Some people dont feel it at all, some people can feel it then had someone else drive the truck and someone else COULDNT feel it. It could just be a how-sensitive-you-are type thing.

The service managers at both dealerships I went to confirmed they felt it, but at the same time said there probably wasnt much they could do to fix it (at least they were honest). The fact I got so many others to do it, across various model years and build dates, makes me think its not a transmission thing.

 

[northvibe]

The shop manager said "it is probably harmonics" and I had a weird look on my face of...if this is normal for a ram then why do I want to keep it. msrp of a $50k truck that has this bad of vibrations? Seriously?

 

[chrisbh17]

Maybe yours is worse than mine but Ive pretty much gotten over it. All trucks will have their quirks.

After feeling the "horrible" vibrations in my RAM, when I drive my G37 or my wifes ES350 I can feel vibrations in them too.

I think its just more noticeable in the RAM because: 1. everything else about the truck is so smooth, small things stick out. and 2. you feel it in the floor and gas pedal. If it were just the steering wheel it probably wouldnt be as objectionable.

Oddly enough, the diesel versions get various mass dampers added...one of them is in the steering wheel. Ive purchased a used one but have not had the time to install it yet, in hopes that it helps absorb some of the vibrations.

 

[RamCares]

Please do, I think my truck (and lots of others, probably) have something similar going on. It doesnt bother all people, but it does bother me!

Hi chrisbh17,
We’re sorry to hear about this. We certainly understand how frustrating this may be. Please feel free to let us know via private message if you decide to address this with your dealer and we will gladly assist you during that process.
Lydia
Ram Social Care Specialist