Pulled the Eco Trigger

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JohnnyMac

There are no stupid questions, just stupid people.
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2018 1500 Laramie
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3.0 EcoBurner
Well, just pulled the trigger on an 18 Eco Laramie. Felt I didn't need the size or MPG's of the 2500 but I still wants me a truck. I looked hard at the 19's with the eTorque, but I'm skeered to buy a first year truck. I bought a 1st year vehicle only twice in my life and both times they had many issues. I figured the Gen4 was tried and true, and they gave me some pretty good discounts/incentives as well.

So a few questions on the Eco....

  • How often do you folks change oil/filter? (Is there a % meter or just by mileage?)
  • How often do you folks change the fuel filter?
  • How do you all fill your DEF tank and how long generally does a tank last? (Do gas stations have it at the pump? Is it cheaper to buy it at the store and dump it in yourself?)
I might get a Pedal Cdr here shortly, but I think I'll run it for a year or so stock before I start playing with tunes or bolt-ons. Any tips or tricks you guys can provide, I'm all ears!

Thanks!
 

crash68

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Congrats on the new truck!
Many guys have had oil analysis done and the oil still good following the 10K/oil life monitor recommendation. A popular oil is Rotella T6. As per the owners manual, don't go longer than 12 months between oil changes.
Fuel filter is every 20K but some guys like to change it every oil change. There is one guy on another forum that has gone over 100K KM between filter changes(must be a Canadian thing...lol).
Unless you tow a lot, fill the DEF tank once an oil change and you should be good. I think the last time I checked my usage it was just over 1200 miles to the gallon. I have found buying DEF at a truck stop to usually be the cheapest although some have reported getting it on sale cheaper at WallyWorld. Buying it at a truck stop you don't have to wonder about how long it has sat on the shelf.
 

quietpeen

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Congrats on the new eco
 

Slevin

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Your description sounds just like the situation I'm in. I looked hard at a 19 Hemi etorque Rebel but the '18 ecodiesel Laramie is more logical for my needs . Congrats on the truck!
 
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JohnnyMac

JohnnyMac

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Your description sounds just like the situation I'm in. I looked hard at a 19 Hemi etorque Rebel but the '18 ecodiesel Laramie is more logical for my needs . Congrats on the truck!

Yah, I really like the interior of the new trucks and wavered back and forth for a bit. The new exterior is nice, but didn't jump out at me and the 4th gen is still a good looking truck. Plus they really wanted to get the 18's off the lot so sitting there, optioned out at $58k and paying $44k was the icing on the cake. They weren't nearly as generous with the discounts on the 19's.
 

nekosplace

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2014 ram
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5.7 hemi
I feel really sorry for you I have been fighting ram since may of this year over the problems I have had with mine. I still own a 2016 ecodeisel Laramie that they have agreed to buy back over 3 months ago and here I am still making payments on 2 ram trucks my new rebel and the one they agreed to buy back. the turbo will start faulting out on or about 12000 all I can say is anyone looking to buy a ecodisel go with the hemi more power and a lot less headaches especially when you have to send it back and deal with stericycle and fca
 

crash68

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I feel really sorry for you I have been fighting ram since may of this year over the problems I have had with mine. I still own a 2016 ecodeisel Laramie that they have agreed to buy back over 3 months ago and here I am still making payments on 2 ram trucks my new rebel and the one they agreed to buy back. the turbo will start faulting out on or about 12000 all I can say is anyone looking to buy a ecodisel go with the hemi more power and a lot less headaches especially when you have to send it back and deal with stericycle and fca
Unfortunately your a victim of a dealership/service tech that is unable to diagnose and fix the problem. There are several error codes the cause the "Service Electronic Throttle" error light. There is not a problem with the turbos going out at 12K miles, very few actual turbo problems are reported. You wouldn't be the first if they replaced the turbo thinking it would solve the problem and it doesn't.
 

nekosplace

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Unfortunately your a victim of a dealership/service tech that is unable to diagnose and fix the problem. There are several error codes the cause the "Service Electronic Throttle" error light. There is not a problem with the turbos going out at 12K miles, very few actual turbo problems are reported. You wouldn't be the first if they replaced the turbo thinking it would solve the problem and it doesn't.
they have been working on the problem for 2 years now with no results ram tech has been involved since the beginning and I didn't say the turbo went out it has been giving error codes since the 7th month I owned it I have only had the truck out of limp mode for a total of 1 month since may they have replaced the sensors I started to use the ram fuel additive and followed their directions to the letter but to no avail the eco diesel is a **** has been since they brought it out 5.7 hemi was what I always had and no problems I am still ram even tho they have treated me badly and it starts with problems around 1200 an gets ridiculous problems at 24 to 30000 miles like I said its emissions and the turbo
 

