I need diagnosis!

Sorry for the long post.....but..... You'll see!

I took the truck in. Found out my appointment that was set up by CHRYSLER REP was only scheduled for 1 and a 1/2 hours. I got to dealership at 7:45am. Appointment at 8am. They had me drive a guy around to see the issues. (He wasn't a tech.... Not sure his position. All I see him do when I'm there is move cars/trucks out of line.). Anyway, as usual. The truck didn't show any issues. Got back to dealership at 8am. Then the guy got in driver side of my truck, thought he was driving it into shop. About 1 hour and 15 minutes later, the service guy comes and says the guy that road with me and got in driver side just finished his test drive looking for the issues and my appointment is over. But they would try to get it back in, in the afternoon. They called me about 1:15pm and all they did was a ecm update. They checked nothing else. And said they couldn't recreate the hesitation problem. I was way passed upset. When leaving I noticed the update didn't correct the issue.

Here's the kicker.... Half way home I realized an odd smell in my truck. (Which I'm very **** about keeping clean.) I got to looking and in my cup holders there was spilled coffee. And in the big pocket in the center of my console. But not enough to make the major smell of it. I got to looking further and coffee had run down the passenger side of the console and into the deep plastic pocket there. And evidently this 1 hour and 15 minute drive he took was mostly spent cleaning up coffee. Because from smell it was all over the console side of the passanger seat as well as the main seating surface of the passanger seat.

I was furious.

I called dealership and advised another service rep to handle it because I couldn't talk to the first rep I had cause I was furious. The rep said she'd handle it. And possibly hook me up with something. Not sure what that would be on a 8 month old truck that spends more time at the dealership than the cars on the lot.

But I guess I'll see when I go in for puddle lamp replacement (Replaced less than 5 months ago. I'm pretty sure LED lights should last longer than 5 months.)

Plus their gonna try to check the other issues when I go back as well. Biggest problem is the what seems to be fluid seeping out of the transmission pan. And out of the small hole between transmission and torque converter.

I don't know what to do. They'll never find an issue until my truck actually brakes enough to not run I guess. These techs are parts replacers. And unless it brakes so they can find the issue, they'll never be able to test stuff to find the issues.

And now my clean truck smells like coffee. Which I normally don't drink a lot. JOY!

Wish me luck!

I wish the CHRYSLER REP would call me back. (I've called 7 times/different days, leaving my number and she's yet to call.) CHRYSLERS letting me down all over.

I'm really sick of it, which is a shame. I love the look of the truck and the power it's supposed to have. But all these issues in 8 months has really took my love for this truck and crushed it. I should have bought the Diesel. This 6.4L truck version just wasn't perfected before they put it to work in the 2015 RAM 2500. If I didn't owe so much on this Big Horn I'd go get me a diesel tomorrow.

SUCKS BEING STUCK WITH THIS TRUCK WITH ISSUES.

Damn I'm sorry to here that. My truck at the dealer right now sitting over night for the morning reps. Scared me to death something like the spilt coffee will happen. Luckily I'm friends with one of the techs and will hopefully take care of my truck. He changed the tire ecm for me free of charge. I keep hearing the rattling while I'm accelerating kind of hoping the tech tells me I'm crazy and its normal. Sigh... The wait begins...

And to add to that I originally scheduled the appointment for an out puddle light.,,,

SupermanWV said:

It's almost like the truck needs to be in a situation where it's under load (like going up a grade) where it's lugging. Mine does it turning right or left. But always in a lugging situation. Sometimes it does it when driving straight up an incline. If I slow or let off the accelerator, then get back on the throttle....when it starts to lug and I give additional gas it begins to hesitate and lurch.

Click to expand...

I really hate that you sir are having these issues ! Sounds like your Dealership & techs are just not capable of troubleshooting and diagnosing your issue . Wish you were near Johnson City , Tn . I'm fortunate to have found a good dealership service dept . So far these guys have been great to me and a few of my buddies . One of my friends son had a 2015 Ram with an issue that went on for months and 3 other dealerships and this shop diagnosed and repaired his truck in 5 days and gave him another like vehicle to drive in the process ! He didn't even purchase his truck there !

Sir , I hope you don't mind but I took the liberty to copy a link to your thread here and forwarded it to Ram Form member ramcares aka Erica. Erica is a social media specialist that works for Fiat ( to my knowledge ) she reviews issues people are having with their RAMS and Dealerships , she helps when she can . Keep in mind she is working MANY issues for other folks just like you . Be patient with her please , she has helped others here .
Keep good notes of any and all issues with your truck & dealer. Because accuracy of information is absolute KEY in troubleshooting.

Hope this helps !

R.L.K.

SupermanWV said:

Sorry for the long post.....but..... You'll see!

