Ram recalls and terrible customer service

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Hydrasport23

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Does "Ram Care" even work for Ram? I know other manufactures have third party companies that use a business name that is related to the manufacture, but that is in name only. Example, Cadillac Care tries to help with issues related to their vehicles by monitoring the internet, but in reality, the dealers usually ignore them. Contacting the California DMV sounds like the best solution at this time. You can't be the only person in the state that is having recall issues. Perhaps the DMV can offer advise with your registration issue. Have you researched the law and read it completely? Is it a state regulation to deny registration for a non safety related recall or a local DMV office misunderstanding? Is the recall listed with the NHTSA as a safety issue or just a free repair to prevent future reliability problems?
A "lemon law" lawyer likely can't help you because the truck and/or issues are "too old". Vehicle issues must occur within a certain timeframe after the purchase and the true issue is not really with Ram. The truck is still drivable, but the legal issue is with the state regulations.
 

Scottly

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Additionally, and this is a big one, you have threatened legal action against the people that's job it is to help you escalate. They will no longer help you based simply on that, seen it time and time again. The case is now flagged and they will now defer to their legal team for communications with your lawyer.
He threatened legal action, and now that is what he will get. Let this be a lesson to all the "sue 'em" crowd.
 

Snow Wanderer

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After just getting hung up on by a Ram Customer care representative, I do not know what to do here. I'd like the community's advice here.

TLDR; I have had a vehicle that is under warranty and cannot be registered with the state due to recalls that Ram has been negligent on for 5 months. I have been completely blown off. What would you do?

Back story - I have a 2019 Ram 2500 CTD and live in California. Recall W03 (transmission valve body) is open on my vehicle. I went to reregister my vehicle with the state and was informed that I cannot, due to an open recall. I contacted my local dealership, Thompson CDJR out of Placerville California, and scheduled an appointment.

1st attempt at making an appointment is in September 2022. About a month later, at the time of the appointment, I was told they did not get the parts and the appointment must be rescheduled. I scheduled another appointment as soon as possible - about a month later.

2nd attempt, I simultaneously scheduled an appointment with Folsom CDJR. They did the same thing Thompson CDJR did. At the time of the appointment it was cancelled due to parts not being delivered to the dealership.

10-20-2022 I submitted two attempts at contacting Ram Cares through their submission form on their website about this issue explaining what just happened with both attempts at getting service. I never received any response. I got an email to rate the service I was given. I gave it all zeros since they ignored me.

11-8-2022 Ram Cares calls me in response to my poor review of their service. It was a Case manager named Kathy. I explain the whole situation to her. She confirmed that Ram does indeed have parts available and she then contacted Thompson CDJR and worked with them on coordinating parts and an appointment. Thompson CDJR called me and said they will get it done, and scheduled an appointment for 12-8-2022.

3rd Attempt, on 12-6-2022, 2 days before my 12-8-2022 appointment, Thompson CDJR calls me to tell me they don't have parts for the W03 recall. I reschedule ASAP. Closest date is 1-08-2023.

12-6-2022 I call Ram Cares and speak with a woman in which I explain the previous events, give her my case number, and ask her to have the Case Manager, Kathy, to call me back. NO PHONE CALL WAS RETURNED.

12-22-22 I called Ram Cares and spoke with a gentleman explaining my situation, gave him my case number, and told him to have my case manager call me back. NO PHONE CALL WAS RETURNED.

12-30-22 Ram Cares called me informing me that I have 3 open recalls and asks if I am willing to come in. I explain I have been more than willing and have made 3 attempts, but every time there has been a lack of parts being ordered. I explain that at this time I would like financial compensation since my vehicle has been deadlined due to Rams inability to perform the recall. He offers be "free tire rotations and oil changes"
I said I will have to consult lawyer at this point to seek advice.
He puts me on about a 8 second hold, comes back and says "All we can offer you is free tire rotations and oil changes. I am closing the case out at this time. Have a good day" and hangs up on me before I can respond.

1-08-2022 will be the 4th attempt at getting the recall done, and the 5th month that my truck will have been illegal to drive. I have been making payments on a vehicle that has been a brick in my front yard for 5 months and have been completely blown off by customer service.

What would you do??? I have made an incredible amount, and variety, of attempts to get this service completed and have been completely ignored. I feel like my only option is to seek a lawyer and pursue this legally. Keep in mind, my payment on this truck is ~$750 a month and it has been deadlined/unregisterable with the state for 5 months and illegal to drive.

This has been an absolutely terrible experience with Ram Customer Service.
My best suggestion, in all seriousness, is to move out of California. While RAM is dropping the ball, California is equally at fault.
 
