Anyone else think their 4th Gen is a Lemon?

RamBoston · Nov 13, 2021

I bought my '16 Ram Sport Blackout edition brand new because I wanted to get the exact truck I wanted. I had leased a '14 Ram just before this and loved it, although it was pretty stripped down. This is the only brand new vehicle I have ever purchased.

Overall the truck does what I ask of it. That being said, for a sticker of $50K, I would have expected a lot more. In the 5 years I have owned the truck and standing at 84K miles, I have been dealing with the following;

- At 1,000 miles or less, the truck started to pull left and never stopped. 5 years later, countless dealer visits, FCA involvement and over 20 alignments later, the stupid pig still pulls left.

- I got the dreaded 'ticking sound' at just over 50K. Turns out it's the manifolds. Both of them. The dealer just told me when I asked them to quote the job - "you really don't want me to even tell you because it won't be worth it. Find an independent shop. The indy wants $2K to fix it.

- I had to fix my third brake light at about 25K. I fixed it myself because of what I read on this forum. Was not worth the dealer putting in the same seal to only have it leak again.

- My second set of tires that I put on at 55K (less than 30K miles) are boloney skins.

- My tie rods are shot.

- My shocks are worn.

- My drivers side door panel handle is pulling away from the panel.

There have been countless other little things that have driven me nuts with this truck. I really thought I would love it way more than my lease with all the bells and whistles and it turns out, I am really starting to despise this oversized sled of steel.

Only upside is the values of trucks are strong right now. Trying to figure out the best way to dump this lemon on a local dealer. One thing is for sure, my next car/truck will not be a Ram or FCA.

2012RAM1500RT · Nov 13, 2021

I'd sell it and go buy something else you like better. My 2 has been trouble free. One I depend on every day as my work truck and my other one is my pleasure/weekend vehicle. Both 2012 Rams

Treburkulosis · Nov 13, 2021

I am sorry to hear all of your issues. Some will say yes the 4th gen is a lemon. I believe the things you have said minus the door panel is just wear and tear. I remember years ago that the factory shocks go fast. As do any factory tire. 55k on the SRAs is pretty good IMO. Wife had Nexens on her Pacifica and at 22k they were getting close to the wear marks. They were rotated every oil change. Tie rods and ball joints are usually caused by rough roads. My truck is still on its factory tie rods ball joints etc. My brakes made it almost 90k, then 40k on the next set. The third brake light is a common thing and its a simple fix. I have had to replace the seal twice in mine. All trucks no matter make or model will have issues. Its just what it is. I think we all have had manifold ticks at some point. That is just them. They were junky to begin with. Mine were replaced at 65k and nothing since. I hope you the best in whatever decision you make. The market is still strong. We just got a Grand Cherokee L last Monday and they gave us 10k over what was owed and still bought out our lease.

Treburkulosis · Nov 13, 2021

2012RAM1500RT said:
I'd sell it and go buy something else you like better. My 2 has been trouble free. One I depend on every day as my work truck and my other one is my pleasure/weekend vehicle. Both 2012 Rams

I believe our 12s were probably the most complete trucks. Rarely do you ever hear of issues form 09-12. I dont know what they did differently other then Fiat was in total control after ours were built.

Burla · Nov 13, 2021

Cut the entire front end off (suspension) and put back a king pin solid axle, I got a quote $3500 here. Other things seam small. Used to have donors everywhere, not sure of supply these days.

Jeepwalker · Nov 13, 2021

I agree! My 2012 has 168K miles and all original, incl shocks. Even though it's been mechanically sound and never left me stranded, ..and still goes down the road nice and tight, the seat has worn out on the edge from me getting in and out, so, yeah, it's DEFINITELY a lemon! He he

Seriously, a lot of those things are not uncommon on any truck. Lot of vehicles have had manifold issues for ever. For example, on the older Jeep 4.0L engines, those manifolds always cracked for like 20 years. I put 3x in one of my Jeeps, until I finally welded it myself and created gusseting that seemed pretty obvious (not sure why the factory didn't do it) and never had a problem since. Lots of exhaust manifolds have been warping since the 1960's. Maybe these are consistently worse, but.. Just remove them, and get them machined or belt-sanded (brand new ones will re-warp, so don't buy new). Then you can cross that one off your list.

Tie rods, tires, shocks?? What are you talking about?! You forgot to list off: thin paint, rust in the middle of the fender, LCD screen issues. Lifter/cam failures, No-start, battery discharging, TIPM corroding/failure, ...um...what else am I forgetting that can go wrong with modern cars (and Rams)?

Right now you should pass it off while prices are tops, then buy a Toyota tk with extended warranty. (no, seriously). This is getting under your skin, time to move on. If you can't find a new one, buy a used cheapo old tk till you can get a newer Toyota tk.

RLJ10X · Nov 14, 2021

I second the motion that you go buy a Toyota.

