My Truck "jerks" or "kicks" hard while driving.

[Tailwinds]

Hello, I’ve got a 2017 Ram EcoDiesel with 55K miles. I’ve owned if for about a year and absolutely love it. A couple weeks ago while driving at about 55mph, the truck jerked as if it were shifting hard. The following day it started doing it more often while at constant highway speeds. Lately it’s been doing it at lower speeds, accelerating speeds and cruise speeds. Today I was getting on the highway and the tires actually chirped when the truck “kicked”.
At Idle and while in park I'll occasionally feel whats best described as a misfire.
I already took it to a Ram dealership to have it looked at. They drove it for a while and finally felt the “kick” while accelerating. They hooked it up to their computers and found nothing. There are no idiot lights on at all. They reset the transmission and gave it the latest updates. No luck. Their suggestion was to “drive it until something really breaks” No kidding. When it “kicks” or “Jerks” it scares the $%$## out of you as it feels as if you’ve hit something, or have been hit.
Has anyone experienced this? If so, what is the problem? I’m planning on taking to another dealership and it would be helpful to give them a hint as to what the problem is. Thanks in advance!!!

 

[autoX]

Check the trans fluid level. There is a procedure to do this, running in idle, level pan, after cycling through the gears.

 

[FarmerBob]

Hello, I’ve got a 2017 Ram EcoDiesel with 55K miles. I’ve owned if for about a year and absolutely love it. A couple weeks ago while driving at about 55mph, the truck jerked as if it were shifting hard. The following day it started doing it more often while at constant highway speeds. Lately it’s been doing it at lower speeds, accelerating speeds and cruise speeds. Today I was getting on the highway and the tires actually chirped when the truck “kicked”.
At Idle and while in park I'll occasionally feel whats best described as a misfire.
I already took it to a Ram dealership to have it looked at. They drove it for a while and finally felt the “kick” while accelerating. They hooked it up to their computers and found nothing. There are no idiot lights on at all. They reset the transmission and gave it the latest updates. No luck. Their suggestion was to “drive it until something really breaks” No kidding. When it “kicks” or “Jerks” it scares the $%$## out of you as it feels as if you’ve hit something, or have been hit.
Has anyone experienced this? If so, what is the problem? I’m planning on taking to another dealership and it would be helpful to give them a hint as to what the problem is. Thanks in advance!!!

I've had something that sounds very similar. I've had my 2019 (w/30k) do the same, but mine has only done it on cold days, right after turning on the heat. I know that sounds crazy, but I even went so far as to try and recreate the problem and was able to (...or so I think). I now let the truck warm up to a minimum of 110 on the oil/coolant before turning on the heat and haven't had it yet. Some people think its the ECU going, but confirmable answers yet...

 

[Tailwinds]

I've had something that sounds very similar. I've had my 2019 (w/30k) do the same, but mine has only done it on cold days, right after turning on the heat. I know that sounds crazy, but I even went so far as to try and recreate the problem and was able to (...or so I think). I now let the truck warm up to a minimum of 110 on the oil/coolant before turning on the heat and haven't had it yet. Some people think its the ECU going, but confirmable answers yet...

Thanks for the response. Your problem is very interesting to say the least. My Ram started doing it in the summer and does it shortly after starting it, while doing some city driving and even after running for a couple hours. There doesn't seem to be any consistant triggering RPM, speed, temperature or acceleration level that is consistant in making it happen. Just to see whatv happens, I'll plug the truck in for a couple days to see what happens. Thanks again. Cheers!

 

[Tailwinds]

Check the trans fluid level. There is a procedure to do this, running in idle, level pan, after cycling through the gears.

Thanks for your response.
I hate the fact that I can't easily see the fluid level or condition of the fluid without draining it.
That said, I was planning to change the fluid to see if that's the issue. I've been reading about the different steps in doing so and while it is a little tricky, I don't thing it'll be too bad. I think the toughest part will be getting the pan perfectly level. At times the problem feels like it's transmission related, at other times it feels like it could be in the rear end and other times it feels like it could be engine related. We were looking at it last night and while in park, the engine would occasionally "shudder" as it were a misfire.
Cheers!

