Unsure about keeping my RAM

[zmp_]

Wanted to get some advice. I bought a 2011 1500 outdoorsman with the 5.7 hemi 5 months ago. Its been in the shop the last 2 months. It has 89,000 miles on the clock.

Bought it cause it looked practically new and like it had been babied. Came with adjustable bilstein 5100s, nice rims and new 35" BFG ko2s. I hunt and overland a lot and drive solo into a lot of areas without phone service or that are inaccessible by tow trucks. I'm planning an arctic circle trip in the next year and drive from the southwest to the PNW and out to the east coast a few times a year. So I need something I know I can rely on.

I knew these trucks had some reliability issues but figured I'd take my chances cause the price and setup was right. I bought it from a dealer and bought an extended warranty for it for peace of mind. 2 hours into a month long roadtrip I got a code for a misfire and then sure enough loss of power. Limped it back at low rpms. Dodge dealer first diagnosed plugs and coil packs so I changed those myself but still had the same code so took it back where they told me it was cams and lifters.

The warranty tried everything they could to not cover it but eventually it went through, but the process took almost 2 months. If i had been on the road theres no way I could have waited somewhere for 2 months for this again. And typically I have firearms and my dog so figuring out other arrangements isn't always easy.

They didn't find any metal so they're doing new cams and lifters. Having such failure after driving this for 1,000 miles has shook my confidence in this rig. I've driven toyotas in the past and always knew I could trust em deep in the backcountry.

So overall, wondering if y'all would trust a truck like this in the future. I know the cams and lifters are a known issue but are there any other common issues to look out for? Would any of those issues potentially leave me stranded in the backcountry? Anything to make this rig more reliable?

The best thing financially would be to keep it for 3 years I have the warranty, pay it off and sell it before the cams and lifters explode again in 80,000 miles. I'm weary to drive it across the country knowing if it breaks down it could be months before it's back on the road. And definitely do not want to end up broken down in a situation without service and ample food/water. Considering how I use the truck would you keep it and roll the dice or trade it in for something more reliable?

 

[Bigskyroadglide]

The most talked about failure of the ram has already occurred and being fixed. I've got over 300k in various rams since 2011. 150k in one, 80k in another, 78k in another and 30k in another. All with 5.7s all driven regularly and limited problems. My suggestion keep it and ride it out. Get yourself an oil strategy, (read the one on here) and move forward.

Everything mechanical and built by man can break, yours happened early and covered by extended warranty. Consider yourself lucky.

 

[mrack]

You just fixed the most likely thing to fail, and the other common problems are small ones that won't leave you stranded (exhaust manifolds, 3rd brake light, etc). Send it.

 

[BenWade]

Get a high volume oil pump (SRT or Mellon) along with a HEMI friendly oil, filter and additive combo. You'll get at least 150,000 worry free miles

 

[zmp_]

Thanks y'all. will do the pump and stick with her for a bit.

 

[jagman_xjs]

I have 171k miles on my 2011 RAM and have had no problems at all. Just happens to some and others it doesn't. Sorry you are having trouble but once it is up and going again enjoy it to its max.

 

[Jeepwalker]

One other thing on a 2011 you might want to be proactive about for a long journey is the potential of a fuel pump relay flake-out. Nobody can say if it will ever be a problem on your truck, but it was for many owners of your year RAM. It was an oft-talked-about failure point back then which could leave a guy stranded. And not just Rams, other chrysler products too of the era. It wasn't epidemic, but there used to be a number of threads about it. Rather than replace the whole (expensive) TIPM, you could:

1) Pro-actively replace (desolder & resolder in) a FP relay on the TIPM board with a brand new exact duplicate, HERE (not difficult). 2) Leave everything as is, perhaps you'll never experience the problem, but purchase an inexpensive fuel pump relay bypass cable HERE, leave it in the glovebox ...should you ever need it. And just remember what the symptoms might be in case you need to use it. There are Y/T videos how to do it. Other solutions HERE. One other items that does sometimes go is the fuel pump pressure regulator back by the brake booster. Again there are Y/T videos on it. None of the issues above are epidemic. But if you want to cover all your bases of possible failure points while you are out on the trail, knowing common weak points are pretty easy to blunt ahead of time. Or at least be educated about. I'm just tossing out ideas.

