Further disappointment in my Ram 2500

[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.

[manderson2228]

Best decision i ever made was to stop buying Chrysler products. Absolute pieces of dog crap. The two worst vehicles I ever owned were a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and a Dodge Ram. Never again will that company get a nickle from me.

[drittal]

I see a lot of normal wear items listed.

[rskeans]

It's interesting how some have all the problems and others have zero. I have my '14 RAM and a 2006 Jeep Commander. Jeep has 114,000 miles and truck 44,000 miles. Neither has had a failure. RAM did have some recalls, no big deal. Jeep had an ignition switch recall. Had local shop replace and Chrysler reimbursed. No big deal. Neither have been in the shop for failures. So, whatever - - -

[azpete]

i may be a fluke, but i have a 2005 dodge dakota with 369,000 miles on it. i changed the fluids at recommended intervals. the only repairs i did was rear axle seals, caused by overloading, and changing spark plugs at every 100,000 miles.
it finally gave out with a loose valve seat. i may fix that if i get time.
i now have a 2012 dodge ram 2500 with a cummins diesel. it has 82,000 miles on it.
it has several recalls, but no major repairs.
there are some individual trucks that are pure lemons. i have been fortunate not to have one of them.

[laj]

Originally Posted by drittal

I see a lot of normal wear items listed.

yup, same thing i noticed. if i was that disgruntled and had that many that were honestly non driver inflicted issues i'd trade it off yesterday. its no fun driving what you don't like, and its not going to be worth more tomorrow, only less. love my ram.....

[Old-Biscuit]

Originally Posted by drittal

I see a lot of normal wear items listed.

At 52K mileage
Tires----sure! I replaced my OEMs at 8 months cause they were NOT doing a good job.

But the other items----normal wear ??
Exhaust system, Rear seals, Rear brake pads (probably cause of blown rear seals) Water pump------granted I did have to replace mine at 82K (20 minute job) Belt----water pump caused damage??
Normal wear on a radio? (had 2 replaced and still didn't resolve issue)
Ignition switch normal wear?

Shocks......you bet. OEM are junk. Replaced mine with Bilsteins at same time I got rid of OEM tires

So tires and shocks----normal wear and expected but NOT all the other items on a 2 1/2 yr old truck with 52K

As for the recalls.
That is the NORM.
Recalls are the marketing tool of the 21st century
ALL use it

I have had really good service from my 2007 Dodge 3500 with the 5.9L CTD
It is a towing machine. Bought it because of the Cummins....it just came wrapped in a Dodge.

[drittal]

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

At 52K mileage
Tires----sure! I replaced my OEMs at 8 months cause they were NOT doing a good job.

But the other items----normal wear ??
Exhaust system, Rear seals, Rear brake pads (probably cause of blown rear seals) Water pump------granted I did have to replace mine at 82K (20 minute job) Belt----water pump caused damage??
Normal wear on a radio? (had 2 replaced and still didn't resolve issue)
Ignition switch normal wear?

Shocks......you bet. OEM are junk. Replaced mine with Bilsteins at same time I got rid of OEM tires

So tires and shocks----normal wear and expected but NOT all the other items on a 2 1/2 yr old truck with 52K
.

Exhaust is a wear/ standard maintenance item. Emissions equip are different.

If the axle seals caused the brake pad failure, why are they listed as separate failures? Same for the belt and water pump? Just to make it look worse than reality.

If the radio has been replaced 2x and the issue hasn't been resolved, then it's not the radio, is it?

I see 2 failures and fixes of covered items(axle seals, water pump). I see 1 issue that remains to be solved (radio).

[manderson2228]

Originally Posted by drittal

Exhaust is a wear/ standard maintenance item. Emissions equip are different.

This statement while factually accurate, isn't valid in my opinion at one 52k miles. It shouldn't wear that quickly.

[schrederman]

I guess "normal wear" means different things to different people. The company sold my work F-150 with 340K miles on it and it still had the original hoses and water pump on it... and the original exhaust. There was very little ever done besides maintenance, and it's entire life could have been considered rough duty. It was a railroad truck. That's the other end of the spectrum, I know, but I'd still think I could get better service out of a supposedly "heavy duty" truck than this. Nowhere did I say I don't LIKE the truck. I actually do like it. All I said is that if I knew then what I know now, I'd have probably bought the Ford. Since I don't have a crystal ball, I can't really say that if I'd bought the Ford then, that I wouldn't be saying the opposite now. I do know folks that have had major problems with their new Fords.

Not sure why anyone thinks the radio was replaced twice... The OP doesn't say that.

Yes, I'll admit that the belt and WP could have been listed separately, and the brake pads were replaced as a result of the grease from the seals... but there was a lot I didn't mention... only the things I considered ridiculous were listed.

[Cummins12V98]

I would suggest you sell it and hope for the best on another rig.

My 11 HO RAM LongHorn Dually sold at 65K had a tie rod replacement and washer bottle replacement under warranty, that's it.

My 15 RAM LongHorn Dually 32K has yet to see the dealer. There is some type of security update I can do my self or take to the dealer.

Both trucks towed heavy, the 11 over 1/2 it's miles and 15 over 1/3.

[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.

[Cumminsfan]

Look on the brite side. At least you didn't have to replace the whole fuel system when your CP.4 goes out like on the earlier Ford 6.7's. Thats the reason I bought my 12 Ram CTD because it has the CP.3 which is almost bullet proof. I've had very few issues with my Ram. Only a couple recalls that were easy to deal with. Every new vehicle has recalls it seems.
With all that being said my next truck will be a gasser. I only tow 9000lb but do tow a lot in the mtns where the Cummins shines. However after almost 5 years of dealing with my Ram CTD in the winter months and it being only driven short distances I feel that it's not the best scenario for a diesel. Takes too long to warm up and the short drive cause too many regens. During the summer months when we camp more it's great. I thought it would be no big deal, but it's wearing on me.
Anyway I've always been a Ford guy so an F250 6.2 is probably in the future.

[drittal]

So replacing shocks and tires in 52k is ridiculous? Sounds like dealer took care of you on replacing tires and exhaust under warranty. Belt usually doesn't fail that soon, but can. Exhaust is same. Water pump is covered under warranty. I've had brand new parts bad straight out of the box.

The fact you are having these issues is bad luck, but not exclusive to your truck or any one manufacturer.

Good luck in the future