I took the truck in. Found out my appointment that was set up by CHRYSLER REP was only scheduled for 1 and a 1/2 hours. I got to dealership at 7:45am. Appointment at 8am. They had me drive a guy around to see the issues. (He wasn't a tech.... Not sure his position. All I see him do when I'm there is move cars/trucks out of line.). Anyway, as usual. The truck didn't show any issues. Got back to dealership at 8am. Then the guy got in driver side of my truck, thought he was driving it into shop. About 1 hour and 15 minutes later, the service guy comes and says the guy that road with me and got in driver side just finished his test drive looking for the issues and my appointment is over. But they would try to get it back in, in the afternoon. They called me about 1:15pm and all they did was a ecm update. They checked nothing else. And said they couldn't recreate the hesitation problem. I was way passed upset. When leaving I noticed the update didn't correct the issue.

Here's the kicker.... Half way home I realized an odd smell in my truck. (Which I'm very **** about keeping clean.) I got to looking and in my cup holders there was spilled coffee. And in the big pocket in the center of my console. But not enough to make the major smell of it. I got to looking further and coffee had run down the passenger side of the console and into the deep plastic pocket there. And evidently this 1 hour and 15 minute drive he took was mostly spent cleaning up coffee. Because from smell it was all over the console side of the passanger seat as well as the main seating surface of the passanger seat.

I was furious.

I called dealership and advised another service rep to handle it because I couldn't talk to the first rep I had cause I was furious. The rep said she'd handle it. And possibly hook me up with something. Not sure what that would be on a 8 month old truck that spends more time at the dealership than the cars on the lot.

But I guess I'll see when I go in for puddle lamp replacement (Replaced less than 5 months ago. I'm pretty sure LED lights should last longer than 5 months.)

Plus their gonna try to check the other issues when I go back as well. Biggest problem is the what seems to be fluid seeping out of the transmission pan. And out of the small hole between transmission and torque converter.

I don't know what to do. They'll never find an issue until my truck actually brakes enough to not run I guess. These techs are parts replacers. And unless it brakes so they can find the issue, they'll never be able to test stuff to find the issues.

And now my clean truck smells like coffee. Which I normally don't drink a lot. JOY!

Wish me luck!

I wish the CHRYSLER REP would call me back. (I've called 7 times/different days, leaving my number and she's yet to call.) CHRYSLERS letting me down all over.

I'm really sick of it, which is a shame. I love the look of the truck and the power it's supposed to have. But all these issues in 8 months has really took my love for this truck and crushed it. I should have bought the Diesel. This 6.4L truck version just wasn't perfected before they put it to work in the 2015 RAM 2500. If I didn't owe so much on this Big Horn I'd go get me a diesel tomorrow.

SUCKS BEING STUCK WITH THIS TRUCK WITH ISSUES.

Click to expand...

Hi SupermanWV,
I'm so sorry to hear about this experience. Could you please PM me your VIN, contact information, and dealership name so that I can look into these concerns further to see if there's anything I can do to assist. Thanks!

ramcares said:

Hi SupermanWV,
I'm so sorry to hear about this experience. Could you please PM me your VIN, contact information, and dealership name so that I can look into these concerns further to see if there's anything I can do to assist. Thanks!

Click to expand...

Are there any TSB's out there for the 6.4 trucks for a hesitation that imitates a misfire under light load that goes away as soon as you give the truck more gas?

SupermanWV,

From my experience in working with different dealerships, you are not alone. The reason why you feel that you aren't getting help from the dealership has a lot to do with how their service department gets paid for warranty. Ram pretty much has the same warranty procedures as anyone else.

I know you probably already know this part, but the dealership and Ram are not the same company. They are two separate entities working with each other via a contract. Being that it is that way, they have to pay each other for work done. Even internal departments with the dealership like sales, parts and service departments have to pay each other for work done. This is where it gets tricky especially when it comes to the service department.

You see, warranty doesn't really pay for diag time on many things especially if their is no readily seen issue. If the tech does find an issue then warranty will usually pay for some diag time depending on the issue. So basically the dealership's service department (more importantly the technician depending on their structure) will not get paid for the test drive time or diag if he is on flag rate which a lot of technicians are.

Flag rate basically means you get paid by "book" time instead of actual hours worked. Basically, if the "book" says the job should pay two hours then the tech with get paid two whether he finished in one or even four hours. In a nutshell, the tech's flag time is money and is how he feeds his family so if he spends an hour on a job that doesn't pay then he is out an hour of pay unlike hourly people who get paid regardless. What makes it even worse is warranty pay. Manufacturer warranty will usually pay half the ours the "book" time will which is one reason why techs hate warranty work and would rather it not be warranty. Where the "book" might say four hours, warranty might pay two. Even worse is if he tries to diag the truck for two hours and finds no issue then he just lost two hours since warranty will not pay for nothing.

