Hey so this is what im going through right now and not sure what to do next... I have a 2016 Ram 1500 V6 4x4 SLT Quad cab. I bought my truck in October with 14,500 miles on it and it now has about 22,500 miles on it. I noticed a little while ago that at idle (upon start up especially when its cold) i hear a rattling? sound coming from the front right of the vehicle. When i drive the vehicle the noise continues and then eventually once the trucks warm it either disappears completely or gets quiet enough where i dont hear it. It is not a clunk or a belt squeek it sounds like something rattling loose or something moving around that shouldnt be moving around. I looked up a bunch of stuff on here and the most likely thing people suggest is a manifold bolt loose or possibly an engine tick (very common from what i read?). Well i took it to the dealer last week and described it all they had the truck for 1.5 hours and stated they looked over EVERYTHING and ever got their stethoscope out and listened to stuff. They said there was absolutely nothing with it. The morning of the inspection i did not hear the noise on start up and i only had a 3 mile drive to the dealer. The noise does come and go but usually is pretty constant.
The next day i hear the noise again. I havent heard it really since but it does come and go occasionally. In addition, i dont know if i am being paranoid or not but i feel like my transmission is shifting weird. It feels like my transmission is shifting "harder" when i first start it up and shes still cold or it seems like its hesitant to upshift. I also noticed the other day i put it in park and she seemed to roll forward just a smidgen which was odd for me.
So what do i do? Do i schedule an appointment with the dealer again (it was free last time). Or do i pay the cost for a private auto shop to inspect it and take the results to the dealer? I only have 14,000 miles left on this warranty and i do not want to have issues long term after the warrant is up. I have heard stories about how dealers will skirt around issues if they know they will pay big. Is that what is happening here you think? Anyone ever had this issue? What would you do?
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UPDATE#1
So went to the dealership yesterday to drop off my truck. The guys were once again assholes and completely dismissed everything i had to say about the MPG, tranny and cruise control. His response was "well the computer shows no codes so there cant be anything wrong with it and im sorry you think you should be getting better MPG." Flash forward to today. Guy calls me and says we looked at it and cant find any noise or anything wrong with it. So the guys like when you get here i guess we can start it and take a listen if you want...
Get to the dealer and start it up. BOOM. theres the noise. clear and loud as ever! The guys looks dumb-founded. Goes and gets the tech guy. Start it up for him BOOM same thing loud and clear as day. His response "great that will be fun to find."
So now they still have my truck and i dont know when ill get it back. hes like "we will call you later." Even worse is they put me in this stupid lame ass bright orange Jeep Renegade. When i asked for a 1500 he said they didnt have any and i asked for anything else and he said they were all out of vehicles.
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UPDATE #2
They have had it since Tuesday now. I called for an update and he said they are still looking into a few things but they are having a hard time of pin-pointing what's wrong with the vehicle. They may have to call and get the engineers involved? Not sure what that means or entails but I have a strong feeling I won't be seeing my truck for a while but he's supposed to call later today with another update. I'm going to emphasize again on wanting a different rental in the mean time since they'll have it for a while.
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UPDATE #3
So apparently the engineers are getting involved (according to the voicemail they left me). They said they have some tests they would like them to run and i will have an update on monday. In the mean time hes like yeah you are more than welcome to stay in the loaner we gave you... like i have a choice lol. So stay tuned for mondays update.
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FINAL UPDATE
So after they had my truck for roughly a week or so. They determined that this vibration/ hum as they described it is normal for the 3.6L engines when it is cold out. They tested a few 2017 trucks when it was cold sitting on the lot and said they heard the noise too (unfortunately it was 60* when i picked up my truck so i could not compare). So i guess my trucks normal which is nice to know. I also was very thankful for Kori's help from RAMCARE. She guided me through this and stayed on top of the dealer.
The next day i hear the noise again. I havent heard it really since but it does come and go occasionally. In addition, i dont know if i am being paranoid or not but i feel like my transmission is shifting weird. It feels like my transmission is shifting "harder" when i first start it up and shes still cold or it seems like its hesitant to upshift. I also noticed the other day i put it in park and she seemed to roll forward just a smidgen which was odd for me.
So what do i do? Do i schedule an appointment with the dealer again (it was free last time). Or do i pay the cost for a private auto shop to inspect it and take the results to the dealer? I only have 14,000 miles left on this warranty and i do not want to have issues long term after the warrant is up. I have heard stories about how dealers will skirt around issues if they know they will pay big. Is that what is happening here you think? Anyone ever had this issue? What would you do?
---------------------
UPDATE#1
So went to the dealership yesterday to drop off my truck. The guys were once again assholes and completely dismissed everything i had to say about the MPG, tranny and cruise control. His response was "well the computer shows no codes so there cant be anything wrong with it and im sorry you think you should be getting better MPG." Flash forward to today. Guy calls me and says we looked at it and cant find any noise or anything wrong with it. So the guys like when you get here i guess we can start it and take a listen if you want...
Get to the dealer and start it up. BOOM. theres the noise. clear and loud as ever! The guys looks dumb-founded. Goes and gets the tech guy. Start it up for him BOOM same thing loud and clear as day. His response "great that will be fun to find."
So now they still have my truck and i dont know when ill get it back. hes like "we will call you later." Even worse is they put me in this stupid lame ass bright orange Jeep Renegade. When i asked for a 1500 he said they didnt have any and i asked for anything else and he said they were all out of vehicles.
--------------
UPDATE #2
They have had it since Tuesday now. I called for an update and he said they are still looking into a few things but they are having a hard time of pin-pointing what's wrong with the vehicle. They may have to call and get the engineers involved? Not sure what that means or entails but I have a strong feeling I won't be seeing my truck for a while but he's supposed to call later today with another update. I'm going to emphasize again on wanting a different rental in the mean time since they'll have it for a while.
-----------------------------
UPDATE #3
So apparently the engineers are getting involved (according to the voicemail they left me). They said they have some tests they would like them to run and i will have an update on monday. In the mean time hes like yeah you are more than welcome to stay in the loaner we gave you... like i have a choice lol. So stay tuned for mondays update.
---------------------------
FINAL UPDATE
So after they had my truck for roughly a week or so. They determined that this vibration/ hum as they described it is normal for the 3.6L engines when it is cold out. They tested a few 2017 trucks when it was cold sitting on the lot and said they heard the noise too (unfortunately it was 60* when i picked up my truck so i could not compare). So i guess my trucks normal which is nice to know. I also was very thankful for Kori's help from RAMCARE. She guided me through this and stayed on top of the dealer.
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