2019 Ram 1500: stuck in gear or won't shift

Filed Oct 31, 2026 · KY

While towing a trailer on an up hill grade my Ram 1500 suddenly stopped pulling and began rolling back. It stopped using the breaks but would not shift out of drive. Luckily the Park break was still functional and held the vehicle in place until roadside assistance arrived.

Filed Mar 26, 2026 · Transmission · WA

Transmission won't go into reverse at times, auto shifting back to park before check engine light comes on. Vehicle initially started with hard shifts at low speeds about 25 mph. Issue progressed to the point where vehicle has to be put into reverse. Otherwise vehicle would not shift at the same point about 25 mph and would be stuck in the low gear until vehicle is shut off and restarted then put into reverse before proceeding. The issue has continued to grow where shifting into reverse causes the vehicle to noticeably lurch back with a very heavy thunk before putting it into drive. Reverse takes time engaging. However the issue will persist and it will not go into reverse before Auto shifting to park and the check engine light comes on. Vehicle would drive for a little while before the transmission would stop shifting and go into limp mode where I wouldn't be able to drive over 30 miles per hour without very high RPMs. During some of those times the vehicle would take a long time before the transmission would engage and shift which would cause the vehicle to jerk abruptly forward. And at times back tires have lost traction. Recently the vehicles transmission has disengaged entirely while driving. At times it'll be 40 mph where it will disengage or in one case about 15 mph as I was making a turn and in the intersection it disengaged. First time the vehicle went to a dealership. They were unable to replicate the problem and that was approximately 30,000 mi on the odometer. The second time it went in with the issue it was diagnosed as being a service bulletin which was then updated and issue remained. The third time it was brought in there was a code that showed that the clutch gear ratio was incorrect. Mechanics have said the vehicle needs a new transmission and this has been a known issue with the 8-speed 8 HP75 by ZF transmissions. Transmission has also surged and lunged while braking at various points. While completely stopped, vehicle has lurched forward.

Filed Jun 17, 2025 · Electrical · VA

I was at a stop light and I got a warning light and a check engine light that said service shifter. After that, it wouldn’t shift gears and I was stuck in 1st gear. I pulled over and got a service tire pressure light, 4WD temporary unavailable light, service airbag light, ESC light, parking light. The vehicle was also sputtering and the cooling fan came on full force.

Filed May 1, 2025 · Electrical, Engine · 43,000 miles · MI

The contact owns a 2019 Ram 1500. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal ticking sound coming from the engine, with a message that the "Fuel/Air Ration Imbalance" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the contact was informed that the rocker arm bearings and lifters needed to be replaced. In addition, the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, several warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the windshield wipers activated independently, the power steering assist had failed, and the vehicle failed to stop while depressing the brake pedal. The contact stated that the vehicle went into LIMP Mode, with the "Service Transmission, Continue to Drive, “Do not Shift or Turn off Engine,” and "No Buss" messages were displayed on the instrument panel. The contact initially inspected the vehicle and determined that the battery, relays, and fuses were all satisfactory. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic, where the contact was informed that the vehicle had either a faulty ground wire or a computer. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 43,000.

Filed Jan 29, 2025 · IN

I selected other at this issue caused more the 3 items to fail. While driving the truck pretty much every light on the dash would come on, I would lose power steering, speedometer (both digital and analog), all gauges would malfunction, turn signals would not work and pretty much anything electronic would not function properly. At one point, this happened while driving on the interstate using cruise control. The truck was doing fine and then all of the sudden it popped into neutral from cruise and started to malfunction. There were also times where the transmission would not shift gears past first gear so that pretty much made it impossible to drive anywhere. As you can imagine, this is not only a safety issue for myself and my passengers, but also to anyone else on the road. I've seen many other cases of the same issue I experienced online in many forums and I really don't know why there isn't already a recall out for this. When I had my truck serviced to fix the issue, I'm almost positive I saw a recall for the ABS system that pertained to my issue, but after it was serviced I can no longer find that recall. The fix ended up being a replacement of the "star connector". I have a video of the malfunction actively taking place before it was repaired if that would help with anything.

Filed Jan 25, 2025 · Transmission · NH

At times the transmission does not shift from 2 to 3 or 3 to 4 gears. Causes the engine RPM to reach red level. Have to pull over turn off vehicle and restart for the transmission to shift again. This is suppose to be a lifetime transmission and not need any maintenance. It seems to be a common problem on many forums for this particular transmission. Or it jumps into gear instead of the smooth shifting that it is suppose to do. Many people seem to be having the same issues.

