A bit of a rant

[WaterBoy1]

Not even sure if this rant will be justified. My truck is a 2014 Laramie 2500 6.4. On January 19 of this year, I was driving an hour and a half away from where we live, to our other house which had sold. I was going to pick up my 21' cargo trailer. Temperature outside about -20c. Truck has only about 65,000km on it.

About half way there, my coolant temp pegged to zero and my dash lit up with "service electronic throttle control". Truck still ran fine so I continued, as I had other things to do down there. Figured I wouldn't tow the trailer Just in case.

Took the truck to the dealer the following Monday, said it was the thermostat but they were on back order. The service advisor had spoken to FCA (I have full extended warranty) and they advised they wouldn't authorize the rental as it is still drivable. (Atlantic canada mid-winter with no heat. Yeah great) but oh well. It drove to work and back that week with no issues except it was damn cold!

Decided to make the hour and a half drive that weekend again figuring it's running fine. Figured it would be ok to tow the trailer. Got almost to the other house and the truck just crapped itself. Every light on the dash and it would just surge and not run.

Had it towed to the dealer. They said what happened was the throttle body froze because of the stuck thermostat. FCA advised them to authorize the rental this time. That was on January 26.

The thermostat is STILL on back order.

I love this truck, it has been virtually flawless for over 4 years. I can't find fault with how I've been treated. The issue I have is that it's been over 6 weeks waiting for the part with no end in sight. I mean it's a thermostat for gosh sakes. I'm sure glad they're paying for the rental. Its up over $2,000 now.

That's the end of my rant. Thanks for listening.

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[chrisbh17]

I'm amazed at just how many parts are on backorder, and for ridiculous amounts of time, too.

I wonder if you could find the tstat online and bring it to them? Or just fix it yourself if u had the means (I know they might try to use that to void everything, though)

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[WaterBoy1]

Good point, apparently they feel my pain at the dealership and have asked FCA if they can try to source an aftermarket part instead.

Haven't heard from them since Thursday when they told me that, so I'm guessing they haven't found one or FCA won't allow it. Not sure which.

The saga continues.

How in the heck does an every day part like a thermostat take over 6 weeks to get??

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[Fitz-0518]

OP can not say that this is the answer in your case, but it can be in others. When a manufacture is seeing a part failure trend they will some times diagnose the problem and make a change in that part. If they stop production of the faulty part or determine that they have a defective vendor run,,,the replacement part can take weeks to come on line and into the parts network. If the thermostat has a new part number or AD on the end,,that is the tell.
Frankly, a good aftermarket vendor like Gates who makes a application specific thermostat seems like a great, take care of this customer and get him warmed up solution.

 

[TMyers]

I have a friend that owns a bodyshop. They have a 2019 Ram 1500 there to fix frontend damage. The truck has 700 miles on it and it's been there over 2 months now. They can't get the parts to fix it. FCA didn't allow enough parts from truck production to fill replacement needs.

 

[Rado]

OP can not say that this is the answer in your case, but it can be in others. When a manufacture is seeing a part failure trend they will some times diagnose the problem and make a change in that part. If they stop production of the faulty part or determine that they have a defective vendor run,,,the replacement part can take weeks to come on line and into the parts network. If the thermostat has a new part number or AD on the end,,that is the tell.
Frankly, a good aftermarket vendor like Gates who makes a application specific thermostat seems like a great, take care of this customer and get him warmed up solution.

Great info. I never would have thought of that ! As for aftermarket and GATEs I work a PT retirement job at a Parts store and we have a ton of different types of thermostats and so far I have not seen any defect returns on them !

 

[Fitz-0518]

Yep suspect that the change over from assembly in Mx to Mich for the 2500 the first of the year may have Ram screwed up with their distribution. On thermostats my experience had been the same. They work just fine 95%+

 

[G. Mcpherson]

I read the other day the Move to the U.S. has been cancelled.

 

[jaflowers]

I'd insist the dealer pull the part off of a truck in their lot.

 

[chrisbh17]

I'd insist the dealer pull the part off of a truck in their lot.

I dont think I would expect that much, its not like we're borrowing an interior panel or something...you have to drain coolant, etc and then the truck is undriveable (I would like to see the dealer squirm if you ask for it, though!)

What I DONT see as over the top is asking for an approved aftermarket part. Its not like we're talking about a proprietary FCA thing....loads of good quality thermostats are out there. And they're damn cheap, too. If the dealer really wanted to help, they could put an aftermarket one in, send OP on his way and then claim it against warranty once the "real" thermostat comes in.

 

[olyelr]

At this point, I would just buy one and fix it myself.

https://www.officialwholesaleautopa...MIvvPMs4fk4AIVk4uzCh0kUgAuEAQYAiABEgL9GPD_BwE


https://www.bestmopar.com/oem-parts...MIvvPMs4fk4AIVk4uzCh0kUgAuEAQYAyABEgLE-fD_BwE

Or maybe take the part into them along with a box of doughnuts and say see ya at the end of the day lol

 

[chrisbh17]

Thats the other thing...if OP can " just order" the part, why cant a dealer? I know, warranty coverage, blah blah blah....so order one in, fix the truck then claim the work once FCA delivers the "backordered" 10.00 part

 

[WaterBoy1]

OP can not say that this is the answer in your case, but it can be in others. When a manufacture is seeing a part failure trend they will some times diagnose the problem and make a change in that part. If they stop production of the faulty part or determine that they have a defective vendor run,,,the replacement part can take weeks to come on line and into the parts network. If the thermostat has a new part number or AD on the end,,that is the tell.
Frankly, a good aftermarket vendor like Gates who makes a application specific thermostat seems like a great, take care of this customer and get him warmed up solution.