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Green_Manalishi

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I've had better results abandoning any phone calls to the dealer, and just driving over and saying in summary, "Hello, service manager. Here's my issue and here's your chance to be a hero". Phone calls, social media, and forum posts might feel good, but nothing beats an eye to eye discussion.

I know you're not supposed to drive it, but you sure as heck cain't tow it over there.

Good luck.
 

Mittens

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Good idea previously mentioned to contact the lein holder. Wonder if they’d have anything to say. They certainly would rather OP not be in a situation that increases likelihood of not paying.

Insurance may care as well. Wonder if they would include this in coverage of some sort.
 

Pweld19

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We too are FED UP WITH DODGE CUSTOMER SERVICE. In August we went to a dealership to purchase two new fobs for our 2012 Ram 3500. My wife's now is no longer working. She did a chat with Dodge and was told that Yes, there is a two year warranty and to bring it to a dealership. We did this, and got the run around from Service to Parts and back to Service. We did not at the time have the receipt from the original dealership as we are snowbirds and in a different state. The current dealership we are dealing with that ran us back and forth would not accept the charge listing from our charge card. We did receive the original copy of the receipt from the Original dealership where the fobs were bought. My wife then called Dodge Ram Customer Service which she explained the situation with the fobs. The first female from Customer Service did not think that there was a two year warranty. She put my wife and hold. Then, found she was transferred to another Dodge Ram Customer Service agent. This agent stated that we had to get the fob back to the ORIGINAL dealership and THEY would then have to put in a Claim for a repair or replacement of the Fob. My wife then called the Original Dodge Dealership where we bought the fobs and told by that dealership that Customer Service DOES NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT. So, now unfortunately, since we need the fob to work, we will have to go back to the dealership that gave us the run around at the dealership and hand them the receipt. Hope that this resolves it but we will NOT hold our breaths. It appears that Customer Service including Ram Customer Service is no longer caring and are just there to collect a pay check.
 

Jeff400650

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I'm sorry to hear this. I have the same truck, and have talked to my local dealer in CA several times over several months about the fuel pump recall. They keep saying I'm on the list, and they will call me when they get parts. The truck is good, but I am not confident on the long trips that it won't just give out. It did not occur to me that I may not be able to register it.
 

JW2 Innovations

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We too are FED UP WITH DODGE CUSTOMER SERVICE. In August we went to a dealership to purchase two new fobs for our 2012 Ram 3500. My wife's now is no longer working. She did a chat with Dodge and was told that Yes, there is a two year warranty and to bring it to a dealership. We did this, and got the run around from Service to Parts and back to Service. We did not at the time have the receipt from the original dealership as we are snowbirds and in a different state. The current dealership we are dealing with that ran us back and forth would not accept the charge listing from our charge card. We did receive the original copy of the receipt from the Original dealership where the fobs were bought. My wife then called Dodge Ram Customer Service which she explained the situation with the fobs. The first female from Customer Service did not think that there was a two year warranty. She put my wife and hold. Then, found she was transferred to another Dodge Ram Customer Service agent. This agent stated that we had to get the fob back to the ORIGINAL dealership and THEY would then have to put in a Claim for a repair or replacement of the Fob. My wife then called the Original Dodge Dealership where we bought the fobs and told by that dealership that Customer Service DOES NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT. So, now unfortunately, since we need the fob to work, we will have to go back to the dealership that gave us the run around at the dealership and hand them the receipt. Hope that this resolves it but we will NOT hold our breaths. It appears that Customer Service including Ram Customer Service is no longer caring and are just there to collect a pay check.
Maybe too late - but future:

If you need a fob to work today - and don't have a single one working, call around for a locksmith to come to you, program 1 fob, and that will get going today. Cheapest route if you call several and find the deal vs. going to a dealer. Then you can go deal with the back and forth with dealerships later, and having a spare never hurts. Myself, I only deal with one dealer in my area that has two.

The credit card receipt for anything is not a receipt to prove you bought a specific item to a business to either return or gain warranty coverage. You could have bought anything there. You could have also bought them on ebay.....just saying.

The most cost effective method with fobs is to by AlphaOBD and the OBDLink MX+, and some fobs off of ebay that are the right type for your vehicle and state they are ready to program in the listing. You'll probably spend less for all of this, and then have AlphaOBD to diagnose and clear codes on your vehicle as needed for future. If you already have AlphaOBD and OBDLink MX+ then just get the fobs ready to program and do a search online for how to do. Easy stuff, I've done the hands free fobs for mine (GQ4-54T) and I know the other type fobs you put in the ignition work as well.
 

