$70k Truck Falling Apart at 38k Miles

[dtru1222]

The leather dashboard has completely peeled and looks terrible even from the outside, sun visor just dropped out of the holder and I cant use it, girlfriend tried to close the tailgate once and the whole thing came off, sun roof and bed light leaks water, alignment from the factory was so off after 10k easy miles that it took them a whole day to fix and the steering wheel has been tilted right ever since, parking sensors go off randomly sometimes throwing the brakes and making loud noises when theres nothing around, in 2wd sharp turns/reverse the truck stops and I have to give it gas and it feels like its doing the 4w hop, at stop lights it randomly seems the break is applied and wont roll forward, I have to give it gas to BUMP it out of whatever is holding it back then its always TOO much gas... All this and I am not even going into the issues with the 12 inch stereo system.

I have been a long time owner/member of the forums. I have owned Dodge/Ram trucks and cars since the 90's and always had good things to say about them. I purchased a 2020 1500 Limited with every option except the ones I didnt want and its been the worst quality vehicle I have ever owned. The base models I used to have had very little problems.

The worst part is that all of this started happening as soon as the warranty ended. I just had someone hit my wheel while I was parked and decided to take it in to look at all the issues. $6,000 to fix it all.. Most of the issues I could have looked passed and just chalked it up to "things happen". The dashboard problem however, is absolutely inexcusable. Looking on the forums I see its a common issue. These are some of the highest trim levels available and the leather peeling off of the dashboard at such low miles/time is laughable. They want me to spend $3,000 to install the same poor quality dashboard only for it to go out in another 30k miles.

This will make me never buy another product from this company. It quickly went from being the best truck I have ever had, friends loving it, to explaining how a $70k truck is completely falling apart.

 

[KeithP]

Starting with a 2008 Honda Odyssey I have not owned a vehicle passed its warranty period. ^^^this is why.

 

[dtru1222]

Starting with a 2008 Honda Odyssey I have not owned a vehicle passed its warranty period. ^^^this is why.

Sounds like a good idea, just dont like the idea of putting cash down every few years and taking the off the lot devaulation.

 

[KeithP]

We sat down and figured up the repair bills for our old vehicles and decided we didn’t want to pour more money into junk. Would rather take the depreciation hit and drive new. Currently in a 22 1500 Laramie with 28k on the clock. Starting to look at 24s. Not sure what I’ll do after 24. Not going to own the Hurricane 6. May have to look at GMC or step up to a 2500.

 

[Scottly]

I bought my first new truck in 1994. Been trading them as the warranty expires, ever since. Not knowing all of your story, the part you are telling sucks and I feel bad for you. Having experienced such things on the service side, however, I wonder a lot of things about the issues you post. I'll not go into it...no point.

 

[dtru1222]

I bought my first new truck in 1994. Been trading them as the warranty expires, ever since. Not knowing all of your story, the part you are telling sucks and I feel bad for you. Having experienced such things on the service side, however, I wonder a lot of things about the issues you post. I'll not go into it...no point.

I would actually like to hear it from the service side.

 

[Scottly]

I would actually like to hear it from the service side.

Nothing personal...Not making allegations.... 1) I have had customers say to me, "This shouldn't be breaking...It's a new car" - It had 50K on it, so it's a used car. It's not new. It stopped being new the day they delivered it to you. It needs maintenance. These things aren't perpetual, they are machines...they break. 2) " alignment from the factory was so off after 10k easy miles that it took them a whole day to fix and the steering wheel has been tilted right ever since". The ONLY way an alignment goes out is if a part wears or a part bends/breaks. At 10K, probably not wear. Whatever, if they "aligned" it and the wheel is not centered, THAT is a technician issue, not a vehicle issue. Everything can be aligned properly, if the parts are functioning correctly and nothing is bent. Not saying you bent it...But if the alignment was out with 10K miles, something was probably bent or altered. Has this thing been lifted??? 3) " 2wd sharp turns/reverse the truck stops and I have to give it gas and it feels like its doing the 4w hop, at stop lights it randomly seems the break is applied and wont roll forward, I have to give it gas to BUMP it out of whatever is holding it back then its always TOO much gas" Lots of probable causes here, I won't speculate. At 38K, I have to assume it doesn't have the factory tires on it anymore...Were they replaced with a larger size? Tires hitting will cause this...As well as a host of other things. I'd be curious to see. 4) The dashboard...I'd raise hell about that with the dealer. 5) I once had a customer blow a motor apart at 55K miles, look me in the eye and tell me, "No one ever told me I was suppossed to change the oil...Where does it say that?" When I asked if they read the owners manual, they looked puzzled. Not saying you are THAT guy, but I've see enough of THAT GUY to know that there is always another side to the story I am reading on the interwebs. So, call me skeptical.

