2019 RAM 1500 Sport update

OVERKILL

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Ontario, Canada
So, it's been over a year since we bought our 2019 RAM 1500 Sport to replace the 2018 EcoDiesel which we loved, but which became regen-central in the winter when my wife was short-tripping it for work.

The truck was purchased on February 11th, 2019 and is now coming up on 30,000Km.

The truck stickered for $68K:
[Linked Image]


We paid ~$48K + taxes.

Overall, we are extremely happy with the vehicle. It has 3.92's and limited slip, and since we tow the boats with it, this setup has proven to work exceedingly well. Acceleration, even with a large boat behind it, is very good. Braking is also excellent. the 2019 NBS received larger, updated brakes and their performance is quite good.

The good:
- Seats are comfortable and feature plenty of adjustability for height (good, because my wife is 4'11")
- Power wheel adjustment and pedal adjustment accommodate significant differences in driver size well
- UConnect - still my favourite infotainment system in terms of ease of use and convenience. We have the smaller 8.4" screen, so still have manual HVAC controls redundant to the touch screen ones
- Transmission + engine combo - The ZF 8spd has to be the best light truck trans on the market and paired with the HEMI that now has more aggressive MDS, means pretty good fuel economy when you aren't driving hard
- Integrated trailer brake controller works seamlessly and its adaptive system works extremely well, I never felt it necessary to manually adjust the gain.
- Easy open/close bed is a nice feature and makes it easier for children and more petite people to operate
- Comfort options like heated seats and wheel work as expected, with a decent amount of adjustability on the seats to fine tune to taste
- Auto up/down windows is a nice touch at this price point
- Materials - everything is soft touch and as you get the miles on it, you appreciate that no matter where you place your elbows, it isn't going to be a hard surface
- Sound deadening - Significantly quieter than the 2018
- Interior lights - well configured with plenty of options. Everything is LED.
- Ample cup and storage locations. The flexible centre console has myriad configurations and is cavernous. The dual glove box setup is also welcome, as are the integrated phone holders
- Ride - The suspension and ride is even smoother than on the previous body style, which was already excellent
- Headlights - we have the LED reflectors, which are quite good. I expect the higher trim LED projectors are even better but these work very well.
- Turn illumination - At low speeds the fog for the inside curve is turned on, illuminating the curb area. This can be handy.
- Active dampers - designed to eliminate the rumble from MDS, these work exceptionally well
- In-floor storage - This is a fantastic feature. Can pack these full of ratchet straps, rope...etc.

The bad:
- The tow mirrors stick out far enough that setting them up properly to cover the blind spots results in some weird placement. They are also not heated.
- The step to get into the bed on the corner of the bumper is tiny and makes it difficult to get in and out
- The OEM Goodyear tires are absolutely awful
- First model year means TSB's for some weird things like body mounts (replaced to eliminate a clunk), rear calliper brackets (replaced to eliminate a squeal in reverse) and updated front pads/sliders (replaced to eliminate a chirping sound).
- The cluster seems to intermittently forget the custom font my wife selects and reverts to the default
- The park sense/auto braking tends to be overly sensitive at times and may alert, or even stop you, prematurely.
- Every once in a while the MDS "hiccups" on disengagement. I expect there will be an ECM flash to address this.

Next update will be at 50,000Km.

[Linked Image]
 
Very nice report and truck! Only had our 2020 Laramie for three months and I'm extremely happy with it so far. I agree, the rear park sense is very sensitive. My driveway has a slope and when I try to back up it the brake would come on, it was "seeing" the slope an an object. I disabled the rear brake assist in the settings, still have the sensors active but no more annoying braking.
 
Nice truck!

Not much to add, but am I the only one who absolutely can't stand auto-braking on these new cars? I was test driving a newer Subie the other day after some repairs and I didn't even realize it had Eyesight until it APPARENTLY thought I was coming in too hot to the car in front of me at a stop light and decided to slam on it's own brakes. Scared the absolute nonsense out of me as I thought I had been rear ended or something!

I will never understand the appeal of blind spot monitors, auto-emergency braking, the silly Honda "show your right side in the nav screen when your signal is on" systems. Human beings have had these features forever.

Now, to play devil's advocate, I do understand that these systems save lives and have a certain usefulness in every day life. That being said, I'll be driving a car without these systems as long as I possibly car. Heck, when I bought my Volt I made sure and found one with no backup cam and no parking sensors. I didn't want the headaches.
 
Originally Posted by 14Accent
I'll be driving a car without these systems as long as I possibly can.
Me too, I had to get rid of my 2003 Toyota last year due to living in the rust belt. I downgraded to a 2007 Nissan when most people are "upgrading" from this vintage. Heck I went and looked at a 2005 Nissan yesterday but someone got to it before me, oh well.
 