Shawn226

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2017
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3.0L EcoDiesel
they have been working on the problem for 2 years now with no results ram tech has been involved since the beginning and I didn't say the turbo went out it has been giving error codes since the 7th month I owned it I have only had the truck out of limp mode for a total of 1 month since may they have replaced the sensors I started to use the ram fuel additive and followed their directions to the letter but to no avail the eco diesel is a **** has been since they brought it out 5.7 hemi was what I always had and no problems I am still ram even tho they have treated me badly and it starts with problems around 1200 an gets ridiculous problems at 24 to 30000 miles like I said its emissions and the turbo
I had issues with mine doing service electronic throttle control at 5000 miles. I have an obd2 scanner and would clear the code until I had GDE Tune it, the issue is in the ECM and Chrysler hasn’t released the flash update for it yet due to government litigation over the emissions crap. I understand your frustration but it’s definitely a lack of dealership knowledge, not the truck in general.
 

nekosplace

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I had issues with mine doing service electronic throttle control at 5000 miles. I have an obd2 scanner and would clear the code until I had GDE Tune it, the issue is in the ECM and Chrysler hasn’t released the flash update for it yet due to government litigation over the emissions crap. I understand your frustration but it’s definitely a lack of dealership knowledge, not the truck in general.
like I have always said I loved the truck you would think ram tech support would have let the dealership know that on the down low if they had I would still have the truck and not bought a new one more bureaucratic nonsense I have maintained since the beginning it was emissions crap but it was still under factory warranty and was afraid to change anything because of warranty
 

Ramaniac

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3.0 Ecodiesel
Congrats on the new truck. I like the Eco’s so much I have two of them. My pickup has just over 5k with no problems and I have a 16 Jeep Ecodiesel that I got the Service Electronic Throttle Message on. Shop had it for a couple weeks and all they could find was a loose turbo clamp. Been running fine ever since. At 55 k now.
 
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JohnnyMac

JohnnyMac

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Finally got a few pics. I work remotely 9 weeks on/9 weeks off so I did all the footwork and my wife picked it up. Unfortunately, she now want's to trade me her Acura MDX for the truck. When I get home, I might have to arm wrestle her for it....

I gotta get a level kit on that baby ASAP so I can get rid of that stinkbug look.

IMG_20181112_114017_hdr.jpg IMG_20181112_114044_hdr.jpg IMG_20181112_114120_hdr (1).jpg
 

mboymopar

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Barty88

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3.0 Eco diesel
Cant find a better place to ask this question and may start my own thread, but for all the people here that seem to know alot more than me.... I have a 2015 Eco diesel crew cab that I am actually trying to sell and finding out there are some pretty egregious accusations against it. Some people claim (including a couple here on the forums) that there is a design flaw and the engine is prone to blowing. Mine has 120k Highway miles and never pulled anything and has had no issues and most people in this thread love theirs. My question is if this have any real teeth to the claims or is it just like any other truck that with attrition and people having bad experiences band together claim "flaw" or "junk"? I knew about the whole emissions fiasco but that didnt bother me as it was all fixed and seemingly just bureaucratic red tape BS anyway. So, any thoughts on the claim of a flawed engine, or reliability long term on these if maintained properly (and i do)
 

Dhubble

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2014
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V6 ecodiesel
Cant find a better place to ask this question and may start my own thread, but for all the people here that seem to know alot more than me.... I have a 2015 Eco diesel crew cab that I am actually trying to sell and finding out there are some pretty egregious accusations against it. Some people claim (including a couple here on the forums) that there is a design flaw and the engine is prone to blowing. Mine has 120k Highway miles and never pulled anything and has had no issues and most people in this thread love theirs. My question is if this have any real teeth to the claims or is it just like any other truck that with attrition and people having bad experiences band together claim "flaw" or "junk"? I knew about the whole emissions fiasco but that didnt bother me as it was all fixed and seemingly just bureaucratic red tape BS anyway. So, any thoughts on the claim of a flawed engine, or reliability long term on these if maintained properly (and i do)
Well I will start off by saying I've put 30000 on my 2014 ram ecodiesel and had a code p0299 come on and couldnt get the truck out of limp mode. But now that the lawsuit passed and is over they did the recall and seems to have fixed the issue. I've driven about 1000 miles on it since and it seems to be back to normal. I've not had any other issues other than this.
 
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