Your truck has less electronics integration than 2013+, and hydraulic steering which is robust (unlike 2013+). So 2011's-12's are good years if you ask me. At your mileage & truck's age, it might be a good idea to exchange the power steering fluid, brake fluid ...and probably even the tranny fluid. And, why not do all the fluids if they haven't been done in a while??

Some other things: Make sure to push down all your truck's fuses from time to time. They can somehow tend to work themselves 'up'. Know that running 35's will lead to reduced wheel bearing/hub life. If you replace them, do so with quality Mopar's or something along those lines. You might want to throw in a scanner if you are going on a long journey. THESE are real popular and compact. Lot of Ram guys use them (I don't personally own this one). Maybe you have something already. Ensure your battery is good (common bug-out problem), and clamps are clean ...and engine & body grounds are solid clean.

Otherwise, I think these trucks are pretty rock-solid. Even Toyota's had their problems (it's true). There's a lot of guys with big miles on their trucks. Mine has ~175k. Best of luck. Come back and share pictures of your journeys!!

 

[indept]

2 things you can do & not do to avoid cam / lifter issues:
1.) Use a good oil with Molybdenum ( some oils have non). Our hemis like Moly.
2.) Don't idle too much. My dealer said the hemis they see with cam / lifter issues are cop cars & contractors that use their trucks as offices, both cases idling for hours every day.

Hopefully they installed the new style lifters that they change to in 2016 which have beefier needle bearings.

 

[ram1500rsm]

I bought my 14 RAM in 2018 with 40k miles or so from my local Carmax. First week the exhaust manifold started leaking so i took her to Carmax and used their 30 days warranty to get her fixed.. The mechanic working on th truck broke the manifold bolts so they had to order a brand new head from Mopar along with the gaskets so Got my truck back after that without any other issue. A few months later the Gas Tank fuel sensor got facked up. i had that replaced by my local mech shop for $500 or so including the part and that's it for repairs since 2018, knocking on wood. Zero issues since then other than adding mods and having fun with the truck in dirt roads around Socal desert and mountains. I did my own PCM/TCM tune back in 2018 and in that tune i also disabled the 4 cyl deactivation crap so the truck runs in 8 cyl full time. It's 2024 now and she's got 132k miles on the clock and she's been the most reliable truck i've ever had after those 2 repairs, knocking on wood. She only uses Castrol 5W30 when the oil lights pops up in my dash, and when it comes to idling she idles for as long as i/we need that truck to idle in the summer or in the middle of winter. No oil additives here of any sort, i've never used none of that stuff in any vehicle and the RAM won't be different.

I'll say get her fixed and stay away from oil threads if you want to sleep comfy at night. If something is going to happen it'll happen regardless of what you do with your oil or with your idle.

Have fun.

 

[pscarbor]

Wanted to get some advice. I bought a 2011 1500 outdoorsman with the 5.7 hemi 5 months ago. Its been in the shop the last 2 months. It has 89,000 miles on the clock.

Bought it cause it looked practically new and like it had been babied. Came with adjustable bilstein 5100s, nice rims and new 35" BFG ko2s. I hunt and overland a lot and drive solo into a lot of areas without phone service or that are inaccessible by tow trucks. I'm planning an arctic circle trip in the next year and drive from the southwest to the PNW and out to the east coast a few times a year. So I need something I know I can rely on.

I knew these trucks had some reliability issues but figured I'd take my chances cause the price and setup was right. I bought it from a dealer and bought an extended warranty for it for peace of mind. 2 hours into a month long roadtrip I got a code for a misfire and then sure enough loss of power. Limped it back at low rpms. Dodge dealer first diagnosed plugs and coil packs so I changed those myself but still had the same code so took it back where they told me it was cams and lifters.

