Water Damage - Dodge claims no warranty

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

crewdawg

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2022
Posts
7
Reaction score
11
Location
California
Ram Year
2018
Engine
6.7L Cummins
Hey everyone,

I have a 2018 6.7L crew cab 4x4. purchased brand new in 2017 from Clovis Dodge out of CA. Had a terrible experience buying from them so I ended up taking my truck to the dealership across town (owned by the same company). September 2021 I was deployed and I returned to my vehicle Jan 10 2022. Opened my door and a foul odor of mold and mildew hit me. There was water dripping from the oh **** handles and from the visors, the carpet was completely soaked front of cab to beneath the rear seats, and mold can be seen throughout the cab. I dropped my truck off at Fresno Dodge in CA. Was told that the gasket on the third brake light was bad and was leaking. I asked if that would be covered under my extended 6 year 100k mile warranty along with the obvious damage to my roof cab liner, carpet, seat, dash, radio. I was informed that the gasket is not covered and all the damage due to the leaking gasket is not covered.

Kind of at a loss for words with this dealership, if anyone has any advice on what to do please contact me. I have contacted my insurance company but I feel as if this factory defect should be covered along with the obvious damage to my truck.
 

SitKneelBend

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2015
Posts
9,022
Reaction score
4,694
Location
St. Louis
Ram Year
2014
Engine
3.6 Pentastar
Hey everyone,

I have a 2018 6.7L crew cab 4x4. purchased brand new in 2017 from Clovis Dodge out of CA. Had a terrible experience buying from them so I ended up taking my truck to the dealership across town (owned by the same company). September 2021 I was deployed and I returned to my vehicle Jan 10 2022. Opened my door and a foul odor of mold and mildew hit me. There was water dripping from the oh **** handles and from the visors, the carpet was completely soaked front of cab to beneath the rear seats, and mold can be seen throughout the cab. I dropped my truck off at Fresno Dodge in CA. Was told that the gasket on the third brake light was bad and was leaking. I asked if that would be covered under my extended 6 year 100k mile warranty along with the obvious damage to my roof cab liner, carpet, seat, dash, radio. I was informed that the gasket is not covered and all the damage due to the leaking gasket is not covered.

Kind of at a loss for words with this dealership, if anyone has any advice on what to do please contact me. I have contacted my insurance company but I feel as if this factory defect should be covered along with the obvious damage to my truck.
I'd see if @RamCares can assist. Especially since this is a well known issue that should have been fixed at the factory years ago.
 
OP
OP
C

crewdawg

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2022
Posts
7
Reaction score
11
Location
California
Ram Year
2018
Engine
6.7L Cummins
Ill shoot @RamCares a direct message tonight and see if there is anything they can do. The warranty is a MoPar warranty and I have the paperwork they sent me in the mail.
 
OP
OP
C

crewdawg

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2022
Posts
7
Reaction score
11
Location
California
Ram Year
2018
Engine
6.7L Cummins

huntergreen

Senior Member
Military
Joined
Jan 5, 2011
Posts
12,186
Reaction score
25,932
Ram Year
2016
Engine
hemi 5.7
If your warranty won’t cover this, how about your auto insurance ?
 
OP
OP
C

crewdawg

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2022
Posts
7
Reaction score
11
Location
California
Ram Year
2018
Engine
6.7L Cummins
If your warranty won’t cover this, how about your auto insurance ?
insurance said they would have to have an adjuster come see it but it would most likely be covered. it is of my own opinion that if its a manufactured defect I shouldn't have to be held liable
 

huntergreen

Senior Member
Military
Joined
Jan 5, 2011
Posts
12,186
Reaction score
25,932
Ram Year
2016
Engine
hemi 5.7
insurance said they would have to have an adjuster come see it but it would most likely be covered. it is of my own opinion that if its a manufactured defect I shouldn't have to be held liable
Not an expert, but it’s the seal that’s the iss and unless specifically stated that particular seal is not covered.
 

pacofortacos

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2017
Posts
3,564
Reaction score
4,341
Ram Year
2016
Engine
5.7
Sorry but you are out of warranty and the service contract that you bought doesn't cover any of this - maybe the brake light gasket but certainly not the incidental damage.
Sucks.

I had a caliper stick, while the caliper would be covered, the overheated rotor and pads were not (wear items).

Now they could do a goodwill warranty coverage (usually a percentage of the parts cost) if you were close to the 3/36 warranty.
 
OP
OP
C

crewdawg

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2022
Posts
7
Reaction score
11
Location
California
Ram Year
2018
Engine
6.7L Cummins
Not an expert, but it’s the seal that’s the iss and unless specifically stated that particular seal is not covered.
correct, and im not sure that is specifically stated. but I have read a lot about this issue so im not sure if dodge has a program that focuses on their large amount of issues with that particular problem.
 
OP
OP
C

crewdawg

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2022
Posts
7
Reaction score
11
Location
California
Ram Year
2018
Engine
6.7L Cummins
Sorry but you are out of warranty and the service contract that you bought doesn't cover any of this - maybe the brake light gasket but certainly not the incidental damage.
Sucks.

I had a caliper stick, while the caliper would be covered, the overheated rotor and pads were not (wear items).

Now they could do a goodwill warranty coverage (usually a percentage of the parts cost) if you were close to the 3/36 warranty.
ok makes sense, I can understand that. wanted to see if anyone here on the forum had this issue and what they had done about it.
 

pacofortacos

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2017
Posts
3,564
Reaction score
4,341
Ram Year
2016
Engine
5.7
Hopefully your insurance will cover it.
Was it parked with the front downhill?