Last edited:
I really like the backup cam.. at least in my jeep with the 8.4 it is very useful..

some toolbag decided to uturn through some parking spaces directly behind me.. I saw it happening and stopped 3/4 out of my parking space.. would have been hard to see without the camera.

The auto rear braking is VERY sensitive to slope, and the sides of my garage (garage door opening)
 
Originally Posted by Rand
I really like the backup cam.. at least in my jeep with the 8.4 it is very useful..

some toolbag decided to uturn through some parking spaces directly behind me.. I saw it happening and stopped 3/4 out of my parking space.. would have been hard to see without the camera.

The auto rear braking is VERY sensitive to slope, and the sides of my garage (garage door opening)


Yes, that's one thing I should mention, as much as I absolutely loved my SRT, the resolution on the backup cam on the RAM is significantly higher. It has one of the best backup cams I've ever seen.
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL

The bad:
- The tow mirrors stick out far enough that setting them up properly to cover the blind spots results in some weird placement. They are also not heated.


Nice truck and great price!

As for the not heated mirrors, your Monroney (window sticker) shows they are heated.
1st column, 12th row from the bottom.
Probably activated with rear window defroster button.
 
Originally Posted by Danno
Originally Posted by OVERKILL

The bad:
- The tow mirrors stick out far enough that setting them up properly to cover the blind spots results in some weird placement. They are also not heated.


Nice truck and great price!

As for the not heated mirrors, your Monroney (window sticker) shows they are heated.
1st column, 12th row from the bottom.
Probably activated with rear window defroster button.


If you look at the far right column, the tow mirror package deletes the mirror heat unfortunately. By default, it comes with heated, but non-tow, mirrors.
 
Just an update to this:
Plugged the truck into WiTech this aft at the shop. There was an ECM update which had some minor changes but there was also a TCM update which may have addressed my MDS "hiccup" as it was mentioned as a "bump" in the doc. We'll see, I've only driven it a few kilometres since I did the update.
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Just an update to this:
Plugged the truck into WiTech this aft at the shop. There was an ECM update which had some minor changes but there was also a TCM update which may have addressed my MDS "hiccup" as it was mentioned as a "bump" in the doc. We'll see, I've only driven it a few kilometres since I did the update.

I did a short-term subscription to TechAuthority and found a laundry list of "issues" that affected 2019-20's that were built prior to early 2020. Makes me glad that my build date was 3/14/20 and all but one TSB was prior to my production date.
I have noticed the "bump" on several of the 2020 Ram's that I test drove but mine does not have it. I have noticed that my truck also shifts ridiculously smooth compared to other Ram's, but it is probably due to the eTorque.
 
Originally Posted by The Critic
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Just an update to this:
Plugged the truck into WiTech this aft at the shop. There was an ECM update which had some minor changes but there was also a TCM update which may have addressed my MDS "hiccup" as it was mentioned as a "bump" in the doc. We'll see, I've only driven it a few kilometres since I did the update.

I did a short-term subscription to TechAuthority and found a laundry list of "issues" that affected 2019-20's that were built prior to early 2020. Makes me glad that my build date was 3/14/20 and all but one TSB was prior to my production date.
I have noticed the "bump" on several of the 2020 Ram's that I test drove but mine does not have it. I have noticed that my truck also shifts ridiculously smooth compared to other Ram's, but it is probably due to the eTorque.


The update seems to have almost eliminated it, you can still feel that transition, but it feels more like a TC unlock now than the "bump" it was doing at that low speed low RPM point where it went from 4 to 8 under moderate load, which seemed to be the condition that triggered it.

It may be my imagination, but the TCM update also appears to have added some general shift strategy improvements.

This truck would be early build date, we bought it February 2019 and it was already on the lot. If you are curious, I will check the door jamb to get the actual build date.
 
I rented a '19 last year and agree with much of your assessment. I liked the improved ride/noise. The auto braking feature was a bit aggressive, freaked us out the first time it slammed on the brakes!

I own a '19 Classic now and prefer the design over the new one myself, although the Sport trim you have looks fantastic.
 
Originally Posted by panthermike
I rented a '19 last year and agree with much of your assessment. I liked the improved ride/noise. The auto braking feature was a bit aggressive, freaked us out the first time it slammed on the brakes!

I own a '19 Classic now and prefer the design over the new one myself, although the Sport trim you have looks fantastic.


Yes, yes it is. I was backing into a parking spot at the Beer Store Saturday with my eldest and it slammed on the brakes because of the height of the curb, despite it being nowhere near high enough to catch it with the exhaust.

Not remembering to turn it off before attempting to back up to a trailer is also a treat
lol.gif


Agreed on the Sport trim, we thought it was very sharp (that's why we went with it, both of us are a big fan of monochromatic paint schemes). We had an '18 EcoDiesel prior and it was also a very nice truck, but the regens due to my wife short tripping it is what put us in the '19.
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by panthermike
I rented a '19 last year and agree with much of your assessment. I liked the improved ride/noise. The auto braking feature was a bit aggressive, freaked us out the first time it slammed on the brakes!

