If you let anyone who hates rotary shifters or never used one just think about it- yeah- it's scary. Was it for me too. I didn't trust it and as I was looking for a RAM, I would had took the 6-speed with normal shifter, just because I didn't care for it.
but now- my opinion turned 180° since I have it.
It's 100% safe and you can have mal functions with everything. also the fact, that nowadays all shifters working the same way- electronically- and not with Bowden cables anymore- it doesn't matter. The only thing I agree is, that if you want to shift manually, the knobs should be behind the steering wheel and not on top of the cruise control buttons. But that's a comfort issue. I actually used it once- because I wanted to try what it does. Never needed it again. I would not even notice, if it would not be there. I know, there are some out there- as well as there are the one or the other out there, wishing a manual transmission in the 1500- but if you start build all versions, that even the last caveman is satisfied- car companies would be already bankrupt and out of business.
That the knob is a good solution, you see, that others also using it- and I think it's a better solution, than push buttons in the dash. Just think about that for a minute.
If you want to have a grandpa handle at your steering wheel, feel free to mount one on there. but I'm absolutely ok with the dial knob. And if that's the reason for a lower rating- well, then so it be it.

 

This is absurd, and just another extension of the axe CR has always had to grind with Chrysler. The rotary knob does default to park when the vehicle is shut off but not when you are going down the road, as that would be very unsafe.

The ERS controls could be easier to use (maybe paddles or something), but there is nothing unsafe about the dial

 

OH MY GOD JUST LET IT GO. This is getting to the point of "other" forums pettiness levels.

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^ This ! :smiley_thumbs_up:

 

This wasn't a post about the functionality of the knob, or even if it's safe or not. Pretty sure that horse has been beaten dead. It's about whether it matters that CR thinks it's unsafe and de-rates the overall safety rating of the vehicle because of it. The story stated that some FCA cars dropped from their "recommended" list because of this. If CR has an axe to grind with FCA, and people who read CR knows this, then it's up to the consumer to disregard CR's opinion about FCA products. However, on the flip side, if FCA and it's fans place no value in what CR thinks about vehicle feature it considers unsafe, FCA shouldn't credit positive CR reports about what CR thinks is good about FCA products. Can't have it both ways.

 

Go buy a Ford.

 

So why not adapt say a Challenger or Charger steering wheel with paddle shifters to your Ram. You'd still have to use the rotary knob, just like you have to use the console shifter in the Challenger or Charger to get into drive gear, but you could control up and down shifts with the paddles. The buttons are there, so why not? I'm sure this wouldn't be too hard, especially for someone who's "tech-inclined" and likes a new challenge.

 

Already working on it. I have paddle shifters on my Challenger and Pilot, and they too have limitations, specifically shifting while in a curve and the paddles are moving with the steering wheel. However, with a console stick (like on the Challenger) I can steer with one hand and grab gears with the other, like in a manual transmission. Once the factory warranty is done on the RAM (got about 11 months left), I'm going to try to interface a simple industrial toggle switch (spring loaded in two positions) and wire it in parallel with the Gear +/- buttons on the steering wheel. All I have to do is find the connector/wires where those two buttons feed into the transmission control module and wire parallel circuits to my toggle switch/lever mounted on the console. If parallel switches throw some sort of computer fault codes, I'll just leave the steering wheel buttons out of the circuit and connect the toggle switch only. In the meantime, I keep hoping someone will come out with an aftermarket mod to put a Jeep or Dodge console auto-stick shifter on the RAM 8-Speed, so I don't have to do it McGyver style.

 

CR is pretty much a flawed single point of analysis in my opinion. Because they only base their reviews and feedback on people who subscribe vs a larger group. I like the info they provide but if I based all my decisions on CR I'd have 2 gold dirt colored Camrys instead of horrible unreliable Ram 1500 with just under 85k miles and a horrible 2014 Charger Blacktop edition. Oh both have had practically no issues since new...

 

Sweet baby geeeeezus..........

 

What would Jesus drive?



