Gas 2500 spongy brakes and other issues

[pizzatots]

Glad I found this post. This is my biggest complaint on my 2023 Hemi. The brakes suck - especially in slow speeed parking lot situations. I have scared myself silly just about running in to cars or walls because my brake pushing was not enough. What can we do???

ah great. was hoping it would be resolved on the '23s. maybe get ram cares involved some how?

 

[Tmd171]

My 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee has the same problem. Spongy, mushy, unable to place a stop correctly, and as everybody says, not confidence inspiring. Come to find out the trucks have the same problem which means it is the chosen design. It bothers me so much, that I actually prefer driving my 180k mile ‘12 Durango. Does anybody know if the 2023’s are the same? If so, I will trade in for one, if not, I’ll be changing brands. It’s ridiculous to hate a truck for a single reason like this, but I hate it!

 

[dieselscout80]

Has anyone swapped a diesel hydroboost into a hemi 2500 or 3500?

I wonder if the gas cab and chassis 3500/4500/5500 trucks have hydroboost brakes?

 

[RamCares]

So has anyone gotten a dealership to actually fix the problem. I read the other posts and this one as well and it seems people who do not have the problem are trying to tell us others that there is no problem. it is 100% a noticeable problem. I ahve taken it to the dealer ship, the first time they bled the brakes and it still happened, the 2nd time they replaced the booster.I have a 2020 PW, it only happens at very low speeds. Like when I am backing into a parking spot. I can press my pedal all the way down to the floor board and nothing happens I have to pump it 2 more times for it to engage and actually start to brake. If nobody has gotten an actual fix from the dealership has anyone made a BBB complaint that I can add to or should I just make my own.

Hey Dhawk111,

Sorry to hear you are experiencing this, we certainly understand why this would be concerning. We'd be happy to provide you with an additional layer of assistance. Please reach out to us via direct messaging.

Callie
Ram Cares

 

[Jimmy07]

Has anyone swapped a diesel hydroboost into a hemi 2500 or 3500?

I wonder if the gas cab and chassis 3500/4500/5500 trucks have hydroboost brakes?

It’ll create a cascade of effects. I went the other way around with my 2017 Hemi- I had to switch from hydro boost to vac assist in order to add adaptive cruise.
The 2019+ Hemi pcm is calibrated to look for the vacuum pump circuit. If it doesn’t see it, the PCM will store faults, and communicate to the ABS module that it’s missing, and the abs module will fault. This will cause the abs to lose ESC and cruise control.

 

[ollicat]

My 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee has the same problem. Spongy, mushy, unable to place a stop correctly, and as everybody says, not confidence inspiring. Come to find out the trucks have the same problem which means it is the chosen design. It bothers me so much, that I actually prefer driving my 180k mile ‘12 Durango. Does anybody know if the 2023’s are the same? If so, I will trade in for one, if not, I’ll be changing brands. It’s ridiculous to hate a truck for a single reason like this, but I hate it!

I have a 23, they are the same brakes - very disappointing. I actually like driving my Pacifica better, from a stopping perspective.

 

[ClawSS]

I noticed today...using adaptive cruise, that it was slowing properly to traffic coming to a stoplight. I decided to take over by applying the brake myself and WOW was the pedal right at the top and very firm. As @Brutal_HO mentioned earlier, it was in charge of the boost.

 

[pizzatots]

My ‘23 hemi delivered last night. Yeah. Spongy pedal for sure. My ‘20 1500 wasn’t confidence inspiring but the 2500 is way spongier.

 

[Tmd171]

I wish we could hear from a Mopar braking system engineer who could shed some light on this. If it's related to adaptive cruise/emergency braking, maybe it could be fixed with a software update?

 

[pizzatots]

I noticed today...using adaptive cruise, that it was slowing properly to traffic coming to a stoplight. I decided to take over by applying the brake myself and WOW was the pedal right at the top and very firm. As @Brutal_HO mentioned earlier, it was in charge of the boost.

I noticed the same thing. Pedal felt great after taking over from ACC.

 

[iuranium235]

First off…I bought a 2019 RAM 3500 crew cab Tradesman Level 2 4x4 Cummins HO new in 2019. Two weeks ago I bought a 2022 RAM 2500 crew cab Tradesman Level 2 4x4 Hemi and the biggest thing I noticed was the super spongy brakes on the Hemi. They do stop the truck, but it feels like air in the system and lots of pedal travel. The Cummins truck isn’t like this. Heck, my 2005 Ford F-350 Powerstroke has a vastly more confidence inspiring pedal. What I notice is that the diesel trucks use a hydro boost system and this truck uses a vacuum booster. Any thoughts on this?

