Going from a 2001 F150 SuperCrew 5.4l 2wd truck with 202,000 miles in December of 2012 to my Ram I was satisfied that I went with it instead of another F150 but not giddy. I love the looks, I love the space, 4wd, power, all enough for what I want/need/use a truck for. And, the same or better mileage to boot from a bigger, heavier vehicle.
But... first thing out the temp rtd was off by 20*F and needed recalibration. Then the exhaust leaks started at around 23,000 miles, the 8.4 software bugged up and my bluetooth, XM, and am/fm was inoperable until I could get in for a flash, which the dealership was adamant about charging me for and I was equally adamant about Not being charged on a New vehicle.
Something was causing the 12v outlet on the left side of the dash compartment to randomly not work. I would plug my cell phone adapter in and it might charge and it might not. The dealer got ****** with me about changing a fuse when I brought that up and didn't even want to put it on the repair order. They finally did and now it works just fine.
My lumbar support control dims the headlights when I try to decrease support, but the support doesn't change. Something is shorting out and have only used that button a handful of times in 4-1/2 years.
Then a message to 'service electronic braking system' or something to that effect that took out my traction control and cruise control functions... and another trip to the dealer...
Then after that repair the radio would randomly change from XM to AM and dump presets.. and another trip to the dealer..
The dash light flicker that a lot of people get I get also, but not just when the headlights are on. Its happening during the daytime now and the dealer says its going out and they can replace it for $700 plus labor. My response? EFFF THAT!
The gear selector button on the shift lever could have better sensitivity. It has the 'click' feel to it when I want to manually downshift but I have to practically press the button into the shift lever to get contact and a resulting downshift, and then the delay makes it difficult to determine if its going to downshift at all. How about 'one click, one gear' FCA??
The space under the rear seat is useless for carrying long guns. I loved my F150 for that and could easily fit two soft cases under the back seat. I knew it was not a large space when I bought and would would like to see that feature, I mean how many of us actually hunt and travel with gear? Yes, lots of us.
I had a misfire several months back and turned out it was a corroded coil which looked like it came out of the ocean. None of the others looked anything like it, all clean.
Now it has the tick and I'm waiting to hear from my mechanic. Only 112,000 miles and my old F150 didn't get new plugs, ball joints or anything until past 125,000 miles.
Oh, almost forgot, I selected the OTA firmware update for the 8.4 and it is stuck in update limbo where it did not complete the process and goes to the update screen usually within 5 minutes of startup. After it sits with the key out for a while, 15-20 minutes, or overnigth, I'll get the main screen back but within minutes it tries to reload the update again and then hangs up. From what I read on here it could be a few Months before the fix is ready.
So... It does its job but, smdh, meh...
Couple more things came to mind, was driving two years ago January and the truck died, dash lights, everything went dark, dead as hell. Nothing. Coasted into a parking lot and in the middle of a driveway I ran out of momentum and put it in park and turned the key off. The key would then NOT turn clockwise to try and start the truck. Also, cannot take it out of park to move the effing POS. Turns out the key receptacle failed and it cost me a night in a hotel and $480 at the north Omaha Ram dealership. Juuuuust a couple thousand miles out of warranty.
and now it sounds like the effing engine is going to explode. One day it was nice and quiet and then upon a startup sounded like a fukcing log chain got caught in the crankshaft.
So, after I figure out wth is going on in the engine I'm going to re-read this whole post and ask myself why should I keep it. I have a short memory for the trouble its given and until I started adding it all up it didn't seem like much. But... now that I look at all the issues I can see its had more trouble in 112,000 miles than my 01 F150 and my old '95 Stratus ES did and both went just over 200,000 miles before I traded them. More trouble in 112,000 miles than two vehicles had in 405,000 miles.
Update 08-07-2017
Dealer quoted $5400 to replace broken valvetrain parts and the camshaft, no guarantee on the bottom end and $9300 to replace the engine. Jasper wants $4800 for an engine if I buy it and a local shop will buy the same engine and install it for $7200 plus tax and incidentals.
Waiting for a return call from Chrysler Care since the truck has only 112,000 miles. Praying they give warranty assistance of some form..
If not, pretty good chance I'm done with RAM. smdh
Edit: After several conversations with a very nice Chrysler Care rep we settled on $4000 out of my pocket and Chrysler picked up the balance for a new engine. I'm not overly pleased with that because I don't believe there should have been any reason for the engine to not go 200,000 + before having ANY sort of trouble like this. But at some point you realize 1) your truck is sitting in a dealer lot, 2) it aint going to fix itself, 3) Chrysler could pull the deal off the table if I keep arguing, 4) the truck I'm leasing because I need a truck is costing me money every day I'm not in my own vehicle.
Pretty much over a barrel and $4000 I didn't really have to spend, but its done. The new motor is in, cannot tell any difference from the old motor and hope when its time to trade or sell the truck isn't looked at negatively because of the new engine. Buyers will look for any reason to discount a vehicle and with any major work there is bound to be some skepticism as to why the truck needed a motor and a question as to how I drove and cared for it.
Last thing, 8 weeks after the new motor went in I had trouble starting the truck, like a dead battery. Opened the hood and swear on a Bible the pos battery cable was not tight. The battery had to come out to replace the engine. Dealer basically said 'not our problem'.
And then the starter failed. Could high current due to a poor connection cause that? I'll never know but a tow and new starter at a different dealership I trust was $500 more bucks.
Ridiculous.
