48RE Question

[MLimpert]

I have an 05 2500 with 48RE. I have noticed over the last several months that my transmission has been hunting around between first and second gears at very light throttle take offs. Many times, the transmission will shift into second and then right back to first briefly. This is somewhat more noticable when the transmission is cold, but it can happen at any time. The truck has about 20,000 miles and has had the fluid changed once with the correct ATF+4 from the dealer. Heavier and full throttle shifts are decisive and firm.



Does anyone have any suggestions on how to clear this up? Is this a sign of a problem developing? What aftermarket parts would be suggested if any?

 

[jwduke]

I have a 2004. 5 with 11,000 miles on the clock, and it doesn't do that. Could be the start of a problem. I'd see my dealer, soon!

 

[GAllen]

Mine has done it since new with extremely light throttle application at take off with a light increase in throttle right after that. It will downshift (hunt) every time. I don't like it but it does it.

 

[BHolm]

Light throttle take off... . whats that :-laf



My truck will hunt climbing a small hill at light throttle and 10-15 mph, always has in that spot. I have 30k miles and also did a trans service at 20k. I think it is probably a goofy programming thing and not a hardware problem.

 

[Reb.B]

my 06 does it too. Star has its engineers writing a new program for shifting for the 05-06 trucks. My 06 also waits too long to shift from 3rd to 4th at full throttle, i hope they fix that too.

 

[MLimpert]

Sounds like I'm not the only one. I've been trying to drive "nice" with the fuel prices, so maybe I am just noticing it more now.



Its really quite annoying, and I'd be interested if anyone has come up with a fix.

 

[RMalone]

My trans will hunt at very low throttle especially between 1st and 2nd. I think it is pretty normal and not a precursor to disaster. Either manually put it in the lower gear, or speed up a little. Mine does it more when cold, but I also drive it with a lighter foot when cold. Just my two cents.

 

[TConnolly]

It is a defect, I've been dealing with same for 25,000 miles. The Transducer is the most likely cause, mine has failed 4 times with 1 complete transmission failure resulting in a complete warranty rebuild (TC, Transduce, Solenoid, Seal pkg, Trans Par & Filter). It's bad again and going back to the dealer 1 last time! 90% of my driving is with a 10-12k load.



Pull a grade from a stand still at light throttle to get it to act up!

 

[Matt400]

Star has its engineers writing a new program for shifting for the 05-06 trucks.

Reb. B, where did you learn that? Please post back if you hear anymore on that one.

 

[KevinO]

mine has started doing that again. There is a set screw with a torks head on it, it's on the driver side i was told by ATS to loosen the nut and torque the screw to 72 in-lbs and back it off a turn and a half and retighten the nut. This adjusts the bands for the second gear. i haven't done it yet because i'm out of town with no tools to do it, will let you know soon as i get in town unless someone tries it first and let's us know.

 

[cerberusiam]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Torque Management. Love it, hate it, we're stuck with it. My 05 has done it from day 1, along with delaying OD shift too long, and the tendency under heavy throttle to drop out of OD unlock the TC and SLOW DOWN! The last is the most annoying especially in heavy traffic. It hunts the same way between drive and OD if you roll in and out of the throttle too fast about the OD shift point.



I have found that that trying to feather the throttle just causes the computer to lose its mind trying to figure out what I want. I have taken to rolling at least 1/4 into the throttle then adjusting up or down when the rpm's come up. Can't see much of a difference in mpg as long as I keep the turbo whine to a minimum.



I have registered multiple driveability complaints with my dealer to pass along. The rumor is they are working on a flash to address some of them but don't bet it will get them all. The trans is so far beyond its rating for the power output of the engine they are afraid to do too much. Considering this is DC's first stab at TQ Management it isn't too bad.

 

[Giachino]

Mine has done it since new with extremely light throttle application at take off with a light increase in throttle right after that. It will downshift (hunt) every time. I don't like it but it does it.

Mine's done it since new as well (exactly as above)..... also, the transmission can definately get confused with different throttle positions / speeds... . i've seen it do some wierd things under different conditions... . but it works pretty well in general... . if it is DC's first attempt at torque mgmt that might explain it... . all in all it works pretty good.....



I'm glad i've noticed it now and when it's stock, becasue when I add a box I dont want to be all paranoid about the thing acting funny... .

 

[Giachino]

Also (sorry it's a little off topic) wait until you punch it and then get on the breaks... . like in a parking lot... . it will surge for a second or two..... someone said it was caused by the fact that the turbo doesnt have a blow off valve and instead it unspools slowly so it doesnt turbo fart..... not sure if I explained it well... but it's happened to me 2 x's... . now i avoid that situation...

 

[JonathanBurk]

+10



My '06 does the same thing, constantly hunting around. Was really driving me insane this morning because I was just trying to have a nice cruise to work and wasn't hot dogging it like usual.

 

[MMead]

Mine has done the exact same thing since I drove it off the lot.

 

[MRosinski]

Mine did the same but the 35's took care of that. Don't notice it anymore.

 

[jvjump]

Mine did the same but the 35's took care of that. Don't notice it anymore.

Mine was doing the same thing a aftermarket vb and billet servos fixed 95% of this issue. No trany war!

 

[CumminsWill82]

Same problems here 1st - 2nd gear hents and hangups(shift flare) 2nd - 3rd gear

with or without tow/haul. And there is more, if i put the shift lever in 2 it will shift from 1st to 2nd and back without stopping. Should've bought a stick and i ordered my truck a month before the NV5600 went out of production. But then i would have no replacement parts or support since the unit is discontinued.

 

[mpwalker]

My 2005 48RE did the same thing when new but not when towing a load, now with 36,000 miles on it seldom notice it doing it and still only when empty. I am looking forward however to a software upgrade for the transmission including the upgrade for the exhaust brake "I hope".

 

[CumminsWill82]

In the dieselram.com website there is a guy by the name TIM and he said that there will be future software updates and he is pretty knowledgable. hopefully will also get the ebrake approved,although i don't tow anything i still would like to have it.

The thing with the 05s is that DC did away with the TV cable setup (about time damn thing is like 20 year due), but instead of an electronic VB they put an electric motor to turn the TV shaft on the transmission.