 

[ramffml]

The dashboard is a common issue, I'll definitely give you that one. The cheaper trims, like always, hold up better. It's one more reason I'm a fan of simple work trucks.

I feel your pain, just know that every brands forum out there has many stories like yours. You're not going to go to a Ford forum (for example), do a search for whatever problems you're looking for, and then come up empty. They all have their issues and flaws.

GM has terrible V8's, the worst in the segment by far.

Ford has a terrible 10 speed, much more clunky and jerky than the ZF 8 speed. Their eco boost engines have had issues in the past with moisture in the intercoolers, cam phaser problems, and the v8 had issues too (forget what).

Tundra has had many build issues (PickupTruck + SUV talk on YT has done a deep dive into it).

And so on.

Not saying you shouldn't jump ship, just saying: if you jump, be prepared that you might just end up breaking your second ankle instead of fixing the first one you broke.

 

[dtru1222]

Nothing personal...Not making allegations.... 1) I have had customers say to me, "This shouldn't be breaking...It's a new car" - It had 50K on it, so it's a used car. It's not new. It stopped being new the day they delivered it to you. It needs maintenance. These things aren't perpetual, they are machines...they break. 2) " alignment from the factory was so off after 10k easy miles that it took them a whole day to fix and the steering wheel has been tilted right ever since". The ONLY way an alignment goes out is if a part wears or a part bends/breaks. At 10K, probably not wear. Whatever, if they "aligned" it and the wheel is not centered, THAT is a technician issue, not a vehicle issue. Everything can be aligned properly, if the parts are functioning correctly and nothing is bent. Not saying you bent it...But if the alignment was out with 10K miles, something was probably bent or altered. Has this thing been lifted??? 3) " 2wd sharp turns/reverse the truck stops and I have to give it gas and it feels like its doing the 4w hop, at stop lights it randomly seems the break is applied and wont roll forward, I have to give it gas to BUMP it out of whatever is holding it back then its always TOO much gas" Lots of probable causes here, I won't speculate. At 38K, I have to assume it doesn't have the factory tires on it anymore...Were they replaced with a larger size? Tires hitting will cause this...As well as a host of other things. I'd be curious to see. 4) The dashboard...I'd raise hell about that with the dealer. 5) I once had a customer blow a motor apart at 55K miles, look me in the eye and tell me, "No one ever told me I was suppossed to change the oil...Where does it say that?" When I asked if they read the owners manual, they looked puzzled. Not saying you are THAT guy, but I've see enough of THAT GUY to know that there is always another side to the story I am reading on the interwebs. So, call me skeptical.

Thanks for the input. I was an Army mechanic and have been an enthusiast for over 20 years. I am well aware of "those guys" and everything you have stated. Yes, technically as soon as its driven off the lot its a used car, but at 10k miles it is still a very new vehicle. I dont have any input on the alignment other than I never hit/ran over anything. I have not lifted it or put different tires on it. I went the more expensive route and had the dealership put the exact same tires on it when it was time for them to be replaced.

 

[dtru1222]

The dashboard is a common issue, I'll definitely give you that one. The cheaper trims, like always, hold up better. It's one more reason I'm a fan of simple work trucks.

I feel your pain, just know that every brands forum out there has many stories like yours. You're not going to go to a Ford forum (for example), do a search for whatever problems you're looking for, and then come up empty. They all have their issues and flaws.

GM has terrible V8's, the worst in the segment by far.

Ford has a terrible 10 speed, much more clunky and jerky than the ZF 8 speed. Their eco boost engines have had issues in the past with moisture in the intercoolers, cam phaser problems, and the v8 had issues too (forget what).

Tundra has had many build issues (PickupTruck + SUV talk on YT has done a deep dive into it).

And so on.

Not saying you shouldn't jump ship, just saying: if you jump, be prepared that you might just end up breaking your second ankle instead of fixing the first one you broke.

Good point. I know all brands have their issues. I think I am most upset about this being the highest trim available at the time and everything is coming undone just as soon as the warranty is up. The dashboard part is infuriating..

 

[mikeru]

It doesn't matter whether you spent $70k or $40k on the truck. They're all made on the same assembly line, with no consideration from the people building them for how much someone might pay for it. You should be able to expect not to have the issues you mentioned after only 38k miles on any vehicle.

Though some of the issues are not the fault of the truck, as mentioned.

I wanted to add that my guess for the tailgate issue is your GF wasn't closing the tailgate properly. If you push on the wrong area of the tailgate it's easy to lift it off the hinge, especially if there's something laying across the tailgate when you're trying to close it. That happened to me once in fact on an older truck. I was closing the tailgate with 2x4's in the bed sticking out over the tailgate. When I lifted up on the tailgate I shifted my hands lower for more leverage and the tailgate came out of the hinge on the right hand side once it got to about 45 degrees. I suspect your GF did something similar.

