2016 Ram 1500 - Water Sloshing sound only on startup

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bbillingsley1985

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I recently purchased a used 2016 Ram 1500 V6 pentastar 4x4 with only 8,000 miles on it. I love the truck so far but I'm noticing an issue that I'm not sure is normal or a problem.

Whenever I start the truck, most of the time but not all the time, for a few seconds I hear a sloshing sound coming perhaps behind the radio? Somewhere around the dash. It only lasts for 2 seconds and then I never hear it again. It sounds a little like water sloshing.

Generally, I can always duplicate it if I have the a/c on and then turn the a/c off and then turn the truck off. Next time I start it rather its in a few minutes or the next day, I can hear what sounds like a sloshing sound behind the dash. I'm also noticing it even when the A/C is on and left on when powering off the truck. So it happens rather A/C is on or not. I have no idea if it's normal, a/c related or something else.

No leaks anywhere in the truck that I can tell and it seems to be draining the a/c condensation normal (near the front passenger tire). When I have the car on and in park with the a/c on, a steady drip of water flows near that front passenger tire. It seems like it could be excessive, but I am assuming that's all normal.

I was just wondering if this happens to anyone else. Everything seems fine. The A/C runs great, nothing is overheating. It doesn't do it when I drive (I never hear it while turning/accelerating/etc.). It's only when I first start the truck. I also notice if I power off the car and then stay in there for a few minutes, maybe 45-60 seconds after shutting off I hear what sounds like a mechanical sound around the vents. It starts towards the middle of the truck and then continues 3-4 times at different areas. Almost as if it was say shutting down the vents or something. It's difficult to explain. When I googled this I found something somewhere saying that this was normal.

When I try to google it I really don't find any information about my issue. I'm just not sure if I should take it in to the dealer or not. I still have the full bumper to bumper warranty and all but I'm just trying to figure out if this is normal or not before I have the dealer start taking things apart and potentially causing more harm than good.

I appreciate any help in advance. BTW I am pretty amazed by the gas mileage in the truck. The computer is reading 22.6 MPG with honestly mostly city driving but I usually take side roads where I can go 50-60 mostly uninterrupted. I almost don't want to do my manual calculation when I fill up because I want to believe the computer is 100% accurate haha. Regardless, getting 20+ confidently on a 4x4 truck I'm pretty happy with. I won't win any races obviously, but the v6 is plenty good enough for me and my purposes.
 

Jeepwalker

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It's the sound of air in the coolant rushing through your truck's heater core once the engine starts pumping water. That tells you for some reason the coolant is low. There are a number of reasons this could be. First things first, check the coolant level, make sure it's good. If that's good, run it with the cap off for a few minutes (when somewhat cold or warm, not HOT), have someone give it some throttle and look for air or bubbles in the radiator. If there are any, take it to the dealer. Put your nose down there and see if you can smell combustion fumes.

Next, park it nose-up on a steep hill or driveway, let it cool and check the coolant level again at the radiator. If good shut it off, let it cool (with the cap on). Make sure there's enough coolant in the reservior and it should suck some back in. You have to let it completely cool. Start it up later on and let it run a little. If there was an airlock in it, this should remove it with the radiator higher than the engine. (Other guys -- there isn't a bleeder screw on this engine is there???).

If it's low and the above proceedure makes the sound go away, keep your eye on the coolant level. Make sure there isn't ANY coolant leaks. If the coolant level goes low then you have a problem. It could be a minor leak at a hose, leaky radiator, micro-leak at the heater core (is your windshield foggy??), some leaking item in the cooling plumbing ...or even the beginning signs of a failing headgasket (which could take years to really 'GO') or cracked head (less likely). If it isn't low and you can't bleed any air out and it persists, then take it back to the dealer to check it out while it's still in warranty. If it is a heater core problem, you want THEM to take dare of that long job. There are little test strips and even sensitive electronic 'sniffers' they can put in the coolant to see if there are combustion byproducts coming through.

Good luck, hope it's just low on fluid.
 
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bbillingsley1985

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Thanks for the info. That definitely makes me nervous. I googled this problem and came up with similar results as you stated. I was just thinking that since it only does it at startup (never during turning/accelerating) that maybe it could be something different.

I opened the hood and can't even figure out which one is my coolant level (I unfortunately know next to nothing about repairing vehicles). Is it supposed to be full or is there a dipstick to check levels. Also do I need to wait until car has been turned off for x amount of hours? I noticed tonight that the front of the truck is still relatively hot after being off for about 2 hours. I'm assuming this is normal but I don't know. I do notice if I smell in the front of the truck right after parking that it does have for lack of better words somewhat of a burnt smell. That's poor wording but it smells almost like a heater would smell when it turns on. I'm thinking this is a normal smell. We've always had smaller vehicles so I've never had a truck with a big grill like this ram. I don't know if that offers any more clues to anything.