 

[autoX]

Engine : Fuel or ignition. There are no ignition coils on a diesel, therefore would be glow plug. Fuel it would toss a code, not sure for injector issues.

Trans: Fluid level doesn't throw a code either. Note that when cold trans fluid level is lower, and expands with heat.
My truck was low after a shop replaced the engine. It would buck/sluggish operation when cold, fine when warm.

I had a XC90 that would jerk around on hills. Thought it was a transmission issue. We did fluid /filter and additive, which was actually pretty good. But I figured out the jerking was an ignition coil going bad.

 

[Tailwinds]

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions regarding my issue. In the end, it turned out to be the tone wheel after all. After days of diagnostic work at two different dealerships, they finally got it to throw a code that pointed to the tone wheel. a scope of the part confirmed that it was coming apart. $2k later and my truck is finally running like it should. It's unfortunate that this would happen with only 58k miles. I'm wondering if will happen in another 50K miles. The same thing happened to my Son's Ram Ecodiesel. The faulty Tone wheel is the cause of a safety recall but The fix for the safety recall is only a software update that instructs the engine not to die when the tone wheel goes bad. I sadly find that to be a laughable non-solution to a problem related to a part known to be faulty. The scary part is that the first Dodge dealership I took it to couldn't diagnose the issue and told me to keep driving it until it breaks more! A safety recall has been issued and the dealership tells me to keep driving it until it gets worse? The really sad and frustrating part is that in addition to the $2K repair cost, the second dealership who finally diagnosed the problem charged me $175 for the diagnostic work. In other words, the dealers are making money diagnosing known faulty parts and safety recalls. Frustrating!

 

[FarmerBob]

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions regarding my issue. In the end, it turned out to be the tone wheel after all. After days of diagnostic work at two different dealerships, they finally got it to throw a code that pointed to the tone wheel. a scope of the part confirmed that it was coming apart. $2k later and my truck is finally running like it should. It's unfortunate that this would happen with only 58k miles. I'm wondering if will happen in another 50K miles. The same thing happened to my Son's Ram Ecodiesel. The faulty Tone wheel is the cause of a safety recall but The fix for the safety recall is only a software update that instructs the engine not to die when the tone wheel goes bad. I sadly find that to be a laughable non-solution to a problem related to a part known to be faulty. The scary part is that the first Dodge dealership I took it to couldn't diagnose the issue and told me to keep driving it until it breaks more! A safety recall has been issued and the dealership tells me to keep driving it until it gets worse? The really sad and frustrating part is that in addition to the $2K repair cost, the second dealership who finally diagnosed the problem charged me $175 for the diagnostic work. In other words, the dealers are making money diagnosing known faulty parts and safety recalls. Frustrating!

Do you have any aftermarket tunes or equipment on this truck? I am curious because it sounds like I have the same thing, but I have a tune, so I'm not sure the software update will work on my truck?

 

[Tailwinds]

Do you have any aftermarket tunes or equipment on this truck? I am curious because it sounds like I have the same thing, but I have a tune, so I'm not sure the software update will work on my truck?

My truck is 100% stock. Nothing aftermarket at all. The The software fix is to reprogram the ECU to follow cam position instead of crank position. It's a bandaid shifting attention to the known faulty tone wheels. I'm not sure that having your truck tuned would make a difference. I've been told that when the tone wheel goes bad, it goes bad and there is nothing in-between. That's not the case. I drove mine for 6-months with this issue with no codes being thrown but the truck was very drivable if you could get over the violent buck or jerk. It finally threw a P0336 code while driving it. Apparently the techs were shocked that the code came about on Hwy speeds. Good luck with your truck...I hope it all works out well!

 

[A standup guy]

This sounds totally screwy. I think if I had to pay 2k+ for a known, safety recall issue I'd be making a bigger stink about getting my money back. Those things do take time but man, that seems really wrong.

 

[Tailwinds]

It's beyond screwy and I'm really dissapointed in Dodge and the two dealerships I dealt with. I'm still pursuing resolution...it's not over yet.