Vgbu56

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give Louis Liberty (the car lawyer) a call at 650-341-0300 he is semi retired, and he dislikes bad auto dealerships, and had a don't pay unless you win policy. I used him with a warranty issue 10 years ago and he got it settled. Good luck
 
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sacrcflyer

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If they are selling these vehicles they should have the parts to fix them when something goes wrong or maybe they should start putting several trucks worth of parts in their system so that when something breaks they have the parts to fix them.

My .02 worth
 

Daw14

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Follow the money

I would only deal with the dealership you bought it from. I would also deal directly with the bank whom lent you the money through financing. I would speak to the bank about your loan and explain to them that you purchased a vehicle through such-and-such dealership and that dealership is not allowing you to properly register the vehicle. Explain to the bank that until the dealership fulfills their end of the agreement you will not be paying another cent toward the agreement.

When you go this route, it is critical to followup each conversation with an email memorializing whom you spoke with and what was stated/agreed to. Way too many times people "forget" conversations and agreements.

I would also file a small claims court action against the dealership. I wouldn't expect much from this other than it shows you aren't some delinquent who just doesn't want to pay their bills.
Be very careful with this, you might just Jack your credit with this tactic.
 

Mittens

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Be very careful with this, you might just Jack your credit with this tactic.
My first thought about this was that it is not at all a course of action, but then remembered Steve Lehto (lemon lawyer on youtube) did a vid about how the lien-holder does have a duty of some kind. I forget the specifics, but a guy bought an incredibly expensive mower and the manufacturer went out of business. He had a big issue that would have been covered under warranty, but the bank had to fix it since there was no more company. It sounded like a fairly routine story too. The bank rep said something like "Oh, I see what happened. Just sue us and we'll pay the loan off."

I'm guessing you'd definitely want to keep the bank as a close friend.
 

JCE

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Be very careful with this, you might just Jack your credit with this tactic.
100%. Absolutely do NOT do this tactic. Your credit rating is too fragile to risk F'ing it up.
 
OP
OP
D

DStand

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Updated original post at the bottom. Here's a quote of the update.


1-4-2023 EDIT TO ADD additional info.
On 1-3-2023 my dealership called me to confirm my 4th appointment attempt for 1-4-2023. I asked "do you have parts available?" because the last time they called me to confirm my appointment and they didn't even realize they didn't have parts. Sure enough, they did not have parts and cancelled the appointment. I was told I will be called back when parts arrive. So I am left indefinitely without a legal vehicle.

I posted this thread on @RamCares profile page on 12-30-2022. They responded yesterday asking me to DM them. DM sent on 1-3-2023. No reponse yet.
 

RamCares

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I saw that one, just wondering if you followed up with them about parts after. Or any other dealers to make sure it isn't just this dealer dropping the ball on your truck.
Hello,

Should you wish to discuss any concerns with us, please send us a PM.

William
Ram Cares
 

NASCAR

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I can only reply with what I fought for 6 months with a new 2017 F150 concerning a safety Recall that required parts to make it safe to drive.
Sounds like you kept ALL paperwork since you purchased your vehicle which is what you MUST keep for records. I was put off by dealers (not their fault if repair parts weren’t manufactured yet) and got nowhere with vehicle manufacturer except promises for 6 months.
A very simple phone call to LEMON LAW PROS based in several offices in Ca. to discuss your issue and that you have lots of records to share. They may take your case then and there. It took awhile to make things right but the warranty and Lemon Laws will get you a loaner.
Long story short in my case which won’t be known until you call is that I was paid back every dime in payments since purchase, all rental was covered, the loan was paid off, the lawyer was paid well (nothing from me) and as soon as a new truck was delivered to me I wasn’t out anything except some time.
Good luck but my decision got me what was owed to me from the beginning. I’m glad I made that call.
 

nlambert182

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Keep documenting. We JUST got out of a 9 month battle between Ford corporate and our local dealership over our 2019 Expedition transmission. Short version... The dealer was supposed to do a recall, and ended up rebuilding the entire transmission because Ford is still redesigning the components and had figured out that the 3 TSBs on our trans was not fixing the problem with them jumping out of gear. So far we're out of pocket $4,000 that Ford is supposed to reimburse us, and once we got the car back we went exactly 88 miles before the transmission flopped and left us stranded again.

Eventually, instead of wanting a lawsuit (because the dealer lied to us multiple times in writing) the dealer bought the car back from us last week and we were able to walk away. AT LEAST the Ford rep said that because of our issues and similar ones with 19 other customers, they are about to issue a nationwide recall on the 10R80 transmissions. That will impact every F150, Ranger, Mustang, Expedition (and all the Lincoln counterparts). It's also shared in the GM platforms (a variant) as well and they're beginning to see some similar issues to go along with their lifter problems.

It's not just Ram. It seems like most manufacturers and dealerships are in the same boat now.
 
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