So , now you know the gist of it, you can see why the tech would get apprehensive about doing work that he will not get paid for and how the dealership's service department can't just pay their tech for every little noise or issue a customer has especially if they can't readily hear it. It works this way with most dealerships.

My advice if this Ramcares thing doesn't pan out. Option one, you can work out a deal with the service department saying that you will pay the technician two hours of diag time, but if he does find something then try to bill those two hours to warranty. This will give the tech a guarantee that he will get paid for those two hours instead of it being a gamble if he will get paid or not. Trust me, most people work harder when they know they are getting paid.

Second option might not be something you want to do if you don't already have a trusted technician, but it might keep you from paying the two hours if nothing is found. I have a technician that I know and personally request for all my work at the dealership. If you don't have a technician you know at the dealership you go to then I would highly recommend you find one. Just taking the time to talk to the tech that is working on your truck and small things like buying him a soda/pop goes a long way. So back to that option... You could also work out a deal to leave the truck with the service department have the tech you know drive it home for a day or two until he experiences the issue. This way it is seen with his own eyes and hopefully better know what the cause of it is.

Either way you go I hope you get your issue resolved.

loveracing1988 said:

Are there any TSB's out there for the 6.4 trucks for a hesitation that imitates a misfire under light load that goes away as soon as you give the truck more gas?

Click to expand...

At this point I'm pretty convinced that my truck is no longer doing this with the Hemifever tune. So whatever is happening it's in the programming and not axle wrap, etc.

theviking said:

At this point I'm pretty convinced that my truck is no longer doing this with the Hemifever tune. So whatever is happening it's in the programming and not axle wrap, etc.

Click to expand...

It wasn't axle wrap to begin with, and mine still does it with the hemifever tune.

Superman, that totally sucks. The first dealer I took my truck in for the fan clutch seemed like your kind of dealer. Didn't know what they were doing. Second dealer was top notch and mechanic immediately knew what was going on and took care of me. I'm sure Erica (RAMCARES) will help you out. Good luck.


Last night i was able to duplicate it once when the MDS was on. When I disabled the MDS, I couldn't make it happen. This morning i tried it again with the MDS off. I still couldn't get it to do it again. I believe it has something to do with the MDS. Atleast I hope it has to do with the MDS.

zeddy said:

Superman, that totally sucks. The first dealer I took my truck in for the fan clutch seemed like your kind of dealer. Didn't know what they were doing. Second dealer was top notch and mechanic immediately knew what was going on and took care of me. I'm sure Erica (RAMCARES) will help you out. Good luck.


Last night i was able to duplicate it once when the MDS was on. When I disabled the MDS, I couldn't make it happen. This morning i tried it again with the MDS off. I still couldn't get it to do it again. I believe it has something to do with the MDS. Atleast I hope it has to do with the MDS.

Click to expand...

I've done the same thing with mine and it didn't get rid of it, so people in here are having different problems or it is becoming hard to duplicate.

R.L.K. said:

I really hate that you sir are having these issues ! Sounds like your Dealership & techs are just not capable of troubleshooting and diagnosing your issue . Wish you were near Johnson City , Tn . I'm fortunate to have found a good dealership service dept . So far these guys have been great to me and a few of my buddies . One of my friends son had a 2015 Ram with an issue that went on for months and 3 other dealerships and this shop diagnosed and repaired his truck in 5 days and gave him another like vehicle to drive in the process ! He didn't even purchase his truck there !

Sir , I hope you don't mind but I took the liberty to copy a link to your thread here and forwarded it to Ram Form member ramcares aka Erica. Erica is a social media specialist that works for Fiat ( to my knowledge ) she reviews issues people are having with their RAMS and Dealerships , she helps when she can . Keep in mind she is working MANY issues for other folks just like you . Be patient with her please , she has helped others here .
Keep good notes of any and all issues with your truck & dealer. Because accuracy of information is absolute KEY in troubleshooting.

Hope this helps !

R.L.K.

Click to expand...

Thanks....no problem with you sharing. I'd like to get this all behind me. If my dealership....URSE Dodge, Fairmont, WV....was worth its salt they'ed try to help rather than hinder. Either work hard on it or put me in a new one for no loss to me. I'd much rather make my payment on a new good running one. Especially since this is the sixth vehicle I've bought from URSE AUTO GROUP. I'm beside myself truthfully. They stand to make thousands more from me in the future if they treated me better. I've bought at least 20 vehicles in the past 27 years. And I've got a lot of years left. But I won't be buying there, not at this point. And anyone I can talk out of buying there, I will. Just persuaded my sister to buy new Jeep Rubicon somewhere else. Even though her last Jeep was from URSE. There goes a few thousand......

