Constant Warranty Issues/Potential Lemon Law Vehicle

So I felt I should share my personal story about owning a lemon in case anyone else out there has issues with their RAM and aren’t getting any positive results.

I bought my truck in February of 2015, brand new off the lot. From the night I drove it home I had warnings show up in the cluster stating various things such as “Front Park Sense Unavailable”, “Tail Light Out”, constant rear park sense warnings while in reverse when nothing was in the sensors path. The problems continued, and I took the truck in once a month or so for inspection and repairs. Some problems, like my mirror puddle lamps burning out, or my LED tail lights burning out were easily replaced and corrected. Other things, mainly with the park sense system weren’t easily correctable. After taking my RAM in 9 times in less than a year, and having it out of my possession for 42 days (yes, forty-two!), I finally decided it was time to escalate the problem to Chryslers resolution team. I spoke with various case managers over a few months, and at their request, I took my RAM in two additional times for service under their supervision. The problems still couldn’t be corrected or even identified. A field technician from FCA actually came out from Detroit on one occasion to personally inspect the truck and still couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on.

I subsequently made two different requests to my case manager (who was actually very nice and accommodating) for FCA to either replace or buy back my truck under the California Lemon Law Act (Song-Beverly Act/Tanner Consumer Protection Act) and not surprisingly, they denied both. So at this point, after 17-18 months of ownership and continued problems, I contacted a few Lemon Law attorneys and eventually retained one. After a few months and a lawsuit against FCA, they finally decided to buy it back. Tomorrow, I drop the truck off at my local dealership for its final inspection, to sign my DMV release paperwork, and collect my check. Afterwards, I’m just going to walk into the dealership and buy a new one, because after all, I really did love my RAM and I know I’ll love my new CTD even more.

I just thought I’d share this with you guys in case someone was having warranty/repair issues that never seemed to be resolved. This just goes to show that you don’t have to give up and you don’t need to be bullied by the manufacturer. There’s obviously a little more to my story but I didn’t want to be too long winded and bore everyone. Just take my advice, if you’re having warranty problems and you’ve gotten nowhere with FCA, contact an attorney. It’s absolutely worth it and the cherry on top, it won’t cost you a cent! FCA had to pick up my $10,000 tab for attorney’s fees as well.

That's so encouraging and base truth--thanx

It's hard to believe that Chrysler has production vehicles that end up like that--I've been so lucky for so many years/W many different Dodges-

I'm glad you stuck withit and forced their corporate hand-

Thanx again-I wouldn't hesitate getting another one !

JIMBO

Amazes me the amount of ineptness FCA has towards fixing vehicles, then denying lemon law claim and eventually taking it in the shorts having to settle and pay out eventually.

I guarantee a good set of independent shop mechanics could have identified and fixed that truck for way less than the $10K in attorney fees and other associated cost to FCA.

FCA's warranty and repair process towards their dealerships is 90% of the problem.

I took the truck to two different dealerships for repairs over the 18 or so months I had the problems and it always seemed as if the problem wasn't overtly obvious, they really didn't want to do any investigating. They replaced the mirrors for the burned out puddle lamps, and the same with the tail lights but, they never replaced the park sensors. Just checked to make sure they were operable and then checked the vehicle to make sure they weren't damaged from an accident or some type of alteration. It's really disappointing to see there's no real accountability for these repairs, just get the vehicles in and out as soon as possible, then bill whatever they can...

I was a life-long Ford guy. My first ever new truck was a 2006 Ranger. I had similar issues that had it into the shop even more and longer during the first year and a half of ownership. I had to get the BBB involved here in Minnesota (didn't need a lawyer) and they helped me get Ford to exchange that Ranger for a new 2007. I paid I think $800 for the 14,000 miles or so but then was able to get a truck with more options and an automatic tranny for no additional cost.

My first and only RAM had a bunch of minor issues too, starting with transmission fluid pouring out as I drove the first 50 miles. I eventually escalated to Chrysler and settled with them on a bumper-to-bumper premium warranty extension (forgot the name) that covers everything.

I don't like having to engage with the manufacturers and don't need stuff for free, but when you don't get what you paid for they'd better make it right!

Nice work getting yourself into a less problematic truck. You would have struggled to sell that thing if you ever disclosed its true maintenance history. That was the crux of some of my arguments.

Quint, luckily for me I'm out of it now. It'll be a steal for whoever buys it next though. I took great care of that truck, so aside from whatever electrical issues it has someones gonna get a deal. The VIN on it now has "Lemon Law Buy Back" permanently attached to it though, so whoever buys it will know.