Since you mentioned HIS name, here's an article about what vehicle Jesus would drive. Spoler alert....there's 5 MOPARs (including the RAM) on the top 10 list.

https://www.thrillist.com/cars/what-would-jesus-drive-all-the-cars-in-the-bible-from-the-old-to-the-new-testament

 

:box: UH-OH, here we go again! :box2:

 

Are people really this stupid? Does CR just think everyone is a high functioning baboon?

If you own a vehicle isn't it your responsibility to understand its operation? Journalists that bag on the rotary dial have an issue because it "takes getting used to"... So drive the thing for an oil change and see if you're used to it by then? Someone that drives 100 different cars in a year is of course going to be surprised when something is out of the norm. Owners that drive their trucks 1000's of miles in a year and many years before moving on get pretty used to the operation.

To me the Dial is a feature I want. Buttons on the wheel handle down and up shifting for towing and I get the space in the console for junk instead of a stupid stick in the middle of the truck that I touch twice in my daily commute. When I bought my ram i preferred either the column shift or the dial.

Surprisingly I've somehow figured out how to not shift into park at freeway speed, but I guess I do have a bachelors degree.

 

The Caravan shifter is far superior to the Ram and other rotary shifters.
Looks like a shifter! LOL
Acts like a shifter - even it it really isn't.
Much easier to use ERS than the push button.

I dare anyone to try the Caravan shifter (2015 up style) and then tell me they prefer the rotary.

 

I honestly do not understand what the problem is with the rotary dial shifter? I would not have an issue having one, infact depending on my frame of mind, my next Ram with either be Eco Diesel Powered or Cummins Powered. Regardless, I will not have an issue with whatever shifter it has.

 

Rotary is ok, but the Caravan shifter was much nicer - almost like a side slapstick when using manually :smileup:

 

I love the dial, works great and takes up way less space. I've never had a problem with it, and it will even put itself into park if you should forget to for some reason.

 

Awww please...... not this again...:158:

 

What many don't know- yes- the testers are not blessed with money- but their company is supplied with vehicles to test. They test, what they can get. and when they test good for a company, they get an extra stack of test vehicles. otherway around- why would they say anything good about a solution, when the company, making it does not give them enough treatment in form of test vehicles? The other thing is- that some companies allow the "private" use of their test vehicles, where others just plain allow to drive the tests. all those little goodies influence the test results.
If you look at European auto-magazines- they test 5 vehicles- a 5-series BMW against a Toyota, a LADA, a Mercedes and a Fiat and at the end the Golf wins, because it has the biggest trunk. No joke.
I read comparization tests, where at the end the reporter stated, that if the golf would had been tested, it would had won the competition, because it's better than all of the tested vehicles. Yes, I read it- black on white.
They even tested a RAM against one of those VW pickups- called Amarok - and trust me- I'm not lying- the Amarok with a 2.0 Turbodiesel WON! in all categories- You can't make this stuff up! They even went to the Hockenheim Ring Race Track and showed, that the Amarok is better to race than the RAM.
This does not come from nowhere, if you know, how much VW pumps into those magazines.
I trust auto magazines, JD Power and other institutions as much as I trust my dog in a room with a plate of bacon, not to eat the bacon.
From this point of view- just read the tests, when it comes to rotary shifter, with RAM and with Fusion. The fusion has the same functional rotary shifter and there it's the second greatest invention after the wheel. So much for "opinion" from a 3rd class reporter.

 

It's important that a car in drive, moving slowly, not shift into park when a door is open. Otherwise, there's no way for me to ghost ride the whip.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLvlGVNInw4

 

There is nothing unsafe about dial shifter.

 

The shifter is safe.



All of these people seem to have a different opinion.

https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/automatic-shifters-proceed-with-caution/

http://bestride.com/news/industry-news/the-worst-shifter-designs-of-2015

https://www.carthrottle.com/post/a5obz4x/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nhtsa-investigates-dangers-monostable-electronic-gearshift-fiat-chrysler-jeep-grand-cherokee/

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2017/03/cr-takes-stand-on-modern-gearboxes/

https://www.cars.com/articles/carscom-editors-sound-off-on-electronic-gear-selectors-1420683874162/

 

Well sometimes a lane dodger jumps in front of you, and popping the cruise control off, just isn't enough, grabbing a gear or two keeps you from having to heat up your rotors.