SupermanWV

Same here. Can duplicate the issue regardless of MDS being activated or not.

SupermanWV said:

Thanks....no problem with you sharing. I'd like to get this all behind me. If my dealership....URSE Dodge, Fairmont, WV....was worth its salt they'ed try to help rather than hinder. Either work hard on it or put me in a new one for no loss to me. I'd much rather make my payment on a new good running one. Especially since this is the sixth vehicle I've bought from URSE AUTO GROUP. I'm beside myself truthfully. They stand to make thousands more from me in the future if they treated me better. I've bought at least 20 vehicles in the past 27 years. And I've got a lot of years left. But I won't be buying there, not at this point. And anyone I can talk out of buying there, I will. Just persuaded my sister to buy new Jeep Rubicon somewhere else. Even though her last Jeep was from URSE. There goes a few thousand......

SupermanWV

Click to expand...

Small world, Fairmont is where my uncle moved about 15 years ago.

loveracing1988 said:

Small world, Fairmont is where my uncle moved about 15 years ago.

Click to expand...

Nice! I love WV. All but the part the dealership sits on. Lol! Maybe I've passed by him once or twice! Lol! Unless he was beside a gas station. I only average 7.4 mpg with all these issues. Yuk!

loveracing1988 said:

Are there any TSB's out there for the 6.4 trucks for a hesitation that imitates a misfire under light load that goes away as soon as you give the truck more gas?

Click to expand...

Yes, they did the update on mine. But the sluggish throttle seems way worse afterwards. It was a SERVICE BULLETIN PCM FLASH FOR STUDDER AT LIGHT THROTTLE. Not sure the SERVICE BULLETIN number.

SupermanWV

Got mine back today. I was explained the noise I'm hearing is slight spark knock. They said its common for hemis. He also said the first thing they checked was the manifold and exhaust because of some issues with other trucks in the passed. That was without me bringing it up. Made me confident they know their trucks. I'm just happy to have krusty crab back in the driveway. His big rattling as* name lol. (Sponge bob) sorry I'm still young.

SupermanWV said:

Yes, they did the update on mine. But the sluggish throttle seems way worse afterwards. It was a SERVICE BULLETIN PCM FLASH FOR STUDDER AT LIGHT THROTTLE. Not sure the SERVICE BULLETIN number.

SupermanWV

Click to expand...

Any way you can find the number ?
It would be very helpful to me.

2robinhood said:

Any way you can find the number ?
It would be very helpful to me.

Click to expand...

Not sure. They didn't print the number on the receipt. I'll ask when I go back in, in a couple weeks for my puddle lamp repair.

SupermanWV

Well...here's where I'm at now. (This is just what the service manager said after a Regional Tech was assigned to my truck....I thought he'd be the one working on it since Chrysler said he'd have my truck a few days....but no....he looked at it today and then left town...leaving the truck to be worked on by the techs at URSE that I have no faith in....)

Anyway.... (These are only the few things the Service Manager mentioned)

1. Transmission pan is leaking. Gotta remove and re-seal.
2. The put pressure 40-ish pounds on the coolant system (cause I smell coolant when I shut off the truck after at working temperature) and in 45 minutes the pressure had dropped to 21 pounds. They have no idea where it's leaking from. Could be head gasket or somewhere else....
3. Hood liner has white residue on it.... Gonna remove the liner and see if washer fluid lines are leaking.
4. Replacing puddle lamps again. ( 2nd time in 11 months.)
5. Put some sort of update on computer to help with drone and possibly transmission issue. (He didn't know much about it)
6. Rear door roller hinges are rusting....said I just gotta deal with that...it happens he said. They oughta be completely hosed by the two year mark (never had this happen on any of my other vehicles. Even the other two Rams.)

There's still many other things. He said the regional tech was gonna email him the rest of the stuff they have to do tonight. From out of town. I still can't believe the tech isn't even gonna work on my truck. After they sent him here cause URSE has not done well up till now, and I contacted Chrysler because of them sucking to begin with.

I'm beside myself....

The funniest part is, I got a rental truck (2500) and before I got back to my office the rear tire was seperating....they came and got the truck to get new tires....couldn't get them today....so they brought me a (1500), and it had the worst smelling interior....and my kids sat in the back seat and the seats were wet and got their clothes all wet/damp (there's were the musty smell was from....called and complained....after the their 2500's tires are done tomorrow there supposed to bring it back to me.....(I CANT CATCH A BREAK).

I'm completely hosed on this deal. Who knows how long I'll have the rental....and I'm sure when I get my truck back...if they take stuff apart, it most definitely won't be put back together correctly. My truck may never be right again. I'll have to fine tooth comb it when I get it back. To see especially if all wires, connectors, and clips are reinstalled.