Thanks again for the help.
 

Jeepwalker

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Do you ever see any drips below it if you park on cement ..or in your garage?

You're probably better off taking it to the dealer and describe the issue like you did earlier. Especially since it may be a warranty item. It could be something very simple and inexpensive. Messing with a pressurized (and HOT) cooling system isn't something you ought to do if you aren't up to speed on auto mechanics.

Good luck. How about circling back and letting us know what it turns out to be??
 

huntergreen

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Could be something as loose hose connections. My 16 with hemi came with very little fluid in the holding tank. Barely registered on the dipstick on the holding tank. My sdvice is bring it to the dealer. It's under warranty.
 
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bbillingsley1985

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Thanks for the input guys. I park it in the garage every night and there is no leaks of any kind that I can see. Like I said earlier the only obvious leak is just when the a/c is on and it's doing the normal drip. I checked last night after parking it to make sure there wasn't anything that could of been drying up by the next morning and there was nothing.

Sounds like I probably need to call the dealer. I've only had it about 2 weeks so I'm thinking the dealer will take care of me even if it's something non warranty like needing to do add/replace fluid and such. That may be naive but I'm just thinking rather than get a bad review and all of that over a few hundred bucks they'll take care of me. They seem like a good dealership with great reviews so we'll see. I'm thinking it's likely a warranty item anyway.

Just hate the process of scheduling it and wasting my time driving 30-40 min up there and all. But yea it sounds like I need to get it checked out.

Thanks for the help and if anyone's interested I'll keep you posted on what I find out.
 

huntergreen

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The dealer I used brought the level up to the full mark. No charge.
 
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bbillingsley1985

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Well I took it to the dealer today. I duplicated the sound and they hooked it up to something to test pressure to see if there were any leaks etc. They told me everything checked out fine as far as leaks but that the coolant level was a little low.

They filled it and said that should fix the issue. The service manager said that they have had some vehicles in the past especially on the v6s that came from the factory that way. Said it was all safe to drive and all so I shouldn't have done any damage. So they filled the fluid up and said within a few days that sound should go away.

I asked then why it wouldn't be gone now and he said something about it could take some time for heater core to get the fluid all in or something. Regardless does that sound reasonable that it should take a few days for that sound to go away? It did it again right as I was leaving the lot and they told me that would be normal.

I guess it's confirmed at least that there's no leaks or anything like that. And I guess if it came from the factory low that could explain it.
 

EVc96bKA

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Well I took it to the dealer today. I duplicated the sound and they hooked it up to something to test pressure to see if there were any leaks etc. They told me everything checked out fine as far as leaks but that the coolant level was a little low.

They filled it and said that should fix the issue. The service manager said that they have had some vehicles in the past especially on the v6s that came from the factory that way. Said it was all safe to drive and all so I shouldn't have done any damage. So they filled the fluid up and said within a few days that sound should go away.

I asked then why it wouldn't be gone now and he said something about it could take some time for heater core to get the fluid all in or something. Regardless does that sound reasonable that it should take a few days for that sound to go away? It did it again right as I was leaving the lot and they told me that would be normal.

I guess it's confirmed at least that there's no leaks or anything like that. And I guess if it came from the factory low that could explain it.

I am curious to know if this fixed your problem? I've been getting the water sound on and off for a while now and the shop told me everything was fine and the sound was normal (it most certainly is not).
 

WilliamS

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A lot of newer cars on the market do this. This is the coolant filling the heater core. Almost always harmless but a little nerve racking. Usual culprits are low coolant or parked downhill which lets it drain forward.
 
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bbillingsley1985

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Yes, this did fix my problem. I heard the water sloshing sound one more time as I was leaving the dealer (they told me it would do this and that by the next day or two it should be fixed). It's been about a week and a half and it's never done it again.

Jeepwalker and huntergreen were very helpful to me on this with their comments. I assumed it might be normal. I have never owned a truck before so I originally thought maybe it was normal. Form their comments, that definitely made me go ahead and take it in to the dealer. I probably would not have done it otherwise. It was still fully under warranty and they didn't charge me anything to top off the coolant.

The dealer did a great job in diagnosing it and they easily duplicated it. Said they were going to hook it up to some machine to test pressure and make sure there are no leaks in hoses or heater core etc. I'm very bad at explaining what they did but that's the way I understood....hooked it up to something to insure no leaks. When they confirmed there were no leaks they said I was a certain amount low (don't remember how low) and that there was no cause for alarm. They had seen a few of them especially with the V6 engine that just came from the factory low on coolant.

They then filled it full and said it might do it when I left and one or two more times but said rather than them drive it for a bit and make me wait it was completely fine to go ahead and take it. I started the truck from the dealer and it did that sloshing sound one more time and I've never heard it again.

