Drag Link Recall ... Video

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Mark Overholt

Junior Member
Joined
May 18, 2019
Posts
6
Reaction score
6
Location
California
Ram Year
2018
Engine
Cummins
Had my 18 RAM 2500 4x4 drag link recall completed yesterday, they spot welded the nuts. The front end is not the same, it has a slight pull to the right and the steering wheel is not straight. It was closing time last night when I picked it up and drove it home. I just can not believe this application is the fix, i’ll Be back to the dealer this morning. Very disappointed
 

Mark Overholt

Junior Member
Joined
May 18, 2019
Posts
6
Reaction score
6
Location
California
Ram Year
2018
Engine
Cummins
Yep, my 2500 was done yesterday, steering wheel not straight and pulls to the right. Will be back to dealership this morning. Very disappointed
 

crazy jerry

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2016
Posts
1,164
Reaction score
800
Location
WY
Ram Year
2016
Engine
6.4
the dealer welds that ive seen photos of are just shameful. 9yo kid with zero welding experience could of done better. why even attempt to do the job if you havent a single clue what your doing
 

TonyCO

Junior Member
Joined
May 16, 2019
Posts
22
Reaction score
14
Location
Castle Rock
Ram Year
2018
Engine
6.4L
Unreal. Bought the truck at a dealer about an hour away. They welded it with the steering wheel off center. So I took it to my local dealer and they couldn’t get it straight either (twice). So it’s been welded three times and it’s not right. This is a joke. I talked with the service guy and he says they will order a new arm in and call me when they get it. When I go back I’m going to see if they will use red locktite and not weld it. I’ll let you know.
 

GsRAM

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2016
Posts
2,929
Reaction score
2,743
Ram Year
2017 Dodge Ram 2500
Engine
Hemi, 6.4L
Unreal. Bought the truck at a dealer about an hour away. They welded it with the steering wheel off center. So I took it to my local dealer and they couldn’t get it straight either (twice). So it’s been welded three times and it’s not right. This is a joke. I talked with the service guy and he says they will order a new arm in and call me when they get it. When I go back I’m going to see if they will use red locktite and not weld it. I’ll let you know.


They likely won't. If you allow them to perform the recall they will have to weld the nuts because that what FCA says to do. If they deviate from that and yours comes loose, you wreck and get hurt or hurt someone else and that's found to be the reason...guess who gets sued? Unfortunate but that's the way it is in the litigious society we live in.

Other recent posters - I'm so sorry to hear your going through this.....its not right but is exactly as I feared and why i wont allow mine to be done.

Hope FCA is releasing a revised adjustable drag link....SOON!
 

Mark Overholt

Junior Member
Joined
May 18, 2019
Posts
6
Reaction score
6
Location
California
Ram Year
2018
Engine
Cummins
After taking back my truck yesterday, it is back to normal. The service manager admitted it was a couple degrees off. The risk is that once you take your vehicle to a large dealership that has 10 plus mechanics, you have no idea what one is going to work on your vehicle. I must say that if you are not satisfied with the work completed and take it back, they will put their best on it and if they are a reputable service center, the service manager will make sure it’s done right the second time.
 

chrisbh17

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2017
Posts
6,691
Reaction score
7,473
Ram Year
2017
Engine
Hemi 5.7
After taking back my truck yesterday, it is back to normal. The service manager admitted it was a couple degrees off. The risk is that once you take your vehicle to a large dealership that has 10 plus mechanics, you have no idea what one is going to work on your vehicle. I must say that if you are not satisfied with the work completed and take it back, they will put their best on it and if they are a reputable service center, the service manager will make sure it’s done right the second time.

Lol...thats what we have become.

Quality is job 2.
 

Fitz-0518

Veteran 66-68
Military
Joined
Feb 9, 2018
Posts
3,057
Reaction score
7,740
Location
Central California
Ram Year
2018 2500. 2018 1500
Engine
6.4 3.6
Gents, more customers need to fill out the NHTSA complaint form. Simple to do on line today. The Management at FCA/RAM who came up with this "defective part solution" should be terminated with prejudice today. This is disgusting. The average tech in these dealerships barely know how to light a torch. The horrible lump welding that is being done on that steering link today is insulting to the Brand and more importantly to you and I. But management says so what. Our average stupid customer will trade it in before they ever need an alignment. Why spend the money to fix it right. My POV Criminal automotive behavior.
 

crazy jerry

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2016
Posts
1,164
Reaction score
800
Location
WY
Ram Year
2016
Engine
6.4
Hope FCA is releasing a revised adjustable drag link....SOON!