I also managed to avoid any deduction for mileage since I first brought it in for service with only 120 miles on the odo. They gave me an offset waiver because it would've only been like $15-20. So the 14,000+ miles I've put on it since we're basically free.

hate reading about trucks like yours, but good to hear about your new cummins. enjoy.

Glad it worked out for you. Most of these places will deny anything because they don't think you have the guts to get an attorney. Then even after all of that it still costs FCA much more in the long run to buy back your truck instead of just working with you correctly the first time.

Hootbro said:

Amazes me the amount of ineptness FCA has towards fixing vehicles, then denying lemon law claim and eventually taking it in the shorts having to settle and pay out eventually.

I guarantee a good set of independent shop mechanics could have identified and fixed that truck for way less than the $10K in attorney fees and other associated cost to FCA.

FCA's warranty and repair process towards their dealerships is 90% of the problem.

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Yep, more than any other manufacturer (and I've owned all the big ones), Ram service departments just make excuses and make up stories rather than trying to fix the problems. I've been to 3 dealers in my area over last few years with my truck and had pretty much the same impression of all. This leads me to conclude the methodology starts somewhere high up the food chain.

Awesome to her that they eventually took care of you

Quint said:

I was a life-long Ford guy. My first ever new truck was a 2006 Ranger. I had similar issues that had it into the shop even more and longer during the first year and a half of ownership. I had to get the BBB involved here in Minnesota (didn't need a lawyer) and they helped me get Ford to exchange that Ranger for a new 2007. I paid I think $800 for the 14,000 miles or so but then was able to get a truck with more options and an automatic tranny for no additional cost.

My first and only RAM had a bunch of minor issues too, starting with transmission fluid pouring out as I drove the first 50 miles. I eventually escalated to Chrysler and settled with them on a bumper-to-bumper premium warranty extension (forgot the name) that covers everything.

I don't like having to engage with the manufacturers and don't need stuff for free, but when you don't get what you paid for they'd better make it right!

Nice work getting yourself into a less problematic truck. You would have struggled to sell that thing if you ever disclosed its true maintenance history. That was the crux of some of my arguments.

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I went through something similar with my 2010 Ram 1500 QC.....it just had so many problems, and even caught on fire. I filed a claim with Chrysler and they just wanted to fix it, which wasn't good enough. I eventually retained an attorney and filed suit under the Lemon Law requirements in California and Chrysler bought my truck back, (and paid my attorney fees). I turned my truck into the lot where I purchased it, then turned right around and purchased a new 2012 Ram 1500 CC before I left.

Chrysler just doesn't seem to understand that most of us Ram owners are a very loyal bunch and will not drive any other brand of truck. Chrysler would be better off just replacing the vehicle for us with another and avoid all the additional attorney fees[emoji3].





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mtofell said:

Yep, more than any other manufacturer (and I've owned all the big ones), Ram service departments just make excuses and make up stories rather than trying to fix the problems. I've been to 3 dealers in my area over last few years with my truck and had pretty much the same impression of all. This leads me to conclude the methodology starts somewhere high up the food chain.

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Me and you are on the same page, it is the "methodology" as you say above the dealership level.

I also have owned just about every major make of vehicle both domestic and the big Japanese brands and FCA is the worst when it comes to how they handle warranty claims.

Unless it is just something stupid simple like a blown light bulb, a FCA warranty claim is a minimum of 2 dealership visits because the first one is just to verify the claim and then the dealership most times has to get approval from FCA to do the repair. Most times FCA will not allow any deviation on repair practices and hampers the dealer techs with lengthy and wasteful step and shotgun parts regardless if the dealership tech with eyes on the problem knows better. They got to follow what FCA corporate tells them.

My best warranty experience has been with Toyota. Unless the problem involves deep diving a engine, transmission or driveline issue, they allow their dealership techs more latitude to diagnose and fix the problem on the first visit.

Pretty sad because I know the OP's problem is fixable and probably fixable within reasonable costs if common sense was allowed here.

So I dropped my truck off at the dealership for it's final inspection and to sign the DMV release paperwork. Since I needed a new one I found this gem on the lot and decided to take it home! Stepped up to a CTD 4x4 long box. I still can't get over how much I love the sport package.

Something like this happened to me with a durango. the paint faded, after about 2 weeks. Started getting tiger stripes. I demanded they buy it back, they said they wanted to paint it, I said i dont want a brand new 45k car with paint that wasn't from the factory. They denied me over and over and over. Hired a lawyer, and i had a brand new durango sitting in my drive way about a week later. More options, and less miles.