Filed Apr 3, 2024 · Acceleration, Brakes · FL

Car went in limp mode then in full lock down. ABS control module failed After research a very common issue. Hundreds of Ram vehicles affected. Just escaped being hit as the truck went in limp mode. After Gear selector locked car in park, I was in the middle of the road with cars approaching. Had to stand behind the vehicle and wave, so no one would crash into me. Chrysler/ Dodge/Ram is aware of this issue. They are also not releasing ABS modules, due to being under engineer review, meaning they are unable to provide a safe part. Many trucks with super low mileage, and mine has 40K. I would feel very uncomfortable to go on a road trip, if it will ever get fixed. The contact has an email with Ram acknowledging the safety issue and diligently to get the part for repairs.

Filed Mar 13, 2024 · Transmission · CA

I just bought my 2019 Ram 1500 Rebel mileage with 47,832 miles. My truck was stuck in park and it took me several minutes shutting my truck on and off and messing with the knob changing gears before I was finally able to get my truck in gear. Fast forward three days now I am getting a warning light to "service shifter". In doing research trying to find more information I have discovered several Ram truck owners are or have experienced the same issue. This is a safety issue for many reasons. As a female I am worried about getting stuck somewhere and being put in a unsafe situation. From all the complaints I read on line I feel strongly that this needs to be looked into.

Filed Aug 22, 2023 · Acceleration, Electrical · IA

Vehicle would not shift out of first gear. Turned off vehicle and turned back on, still would not shift out of first gear. Our safety was at risk because we could not drive the minimum speed limit. We have not been able to get into a mechanic yet, we pulled it over at a shop nearby and they are booked out so we are waiting inspection and without our vehicle, but wanted to report the issue as we have seen online that many people have had the exact same issue and they also report that it is hard to replicate, that it is random when this issue occurs. Police witnessed our inability to drive fast. Based off of how many people I have seen have complained about this issue online I would hope a recall would be made as this is clearly a malfunction of this vehicle and a safety issue. The vehicle is undriveable and we do regular maintenance checks for this vehicle. This issue just came out of the blue. There was a light that came on at the time of the issue that said "service trailer break" and "service electrical stability control", we have not tried to turn it on since we had to leave it at the shop.

Filed Jan 28, 2023 · Electrical, Transmission · MN

74,000 miles: I left a parking lot the transmission wouldn't shift, check engine light came on, I pulled over, shift knob went to park on its own. I shut off the engine, waited, restarted, shifted to drive, same thing, I repeated the same process. This happened a total of 3 times. 4th attempt I was able to drive normally. I have constantly had issues with the shift know not recognizing park. I have contacted my dealer and I'm told that I'm opening the door to soon. Bring it in when it's acting up, we have never head of this, the list goes on. I have also been driving to work and the engine light has come on, I got to a stop light, stopped, shift know went to park. I couldn't move the shift selector. Shut off the engine, waited about 15 seconds while drivers are blowing there horns, drivers in the other lane are driving by. Restart the engine, I still couldn't move the shift selector. Repeat. Then I could drive again. No check engine light. Once again contacted the dealer, I was told that unless it has an active check engine light they cant do anything. At some this vehicle will leave me stranded.

Filed Apr 30, 2021 · Transmission · 2,000 miles · TX

I have owned my 2019 ram 1500 (new) for 2.5 years and more than 30-40 times over this period the transmission gets stuck in 1st gear. The only way, I've found, to resolve is to put truck into park, turn off engine and then restart. It happens when I first start driving and don't notice until the engine "revs" and then realize it is stuck in gear. Had mentioned to dealership when in for repair/service. They seem not to be aware of any reports of this problem. It is random and although can happen back-to-back, it is seldom, so hard to replicate on demand. Not sure the exact dates of these occurrences, as I've gotten use to it, but warranty is come up and thought I better report it.

Filed May 4, 2020 · Steering, Transmission · 24,000 miles · VA

Speedometer and entire instrument cluster stopped working, wipers started working, transmission would not shift. Message on cluster stated to get where you're going and don't turn engine off or it may not restart. Driveability was greatly reduced, power steering seemed to be less effective. Error and warning messages from all the electronic modules flashed on the driver display in sequence. Dealer starr motors of suffolk, virginia indicated that without an active condition they cannot troubleshoot and repair so they sent us back out on the road with this vehicle. Error code u1817 is displayed as a non-active historical diagnostic trouble code. Hitting a bump in the road seemed to trigger momentary return of cluster functionality, with a return to non-functionality shortly thereafter.