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[okie smokie]

Wide temp fluctuation and inability to get to above 400* has been the main c/o in the past.  On the other hand, as a low slow smoker, I often got great results!  Main reason I replaced Lil Tex was to get better temp control for high heat cooks.  I never got satisfaction when calling tech. to fix that problem. Sorry to hear this on your unit.  But for low/slow you should have good results. The person who ended up with mine has gotten great service out of it and it has yet to require a hot rod.  He has learned how to do steaks and chops to his own satisfaction at lower temps by using GrillGrates.   
I have a question for you:
What is your opinion on the heat deflector?  It is SS but much thinner than the original style (which almost always warped).  Have you looked at it while on high with the drip pan removed? Otherwise I like the design concept and it will always be in place. I really do like the double bottom and sides.
 

[glitchy]

I’m not one that cares how thick the metal is. IMO, it’s all about the quality of the steel and the finish. Have you seen many rusty Weber’s? Their metal is about as thin as anyone’s. The new deflector and controller combo definitely provides much more stable temps than my past Traegers if we can just get the pit probe reading right above 300, I think I’ll be very happy. No response yet though from support 

[Canadian John]

 This is becoming a topic of great interest to me, not that I have a Traeger ( had one ) .  Please keep us abreast of your saga.

[glitchy]

Sent an email Sunday with pics, but still have heard anything. Sent follow up this evening asking for an acknowledgement that they even received it. Joined a FB Traeger group where I found a post that has many new D2 Pro users with this problem. Not sure if it’s all Pro grills with the issue, but haven’t seen anyone say or show theirs is right at high temps. Sounds like Ironwoods and Timberlines might be OK though, so guessing the forked up forking the code for the controller differences. Pure speculation though at this point. I say that because some original Timberline owners say they had same exact problem when they came out a couple years ago.

[glitchy]

I finally received a response from Traeger a short while ago. This is what they said. Tell me what you'd think of this response:

Thank you for reaching out the Traeger Support team. We're sorry for the late response.
 
We're sorry to hear about your grill's temperature fluctuation. We apologize for the inconvenience that this issue had caused you. We'd like you to try the following steps to help fix the issue of your grill.
 
Traeger Grills are going to fluctuation in temperature. This is completely normal. It occurs in your electric home ovens, and will occur on your grill.
What should you expect your temperature fluctuations to be? On average, over at least a one hour cook, in nice weather, your fluctuations should be no more than +/- 25 degrees.
If proper expectations are established. and grill is outside performance parameters, follow troubleshooting steps.
1. Ensure proper startup.
2. Ensure Shutdown was done properly, if both are good, continue to next steps.
3. Check pellet quality.
4. Clean grill (Especially fire pot).
5. Check the ambient temperature when starting the grill and make sure it is within +/- 10 degrees.
6. Check the grill components to make sure they are in good condition (Fan, Auger Motor)
7. Check internal integrity (drip tray, fire pot, heat baffle).
7.1. No holes form rusting through, some warping is okay and will at most create a small hot spot.
8. Repeated Opening and closing of the lid too often can cause temperature issue.
 
If the above troubleshooting steps don't fix the issue, please do not hesitate to contact us again at 1-800-TRAEGER and we'll see next available options for you.
 
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Here's what I originally sent them along with the pics from replies 21 & 22 in this thread:

I have a new Pro 575 that I purchased earlier this week. I'm finding that after a couple cooks and test sessions the temperatures the grill thinks it is at and the actual temperatures are way off when at higher temperature settings. At lower temperatures, this issue does not exist. What I am finding:
 
At Traeger pit/controller read temp of 250, actual is 225-250
At Traeger pit/controller read temp of 350, actual is 285-300
At Traeger pit/controller read temp of 450, actual is 350-370
 
After finding that it took 90 minutes to cook a package of bacon and some burgers at 400-450 degrees, I tested the temps against the grills readings using a calibrated pit probe mounted less than 2 inches from the grills built in control probe. I am attaching the graph from the test session. It ran at 3 different temps, 250, 350, and 450. It shows the data supporting the summary I put above. I'm also attaching pics showing the location of my monitoring probe in relation to the controller probe. I need your assistance in resolving this issue to be able to grill and bake on my new Traeger.

[Canadian John]

 The response was an off the shelf answer. They either didn't read and/or understand the information you sent them, don't care , too busy, or it may be a wait and see tactic as there are trying to resolve the

 issue...Then again, as the pit has new components, there is little customer exposure so Traeger is waiting to evaluate more reports. Someone has to be first to report a problem... That begs the question. Why

 would a new product be released partially  proven?  You may want to see if there is a more superior person you can discuss this with. There most definitely was several years ago..Keep @ it!

[Bentley]

My interpretation of their response...We sell a boatload of grills, 98% of the folks who buy our product have no idea there is a fluctuation, and you will eventually go away...

