Further disappointment in my Ram 2500

[schrederman]

Sorry... I bought the tires. I didn't intend to make anyone think the dealer replaced them. The shocks were done some months ago. One of them actually broke at the top where the shaft is machined to a shoulder for the bushing. Sell it? I'm not ready to take that bath... I'm glad some of you are getting better service out of your Rams than I am. As to how it gets treated in between visits, I'm an aircraft mechanic. I believe in maintenance. It gets treated with kid gloves, turbo cool-downs, etc... I'm no dummy when it comes to this. If I was, I guess I'd just be fat, dumb, and happy. I'd go into a list of all the little stuff I've fixed myself, but why? Hopefully they've replaced everything they made wrong or installed wrong, and it'll be better. I'm old. I don't want to go through buying another pickup... hence my rant.

It's kind of funny to me that some of act as you've never griped about anything...

[Chuck_Hammer]

mostly wear and use... 52k .. many consumables are done at 50k..
Tires/brakes/belts and hoses/etc.

Dodge Burned me bad .. warranty was a complete LIE...
2005 Ram 1500... bought NEW.
7 years and 70k... nothing covered after 2 years and 25k. RUST/Transmission/final drive/Paint/Wheel bearings/electronic fuse box.

[09 harley]

Originally Posted by drittal

I see a lot of normal wear items listed.

I must not be smoking the same things you are. If anyone considers most of those items to be normal wear items at that mileage and time our auto industry is indeed in trouble. My Ford van that I just sold had a stainless exhaust system from the factory and it was perfect after 16 years. Never replace any of the items listed either.
There must be a reason why Consumers Reports will not recommend Ram Trucks.
Just like all brands some are good and some are bad but FCM has a higher incidence of problems.

[drittal]

Originally Posted by 09 harley

I must not be smoking the same things you are. If anyone considers most of those items to be normal wear items at that mileage and time our auto industry is indeed in trouble. My Ford van that I just sold had a stainless exhaust system from the factory and it was perfect after 16 years. Never replace any of the items listed either.

There must be a reason why Consumers Reports will not recommend Ram Trucks.

Just like all brands some are good and some are bad but FCM has a higher incidence of problems.

Belts, tires, brake pads are normal wear items. Some people are naturally more aggressive drivers and go through those last 2 at quite a higher rate.

In this case the belt was the victim of a water pump and the pads victim of axle seals. 2 problems but list as 4 repairs. Exhaust, I dont know the story. Maybe faulty from mfr. the radio being replaced 2x and still issues means it isn't the radio.

[wildcatter]

I have a 14 RAM, bought it used with 23K on it, the radio had to be replaced and an SCR at 34K miles. The brakes could be normal wear if the OP does a lot of city driving.

[rampowerwago]

Originally Posted by schrederman

I guess I shouldn't complain... If they keep replacing parts, it'll be a new truck by this time next year. At 2 1/2 years and 52K miles, I have had to replace the tires, major portion of the exhaust system, rear axle seals, rear brake pads, water pump and belt, radio, ignition switch, and shocks... plus 5 recalls. All but shocks have been done under warranty. The dealer I bought it from totally lost any further business from me, right after I bought it. So, for warranty work I have to take it about 35 miles away.

I don't care how good the warranty is... If you have to repeatedly return it for warranty work, it's gonna leave you with bad feelings. So. in my opinion, if I had it to do over again, knowing what I know now, I'd be driving an F-250... ... Buyer beware...

PS... yes there's a reason GM products were not considered.

It's pretty obvious you are very unhappy with your Ram and have no interest in a GM product. Why don't you cut your losses and go buy a new Ford. Maybe that will bring some joy into your life.

Life is too short to drive a truck that makes you unhappy.

[smurfsofwar]

Originally Posted by rampowerwago

Life is too short to drive a truck that makes you unhappy.

Truer words never spoken.

OP- I have had 2 2500 Rams back to back in the span of a year. The 2014 was a complete train wreck and eventually the transmission went *pop*. I took it in (for what felt like the 100th time), said I don't want it back. Dealer put me into a new 2015 (new at the time) and it has been solid and dependable- but I ate a bit on that trade off. Funny how they sell you a broken product that they can't seem to fix yet still end up on the plus side of things to "make it right".

I have to admit, the majority of all of the Ram HD complaints I am reading are from the 2014 MY. Maybe it's just my perception, and I could be jaded a bit- but to me that seems to be the case. Some of the items you listed *could* be considered normal wear items. Others- no way, not in this short of time. That said, there really isn't that many issues I have read about either, and that goes for all brands- so unfortunately it sounds like you got the Friday at 3 o'clock truck.

[vsheetz]

Originally Posted by drittal

I see a lot of normal wear items listed.

Yes, but within 54k miles?
I would be unhappy as well...

[drittal]

Originally Posted by vsheetz

Yes, but within 54k miles?
I would be unhappy as well...

