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TSB 18-050-14 MDS Drone / Vibration

29K views 88 replies 38 participants last post by  rjmlakota 
#1 ·
The TSB in the title was issued on Sept 19 and covers 2010 - 2014 Ram 1500s. The actual title of the TSB is: "FLASH Drone or Vibration Present During MDS Operation". I can only find the title of the TSB and have been unable to find the actual text. Can someone cut and paste the actual TSB contents. Thanks.
 
#37 ·
To soon to tell. I'll let you know in a couple of weeks.
 
#42 ·
I`m going to bet that this latest TSB is for hemi 6 speed trans vehicle`s only... even though the 2014 8 speed hemi`s are doing the same thing... vibrate at 1,950 to 2,050 rpms. Every MDS hemi i`ve ever owned (and i`ve owned MANY hemi truck`s) has this harmonic vibration frequency problem. If they had done better engineering & designing of the hemi engine, (fluid dampers, silent shafts etc etc etc) it would be smoother thru any rpm & gear.

Raising the transmission shift points and/or holding out the MDS activation to eliminate the vibrations is a band-aid, it isnt a fix. My 14 hemi vibrates @ 1,950 thru 2,050 rpm`s just as bad as any other previous hemi trucks i`ve owned, just seems to be a little less due to the 8-speed, but its still there.

Why i think my 14 hemi is a little less felt is because the 8-speed is shifting thru gears so quickly, it dosent stay within the 1950/2050 rpm vibration range for very long vs the 6 speed`s... hence, less felt as often or severe, BUT, is definitely still vibrating thru the seats, floors, steering wheel, gas pedal.

I`ve learned to deal with it and live with it, i know what it is and why its doing it. I`ve fixed it on previous hemi`s, and i`ll likely fix this one too, if i dont get rid of it first. Its just alot of work involved to do it, but it can be done.
 
#50 ·
Unless I'm missing it, what years is this good for? I see a lot of 6-speeds, but what about the the 5-speeds? Is this an engine or transmission update? I get the same vibrations between 35-45 mph (less than 1500 rpms) but not when I hit the tow/haul button and shut of MDS.
 
#53 ·
My dealer said they'd charge me if I just wanted the TSB done. I said how does that work, its under warranty? Apparently to get it covered I have to come in wit a complaint, and the techs have to "find the issue" and locate and apply the flash themselves. Seems like a stupid BS game to me.
 
#54 ·
I was at my dealer today. Asked them to apply flashes for 2 TSBs. Gave them the TSB numbers. They applied one, the other was not applicable to my VIN. Under warranty, no charge.

They did tell me when they hook up the Witech to the vehicle, any flashes for the trucks modules that need to be applied show up in red! Not much research!
 
#57 ·
Just an update. I had this TSB done a couple days ago. The dealership said it was covered under the emissions warranty and not the powertrain. While I wasn't impressed with the service advisor I dealt with, I wasn't going to question a free PCM update. The truck does hold gears a little longer and the ECO light stayed on a bit longer and on roads/hills it didn't before. I don't watch my MPGs as closely anymore, so I can't gauge how effective this TSB is for that and considering it's a "drivability" update and not a MPG one, I wouldn't expect big gains. Is any of this empirical data and scientific? Absolutely not; however, I did like the way it drove with the new update and you can't beat that.
 
#58 ·
As far as mpg's around town you are going to take a .5 to 1 less mpg. As stated it holds gears longer, but driveability feels better.
 
#64 ·
LOL... and we still have the 2,000rpm vibrations...
And i`ve said it a million times, it will never be fixed with the way they`re doing it.
They`re NOT fixing it in the right place yet... ITS THE GOD DAM ENGINE DESIGN ITSELF...!

Chrysler... until you hire and PAY decent money in your engineering, you`ll continue to build inferior designs. Your suit an tie people need to take a pay cut. Spend your money where it WILL benefit your product instead of paying fat cats that are UNPRODUCTIVE..!
 
#68 ·
I don't think there is much, if any improvement in gas mileage for me. The drone however has been cut significantly to where it's hardly noticeable at all. The Ram tech mentioned to me when I picked it up that there would still be a minor amount of noise, but that was normal for the MDS function. Overall, I am much happier than before, so I would suggest others look into getting the flash update if your truck is having the issue.
 
#69 ·
did any of you who got the update have a previous custom tune loaded? just curious if anyone ran into the issue of the dealer saying you messed the truck up.
 
#70 ·
Reload the Factory tune



I have heard from many people that custom tune their Hemi to reload the "stock" tune back before bringing it in to avoid any warranty issues. The dealer may void the warranty on your truck.

I haven't custom tuned my truck, but am kicking around the idea of doing it. Which tuner are/did you use for yours, and was it worth it? (If you don't mind me asking)
 
#78 ·
I had the drone for 5 years. The week before I traded it in. I swapped the KN air filter for paper and the drone mostly went away. I think it messed with the air sensors. If you have a drop in KN I would suggest you try paper.

i have a full CAI kit on, but its interesting to think that may have been the issue with the air flow...
 
#80 ·
Had mine done this morning, Dealer said they plugged in truck and did 2 updates. one to the PCM and the other to the ECM. will drive it for a while to see if there is a difference.

any updates?
 
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