 

[Boone]

Just got my truck out of the shop. It had the same problem. The dealer could not produce a code. They replaced the crankshaft postioning sensor and tone wheel. Its a big job...trnsmission has to come out but most of it was covered under 5yr/100k diesel engine warranty.
My truck was bucking and jeking under acelleration when temp was under 170 degrees. My truck has 38K on her.

 

[John Jensen]

It's beyond screwy and I'm really dissapointed in Dodge and the two dealerships I dealt with. I'm still pursuing resolution...it's not over yet.

If your truck had the W58 tone wheel software flash it has an eight year warranty starting with the date the W58 recall was completed. See att

 

[Boone]

Just got my truck out of the shop. It had the same problem. The dealer could not produce a code. They replaced the crankshaft postioning sensor and tone wheel. Its a big job...trnsmission has to come out but most of it was covered under 5yr/100k diesel engine warranty.
My truck was bucking and jeking under acelleration when temp was under 170 degrees. My truck has 38K on her.

OK my issue is still there. I am putting her back in the shop this week. I don't believe it is the engine. I am starting to think transmission. Problem definitely stops after warm up. It is a violent jerk...spilled my coffee all over me. Warranties covered me this far. I would hate to eat this repair out of warranty. I am going back to gas on next truck.

 

[Boone]

OK my issue is still there. I am putting her back in the shop this week. I don't believe it is the engine. I am starting to think transmission. Problem definitely stops after warm up. It is a violent jerk...spilled my coffee all over me. Warranties covered me this far. I would hate to eat this repair out of warranty. I am going back to gas on next truck.

The dealer had my truck today. They checked tranny fluid and codes-everything OK but problem still persists. I now think it is in the transmission. Not sure what to do next? Any suggestions are welcome. I am thinking about replacing the pan/filter so see of something is restricting the fluid flow. It is definitely temperature related. How does Mopar handle hard to diagnose problems under warranty. Tone wheel and crank sensor is replaced. I need some ideas.

 

[Boone]

If your truck had the W58 tone wheel software flash it has an eight year warranty starting with the date the W58 recall was completed. See att

Thanks John, They already replaced that and no luck. Mine is a 2020 eco

 

[Scooby#1]

Hello, I’ve got a 2017 Ram EcoDiesel with 55K miles. I’ve owned if for about a year and absolutely love it. A couple weeks ago while driving at about 55mph, the truck jerked as if it were shifting hard. The following day it started doing it more often while at constant highway speeds. Lately it’s been doing it at lower speeds, accelerating speeds and cruise speeds. Today I was getting on the highway and the tires actually chirped when the truck “kicked”.
At Idle and while in park I'll occasionally feel whats best described as a misfire.
I already took it to a Ram dealership to have it looked at. They drove it for a while and finally felt the “kick” while accelerating. They hooked it up to their computers and found nothing. There are no idiot lights on at all. They reset the transmission and gave it the latest updates. No luck. Their suggestion was to “drive it until something really breaks” No kidding. When it “kicks” or “Jerks” it scares the $%$## out of you as it feels as if you’ve hit something, or have been hit.
Has anyone experienced this? If so, what is the problem? I’m planning on taking to another dealership and it would be helpful to give them a hint as to what the problem is. Thanks in advance!!!

I would check the transfer case. Drain the oil and check it for any metal or debris. That’s my best thought.

 

[Boone]

Problem solved! After months of truck jerking while accelerating it was a clogged fuel filter. Truck has 40k miles on it. I replaced filter at 29k with genuine Mopar filter about 6k miles later problem began with truck jerking while cold and accelerating. Dealer was perplexed and did alot of work.
Just had oil filter and fuel filter replaced and problem is gone. Any kind of performance issues start with the fuel filter. My truck was in shop 4 times for this problem. All fuel was from Sams Club. So now I will replace fuel filter on every oil change and that is my advice to any diesel owner. Also has a little more power while accelerating now. This website talks about a clogged diesel fuel filter: https://www.autodoc.co.uk/info/diesel-fuel-filters-symptoms-problems-and-replacement. I was about to trade in truck over the issue but now it runs like new. Reduced fuel mileage, reduced power, anything performance related start with fuel filter.