2016 Ram 1500 ABS Module replacement

[KDMc]

Helping my daughter with the ongoing ABS nightmare and not ready to feel defeated yet. That part is still in engineering review for the foreseeable future and may not be available until late next year. I've called every Dodge/Chrysler/Ram customer service line I can to see what Dodge is going to do to take care of the customers with this problem. All have told me that there's nothing they can do to help with rental car coverage. The dealer doesn't have any loaner cars available, and even if they did, they wouldn't loan one out for months. She's already had the ABS module replaced two years ago after the lights came on and the brakes locked up. It was a rebuilt part, but seemed to function okay - until last week. The lights came on again and she took it to an independent auto shop, the same one that replaced it two years ago for $1300. This time they said they can't find a rebuild and wouldn't recommend it at this point for that price point. They advised she not drive the truck due to safety concerns. I was helping her call around to find more information on this and all the dealers said hundreds of owners are facing the same issue due to the national backorder on this part and no ETA on when a newly designed one will be available. Bottom line is that Chrysler is not doing anything to make it right by the customer. Hundreds of owners cannot get a rental without paying for it and who can possibly afford months of rental costs? There are currently a couple of class action lawsuits on this, but it appears it is for the 2017-1018 2500/3500 models. The NHTSA has not issued a recall, but I did file a complaint. The dealership said it has more weight if the customer will complain, but I question that. The dealers are the ones selling the brand and if they complain enough to the headquarters it just might get some action. The dealers are the bread and butter of the manufacturer and every single one of them should file a complaint with the NHTSA because it's the volume of complaints that gets the attention. Owners should file a complaint. But at this point, Chrysler could care less. They are leaving owners stranded with no support whatsoever. And this problem is due to no fault of the driver. It is a design defect and they should make it right. They should provide rental car coverage until the new ABS module is manufactured - IF it ever is. I'm livid that people who have spent their hard earned money are being treated this way. One dealership said they are telling their customers that they can drive their vehicle after the diagnostic work has been done to confirm the failure of the ABS module. I questioned their decision to tell customers that and they said, "Well, I don't want them to not have a car to drive." ???? I told the service advisor that it is a liability issue on his part to tell the public it's safe to drive when the reality is that when the module fails, it can (and has) result in either the brakes locking during braking or causing extremely hard braking. These actions can result in the worse case scenario of an accident and I told the service advisor that he needed to think about what he would say if he was told by a driver that they had an accident due to brake failure and why were they told it was safe to drive? That's a huge liability and risk to take. Two other dealerships and an independent auto shop advised not driving it with the ABS light on. One dealership even told me that some people have reported this to their insurance company and it is being totaled because the vehicle is not driveable according to the insurance company. I am at my wits end with trying to get some kind of satisfactory resolve in this matter.

 

[Sherman Bird]

Back in the 50's, the Civil Aeronautical Board (CAB), Predecessor to the FAA, had investigators going to lunch with Airplane manufacturers executives. Talk about conflict of interest! One has to ponder, eh?

 

[TRich1]

KDMc, I’m have the same issue and I just bought my 2015 Ram 1500 a few months ago. This is ridiculous to have to wait on a part that long.

 

[DaSOB]

I have exactly the same problem. My truck is a 2015 Ram Big Horn 5.7L Hemi. My ABS module is malfunctioning but I cannot find any place on God's green Earth that carries the correct one. I did find one place that will repair them so hopefully I can get that done, but that is my only hope.

It is absurd for Mopar to discontinue this module. I have sent them an email saying that, but I expect to get some kind of canned "Thank you for your interest in Chrysler products. We value your input..." response... if I even get one. In the interim, I have no ABS and no cruise control.

Like hundreds, if not thousands, of other Ram owners, I am thoroughly outdone over the fact that Chrysler would strand paying customers by DC'ing a vital component. I don't think they care though.

Addendum - I had a chat with a Mopar representative and this is what I was told:

"Upon checking on the part number that you've provided, we are unable to maintain a complete inventory for an indefinite period of time and the lower the demand, the less likely it is we will have stocked parts. As such, the part you are requesting is no longer in our inventory."

Thousands of Ram owners who paid tens of thousands of dollars for their vehicles aren't worth Mopar's trouble in keeping an inventory of a vital part? This is BS of the highest order.

 

[Fake-Account27]

Damn, this is the 4th new thread I have read on this just today. Mine is currently a local Diesel shop with the same issue. Look at my comment history for some links that may help to fix.

I agree with your frustration though, this is my first and likely last Ram truck for this reason. @RamCares if you read this, you will be losing a lot of customers over this issue.

 

[Sherman Bird]

Damn, this is the 4th new thread I have read on this just today. Mine is currently a local Diesel shop with the same issue. Look at my comment history for some links that may help to fix.

I agree with your frustration though, this is my first and likely last Ram truck for this reason. @RamCares if you read this, you will be losing a lot of customers over this issue.

Well, you'd be saying this too about Ford and GM Trucks. They have the same problem... and the strike has exacerbated the issue. I've had a little better luck with Ford, FWIW.
I'm running into many unavailable parts daily, especially ABS modules for all brands, for GM, Ford, etc.
It's frustrating.