The warranty tried everything they could to not cover it but eventually it went through, but the process took almost 2 months. If i had been on the road theres no way I could have waited somewhere for 2 months for this again. And typically I have firearms and my dog so figuring out other arrangements isn't always easy.

They didn't find any metal so they're doing new cams and lifters. Having such failure after driving this for 1,000 miles has shook my confidence in this rig. I've driven toyotas in the past and always knew I could trust em deep in the backcountry.

So overall, wondering if y'all would trust a truck like this in the future. I know the cams and lifters are a known issue but are there any other common issues to look out for? Would any of those issues potentially leave me stranded in the backcountry? Anything to make this rig more reliable?

The best thing financially would be to keep it for 3 years I have the warranty, pay it off and sell it before the cams and lifters explode again in 80,000 miles. I'm weary to drive it across the country knowing if it breaks down it could be months before it's back on the road. And definitely do not want to end up broken down in a situation without service and ample food/water. Considering how I use the truck would you keep it and roll the dice or trade it in for something more reliable?

I have three Dodge trucks, two 5.7 hemis. I work on them regularly and theyre all running good right now but I get nervous driving 15 miles to Walmart, much less in a remote area.

Your truck has a 65rle 6 speed transmission, probably the worse transmission in any truck. Look for it to go belly up at around 150000 miles, less if youre runn8ng oversuze tires. There are many other failure points on these trucks, too many to mention here. Look up issues in this forum.

Trade it on a Toyota.

 

[huntergreen]

No truck is breakdown proof. That includes new/old across all brands. Best you can do is be prepared for worse case scenario and hope for the best.

 

[pscarbor]

I wrote the first response on my cell. Now I'm home on my PC and so I thought I'd elaborate on Dodge trucks.

I am a retired Engineer. I have the know how, tools, and time to work on my three Dodge trucks. If you enjoy tinkering with automobiles great, but as far as something reliable they just ain't it.

Dodge made several design mistakes. You can cruse Google yourself and confirm this but here's my list:

1) TIPM. this stands for Total Integrated Power Module. i don't know who came up with this but it controls lota of things you wouldn't think would be electronically regulated: For example, there is no headlight fuse nor relay, it all goes through the TIPM. And the instrument console. You can get a rebuilt TIPM for around $1000; I don't think new ones are available at all. I lucked out, there is an outfit in California that fixed mine for $195 after the previous owner tried to hook up LED headlights and fried the TIPM.

By the way, don't hook up LED headlights, there's a good chance you'll fry your TIPM.

2) Instrument console. Chips are not soldered well enough, they break loose and things stop working. One of my trucks had an intermittent tach. I had to pull the instrument console and resolder three chips (lots of videos on that). Not a big deal but try that up in the wilds of Bear @$$ Creek.

3) Radiator. Dodge in its infinite wisdom decided it would be a SUPER keen idea to use an aluminum core glued to plastic sides for a radiator. I've replaced all three of mine when they cracked and failed, two with all aluminum radiators. They WILL crack around the return hose on top.

4) ECT warning - a.k.a. "Dodge lightning bolt of death". ECT stands for Electronic Throttle Control and if you look around on Google you'll find lots of posts like, "I bought this truck six months ago and its been in the shop for four months, keeps getting the ETC light and the dealer can't figure out what's wrong". I had this on two of my Dodges. One was the radiator (see #3), all the water ran out and it didn't get a hot indication on the gauge nor a code, just the ECT. On the other Dodge it turned out to be a loose PCV valve. Neither was related to any "electronic throttle control".

There are a lot of other small issues. I just got back from a 180 mile round trip. Next to the last time I tried to start the truck there was nothing. Interior lights and door locks worked but it was dead. Fortunately I'd had this happen before: Turns out the "key" only unlocks the door, there's actually an electronic dongle that is coded to the ECM that allows it to start. Sometimes it doesn't work. Solution: Get another "key" programmed at the dealer (cost around $150) and carry two keys. Thats what I do. I put the other key in and it started just fine.