 

[ramffml]

Correct on the tailgate, they are designed to lift out. If you pull the gate down part way and stop at the correct angle, the right side will then lift freely out of the hinge, and then you can unplug the wiring harness and pull the whole tailgate off without any fuss or tools.

It only works if you get the angle exact, you can't lift the right side out at just any angle.

It's a feature, not a bug!

 

[Bigskyroadglide]

Given your issues you should lease going forward and could turn in the lemon or decide to keep the "good" one.

 

[markabby]

Given your issues you should lease going forward and could turn in the lemon or decide to keep the "good" one.

true. we try to lease every 3 years, that way, if anything is wrong, it's not our problem (other than maybe body damage)

However, we did end up buying our 2020 at the end of our lease. It had 21k miles and at the time the interest rates to lease were too high and we got a better rate buying it. Hopefully, things will change in a few months and interest rates will drop to a level that everyone can afford. Those damn rates almost double the worth of the vehicle.

 

[Tulecreeper]

Nothing personal...Not making allegations.... 1) I have had customers say to me, "This shouldn't be breaking...It's a new car" - It had 50K on it, so it's a used car. It's not new. It stopped being new the day they delivered it to you. It needs maintenance. These things aren't perpetual, they are machines...they break. 2) " alignment from the factory was so off after 10k easy miles that it took them a whole day to fix and the steering wheel has been tilted right ever since". The ONLY way an alignment goes out is if a part wears or a part bends/breaks. At 10K, probably not wear. Whatever, if they "aligned" it and the wheel is not centered, THAT is a technician issue, not a vehicle issue. Everything can be aligned properly, if the parts are functioning correctly and nothing is bent. Not saying you bent it...But if the alignment was out with 10K miles, something was probably bent or altered. Has this thing been lifted??? 3) " 2wd sharp turns/reverse the truck stops and I have to give it gas and it feels like its doing the 4w hop, at stop lights it randomly seems the break is applied and wont roll forward, I have to give it gas to BUMP it out of whatever is holding it back then its always TOO much gas" Lots of probable causes here, I won't speculate. At 38K, I have to assume it doesn't have the factory tires on it anymore...Were they replaced with a larger size? Tires hitting will cause this...As well as a host of other things. I'd be curious to see. 4) The dashboard...I'd raise hell about that with the dealer. 5) I once had a customer blow a motor apart at 55K miles, look me in the eye and tell me, "No one ever told me I was suppossed to change the oil...Where does it say that?" When I asked if they read the owners manual, they looked puzzled. Not saying you are THAT guy, but I've see enough of THAT GUY to know that there is always another side to the story I am reading on the interwebs. So, call me skeptical.

That is the only part I'll disagree with you on. No way should any new factory tires - or any aftermarket tires, for that matter - wear out at only 38k miles. I have never had a set of tires last me less than than the warranty. Since I have never bought anything less than 50,000 mile tires, I have never gotten less than 50,000 miles from a set. And I'm talking about Big-O tires, not some set that ran me $2000.

edit: Maybe not "any", but most "decent" factory or aftermarket tires. I'm not talking about tires you can get for $300 a set.

 

[mikeru]

You've never bought a truck equipped with Bridgestone Duelers I'm guessing. They make a pretty good studless snow tire (Blizzak) but those Duelers are lucky to make it 30k miles for most people.

 

[Tulecreeper]

You've never bought a truck equipped with Bridgestone Duelers I'm guessing. They make a pretty good studless snow tire (Blizzak) but those Duelers are lucky to make it 30k miles for most people.

I already edited my above post. I will confess that I bought a set of Big-O tires for my '87 Ford Ranger back in about 1992 that every one of them started showing weird "bulging" at about 15k miles. I took it in to Big-O and the guy said it appeared they all were separating. They prorated me the 15k and gave me a new set of something else that lasted another 50k miles. And that little truck came with a set of factory Uniroyal Tiger Paws that had given me about 50k also.

 

[CanRebel]

Only thing I see based on what you wrote. Is the Dash.

They have been known to fix it after warranty. It might be too late, but I would still contact ram directly, or @RamCares and see what can be done about it.

The align part... I'd go with what @Scotty mentioned above. If it was factory issue, you would have had it at zero miles. Something happened between 0 and 10k miles.

Not sure you did this or not, but check if there are software updates? The stupid uconnect website is useless though. Always showed no update for my Truck, but there was.

 

[GTyankee]

I put a dash cover on my Ram, within a couple months after i bought it
Looks brand new & the truck is cooler

 

[jws123]

You have alot goin on there but when it comes to the sun roof You need to clean the drains every single vehicle that has a sun roof the drain requires regular maintenance a lot of people think its a seal when in reality you just need to clean the drain.