Company like fiat Chrysler has tens of thousands of techs from all walks of life, and all levels of experience and skill set. It's in the best interest of the company to have step by step procedures. Labor is expensive and it's cheaper for the company to buy back a few vehicles, inspect them and draw up new procedures, instead of let every tech go on a explore expedition about every hard to diagnose issue that walks in. Not that they're happy about buying back vehicles, or that it's the best thing for the customer.

Glad it worked out, and your happy with the outcome. Enjoy the new vehicle.

Hey SixPoints_Kev, I've a story for you! My vehicle was bought new on 9/20/16 and spent 23 days in my driveway and 68 days in dealership's service department. To get up to speed on my problem, find my posts on this thread: Dash Lights Backlight Instrument LED Screen Won't Go Out; you'll find my posts are down a bit but there is a running commentary from October on about my problems.

I've not had a bit of problems with my dealer (owned by an individual and not a big franchise) and am still quite confident in their abilities other than communication. The tech who has worked on my truck from the beginning is even named "Ram"; how much better can it get? LOL! But why can't they, or any organization, understand that all many customers want is to be updated on what the hell happened today? Even if it's nothing at all, tell me that! I should not have to seek out this information for myself!

Anyhow, all I did, at some point along the way, was to mention that I no longer had any confidence in this truck and wondered out loud to the Service Manager if I would have to invoke the Florida Lemon Laws and next thing I knew he was describing the buy back program to me and how that was an alternative to the lemon law process. It took some doing but I finally got an explanation that my truck first had to be fixed and back in my possession (which finally happened on 12/21/16) before the buy back could take place.

I have placed an order for a 2017 truck with all the same options and trim and color for the exchange. Now just waiting for the build to occur. I've been told my new build is in "D1" status, meaning "gateline, number is assigned" (whatever that means).

My finance company, Ally, is even going to do a "collateral swap", meaning that they will simply change the VIN number on the loan and everything else stays the same (all my equity and interest now goes towards the new truck) and I'll just pay the difference of a couple hundred dollars in the cost of a new 2017 vs 2016 and a "usage fee" for the first 275 miles I put on the truck before reporting the original problem. I'll be writing a check for this. FCA is paying sticker price on the 2016 to me and for window tinting, title, tax and registration transfer fees and the cost of the Xylon (SP?) treatment on the 2016.

While it's been an ordeal dealing with trying to get the truck fixed, I'm so thankful I didn't have to go the route you had to in getting this accomplished. We have lawyers in the family who we spoke to about this and they both suggested the voluntary buy back was by far the least complicated and time consuming (read: EXPENSIVE (to FCA if arbitration was won by me)) way to go about this.

For those who are in the midst of contemplating a lemon law action due to a legitimate issue, this is really worth considering. Bring it up to your Service Manager or General Manager at the dealership. Our case manager at Stericycle (the company who handles the vehicle re-aquisition for FCA), while a bit difficult to get on the phone, has been very cooperative and forthcoming. It's fairly straightforward once FCA had agreed that a buy back is in their best interest (which may not be easy to get for everyone, but was for me).

0bnxshs, I'm glad to hear you had a more pleasant experience than I did with my lemon and hopefully everything goes smoothly and you're able to get into that new truck quickly.

After numerous service visits it was actually one of the service managers at my local dealership that gave me the direct phone number for FCA case management. I'm not sure what the differences are between California and Florida when it comes to lemon law vehicles but as far as I know, the dealership couldn't directly help me with the buyback. Since it is a consumer protection law dealing specifically with a manufacturers warranty I had to involve FCA (the manufacturer). I did make a request to FCA twice to either buy back the vehicle or simply replace it but they denied it both times. That was the only reason I had to involve an attorney. And boy did they change their tone fast!

Again, I'm happy you were able to get everything done through the dealership. I wish it had been as easy for me but in the end, I was still happy with the results! Good luck!

SixPoints_Kev said:

So I dropped my truck off at the dealership for it's final inspection and to sign the DMV release paperwork. Since I needed a new one I found this gem on the lot and decided to take it home! Stepped up to a CTD 4x4 long box. I still can't get over how much I love the sport package.

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Thats one nice looking truck! What size tires are on there, they look perfect in size. The Black Appearance Group/Sports Package on 2500s is really the best!

Andrew09HEMI said:

Thats one nice looking truck! What size tires are on there, they look perfect in size. The Black Appearance Group/Sports Package on 2500s is really the best!

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Thanks! They're 295/65/20 Trail Grapplers on the factory wheels. I think the best thing about the sport package are the painted front/rear bumpers. It was just too much chrome up front with the grille and bumper on a normal Laramie.

Do the tires rub at all? I was looking at this same size without a level. And I agree 100% on the paint match bumpers!