As he stated the belt and brake pads were casualties of the water pump and axle seals but he listed them as separate repairs.

I don't know if he is listing the exhaust as a repair for the recall they are doing in emissions.

Radio replaced 2x, still issues. Likely not the radio.

Tires and shocks replaced in 54k isn't an earth shattering revelation.

He should have bought a Ford and played Russian roulette with the CP4 and see how well they warranty that failure when he writes the $10k check.

[schrederman]

Oddly, you're the only person I've known that has mentioned a problem with the CP4, and I know several with '14 and later F250s and F350s. Once again... I never said the radio was replaced 2x... just once. Tires were shot at 34K miles. Shocks were bad by then and just got worse. And yes, the belt should just have been listed with the water pump, and the brake pads with the axle seals. Water pump at 48K miles... not normal wear, especially these days with the serpentine belt systems. To clarify the exhaust problems... the check engine light came on several times spitting codes telling me I had an emissions system situation, When I took it in for that they replaced most of the exhaust system and performed a couple of recalls. The service writer said if it wasn't under warranty it would have cost me over $6,000-. Not entirely sure I believe that... but they did replace it. It's stainless so it should last the life of the truck.

I spent my young life working on cars and pickups even though I am a licensed aircraft mechanic (paid better) and I've worked on my own ever since. I still like the truck. It's probably a toss-up as to which would be the better truck. From my experience with the Fords I've owned, and had to be responsible for as a manager with a fleet, the Fords have been the most reliable, and the GM and Chrysler products were about even on maintenance dollars... with the exception of the one Ford 6.0 diesel we had... briefly...

I don't consider GM at all for personal use because they burned me badly on warranty stuff some time ago... Screw me once - shame on you - Screw me twice - shame on me. That being said, I know several folks that have gotten great service out of their GM trucks. Not dissing anyone else that makes that choice.

[drittal]

Local oil companies(nabors/C&J energy, etc) quit running the PSD because of the issues. Father in laws boss had 2012 and fuel pump crapped the bed. F.i.L. Is the shop mechanic for local Entrec. Search CP4 failure psd. At least GM was stepping up and quietly fixing them, Ford not so much. GM has moved away from the CP4 in the Dmax.

To your friends with PSD, run a lubricity additive that also removes water. Pump has been upgraded since the early failures of 2012 and 2013 and was never designed at the time to handle the dry fuel we have in US.

Does it happen a lot? No. Still... when it goes the entire fuel system will need to be replaced. Even under warranty Ford denies warranty claiming the failure was due to bad fuel and/or water in the fuel.

Sorry about Radio, I thought old biscuit post was about yours.

[RangeMaggotBob]

Originally Posted by raineman

2014 RAM I bought brand new. Not a single issue other than a couple recalls which were no big deal.

I am also a believer that the way a vehicle is treated in between visits for maintenance or repairs has a lot to do with an owner's experience. Best of luck.

Me too. Same year. Minor recall issues, but that's it. Then again, I've got a 2-1/2 year old truck with only 6K miles ... I swear I'm going to get out and drive that thing and put some miles on it!

[barmcd]

Sorry to hear of your problems, sometimes you just get a lemon. I just sold a 2010 Ram 3500 and it was an amazingly reliable vehicle. I only had one issue and it was probably caused by me. I had to replace both upper and lower control arms on the right side. I think it was caused by "bumping" the curb when using the angled parking at work. Don't get me started on the 2015 Corvette I no longer own.

[5001craig]

We have a '12, '13 (the one in my sig) a '14 and a '15--all diesel pickups as well as two 5500 cab chassis. The only problems other than warranty issues like water pumps (two I believe) were emission-related. One SCR was on national back-order with no ETA. That's kind of tough but deal-able.

We used to only use Ford trucks and have replaced two 6.0's and a 6.4 (@ $15K per) as well as numerous injectors and turbos. My opinion is they all can have problems but I personally put 280K on my '06 that I traded-in for my '13 and have 160K on my '13. Rebuilt the tranny in the '06 but other than that it was pretty much problem free. Since that was the first Ram we had it was watched very closely. Cheapest to drive and maintain (not really a fair comparison as some of the other trucks were heavier 450's/550's).

Some trucks that have issues sometimes need to move down the road, though. Maybe you are getting rid of all the issues before the warranty is up?

We have been very happy since switching to Ram's except for the emission problems which I am sure Ram would be happy to not have to design/build/install/maintain.

One thing I will mention is that my '06 had to have the dash pulled as the screen above the HVAC blower was clogged with dust or lint. On another forum I saw I could install a cabin filter in my '13 for around $50 or so and did this when I got the truck. Change the filter every 25K or so and don't plan on pulling the dash. Here's what my first cabin filter looked like after 25K:



And here's a pic of a new one beside the old one :



Note that I am in some very dirty environments. Probably dirtier than most anyone else.