Had Dodge ever had to replace 10% of the rusted out frames that Toyota has, you'd never hear the end of it. But you never hear a word about all those rusted frames because it is the hallowed TOTOTA.

I drove my nephews Ti-yoder for 4 weeks when we were in California a couple years ago. You can have all of them. I was really glad to get back in my Dodge. There are still some things that Americans do best. And pick up trucks are one of them . And I know where Tundras are assembled. Princeton Indiana, I have friends that work there.

Daw14 · Nov 14, 2021

RamBoston said:
I bought my '16 Ram Sport Blackout edition brand new because I wanted to get the exact truck I wanted. I had leased a '14 Ram just before this and loved it, although it was pretty stripped down. This is the only brand new vehicle I have ever purchased.

Overall the truck does what I ask of it. That being said, for a sticker of $50K, I would have expected a lot more. In the 5 years I have owned the truck and standing at 84K miles, I have been dealing with the following;

- At 1,000 miles or less, the truck started to pull left and never stopped. 5 years later, countless dealer visits, FCA involvement and over 20 alignments later, the stupid pig still pulls left.

- I got the dreaded 'ticking sound' at just over 50K. Turns out it's the manifolds. Both of them. The dealer just told me when I asked them to quote the job - "you really don't want me to even tell you because it won't be worth it. Find an independent shop. The indy wants $2K to fix it.

- I had to fix my third brake light at about 25K. I fixed it myself because of what I read on this forum. Was not worth the dealer putting in the same seal to only have it leak again.

- My second set of tires that I put on at 55K (less than 30K miles) are boloney skins.

- My tie rods are shot.

- My shocks are worn.

- My drivers side door panel handle is pulling away from the panel.

There have been countless other little things that have driven me nuts with this truck. I really thought I would love it way more than my lease with all the bells and whistles and it turns out, I am really starting to despise this oversized sled of steel.

Only upside is the values of trucks are strong right now. Trying to figure out the best way to dump this lemon on a local dealer. One thing is for sure, my next car/truck will not be a Ram or FCA.

Get you a ford , when you have problems join a forum and tell them how much you paid for it . signed Up just to boo hoo bless your heart, CFS

PoMansRam · Nov 14, 2021

I think a lot of the issues you list would be the same or worse on a 6yr old Chevy or Ford.

Like you say, values are at an all time high, but so is the cost of a replacement vehicle.

You can find a marginally OK deal on something like a new Warlock quad cab 4x4 w/ a pentastar (which would be a fine truck IMO), but that's about it.

kurek · Nov 14, 2021

RamBoston said:
At 1,000 miles or less, the truck started to pull left and never stopped. 5 years later, countless dealer visits, FCA involvement and over 20 alignments later, the stupid pig still pulls left.

I don't want to be unsympathetic, I had a lemon jeep before this truck.

But also I don't believe you. Steering and suspension are just not that complicated if it pulls to one side the cause of that is identifiable by any alignment shop in one day. There just isn't any voodoo in it.

EdGs · Nov 14, 2021

RamBoston said:
I bought my '16 Ram Sport Blackout edition brand new because I wanted to get the exact truck I wanted. I had leased a '14 Ram just before this and loved it, although it was pretty stripped down. This is the only brand new vehicle I have ever purchased.

Overall the truck does what I ask of it. That being said, for a sticker of $50K, I would have expected a lot more. In the 5 years I have owned the truck and standing at 84K miles, I have been dealing with the following;

- At 1,000 miles or less, the truck started to pull left and never stopped. 5 years later, countless dealer visits, FCA involvement and over 20 alignments later, the stupid pig still pulls left.

- I got the dreaded 'ticking sound' at just over 50K. Turns out it's the manifolds. Both of them. The dealer just told me when I asked them to quote the job - "you really don't want me to even tell you because it won't be worth it. Find an independent shop. The indy wants $2K to fix it.

- I had to fix my third brake light at about 25K. I fixed it myself because of what I read on this forum. Was not worth the dealer putting in the same seal to only have it leak again.

- My second set of tires that I put on at 55K (less than 30K miles) are boloney skins.

- My tie rods are shot.

- My shocks are worn.

- My drivers side door panel handle is pulling away from the panel.

There have been countless other little things that have driven me nuts with this truck. I really thought I would love it way more than my lease with all the bells and whistles and it turns out, I am really starting to despise this oversized sled of steel.

Only upside is the values of trucks are strong right now. Trying to figure out the best way to dump this lemon on a local dealer. One thing is for sure, my next car/truck will not be a Ram or FCA.

Sorry you are having so much grief, then you might just be better off with that Ford, Toyota, or Chevy.

Used vehicles are at a premium now, so for sure you will get good value for your trade, maybe not so much on whatever you replace it with.

