04.5 Questions

[MVaden]

Hey guys, I'm new to the site and also a 1st time diesel owner and I have a few questions for those of you with diesel experience under your belts.



I had a '03 Hemi Quad cab 1/2 ton (first dodge) that was a great truck and sure fun to drive but I'm going to be pulling a trailer around 12000 pounds and decided the CTD was the way to go.



I bought a '04. 5 2500 SLT 4x4 Quad cab shortbed auto with 3. 73 gears back on Feb. 18 and I have a few concerns.



1. How much will my M. P. G increase as my engine breaks in? Milage at last fill up with 1173 miles on it was 11. 5 by hand and 10. 3 on overhead computer and that was with no load and a combination of city and highway miles. My Hemi did better and that was with my foot in it most of the time.



2. Vibration in steering wheel when sitting at a light at idle. Is this normal for a CTD?



3. Shift points seem odd and it sometimes shifts into high gear or lockup at about 45 mph when not under a load and shudders a little (slight vibration for just a sec. ). Dodge service told me the trans. is just trying to adjust to my driving. Is this normal ?



Other than these concernes I love the truck and plan on keeping it stock and putting lots of miles on it.

 

[KevinO]

Take it back in to get reflashed should get the mpg up. My transmission does the same thing lock up is at 47 mph with light throttle and then it vibrates till about 51 or so.

 

[thames1948]

I have the same truck as you including the milage and mpg's. They keep saying it will get better, but I can't see it going up to what the earlier ones are getting. All we can do is wait and see. I thought the reflash was for running rough, which mine don't. It runs and drives great other then the lousy mpg's. Very confusing

 

[Iwant1]

geez, I'm getting 15mpg with 4:10s. I thought that was bad.

 

[jlasich]

thames1948, yes, the reflash is for a hesitation problem that the early build 600s had. It only seems to show up when the outside air temp is 30 degrees or below. Being in So. CA, it probably won't show up on yours. Those who have had the reflash have noted a bit better mileage. Both you and MVaden might look into getting the reflash and see what happens. Hopefully the dealer won't say "The reflash is for hesitation and your truck isn't exhibiting that problem so there's nothing we can do. ". It might be worth a shot though. I can't remember the TSB number, though. The reflash became available sometime late February, so you'll have to do some searching and find out if your trucks already have it from the factory.



Maybe someone else can chime in with more answers than myself.