Are All Diesel Rams Affected By The Recall

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Mohican69

Member
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Aug 6, 2016
Posts
57
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Ram Year
2014
Engine
Pentastar
Over the weekend I found the perfect truck for me. It's a 2018 Ram Longhorn with the 3.0 liter diesel. I don't tow much but my daily commute is over 120 miles round trip. I especially like it because it's a Laramie so it's fully loaded. I became a Ram fan when I got my current 2014 Big Horn. It's been a great truck. Way better than the Silverados that I always bought in the past. I was set to pull the trigger when I started seeing posts about a massive recall affecting these diesel models. The EGR system (no surprise) has manufacturing defects where cooling can leak into the motor causing a fire. I plugged the VIN into the NHTSA site and it came up clean but Ram might not have gotten to it yet. I was just wondering if anyone on here knew if this recall affected all trucks for those years or if some were good to go.
 

Arth

Senior Member
Military
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Jan 15, 2013
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Ram Year
2022 Ram 3500 Crew Cab Limited 4x4
Engine
6.7 HO Cummins Turbo Diesel
Over the weekend I found the perfect truck for me. It's a 2018 Ram Longhorn with the 3.0 liter diesel. I don't tow much but my daily commute is over 120 miles round trip. I especially like it because it's a Laramie so it's fully loaded. I became a Ram fan when I got my current 2014 Big Horn. It's been a great truck. Way better than the Silverados that I always bought in the past. I was set to pull the trigger when I started seeing posts about a massive recall affecting these diesel models. The EGR system (no surprise) has manufacturing defects where cooling can leak into the motor causing a fire. I plugged the VIN into the NHTSA site and it came up clean but Ram might not have gotten to it yet. I was just wondering if anyone on here knew if this recall affected all trucks for those years or if some were good to go.

Yes it effects all trucks up to 2018. I think it was VB1. I just traded my 2018 and it was on the recall hit list as well. Parts are almost nonexistent though. Personally I just popped the hood every time I filled it up and kept and eye on the coolant level. Long as you've got coolant it isn't leaking. Get on the waiting list for the recall.

That being said have you driven that truck yet? After the AEM (Approved Emissions Modification) in 2016 it really hurt the performance of the Eco Diesel while cold. I had to get mine tuned by GDE (Green Diesel Engineering) just to make it livable.

I'd recommend driving it and seeing what you think. Personally, if you've got the time, I'd hunt for a 2019+ new body style Ecodiesel. The tuning is much better on those from the factory.
 

John Jensen

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2016
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Location
San Diego County
Ram Year
2016
Engine
Ecodiesel
VB-1 is for 2014-2019 to replace the EGR cooler. Mine was completed in May.

Here's a brief FCA description:

The Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) cooler on your truck [1] may be susceptible to thermal fatigue. Thermal fatigue may cause the cooler to crack internally over time. An EGR cooler with an internal crack will introduce pre-heated, vaporized coolant to the EGR system while the engine is running. In certain circumstances, this mixture interacts with other hydrocarbons and air in the system, potentially resulting in combustion within the intake manifold, which may lead to a vehicle fire.
A vehicle fire may increase the risk of injury to occupants and persons outside of the vehicle, as well as property damage.
 

blahargoue

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Mar 9, 2020
Posts
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Location
Arnold, CA
Ram Year
2017
Engine
EcoDiesel
I just traded my '17 Laramie EcoDiesel in on a 2020 with the Hemi E-Torque. I wanted a higher tow rating. I went from an 8k tow rating to nearly 12k.

I really liked my EcoDiesel. I had 67k miles on it when I traded it in. I primarily used it commuting between homes, about 600 miles round trip. It never gave me a problem and delivered 26 to 27 mpg on long highway runs. I also towed a 25' travel trailer with it about 20% of the time and did OK. 11 to 12 mpg with adequate power.

Your are referring to the EGR cooler recall that I think it applies to all EcoDiesels of that generation. I got the recall notice that said, just keep watch for coolant loss until parts are available. The next notice said that parts were available.

I called 4 local dealers once I got the second notice. They all pretty much laughed and said they wished FCA hadn't put out the second notice. They said it would be at least another year before they could get the part IF MINE HAD NOT YET FAILED. They said that parts were available for those trucks that could not be driven due to the failure. They said it would take about 1 to 2 months to get the parts for those trucks.

I was told to keep driving it until it failed. I asked about the potential for a catastrophic engine failure and was told that if it were caused by the defect, they would replace the engine.

I bought a larger trailer in the mean time and decided to trade it in. Get this, I bought mine right after the emission scandal had been cleared up. I paid $33k brand new for the truck ($54k MSRP). A Ram dealer in Placerville, CA gave my $31k trade in for my EcoDiesel on my new Laramie which they had discounted nearly $10k off of MSRP. I would have been crazy for not trading it in. My '17 turned out to be nearly a free truck.
 

Ransom

Junior Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2018
Posts
25
Reaction score
13
Location
Arizona
Ram Year
2015
Engine
VMI 3.0 TD
Over the weekend I found the perfect truck for me. It's a 2018 Ram Longhorn with the 3.0 liter diesel. I don't tow much but my daily commute is over 120 miles round trip. I especially like it because it's a Laramie so it's fully loaded. I became a Ram fan when I got my current 2014 Big Horn. It's been a great truck. Way better than the Silverados that I always bought in the past. I was set to pull the trigger when I started seeing posts about a massive recall affecting these diesel models. The EGR system (no surprise) has manufacturing defects where cooling can leak into the motor causing a fire. I plugged the VIN into the NHTSA site and it came up clean but Ram might not have gotten to it yet. I was just wondering if anyone on here knew if this recall affected all trucks for those years or if some were good to go.

If your VIN doesn't show up either it was done or your not included, don't worry about it.
 

chri5k

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Supporting Member
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Location
USA
Ram Year
2016
Engine
Diesel
VB-1 is for 2014-2019 to replace the EGR cooler. Mine was completed in May.

Here's a brief FCA description:

The Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) cooler on your truck [1] may be susceptible to thermal fatigue. Thermal fatigue may cause the cooler to crack internally over time. An EGR cooler with an internal crack will introduce pre-heated, vaporized coolant to the EGR system while the engine is running. In certain circumstances, this mixture interacts with other hydrocarbons and air in the system, potentially resulting in combustion within the intake manifold, which may lead to a vehicle fire.
A vehicle fire may increase the risk of injury to occupants and persons outside of the vehicle, as well as property damage.

Emphasis added above. As opposed to riding in truck that is not on fire? I guess lawyers write this stuff.
 
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