 

[DaSOB]

Damn, this is the 4th new thread I have read on this just today. Mine is currently a local Diesel shop with the same issue. Look at my comment history for some links that may help to fix.

I agree with your frustration though, this is my first and likely last Ram truck for this reason. @RamCares if you read this, you will be losing a lot of customers over this issue.

Contact this company: www.CircuitBoardMedics.com. They rebuild these modules. I have a quote request in with them right now. You send in your module, they repair it, then you just put it back on your vehicle. No initialization or programming necessary since it is your module.

 

[Fake-Account27]

Well, you'd be saying this too about Ford and GM Trucks. They have the same problem... and the strike has exacerbated the issue. I've had a little better luck with Ford, FWIW.
I'm running into many unavailable parts daily, especially ABS modules for all brands, for GM, Ford, etc.
It's frustrating.

Unavailable parts I get, but to be on the 3rd engineering design for this part I do not.

 

[DaSOB]

Unavailable parts I get, but to be on the 3rd engineering design for this part I do not.

There is a class action lawsuit involving the modules for 2017 and 2018 Rams. https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit...aulic-control-units-antilock-braking-systems/

 

[Sherman Bird]

Unavailable parts I get, but to be on the 3rd engineering design for this part I do not.

The engineering change is what it is. I had trouble getting a power brake booster (vacuum) on a 2013 Suburban 1500 yesterday. The strike was blamed.

 

[DaSOB]

The engineering change is what it is. I had trouble getting a power brake booster (vacuum) on a 2013 Suburban 1500 yesterday. The strike was blamed.

Thanks, Sherman. Hopefully they will have that part available in the foreseeable future. In the meantime, I can at least drive my truck.

 

[04fxdwgi]

Well, you'd be saying this too about Ford and GM Trucks. They have the same problem... and the strike has exacerbated the issue. I've had a little better luck with Ford, FWIW.
I'm running into many unavailable parts daily, especially ABS modules for all brands, for GM, Ford, etc.
It's frustrating.

These moduls for all the car companies are probably all made by the same plant, much like the electric PS racks.

 

[NCRaineman]

Have we checked local junk yards and pick-and-pull places?

 

[Sherman Bird]

There is a class action lawsuit involving the modules for 2017 and 2018 Rams. https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit...aulic-control-units-antilock-braking-systems/

Yeah... class action law suit. I was a member of a class action involving MBNA and

These moduls for all the car companies are probably all made by the same plant, much like the electric PS racks.

Remember the Toyota debacle about runaway drive by wire cars? The California Trooper who was killed and his family was with him and they perished too? That was the nitro glycerin for much ado.
The same vendor made all the APP units for the car companies... to each particular company's engineering specs. Toyota was the lone wolf in NOT including a "return to idle" default in the event of a failure (The domestics had people unhappy that their cars would idle only). Toyota blamed the driver, the floormat, and the tooth fairy.

The U.S. government fined them heavily for their obvious attempts at dodging culpability. They the recalled and fixed the affected cars.

 

[DaSOB]

Well, I got a quote request form from Circuit Board Medics - I have to send the module for evaluation and quote. I had contacted the repair shop to ask if the vehicle could be driven with the module off, and the mechanic opined that it could, although I would need to cover the connectors on the HCU to keep dirt out. So I pulled the module... and the truck will not allow me to shift out of park with the module off. I decided to put the module back on for the time being, and after Thanksgiving I will send it to CBM. I'll just spring for a rental until I get it back.

 

[06 Dodge]

These moduls for all the car companies are probably all made by the same plant, much like the electric PS racks.

CHINA

 

[Sherman Bird]

Unavailable parts I get, but to be on the 3rd engineering design for this part I do not.

That's the reality in modern automotive manufacturing. So much engineering is outsourced and there are many oversights and SNAFU's. I can think of numerous components in Ford and GM which have been revised and redesigned several times. The 4R100 trans behind the 7.3 Powerstroke was redesigned 4 times that I'm aware of, perhaps more.

I recently had to use a Cardone reman ABS module on my S10 Blazer. The red "Brake" and yellow "ABS" warning light would just pop on intermittently. GM discovered several cracked solder joints on the circuit board due to the removal of lead from solder. They issued a TSB about it. The circuit board was/is concealed by epoxy, so lay people can't fix them. I fixed many Ford instrument clusters where the odometer reading would come and go by removing the cluster and resoldering the cracked joints. I still have a small amount of lead based solder from many years ago. When it's gone.... too bad.

 

[DaSOB]

NT

 

[DaSOB]

Have we checked local junk yards and pick-and-pull places?

Yep, I've worked my google-fu to death, scoured the Internet for pick 'n' pull sites, but none of them have any of these listed. Apparently they have been cleaned out already by other Ram owners.

 

[DaSOB]

These moduls for all the car companies are probably all made by the same plant, much like the electric PS racks. China.

They're marked "Made in Mexico", but undoubtedly the components come from China.