My advice: Unless you want to tinker with the truck constantly, get rid of it FAST! Right now unfortunately there are only two reliable auto manufacturers, Toyota and Honda (I've never owned either). Get one of those.

Now for the endless "any truck can have issues" responses...

 

[Floyd1979]

Wanted to get some advice. I bought a 2011 1500 outdoorsman with the 5.7 hemi 5 months ago. Its been in the shop the last 2 months. It has 89,000 miles on the clock.

Bought it cause it looked practically new and like it had been babied. Came with adjustable bilstein 5100s, nice rims and new 35" BFG ko2s. I hunt and overland a lot and drive solo into a lot of areas without phone service or that are inaccessible by tow trucks. I'm planning an arctic circle trip in the next year and drive from the southwest to the PNW and out to the east coast a few times a year. So I need something I know I can rely on.

I knew these trucks had some reliability issues but figured I'd take my chances cause the price and setup was right. I bought it from a dealer and bought an extended warranty for it for peace of mind. 2 hours into a month long roadtrip I got a code for a misfire and then sure enough loss of power. Limped it back at low rpms. Dodge dealer first diagnosed plugs and coil packs so I changed those myself but still had the same code so took it back where they told me it was cams and lifters.

The warranty tried everything they could to not cover it but eventually it went through, but the process took almost 2 months. If i had been on the road theres no way I could have waited somewhere for 2 months for this again. And typically I have firearms and my dog so figuring out other arrangements isn't always easy.

They didn't find any metal so they're doing new cams and lifters. Having such failure after driving this for 1,000 miles has shook my confidence in this rig. I've driven toyotas in the past and always knew I could trust em deep in the backcountry.

So overall, wondering if y'all would trust a truck like this in the future. I know the cams and lifters are a known issue but are there any other common issues to look out for? Would any of those issues potentially leave me stranded in the backcountry? Anything to make this rig more reliable?

The best thing financially would be to keep it for 3 years I have the warranty, pay it off and sell it before the cams and lifters explode again in 80,000 miles. I'm weary to drive it across the country knowing if it breaks down it could be months before it's back on the road. And definitely do not want to end up broken down in a situation without service and ample food/water. Considering how I use the truck would you keep it and roll the dice or trade it in for something more reliable?

On my 2009 Lonestar crewcab Rambox hemi , I put 442,150 on that original power train
Maxcare lifetime, power train lifetime
Many parts replaced but not transmission or rear axle
Around 375,000 MDS Failed
Replacement of cam and lifters

 

[Jeepwalker]

......My advice: Unless you want to tinker with the truck constantly, get rid of it FAST! Right now unfortunately there are only two reliable auto manufacturers, Toyota and Honda (I've never owned either). Get one of those.

Sure there are some bugaboos. But there are also a lot of really high-mileage Rams on the road. Do a search for "High mileage Rams?" ...threads.

Preferably something with a good warranty will obviously offer a lot of peace of mind. Best of luck

 

[Mike Townsend]

I would get a programmer so you can raise the idle. That way the oil pressure will be high enough if you are going to idle for a while.

 

[zmp_]

Trade it on a Toyota.

 

[zmp_]

...

 

[Docwagon1776]

 

[Frustratedwife]

My husband has a 2013 dodge ram slt quad cab engine 4.7L . V8 Engine light on dealership said needs fuel pressure sensor mopar part 68210330AA. Told him they don’t make this anymore? truck runs great vehicle emission will not pass it. Is there a work around or a compatable part for this? I’m trying to help him he’s so frustrated.

 

[Dredger]

My husband has a 2013 dodge ram slt quad cab engine 4.7L . V8 Engine light on dealership said needs fuel pressure sensor mopar part 68210330AA. Told him they don’t make this anymore? truck runs great vehicle emission will not pass it. Is there a work around or a compatable part for this? I’m trying to help him he’s so frustrated.

You may want to try a Google search with the part number