just today i was looking at the new models and indeed there is a new draglink with no jam nuts or adjuster sleeve. basically just one pinch bolt near the pitman arm joint
 

crazy jerry

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2016
Posts
1,164
Reaction score
800
Location
WY
Ram Year
2016
Engine
6.4
Gents, more customers need to fill out the NHTSA complaint form. Simple to do on line today. The Management at FCA/RAM who came up with this "defective part solution" should be terminated with prejudice today. This is disgusting. The average tech in these dealerships barely know how to light a torch. The horrible lump welding that is being done on that steering link today is insulting to the Brand and more importantly to you and I. But management says so what. Our average stupid customer will trade it in before they ever need an alignment. Why spend the money to fix it right. My POV Criminal automotive behavior.

to be honest i cant so much blame the person who thought of or authorized the nut welding. if the adjuster assembly has a chance to pull apart under the right situation, it would make sense to weld the nuts to it. this would increase the length of thread engagement and thus require more force to pull it apart. still , a redesigned drag link is the better option and hopefully theyre working feverishly to get new ones pumped out, but i have a feeling fca could careless. maybe im wrong

far as im concearned, the finger should be pointed at the person, (who ever that may be) that failed to recognize alot of dealer techs probly have zero welding experience and have no business even attempting a weld procedure of any kind
 

Fitz-0518

Veteran 66-68
Military
Joined
Feb 9, 2018
Posts
3,057
Reaction score
7,740
Location
Central California
Ram Year
2018 2500. 2018 1500
Engine
6.4 3.6
to be honest i cant so much blame the person who thought of or authorized the nut welding. if the adjuster assembly has a chance to pull apart under the right situation, it would make sense to weld the nuts to it. this would increase the length of thread engagement and thus require more force to pull it apart. still , a redesigned drag link is the better option and hopefully theyre working feverishly to get new ones pumped out, but i have a feeling fca could careless. maybe im wrong

far as im concearned, the finger should be pointed at the person, (who ever that may be) that failed to recognize alot of dealer techs probly have zero welding experience and have no business even attempting a weld procedure of any kind
Yep and sadly, a great Brand continues to suffer from customer disappointment because FCA cannot/will not hold their parts suppliers accountable for inconsistent part quality. i.e. Exhaust parts, valve train parts, steering link, U connect circuit board.
 

RamCares

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2016
Posts
3,782
Reaction score
1,513
Location
Michigan
Ram Year
n/a
Engine
n/a
Unreal. Bought the truck at a dealer about an hour away. They welded it with the steering wheel off center. So I took it to my local dealer and they couldn’t get it straight either (twice). So it’s been welded three times and it’s not right. This is a joke. I talked with the service guy and he says they will order a new arm in and call me when they get it. When I go back I’m going to see if they will use red locktite and not weld it. I’ll let you know.

Hi TonyCO,
We are sorry to hear about your experience and would be happy to escalate a case for you! Please send our team a private message if you would like additional assistance!
Alex
Ram Social Care Specialist
 

Country gal

Junior Member
Joined
May 20, 2019
Posts
3
Reaction score
4
Location
Oregon
Ram Year
2014
Engine
Diesel
I called my dealer today after already calling when I got my first letter. I was told they were going to weld mine ( like hell they are ) I told him it is not acceptable he informed me that maybe just maybe they would have another recall. Well I was a service writer for years I have never seen such a poor excuse for a fix in my life it's like we and gonna weld it and you can deal with it after that . I bought my truck in 2024 new paid almost 50 k for it and you wanna give me a band-aid no way. I'm super disappointed and pissed it's not like we don't pay top dollar for these trucks so fix it . And btw I am looking into after market parts I spoke with my local Schwab dealer they are turning these trucks away for alignment after they have been welded won't touch them what does that tell us. He can't even find aftermarket parts for it right now seems everyone else has the same thoughts they are out of stock oh and on a final note the dealer told me if I refused to do the temp fix ram could void my warranty well it's a 14 with 32k miles my warranty is out any way. Sorry about the rant but I feel very taken advantage of . I don't take well to them telling me I have to do it then threatening me . Maybe they should give me my 50k back and keep the truck other than I love it
 

TonyCO

Junior Member
Joined
May 16, 2019
Posts
22
Reaction score
14
Location
Castle Rock
Ram Year
2018
Engine
6.4L
Ha. I went to an alignment guy too after the third weld didn’t fix the original nut. I didn’t say anything, just told them I wanted an alignment. They put it up and immediately told me they wouldn’t touch it.
 

