My pretty bad 2018 RAM 1500 Hemi experience, help/advice needed on what to do next

[modavis99]

Hi all

In Jan 2018, I bought a brand new 2018 RAM 1500 Laramie with a Hemi engine. In the first few years of ownership, it needed a new gas tank and a new UConnect screen. About a year ago I got that "ticking" sound and the dealership replaced something in the engine. Not great things to happen to a car with few miles, but not catastrophic.

After the regular warranty ended I bought the MOPAR maximum care 7 yrs/100,000 miles warranty from Zeigler. At 63,000 miles (right around Jan 1, 2024) my truck suddenly and without warning stopped working. Maybe I could drive 10mph, but I couldn't drive 1/4 mile without stalling.

I had it towed to the dealership. I still had a year left on the extended warranty, thank goodness. It took about 1 month for MOPAR to approve the claim and I was told the entire engine needed to be replaced. It took a month for the engine to get to the dealership and then they were backlogged so the dealership did not finish replacing the engine until Tuesday, May 1st. In total, I was without my truck for 4 months.

I picked up the truck on May 1st -- 4 months later -- and started to drive it home. The "engine overheating" message came on after a few miles. I immediately turned around but very soon after, the truck then started to smoke and died. I drove perhaps 7 miles in total from when I picked it up until it died.

I had the truck towed to the dealership. They told me the engine they installed "was bad" and it needs another new engine. They told me they did not know how long this would take. I told them I can't wait another 4 months for my truck to be repaired. They had no trucks to loan out, but they also told me the maximum length of time that MOPAR would pay for a loaner was 5 days so a loaner won't do me any good anyway.

What I'd like to know is this ... what would you do in this situation?
-- Is there someone at MOPAR extended warranty I can call that will expedite the situation?
-- Will MOPAR offer to buy out my truck now? If not now, when?
-- Do I need to call a lawyer? Any suggestions?
-- Should I call someone at Ziegler?
-- anything else?

I don't want to hassle anyone. But what happened isn't right. I'd just like to have a working truck.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[fitteenhundred]

This is totally messed up.
Try connecting with Ram Cares on this Forum to start with and see if they can/will help.

 

[mikeru]

I can understand your being unhappy with this situation. No one wants to go through this sort of thing. I'm wondering what you want them to do for you though. Manufacturer's are still seeing parts shortages. Dealerships in a lot of areas are having trouble retaining qualified technicians. Waiting on parts to come in seems to be the new normal (I hate that term lol). We waited four months for a replacement RF hub last year. What exactly are you looking to get out of this though? Sounds like they're honoring the warranty and will replace the engine again. What did you do for a vehicle for the four months when your truck was getting the engine replacement? Do you have any other vehicles you can drive while it's in the shop? I'm not sure what can be done to get an engine to your dealership more quickly, but maybe @RamCares can assist with that. At the least I'd want them to offer a good warranty on the next replacement engine, since your extended warranty may only have 6 - 8 months left once you get the truck back.

 

[modavis99]

I can understand your being unhappy with this situation. No one wants to go through this sort of thing. I'm wondering what you want them to do for you though. Manufacturer's are still seeing parts shortages. Dealerships in a lot of areas are having trouble retaining qualified technicians. Waiting on parts to come in seems to be the new normal (I hate that term lol). We waited four months for a replacement RF hub last year. What exactly are you looking to get out of this though? Sounds like they're honoring the warranty and will replace the engine again. What did you do for a vehicle for the four months when your truck was getting the engine replacement? Do you have any other vehicles you can drive while it's in the shop? I'm not sure what can be done to get an engine to your dealership more quickly, but maybe @RamCares can assist with that. At the least I'd want them to offer a good warranty on the next replacement engine, since your extended warranty may only have 6 - 8 months left once you get the truck back.

Hi - thank you.

I guess here is my ask. Is there someone on the board here that can work with me and my dealership to get my truck fixed quickly (i.e. not wait another four months for a 2nd engine replacement), or, if that isn't possible, can someone suggest a procedure to me where MOPAR will just buy me out? If the perceived wisdom is that neither of those is feasible, then I am open to any other suggestions.

I could manage Jan-May becuase we have two other cars and my kid was away at college. When my kid gets home from college and starts to work, the truck will need to be be my dailer driver to/from work. The MOPAR warranty will only offer 5 days of loaner/rental.

 

[BossHogg]

If it were me, yes, honor the warranty but in a timely manner. It appears they are honoring the warranty but waiting the time was unacceptable the first time let alone the second time.

I've read a few of these types of issues where parts and replacement items are difficult to get but at the same time, the assembly line was able to produce 60 or 70 units per hour with a HEMI engine.

OP, I don't know any way to compel RAM to get an engine quicker to your dealer. I do know this, don't threaten legal action, RAM will lock up on you. Good luck to you, I feel your pain.

 

[Racer9]

You could ask them to install a reman engine from an outside source, maybe Jaspar. The rest of the truck warranty would still be good and Jaspar warranties the motor.

 

[EdGs]

@RamCares ?

 

[EdGs]

I would wait on the mopar crate engine, and IMO, you should get a loaner vehicle, just for the inconvenience. But, as has been said, tread lightly, esp. since they are taking care of you, albeit very slowly.

Best of luck to you, keep us posted.

 

[Docwagon1776]

More "peace of mind" from a warranty and why I continue to remind people that self insuring with money in the bank is actual peace of mind.

OP, Mopar isn't going to buy out a 5 year old truck. Nobody in this board can help you get it done faster, aside from Ramcares nobody is here officially on behalf of Ram. The only one who may "buy you out" is the dealership may take it on trade, screw you like a house cat while pretending to cut you a deal "for your trouble".