The light is easy to fix. The headliner and carpet, not so much. If they were steam cleaned and dried, they might not smell but can't say for sure.

Meanwhile, if you get a refillable DampRid container and put it inside the truck, it will wick some of the moisture away but you have to fix the leak first. Walmart carries a few options of Damprid, but get the refillable units - there are a couple of options as well as scents.

I would have loved to have been able to RTV the light in and seal it permanently the first time - unfortunately, that's the only way to change that bulb.

Another leak spot (at least on the 1500's) is the vent assembly behind the rear seats - the replacement is a much improved part.
 
OP
OP
C

crewdawg

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2022
Posts
7
Reaction score
11
Location
California
Ram Year
2018
Engine
6.7L Cummins
Hopefully your insurance will cover it.
Was it parked with the front downhill?

The light is easy to fix. The headliner and carpet, not so much. If they were steam cleaned and dried, they might not smell but can't say for sure.

Meanwhile, if you get a refillable DampRid container and put it inside the truck, it will wick some of the moisture away but you have to fix the leak first. Walmart carries a few options of Damprid, but get the refillable units - there are a couple of options as well as scents.

I would have loved to have been able to RTV the light in and seal it permanently the first time - unfortunately, that's the only way to change that bulb.

Another leak spot (at least on the 1500's) is the vent assembly behind the rear seats - the replacement is a much improved part.
I have USAA and from my coworkers have they usually will get the problem taken care of. The carpet and seats were molded and mildewed. the headliner has water damage marks on them so im assuming that will be changed as well. if insurance doesn't cover it all then I will have to take those suggestions into mind when im working on it to get it all cleaned up. Thank you.
 

pacofortacos

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2017
Posts
3,564
Reaction score
4,341
Ram Year
2016
Engine
5.7
Mold and mildew suck to get rid of and really are a health hazard.

I would do the Damprid even after the repair/replacements - you will be amazed how much water it will pull out of the air.
 

chopperman1

Senior Member
Military
Joined
Dec 26, 2013
Posts
1,230
Reaction score
1,189
Location
Peoples Republic of Massachusetts
Ram Year
2018 Rebel
Engine
5.7L HEMI
Which plan do you have? If Maxcare I would expect that to be covered as it's an exclusionary plan and doesn't list it. "plastic lenses" refers to breakage.

Maximum Care is an exclusionary extended warranty, often referred to as a “Bumper-to-Bumper warranty” and as such if it’s not excluded, it’s covered. The only parts and labor not covered are:

  • Maintenance services and items used in such services
  • Glass, plastic lenses
  • Body and paint items, including soft trim
  • Wear items such as manual clutch assembly, brake pads, shoes, rotors, drums and belts are not covered at any time
  • Snow plows, winches and trailer hitches
 

BWL

Embrace the skeptisism
Joined
Oct 14, 2017
Posts
8,528
Reaction score
8,464
Location
BC Canada
Ram Year
2017
Engine
hemi 5.7
When I do my annual detail I actually take the carpet out of the truck and clean it with carpet shampoo and pressure wash it out then hang it to dry. Bit of work, but I'm getting so fast pulling the interior now I actually find it easier and I get all the nooks and crannies and clean the seats a lot better as well as dry them since I put them inside with heat and a fan to get everything fully dry prior to re-install. That should handle most of the mold/mildew smelliness issues apart from the headliner, which is easy to clean with the interior out. Learned how to pull it all out when I did my sound deadening. Part of a 2 day detailing I do now every summer. I know it's a lot of work.
 

RamCares

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2016
Posts
3,782
Reaction score
1,513
Location
Michigan
Ram Year
n/a
Engine
n/a
My warranty is through Mopar and I have the warranty paperwork on it with the VIN and my name and old address. I will shoot @RamCares a direct message
Hi,
We responded to your message, please take some time to review it and get back with us at your earliest convenience.

Rob
Ram Cares
 

RodeoRam

Senior Member
Military
Joined
Sep 11, 2018
Posts
452
Reaction score
559
Location
North Carolina
Ram Year
2018
Engine
Hemi 5.7
correct, and im not sure that is specifically stated. but I have read a lot about this issue so im not sure if dodge has a program that focuses on their large amount of issues with that particular problem.

If Dodge had cared, they would have fixed the CHMSL gasket in the 2nd Gen trucks when this problem began over 20 years ago. This should probably have been a class action lawsuit because they usually don't fix anything until it hits them in the wallet.
 

pacofortacos

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2017
Posts
3,564
Reaction score
4,341
Ram Year
2016
Engine
5.7
Which plan do you have? If Maxcare I would expect that to be covered as it's an exclusionary plan and doesn't list it. "plastic lenses" refers to breakage.

Maximum Care is an exclusionary extended warranty, often referred to as a “Bumper-to-Bumper warranty” and as such if it’s not excluded, it’s covered. The only parts and labor not covered are:

  • Maintenance services and items used in such services
  • Glass, plastic lenses
  • Body and paint items, including soft trim
  • Wear items such as manual clutch assembly, brake pads, shoes, rotors, drums and belts are not covered at any time
  • Snow plows, winches and trailer hitches
Body and paint items, including soft trim.

Maxcare doesn't cover many more wear items than listed - note is says 'such as'. For example, no lamps are covered, no seat covering (power seat motors are covered), etc.
 
Top