I own a '19 Classic now and prefer the design over the new one myself, although the Sport trim you have looks fantastic.


Yes, yes it is. I was backing into a parking spot at the Beer Store Saturday with my eldest and it slammed on the brakes because of the height of the curb, despite it being nowhere near high enough to catch it with the exhaust.

Not remembering to turn it off before attempting to back up to a trailer is also a treat
lol.gif


Agreed on the Sport trim, we thought it was very sharp (that's why we went with it, both of us are a big fan of monochromatic paint schemes). We had an '18 EcoDiesel prior and it was also a very nice truck, but the regens due to my wife short tripping it is what put us in the '19.


Yes, our experience was similar; it stopped the trucks because of a pole that over a foot away to the side! I get it on the Ecodiesel regens. Probably a good call anyways, as the Eco has had some issues over the years.
 
Originally Posted by The Critic
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Just an update to this:
Plugged the truck into WiTech this aft at the shop. There was an ECM update which had some minor changes but there was also a TCM update which may have addressed my MDS "hiccup" as it was mentioned as a "bump" in the doc. We'll see, I've only driven it a few kilometres since I did the update.

I did a short-term subscription to TechAuthority and found a laundry list of "issues" that affected 2019-20's that were built prior to early 2020. Makes me glad that my build date was 3/14/20 and all but one TSB was prior to my production date.
I have noticed the "bump" on several of the 2020 Ram's that I test drove but mine does not have it. I have noticed that my truck also shifts ridiculously smooth compared to other Ram's, but it is probably due to the eTorque.


Build date on ours is August, 2018, FYI.
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by The Critic
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Just an update to this:
Plugged the truck into WiTech this aft at the shop. There was an ECM update which had some minor changes but there was also a TCM update which may have addressed my MDS "hiccup" as it was mentioned as a "bump" in the doc. We'll see, I've only driven it a few kilometres since I did the update.

I did a short-term subscription to TechAuthority and found a laundry list of "issues" that affected 2019-20's that were built prior to early 2020. Makes me glad that my build date was 3/14/20 and all but one TSB was prior to my production date.
I have noticed the "bump" on several of the 2020 Ram's that I test drove but mine does not have it. I have noticed that my truck also shifts ridiculously smooth compared to other Ram's, but it is probably due to the eTorque.


Build date on ours is August, 2018, FYI.

Wow, yours is one of the very early build models.
 
Originally Posted by The Critic
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by The Critic
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Just an update to this:
Plugged the truck into WiTech this aft at the shop. There was an ECM update which had some minor changes but there was also a TCM update which may have addressed my MDS "hiccup" as it was mentioned as a "bump" in the doc. We'll see, I've only driven it a few kilometres since I did the update.

I did a short-term subscription to TechAuthority and found a laundry list of "issues" that affected 2019-20's that were built prior to early 2020. Makes me glad that my build date was 3/14/20 and all but one TSB was prior to my production date.
I have noticed the "bump" on several of the 2020 Ram's that I test drove but mine does not have it. I have noticed that my truck also shifts ridiculously smooth compared to other Ram's, but it is probably due to the eTorque.


Build date on ours is August, 2018, FYI.

Wow, yours is one of the very early build models.


Yup, it certainly is.
 
Been about a year since I updated this thread.

Truck is now at ~45,000Km, I was just up at my dealer and we tossed a pod on it and updated:
- ECM from AM to AN (only a single revision, minor performance improvements)
- Transfer case control module from AL to AP, pretty significant jump!
- Parksense system (didn't look at the revisions) which revised the calibration

Nothing for the trans or anything else.

I might hop on Witech the next time I'm in and pull-up the PDF for the ECM update as I didn't get a chance to look at that one unless @The Critic wants to look it up for me, lol ;)
 
Been about a year since I updated this thread.

Truck is now at ~45,000Km, I was just up at my dealer and we tossed a pod on it and updated:
- ECM from AM to AN (only a single revision, minor performance improvements)
- Transfer case control module from AL to AP, pretty significant jump!
- Parksense system (didn't look at the revisions) which revised the calibration

Nothing for the trans or anything else.

I might hop on Witech the next time I'm in and pull-up the PDF for the ECM update as I didn't get a chance to look at that one unless @The Critic wants to look it up for me, lol ;)
Mine had an available ECM update for conditions identified in TSB 18-022-21, but that bulletin only addressed 5.7L eTorque engines:

1627340605855.png



I also saw the Parktronic one when I did my bed light project several weeks ago. Didn't see an associated TSB, though. After the update, it does seem to give fewer false panic-braking events.
 
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