If you need another car in the meantime, buy a cheap beater you can sell for the same money in a few months when you may get your truck back. If you can detail and know what to look for, you may even make a few bucks. Then next time don't buy the warranty, put the money back, and get repairs done somewhere that will actually do them.

 

[Jrp267]

You need a different dealer. They either put a used motor in, or don’t know what they are doing.

 

[Daw14]

Just a word of advice, if you utter the word lawyer they tend to go opossum on things. You have a warranty, you just got to be really patient.

 

[turkeybird56]

Just a word of advice, if you utter the word lawyer they tend to go opossum on things. You have a warranty, you just got to be really patient.

Unfortunately, ^^^ DITTO ^^^. Heck, my E Fan was deemed bad by "my" dealership in Feb 2022 (I have Maxcare). 1 year later, still no fan,. I had to go to "local" dealer for an issue, when they checked over truck, did updates and pronounced, YUP yer fan bad (now 2 dealerships, same diagnosis). 2nd dealer tried to run fan thru Maxcare, "denied", WTF.

Fast Fwd to Feb 2024: I contact my SA at Dealership, saying yo BRAD, am I ever gonna get fan. Well Dealership has New Service Writer and Parts manager. They pushed Maxcare, and wala, fan approved. Again, E Fan ordered,. Finally, after 2 years and 21 days got my New E Fan.

Just took a few years !!!!!

 

[modavis99]

quick update

I called the extended warranty number today (800-521-9922) to see if they could expedite my case or, if that wasn't possible, if they could just buy out my truck. I was told any requests to expedite or buyout have to come from the dealership. I was also told my dealership to date had done everything through email, but that the way to get faster service (or expedite a problem) was for the dealership to directly call 800-782-2668.

I then asked if they could at least give me a loaner while my truck was being repaired. They said I had to call RAM customer service (866-726-4636) for that. I called RAM customer service, and the person I talked to was confused because she thought the extended warranty people should take care of this. This person tried to call my dealer, I guess they didn't pick up. After that, she told me she escalated my request for a loaner car to a case specialist and that I would hear back in a day.

The extended warranty customer service rep told me the cost of the (initial) repair to my truck was $13,435. So I am thankful I have a warranty and I am hopeful that @RamCares and others can either buy me out or expedite my repair process so I can get a working truck again.

Again, I believe I'm not normally a complainer, but in this case I've waited 4 months and now I am back at square 1.

 

[huntergreen]

The only way to get a buy out is to use lemon laws and your way past that option. Ram cares can’t help with buy out. RAM cares might be able to help with a loaner and expedite getting parts, but they can only do so much.

 

[mikeru]

quick update

I called the extended warranty number today (800-521-9922) to see if they could expedite my case or, if that wasn't possible, if they could just buy out my truck. I was told any requests to expedite or buyout have to come from the dealership. I was also told my dealership to date had done everything through email, but that the way to get faster service (or expedite a problem) was for the dealership to directly call 800-782-2668.

I then asked if they could at least give me a loaner while my truck was being repaired. They said I had to call RAM customer service (866-726-4636) for that. I called RAM customer service, and the person I talked to was confused because she thought the extended warranty people should take care of this. This person tried to call my dealer, I guess they didn't pick up. After that, she told me she escalated my request for a loaner car to a case specialist and that I would hear back in a day.

The extended warranty customer service rep told me the cost of the (initial) repair to my truck was $13,435. So I am thankful I have a warranty and I am hopeful that @RamCares and others can either buy me out or expedite my repair process so I can get a working truck again.

Again, I believe I'm not normally a complainer, but in this case I've waited 4 months and now I am back at square 1.

Your question about a buy out has been answered. Ram isn't going to buy you out at this point. The only one who may do that is your dealership, likely in the form of a trade as @Docwagon1776 said. You're in a tough position. If you feel you've been wronged you might want to seek legal advice. But it sounds like they aren't denying your warranty claim so you haven't been damaged in the eyes of the law. So I'm not sure that's the correct route to take at this point. If I were in your position I'd probably do what has already been suggested and get something cheap to use for transportation until your truck gets fixed. At that point you'll have options to consider. But right now it sounds like all that's happening is you're getting stressed out. That's not gonna help anything.

 

[Hootbro]

What is the value of the truck if it was fine and running? Generally when the repairs exceed the value of the vehicle the extended warranty people will usually write it off and pay you out for the current value and send you on your way.

 

[rneal55555]

Dealer might be willing to sell you an newer truck and take yours in trade that way they'll be doing the waiting.

 

[tron67j]

I like this last answer, to maybe do a trade. But in the meantime, PM @RamCares and try to get their assistance. Agree that the replacement engine going bad so fast warrants some extra consideration, definitely not going to be a buyback but maybe full or partial rental for length of repair. Also, perhaps assistance on getting help with a trade if that is an option for you. Good luck.

 

[Daw14]

Persistence and patience is the key here I think, keep at them . As the old saying the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

 

[pscarbor]

So I don't know where you live, maybe I just missed that in one of the posts but if it was me I'd get a lawyer and sue the c$%p out of them. Yeah you'll be ******* a couple years but you'll be ******* that long anyway and in the end you won't get diddly. You're probably having headaches and can't sleep and have relationship issues because of this too, and your dog most likely bit you because you were in a bad mood over the truck. Pain and suffering, you're gonna need long term care.

Get a neck brace.

A good lawyer will see a LOT of zeros in the settlement check here. A bad lawyer will see even more. And heaven help the poor dealer who thinks he can ignore a lawyer on the hunt for a settlement!

Oh by the way, warranties aren't worth diddly but you probably already know that by now. Neither are trucks built after about 1999. If they were the only "Sue" you'd hear about would be the Dodge dealer's daughter.