[okie smokie]

 The response was an off the shelf answer. They either didn't read and/or understand the information you sent them, don't care , too busy, or it may be a wait and see tactic as there are trying to resolve the

 issue...Then again, as the pit has new components, there is little customer exposure so Traeger is waiting to evaluate more reports. Someone has to be first to report a problem... That begs the question. Why

 would a new product be released partially  proven?  You may want to see if there is a more superior person you can discuss this with. There most definitely was several years ago..Keep @ it!

Ditto to John's comments.

[glitchy]

I’m guessing they get the fluctuation question multiple times a day...but if they would have really read, they’d see I wasn’t talking about the same thing. I asked them to escalate my issue. I do see a lot of promise to this grill, I just want to be somewhat accurate on temps and be able to get to and hold 400. I have my Memphis when I need more.

[Yellow-03]

Not a proper response given the data in the email, and definitely a canned statement.  Make sure there are no holes from rusting through your brand new D2 Pro 575    I'd ask them if that was something you truly had to be worried about even with it being so new.

I'd certainly be calling them as that is what they indicate should happen next.

[glitchy]

I will probably call sometime too, when I have enough time...I’ve spent a lot of time on hold already and had to give up to get going somewhere.

Put the front shelf on today and am cooking some beef ribs since I don’t need to get too hot.

I went a little OCD and drained the hopper of Traeger pellets, vacuumed it out after only like 3 hours of run time, very lightly oiled the inside of the barrel, then filled with CookinPellets hickory. Trying to keep the ash down since it’s a very lightly seasoned pit and a little breezy today.

[glitchy]

I finally had time to wait on hold for 10-15 minutes and was able to talk to them. They are sending me a new probe. Fingers crossed.

The pit cooked good yesterday and held consistent temps very well. Any big drop on the graph was cook opening the lid. I also raised the temp about 25 degrees at the end. Notice it doesn’t go up that much, 275-300 is where it really starts to diverge from accurate readings.

[glitchy]

Update on my 575. Traeger was back ordered on the replacement RTDs. I finally got mine last week, but several others on the owners group got theirs first and beat me to installing it and testing it. They all still had the same temperature problems, so I didn't even bother installing mine. Since this, Traeger has supposedly finally admitted that they are investigating these problems on the Pro 575 and 780, but have no idea when they will have a fix.

I do like the grill so far, but these temp issues need to get fixed so I can cook between 350-450 when needed. So, I'm really struggling with waiting indefinitely for a resolution or returning it and going without a second pit for now or spending even more to replace it with an Ironwood (they supposedly haven't had this issue with that series).

[BigDave83]

Curious, if you return it, and are thinking of spending more or even the same to replace it, why stay with Treager when there are endless options out there today and just about every pricepoint.

Please don't think I am trying to be a D I am just curious that is all.

[glitchy]

Curious, if you return it, and are thinking of spending more or even the same to replace it, why stay with Treager when there are endless options out there today and just about every pricepoint.

Please don't think I am trying to be a D I am just curious that is all.

Unlike many on here, I am not a Traeger hater. I've tried other brands and quite honestly have been very disappointed compared to the 3 Traegers I've owned. If I knew what I know now, I'd have bought a Timberline a year ago instead of a Memphis. I was looking for the one grill to do it all and spent way too much money on a grill that still didn't fit the one for everything bill. It's an amazing grill as long as you never want to change temperatures once you start a cook (and always start with a clean grill). No reverse searing any meat with fat in it, no cranking up your grill at the end of a long cook to bake desert, bread, etc. I had a GMG and that was one of the worst product experiences of my life. I couldn't make it do anything right. Soot covered food, never could connect to WiFi, was considerably rusty after a year when kept under a cover and a roof. I replaced controllers, spent hours on the phone with support, even had a regional rep at my house looking over my grill. As many as they sell, I probably just got a lemon.

Sure, Traeger fell behind on innovation for a LONG while, but they also spent a lot of years perfecting the product first. Other grills may be made from thicker steel, but that doesn't mean they have as good of finish, other grills may hold closer temps, but that doesn't mean something in their design won't blow ash/soot all over your food. Others may get hotter, but that doesn't mean they won't have numerous grease fires.

Every design has it's pluses and minuses, but Traeger has lots of practice, easy availability, and a huge market share that people target with custom mods. So, why not a Traeger? Instead of gambling yet again on something that has no local dealership to see, touch, test the grill? Am I saying Traeger is better than Memphis? Absolutely not, but is a Memphis the perfect one grill for everything either? Not for me.

Edit: BigDave83, I just wanted to say I didn’t take anything iill from you question, just sharing my reasoning behind my choice. The is a secondary pit, so I don’t want to spend the kind of money to get another American made grill and if going Chinese, might as well go with the one easiest to get, repair, and upgrade. I know what I can and cannot do on a Traeger so I don’t have to learn the cons of another brand/design.