Country gal

Junior Member
Joined
May 20, 2019
Posts
3
Reaction score
4
Location
Oregon
Ram Year
2014
Engine
Diesel
Ya that's all we need everyone to turn us away they don't want the liability. And I don't blame them come on Ram shame on you we are all loyal to you product and you pull this kinda crap. Maybe I should look at Ford or GMC
 

crazy jerry

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2016
Posts
1,164
Reaction score
800
Location
WY
Ram Year
2016
Engine
6.4
i suspect the new revised drag link on 2019 trucks will be installed on the older models as a permanent solution. until then , its probly a waiting game for parts suppliers to catch up with demand. this is where welding the nuts come into the eqation.

imo ,the risk of anything coming apart is likely very low unless theres a substantial impact
 

RoadRamblerNJ

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2017
Posts
2,256
Reaction score
2,390
Location
Knoxville, TN
Ram Year
2017
Engine
392 Hemi
Hi TonyCO,
We are sorry to hear about your experience and would be happy to escalate a case for you! Please send our team a private message if you would like additional assistance!
Alex
Ram Social Care Specialist
Alex,
If by "additional assistance" you mean repair this problem the right way by replacing the faulty part(s), I believe we ALL would like that.

I don't understand why the wheel has to get squeeky before it is greased. By that, I mean a loyal customer has to be brought to the point he will never purchase another FCA product ever again. I know I won't.

The parts to take care of every single truck out there ARE AVAILABLE, they're just off limits. FCA needs them to build more trucks. That's BS! Every one of the "new and improved" drag links should be put into our potentially unsafe vehicles until they are all done. Then and only then you can start the production line back up. I bet that would happen real quick if a court ordered it to be so.

My dealership told me they couldn't perform the safety recall because parts were not available. They did NOT weld what was there. I was NOT told to park my truck for an undetermined time. Now, if I crash because of this, who is at fault? If you said FCA, you are correct.

It seems to me that FCA has you guys reading all these posts and just piping up when someone gets really pissed. That is not your fault and I do not aim this criticism at you, I aim it directly at the person in FCA that came up with this "solution". A solution that won't slow down new truck sales, but might just kill a family here or there. I say again, it's a BS decision.

When do you think I'll get that call that my new part(s) are in? Please let me know.
 

RamCares

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2016
Posts
3,782
Reaction score
1,513
Location
Michigan
Ram Year
n/a
Engine
n/a
Alex,
If by "additional assistance" you mean repair this problem the right way by replacing the faulty part(s), I believe we ALL would like that.

I don't understand why the wheel has to get squeeky before it is greased. By that, I mean a loyal customer has to be brought to the point he will never purchase another FCA product ever again. I know I won't.

The parts to take care of every single truck out there ARE AVAILABLE, they're just off limits. FCA needs them to build more trucks. That's BS! Every one of the "new and improved" drag links should be put into our potentially unsafe vehicles until they are all done. Then and only then you can start the production line back up. I bet that would happen real quick if a court ordered it to be so.

My dealership told me they couldn't perform the safety recall because parts were not available. They did NOT weld what was there. I was NOT told to park my truck for an undetermined time. Now, if I crash because of this, who is at fault? If you said FCA, you are correct.

It seems to me that FCA has you guys reading all these posts and just piping up when someone gets really pissed. That is not your fault and I do not aim this criticism at you, I aim it directly at the person in FCA that came up with this "solution". A solution that won't slow down new truck sales, but might just kill a family here or there. I say again, it's a BS decision.

When do you think I'll get that call that my new part(s) are in? Please let me know.

Hi RoadRamblerNJ,
I cannot determine when parts will arrive at your dealership. However, I would be happy to escalate a case for you and other forum members concerning this. This process connects you and your dealer to a case specialist who has access to the best information to assist you. If this is something you would be interested in, please send our team a private message and we would be happy to get this process started for you.
Alex
Ram Social Care Specialist
 

TonyCO

Junior Member
Joined
May 16, 2019
Posts
22
Reaction score
14
Location
Castle Rock
Ram Year
2018
Engine
6.4L
You guys keep talking about loyal customers. I NEVER thought I would buy a MOPAR. I needed more than my 1/2 Ton F150 Ecoboost to pull my new travel trailer. I picked up a 2018 Tradesman because the price was so much better than Ford or GM. I’ve had this truck a few weeks with about 1,000 miles on it and man am I not a loyal customer. I think this truck was a great value, but if this is stuff I can expect from Ram I’m not feeling so good about this purchase.
 
Last edited:
Top