66RFE Experience

[mtofell]

1) I shouldn't have read this thread.

2) was the 66RFE limited to 12-15? Ram's website says my '18 has a 66RFE

If you have a 6spd it's an RFE. @GsRAM timeline is roughly my understanding too. People were REALLY longing for the 8spd and Ram really seemed to drag their feet. I also agree to not worry too much. Be aware of potential problems but remember the old theory about how people only come to message boards to post problems and there are A LOT of these trucks rolling around without any.

 

[olyelr]

Yep, HD gassers got the 8 speed in ‘19. The diesel still has the 6.

 

[Osage Buildings]

One of the beautiful parts of having a Lifetime Warranty is I don't know or care why it failed.... for all I know the squirrels inside got tired and needed to be fed Just kidding... of course I care and am interested.

I know after the second rebuild it was still going into limp mode so they replaced the valve body. I'm not sure why they didn't start with that since it seems that is one of the many weak points.

First failure the "valve body accumulator plate" failed and shot metal all through the tranny and cooler. It was totally tore up by the time I drove it off the freeway and got to a safe place. From reading the invoice all the inside clutches and steels were replaced along with the cooler.

Funny aside.... I have a Jeep Cherokee as one of my company delivery vehicles and got a call from my employee today that the engine was revving up and down and the vehicle was barely moving. Got him to limp it to the dealer and I went and met him. 61K miles, 2 years old and the tranny is toast. These FCA trannies sure aren't like to the old Maytag Man I guess they built it just good enough to get past the 60K powertrain warranty. Luckily I bought another extended warranty.

I can't imagine the bean counters that price those warranties are too happy with me. I'm +/- $3500 paid for mine on two vehicles and will be well over 20K in benefit. I suppose my experience is not typical but I'm sure glad I bought them.

Out of curiosity what are the best extended warranties to buy for a ram??any help appreciated

 

[mtofell]

Out of curiosity what are the best extended warranties to buy for a ram??any help appreciated

Pretty much the factory backed ones from Mopar or nothing. Third-party warranties are notorious for having "weasel clauses" that get them out of everything. And you can buy one from pretty much any dealer. Not just the one you buy the truck from. There are a couple that really go for it and offer great prices.

One method is to price shop and have a number in mind when you go to buy. That way you can put the cost into your loan, etc. (not that I think that's a good idea... it's just possible). The guys in the little finance office make a killing selling warranties at 2-3X+ what you can get them elsewhere for.

 

[2003F350]

Out of curiosity what are the best extended warranties to buy for a ram??any help appreciated

@mtofell has it right - buy a Mopar warranty or don't buy one. Depending on the level of coverage, the Mopar ones will cover just about anything except wear parts, but even that has an asterisk - if there is a material defect or they're installed wrong by the service department they'll cover it, but it's got to be proven that one of those things happened. For instance, on my '17 'Wagon they offered the Lifetime MaxxCare (I think now they only go out to 8 years?) and it was $100 deductible any time I went in with an issue, and as long as it wasn't a wear item or a cosmetic issue (they won't replace your cruise switches/radio because the letters wore off, for example) it was covered. I only used it a few times but it paid for itself, because that $100 deductible covered EVERY issue you came in with on that service ticket...so usually I'd have them look at several things at once if they weren't serious issues. I know someone who had the same warranty on an older truck and had 2 engines replaced due to lifter failure.

On the flip side, my in-laws once had a third-party extended warranty on a Cadillac. It sucked a head gasket, and it was determined that the threaded insert in the aluminum block (which was how GM built the Northstar engines) pulled out and allowed the leak. Well the warranty company considered that a fastener, and fasteners weren't covered by the extended warranty - they were even able to tell my FIL exactly where on his warranty paperwork it spelled it out. That put him on the hook for the repair.

Third-party ones aren't worth the paper they're written on. The Mopar-backed ones are a good peace of mind insurance - you may never use it, but if you need it it'll actually cover things.

 

[mtofell]

and fasteners weren't covered by the extended warranty

LOL.... that's awesome So, basically it doesn't cover anything that is held together. Yep, exactly why third party warranties suck.

 

[2003F350]

LOL.... that's awesome So, basically it doesn't cover anything that is held together. Yep, exactly why third party warranties suck.

Yeah, basically if a hard part didn't actually break, the warranty was not going to cover it. Turned me off from third party warranties forever.