So I believe the issue is resolved. I was hearing it almost on every startup before I took it in and I haven't heard it one time since then.

Hope this helps. My advice is definitely take it to dealer and make them check level. If they confirm no leaks make them top off coolant level. If it's the actual dealer and you are under warranty surely they will take care of you. If they aren't willing to do that I'd take it to another Ram dealer. Because if you do have a leak there can be some significant costs to fix it so I would make for sure you resolve this while under warranty.
 
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bbillingsley1985

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Well just about 2 weeks after I thought it was fixed I heard the sound again.

Yesterday I parked somewhere where it was just slightly downhill. So the front end was lower than the back end by just a little a bit. When I started the truck I thought I heard the sound again but wasn't sure. Later on after I got home I started it from the garage to go somewhere and I definitely heard the sound again. I haven't duplicated it since then but it's obviously still happening.

I guess this has to mean I have a leak somewhere? I've not noticed any leak anywhere or any fluids in the garage floor.

So frustrating. I know the dealer will handle it warranty wise but it's such a pain to drive 45 minutes, wait several hours for them to figure out what's going on. Then if they have to order something, go back, etc.
 
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bbillingsley1985

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In case anyone is ever interested in the future, I'll continue to update what's going on. I took it to the dealer again and they kept it for two days.

They said they did a lot of tests and the technician was "pretty sure" there was an air pocket in the system. They said they fixed it by relieving the pressure. They then drove it around the next day to verify it was fixed. They again couldn't determine that there were any other major issues.

Well the very next day after I got it back I'm hearing the sound again. Should I call them yet again and take it back or should I try another dealership (there are a few around here where I live).

It's probably not that big of an issue but it still bothers the hell out of me. The truck is practically new and even though this could be a minor issue I want it fixed. The only issue I'm ever noticing is just when I start the truck every time or every other time I will hear just a 1-2 seconds liquid sloshing sound. I never hear it again when I turn or anything else.

Any recommendations on what I should ask them to do or should I just try to ignore it? They say heater core and all that was good based on the pressure tests they did. So I don't know if it's possibly an air pocket that they didn't get out or what else I can try to do.

It's such a pain to drop it off, do the loaner, drive about an hour back when its done and repeat. It's now the 2nd time I've taken it to them.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
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bbillingsley1985

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Just updating in case anyone in the future is interested.

So I tried to just ignore the sound until I saw a small puddle of purple liquid under the truck towards the front on passenger side. Opened truck hood and noticed small blotches of purple throughout. I definitely called a different dealer and scheduled an appointment. In the meantime I monitored coolant and oil temps. My coolant and oil temps got up to 228 degrees. I get mixed results when I googled this to see if that's normal or not on a V6 Pentastar. Computer on truck has it right in the middle so I wasn't worried too much about it

Anyway, dealer got the truck and did a pressure test. Determined hose going to radiator had leak. They ordered a new hose and fixed it. I took it home and that night cleaned up all of the purple blotches in and underneath truck. I have not noticed it making that sound since but it's only been a few days. I hope this fixes it. Coolant and oil temps are a little better. Haven't been higher than about 222 so maybe went down a little.

On another note since I got the truck I always noticed what smelled like maybe a faint burnt rubber smell in the front when I parked the truck in the garage. As I was cleaning up this coolant it smelled exactly like that burnt rubber smell. I put my nose to coolant cap and that was the smell. So unaware what the coolant smelled like, that was the smell I was smelling. I'm a little worried because I do still smell that smell when I park the truck. Hoping it will go away. It's not very noticeable, my wife can't really tell but I can. It doesn't smell inside the truck at all, just in the front after parking. Other than that, hopefully that sloshing sound will go away. If I put my nose up to coolant cap after parking I do smell the smell. Surely the cap is fine. Im so clueless on things I don't know if you're supposed to smell coolant or not when you put your nose to the cap or not but I do still smell it 2 days later when parking car. Guess I'll see if anything else happens.
 
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bbillingsley1985

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Another update. I have another thread where I took the truck to the dealer to fix some other issues (which they fixed). I also had them take another look at my coolant issue because I was still smelling a coolant smell when I parked the car in the garage.

When I got there the mechanic took a look and noticed that there were a few blotches of coolant around the cap and drops towards the bottom of the truck that looked like it could of fallen from the cap. They kept it and the next day pressure tested and determined that the cap was bad. They replaced the cap, tested again and found no other leaks at this time. I did still smell coolant in the garage when I got home from the dealer but there was a decent amount of spillage from when they tested and then refilled the coolant. I cleaned it all up really good and will hope that maybe I don't smell it much when I get home tonight.

I'll continue to update if anything else happens. Really hoping this will fix the coolant saga.
 
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