This is really a driving style thing, and lamenting the manufacturer elimination of that option.....unnecessarily.

Oh, and in addition to having 4 wheels in common, the RAM/Charger/Challenger share the 5.7 HEMI motor and the 8AT (and some other electronic do-dads as well). They're more alike under the skin than you think.

 

ERS is for limiting transmission range, e.g. locking out overdrives when towing. That is a pretty standard thing to need to be able to do in a truck.

What kind of degenerate stands on the hood of their car? Not on my paint.

What K-dawg wants is a manual valve body

Well sometimes a lane dodger jumps in front of you, and popping the cruise control off, just isn't enough, grabbing a gear or two keeps you from having to heat up your rotors.

Oh, and in addition to having 4 wheels in common, the RAM/Charger/Challenger share the 5.7 HEMI motor and the 8AT (and some other electronic do-dads as well). They're more alike under the skin than you think.

The 5.7 in the Charger and Challenger use different cams, lifter sets, and intakes than Rams, as does the 5.7 in the HDs.

It really is ok to use your brakes to stop, its what they are on the truck for.

The transmission on the other hand, is there to allow a wide range of wheel speeds over a more narrow range of engine speeds

 

Let's wrap this thread up.

In summary, Consumer reports and a bunch of other automobile watchdog organizations think that non-traditional electronic transmission shifters (including the RAM rotary shifter) are non-intuitive and unsafe. Their opinion.

The RAM rotary shifter does not provide the same type of transmission interface that the Auto-Stick does, and there are some drivers who would like to have the Auto-Stick interface in the RAM truck.

 

I want to slow down but I don't want to brake

:4-dontknow:

Man, now I feel like we're getting trolled :shy:

 

Open your mind, brother, there's more than one way to slow down. Brakes are nice, but not the only way. You can safely decelerate using throttle control and down-shifting (manual transmission drivers have been doing it forever). They put auto-sticks in Chargers and Challengers so we can drive our automatics that way. Those cars have the same transmission as the RAM 8AT. If it's ok to Auto-shift the Challenger and Charger, it should be ok to Autoshift the same transmission in the RAM, without destroying the transmission.

 

You can also just take your foot off the gas and coast to slow down

 

I heard that Fred Flintstone used his feet very well to stop, maybe that is the next option...

Seriously I didn't even think people use those shift buttons for stuff like this unless you had a trailer or heavy loaded truck. This is pretty amazing to me...

 

Yeah man, you are a very unique individual and in an extreme minority of people who want their truck to function that way.

From what you describe I bet your brakes outlast your torque converters

 

I don't want a custom designed truck. Just the same shifter they put in the Durango and Wrangler (similar size/weight vehicle as mine). I wonder how those whacky Durango and Jeep drivers use their auto-stick?

 

I used the paddle shifters once when I visited my uncle in the Ozarks.

My wife has never used the paddles and is the primary driver.


I am not sure how the other Durango and Grand Cherokee drivers do it; perhaps my wife and I are not "whacky." :4-dontknow:

 

99% of them don't use it for anything but shifting between P N D and R.

 

Well, I guess I'm in the 1%.

 

Durangos are actually pretty big inside; we have fit a 5 piece patio furniture set (4 chairs and table) and an assembled elliptical in ours. Every seat in it folds flat except for the driver's (sort of a throwback to the Ramcharger and Trailduster). It holds much more than Ramboxes will.

The V6 tows 6200 lbs, the small Hemi tows 7400, and the SRT tows 8700 lbs.

What is this fascination with the floor mounted headlight switch? My dad's 1955 International R120 had that and the under dash hood scoop lever AC. It is easy to see why neither are offered anymore

 

What is this fascination with the floor mounted headlight switch?

I'm not "fascinated" by the floor mounted dimmer. I just prefer it. It allows you to dim your headlights without taking your left hand off of the the wheel, or accidentally flashing your high-beams when using the mulit-fuction turn-signal stalk for all the other stuff it does. My left foot does absolutely nothing when I drive. A foot dimmer switch is just an old-school way to de-cluster the clustered controls.