Otherwise, besides the squeaky / squealy cold start sound of the Hemi, I’m very impressed with the powertrain. Excellent smooth transmission (which I could say that about the Aisin) and powerful responsive gas engine. Won’t tow as well, but empty around town it’s great.

I have a 2022 power wagon with spongy brakes as well. 3500 miles since new. Wasn't till after I rear ended someone that I noticed the left brakes would skid and release as the antiskid took over but the right side kept rolling. Having it looked into. Any thoughts?

 

[troverman]

I have a 2022 power wagon with spongy brakes as well. 3500 miles since new. Wasn't till after I rear ended someone that I noticed the left brakes would skid and release as the antiskid took over but the right side kept rolling. Having it looked into. Any thoughts?

ABS will only release the wheels that are on the verge of locking up. In your case, perhaps the right wheels could receive max braking and still not lock up. On my truck, you cannot make ABS engage while doing a panic stop from 40mph on dry pavement. I find that unacceptable, but the dealership told me it is normal. The truck does not have the braking power it should, even though around town it will stop fairly smoothly. But if you need to stop very quickly, especially with a load...well, I've come close to rear-ending someone who stopped abruptly. As I've said, my other vehicles...including a vintage 2005 F-350 diesel...stop quickly and with great braking power. I'm not happy, but I've resigned myself to it and live with it.

 

[iuranium235]

I agree with anti-lock is as the name implies. The right side did not lock but my left side did as the skid marks show with the slight pull to the left. 40-45 mph in wet conditions with a brake check at a yellow light makes a crunchy sound. The extra 10 feet of braking I might have gained with properly working ABS might have made the difference.

 

[Pete300]

Hello , at least now I know I'm not losing it. My 23 2500 hemi brake pedal is way soft. I only have 2700 miles on it, and definitely not happy with the pedal feel. If I pump the pedal once then the pedal firms up and stops great. I also dislike the parking lot feel. Already had a few close calls too. I think its something to do with the rear brake and or circuit. Usually rear brakes will dictate pedal height. My previous ram 2005 had a great pedal feel and stopping power. I just towed my boat and stopping with it is pretty hairy pedal is way too low for my liking.

 

[pizzatots]

I think it's just an issue of where the pads sit relative to the discs, since its great when ACC is active (it moves the pads closer to the discs to keep them "ready").

 

[ollicat]

Hello , at least now I know I'm not losing it. My 23 2500 hemi brake pedal is way soft. I only have 2700 miles on it, and definitely not happy with the pedal feel. If I pump the pedal once then the pedal firms up and stops great. I also dislike the parking lot feel. Already had a few close calls too. I think its something to do with the rear brake and or circuit. Usually rear brakes will dictate pedal height. My previous ram 2005 had a great pedal feel and stopping power. I just towed my boat and stopping with it is pretty hairy pedal is way too low for my liking.

You and I have the exact same history in trucks and summation about our 2023 Hemis.

 

[dieselscout80]

I was hauling +1800 pounds last evening and I noticed the brakes seemed firmer than normal.

IIRC back in the 70s and 80s pickups had a proportional brake valve that sensed when there was I load in the bed/tongue weight and improved braking then.

Do the Ram HD trucks have something like that now too?

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

I was hauling +1800 pounds last evening and I noticed the brakes seemed firmer than normal.

IIRC back in the 70s and 80s pickups had a proportional brake valve that sensed when there was I load in the bed/tongue weight and improved braking then.

Do the Ram HD trucks have something like that now too?

ABS does the same thing just no load sensing arm like some trucks had which was very uncommon

 

[dieselscout80]

ABS does the same thing just no load sensing arm like some trucks had which was very uncommon

I didn’t know that ABS did that. Cool

 

[243]

Old thread but accurate information:

My '21 1500 QC 4x4 5.7 3.92 stock tires 6'-4 bed had very firm brakes and they stopped the truck quickly, I drove it like I stole it all the time and I thought they were the best brakes I have had in a truck and I never felt concerned.

My '24 2500 CC 4x4 6.4 3.73 stock tires 6'-4 bed has very soft brakes that go damn near to the floor driving normally, they suck ass in comparison.

I don't remember if my 21 had hydroboost of vacuum and I have not looked at my 24.