I definitely thought of this. Appreciate the info, and I was hoping one of the resident techs were going to chime in.

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[WaterBoy1]

I have a friend that owns a bodyshop. They have a 2019 Ram 1500 there to fix frontend damage. The truck has 700 miles on it and it's been there over 2 months now. They can't get the parts to fix it. FCA didn't allow enough parts from truck production to fill replacement needs.

Yikes! That would be a problem. Hopefully he has someone paying for a rental. As I said, not a whole lot I can complain about except I really want my truck back lol

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[WaterBoy1]

I dont think I would expect that much, its not like we're borrowing an interior panel or something...you have to drain coolant, etc and then the truck is undriveable (I would like to see the dealer squirm if you ask for it, though!)

What I DONT see as over the top is asking for an approved aftermarket part. Its not like we're talking about a proprietary FCA thing....loads of good quality thermostats are out there. And they're damn cheap, too. If the dealer really wanted to help, they could put an aftermarket one in, send OP on his way and then claim it against warranty once the "real" thermostat comes in.

Trust me, that went through my thought process. Then our last conversation I had with the dealer, they were going to see if they would be allowed to go aftermarket for the part so I never bothered pursuing it.

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[WaterBoy1]

Thanks for all the responses guys. Appreciate it! Always nice to hear the RF community opinions, and now at least I feel better I got all that off my chest!

I will definitely update if I hear from the dealer next week.

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[BlackWidow]

I'm amazed at just how many parts are on backorder, and for ridiculous amounts of time, too.

I wonder if you could find the tstat online and bring it to them? Or just fix it yourself if u had the means (I know they might try to use that to void everything, though)

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The problem is that the thermostat cannot be had from literally anywhere from anyone (dealer/online/local parts stores). I'm in need of a thermostat for my wife's Ram (same year and and engine as OP) and I'm just as screwed. I've called around to about a dozen different places from dealers to local parts stores and have been told the same thing, that they don't have the part and are expecting it to be fulfilled by the end of the month.

Someone posted links, to a few Mopar sites that showed the product, just not whether it was available or not. If they actually had stock I'd be surprised considering what I have been told up to this point.

Thats the other thing...if OP can " just order" the part, why cant a dealer? I know, warranty coverage, blah blah blah....so order one in, fix the truck then claim the work once FCA delivers the "backordered" 10.00 part

It's actually not a $10 part, it's actually a $112 part (MSRP at any rate). For whatever reason someone at FCA thought it would be a good ideal to integrate the thermostat with the housing and the sensor. What could go wrong if you have a failure in once of those three things...

I'd insist the dealer pull the part off of a truck in their lot.

Good luck getting any dealer to approve that regardless of the customer sat involved. At the current time it would render that vehicle unsellable for potentially a month or more.

 

[Fitz-0518]

This one nagged at me. Well,, look up thermostat for his 2014 (same for our 2018). Member's are right. It takes one of those brilliant "integrated" parts. $112 bucks. It is a housing, thermostat and heat sensor. Will bet dealers/tech desk have found a problem and once they are available they will have new part #.

 

[WaterBoy1]

The problem is that the thermostat cannot be had from literally anywhere from anyone (dealer/online/local parts stores). I'm in need of a thermostat for my wife's Ram (same year and and engine as OP) and I'm just as screwed. I've called around to about a dozen different places from dealers to local parts stores and have been told the same thing, that they don't have the part and are expecting it to be fulfilled by the end of the month.

Someone posted links, to a few Mopar sites that showed the product, just not whether it was available or not. If they actually had stock I'd be surprised considering what I have been told up to this point.




It's actually not a $10 part, it's actually a $112 part (MSRP at any rate). For whatever reason someone at FCA thought it would be a good ideal to integrate the thermostat with the housing and the sensor. What could go wrong if you have a failure in once of those three things...



Good luck getting any dealer to approve that regardless of the customer sat involved. At the current time it would render that vehicle unsellable for potentially a month or more.

Yep, you feel my pain lol. As I mentioned, at least they're paying for the rental.

I sort of wondered if it was more than "just" a thermostat. The way the "service electronic throttle control" came on at the same time seemed weird. The service advisor basically said the ETC can freeze when there is no heat.

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[BlackWidow]

Yep, you feel my pain lol. As I mentioned, at least they're paying for the rental.

I sort of wondered if it was more than "just" a thermostat. The way the "service electronic throttle control" came on at the same time seemed weird. The service advisor basically said the ETC can freeze when there is no heat.

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My wife's truck is sitting at the dealer now for a related but different issue. Her popped up P0734 for a gear ratio error in 4th gear. In talking with my buddy he seems to think it's related to the thermostat issue, the truck trying to hold a gear longer in an effort to get the engine to warm up. Of course we kinda f'd ourselves on the thermostat front when I had the wife clear the codes to see if that would make the vehicle drive-able the other day. It ultimately didn't work out and resulted in a tow into the local dealer.