Best way to get rid of it is to just do it. Good luck with your next choice.

ripping r · Nov 14, 2021

they all have lemons. but you want a real lemon buy a chevy.
all my ram have been trouble free.

BWL · Nov 14, 2021

You may have drawn a lemon. I definitely consider mine one and with the pandemic and dealers cutting back staff to cover the huge overhead of a dealership vs just a small shop the staff turnover has led to an apparent inability to fix anything properly the first time, which sucks because the only reason I stayed ram was a good service department near by. Not sure what I'll do next truck. My 2011 Ram was the best truck I've ever owned. My 2006 ram diesel was the worst by miles and my 2017 has been a problem child since day1. If everything gets fixed properly during the warranty period I can live with it, but I'm going on attempt 6 to fix my power locks so I'm getting cranky. Added to the weeks it's spent in the shop for other things I regret buying it.

stenerson · Nov 14, 2021

Sorry to hear about your issues. Rams have been good to me in regards to price to performance/reliability. 270K on my 2004 3rd gen which I got dirt cheap in 2007 (when gas was 5 bucks a gallon). 90K now on my 2018. So far so good. Hopefully I'm not jinxing myself now by saying this.

I had the hemi on the 2004. I don't trust 8 cylinders with active fuel management systems so opted out of hemi this time around. I'm sure others have fine experiences with them but this is just the way I roll.

indept · Nov 14, 2021

IMO this is about as lemon as a Ram gets...

tones2SS · Nov 14, 2021

Sorry to hear of your issues OP.
I'm on my second Ram truck. I like it, but not in love with it. It's a lot nicer than my first Ram truck, as it should be, (because it is 11 years newer/more modern inside and out), but some things about my current truck really bother me. I've posted them elsewhere on this forum but won't post them here again. I do kinda miss my previous Ram truck, but the remote start and heated leather seats/steering wheel are very nice options my previous Ram truck did not have.

fulltimerart · Nov 15, 2021

I bet a lot of those probs are caused by the notorioulsy HORRIBLE roads in the Boston area!

Doug Ram · Nov 15, 2021

Sorry, but this does not sound like a lemon. Now my 03 4Runner, with it's sulfur stink, rear end vibration, 2 transmissions, 2 catalytic converters and 2 engine control modules in 30,000 miles, now THAT was a lemon. You have a few issues. Go find a legit suspension/alignment shop and get it aligned properly, if the dealer can't do it right.

As for hemi ticking... I had that in my 05 Durango from 50,000 miles. I totaled the thing at 180,000 miles. It was still ticking like a Timex. My 94 4.0 liter Cherokee had cold engine "piston slap" like noise. I sold THAT in 2009 for $5,000, with 150,000 miles. The guy who bought it was going to tow it home with his janky looking Ford 250, 500 miles away. Instead he put the pickup on the trailer and towed with the Jeep. It had the trailer tow pack and air adjustable rear end. Towed 5500 lbs easily.

Bandit1859 · Nov 15, 2021

RamBoston said:
I bought my '16 Ram Sport Blackout edition brand new because I wanted to get the exact truck I wanted. I had leased a '14 Ram just before this and loved it, although it was pretty stripped down. This is the only brand new vehicle I have ever purchased.

Overall the truck does what I ask of it. That being said, for a sticker of $50K, I would have expected a lot more. In the 5 years I have owned the truck and standing at 84K miles, I have been dealing with the following;

- At 1,000 miles or less, the truck started to pull left and never stopped. 5 years later, countless dealer visits, FCA involvement and over 20 alignments later, the stupid pig still pulls left.

- I got the dreaded 'ticking sound' at just over 50K. Turns out it's the manifolds. Both of them. The dealer just told me when I asked them to quote the job - "you really don't want me to even tell you because it won't be worth it. Find an independent shop. The indy wants $2K to fix it.

- I had to fix my third brake light at about 25K. I fixed it myself because of what I read on this forum. Was not worth the dealer putting in the same seal to only have it leak again.

- My second set of tires that I put on at 55K (less than 30K miles) are boloney skins.

- My tie rods are shot.

- My shocks are worn.

- My drivers side door panel handle is pulling away from the panel.

There have been countless other little things that have driven me nuts with this truck. I really thought I would love it way more than my lease with all the bells and whistles and it turns out, I am really starting to despise this oversized sled of steel.

Only upside is the values of trucks are strong right now. Trying to figure out the best way to dump this lemon on a local dealer. One thing is for sure, my next car/truck will not be a Ram or FCA.

I can only go by 2012 loved it absolutely no problems. Did have the manifold tick but only when it was first stated. Drove it120000 miles. Traded it in a 2019 with more bells and whistles

farout75 · Nov 15, 2021

I wonder if you RAM was made in Mexico or the USA? For a while FCA was making a good number of RAM 1500 in Mexico, I an looking at then I could not tell by sight where it was made.

Anyone else think their 4th Gen is a Lemon?

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