isufanrrdh
Junior Member
Good day, first time poster. Hoping for some help and sorry for the long post.
1. I realize I don't have much of leg to stand on.
2. I have really liked by truck, but very frustrated.
3. I am not by any stretch of the imagination a "gearhead".
I own a 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn 5.7 (61k miles-5th Generation). I have owned it for 2 years and am the second owner. I have not had any issues outside of the gear in the automatic side mirror and the TPS sensors going out, but that is it. I have really enjoyed having the truck.
The Issue: Both Front Headlight assemblies need replaced, after working perfectly fine leading up to issue
Story: I live in the midwest and went on 1 week vacation of which my truck was parked outside. One detail I doubt matters is I did get a carwash the night before leaving for vacation). It got down to -10 degrees overnight and was facing the north in the country which means it was facing the wind while I was gone. When I got back. I then got in the vehicle. The first thing I noticed was my powerside step did not work- at this time I am thinking battery. I then pushed the break and tried to start my vehicle. The dash flickered followed by alot of what I would describe as "pops" from behind the dash. Then absolutely nothing from the vehicle, it was as dead as doorknob.
I then think I need a jump start. So I hook up jumper cables (correctly, I have been apart of probably 20 jump starts in my life), when it hooks up the wipers immediately start running followed by "humming" coming from the engine bay. This is the first "modern" vehicle I have owned and I have never heard a humming. I unplug the wiper relay as it was annoying and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then try to start and still dead as a doorknob. I then unplug the jumper cables and the humming stops. Try to start again nothing. I then hook up the jumper cables again and the humming starts again. I leave jumper cables on with other vehicle running for 20 minutes, try to start and still nothing. This time when I unhooked the cables the humming slowly came to a stop after 20 seconds.
Next I go get a trickle charger and hook that up for 5 minutes, and go in and try to start and I have power!!!! Great news. But would not turn over. I then reapplied the jumper cables and it started! This was great, I was able to drive home.
On the ride home I had several error codes (service front steering directed headlights, the automatic idle shutoff light, my radio had no volume, my center display did not work, and eventually got an error message (front headlights out).
When I got home I researched the issue, and everyone said to either unplug and re-attachment terminals for battery or get a new battery. I thought that was what I needed, but charged by battery on trickle charger for a couple hours. It started no-problem. The only error code that went away was the auto idle code. I then went and got new fuses for center display, and my aftermarket airshocks as they had both blown and those two worked.
However, my headlights did not work at all both low and high beams and still get error message "service front steering directed headlights". I spent hours researching and no-one seemed to have the issue of their headlights not working from a dead battery or jumping.
I took it to a ram dealership as they would have more experience with Ram vehicles then my local mechanic. My representative told me, after I breifly explained everything above, that there was short in both headlight assemblies as I had feared. He noted that his "best" tech and the shop manager spent a while trying to figure it out. The cost to replace the front headlight assembly with labor would be $4,300 (3300 parts and 1k labor (5hrs)). I almost crapped my pants.
I was not expecting the dealership to do anything as I did not buy it from there, it was outside of warranty, and I had no aftermarket/extended warranty. But IMO this was an absurd expense for something not critical, and not a wear and tear mechanical issue like transmission/engine/fuel pump needing replaced. This was headlights that were working perfectly fine before I left for vacation.
I then get a number from the dealership to call: 800-992-1997. I call the number says I need to do a request for assistance with repairs. I ask the dealership to submit one for me, he said they cant as it is cosmetic and not mechanical. I left the dealership and called the number back and asked to be escalated to a supervisor and got a case manager. She then called and said they did not submit request right for the warranty department to review. 1 week goes by and I got told it was not eligible due to age of vehicle and miles. Asked to speak to her manager, and after long back and forth and another week they confirmed dealership was submitting form correctly it was still not eligible for anything due to age and miles on vehicle. By about 2 months, so there warranty window must be 6 years?? I could not go any more up the "food chain" and that there was nothing else they could do or contact. All in All a very frustrating experience.
Questions for you all. -Any input appreciated.
1. Is it worth even trying to contact someone else at Ram/Stellantis/Chrysler? (see point 1 from the top: but I just feel this should not happen to some headlights for either a dead battery, or jumping a battery).
2. If it is worth trying to get in contact does anyone have a phone number for Ram cooperate or a warranty number? (again see point 1)
3. I have found some OEM headlights for about 2k total, but also some after market LEDS for $400 each. Could my truck still operate correctly even without the steering directed mechanism? I dont want anything to happen to computer or have more issues.
4. How hard is it to replace on my own? As mentioned previously I am not a gearhand but would consider myself moderately handy.
A descent part of me wants to get rid of it out of spite, but trying to keep a level head.
Thanks for reading my book. Haha.
1. I realize I don't have much of leg to stand on.
2. I have really liked by truck, but very frustrated.
3. I am not by any stretch of the imagination a "gearhead".
I own a 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn 5.7 (61k miles-5th Generation). I have owned it for 2 years and am the second owner. I have not had any issues outside of the gear in the automatic side mirror and the TPS sensors going out, but that is it. I have really enjoyed having the truck.
The Issue: Both Front Headlight assemblies need replaced, after working perfectly fine leading up to issue
Story: I live in the midwest and went on 1 week vacation of which my truck was parked outside. One detail I doubt matters is I did get a carwash the night before leaving for vacation). It got down to -10 degrees overnight and was facing the north in the country which means it was facing the wind while I was gone. When I got back. I then got in the vehicle. The first thing I noticed was my powerside step did not work- at this time I am thinking battery. I then pushed the break and tried to start my vehicle. The dash flickered followed by alot of what I would describe as "pops" from behind the dash. Then absolutely nothing from the vehicle, it was as dead as doorknob.
I then think I need a jump start. So I hook up jumper cables (correctly, I have been apart of probably 20 jump starts in my life), when it hooks up the wipers immediately start running followed by "humming" coming from the engine bay. This is the first "modern" vehicle I have owned and I have never heard a humming. I unplug the wiper relay as it was annoying and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then try to start and still dead as a doorknob. I then unplug the jumper cables and the humming stops. Try to start again nothing. I then hook up the jumper cables again and the humming starts again. I leave jumper cables on with other vehicle running for 20 minutes, try to start and still nothing. This time when I unhooked the cables the humming slowly came to a stop after 20 seconds.
Next I go get a trickle charger and hook that up for 5 minutes, and go in and try to start and I have power!!!! Great news. But would not turn over. I then reapplied the jumper cables and it started! This was great, I was able to drive home.
On the ride home I had several error codes (service front steering directed headlights, the automatic idle shutoff light, my radio had no volume, my center display did not work, and eventually got an error message (front headlights out).
When I got home I researched the issue, and everyone said to either unplug and re-attachment terminals for battery or get a new battery. I thought that was what I needed, but charged by battery on trickle charger for a couple hours. It started no-problem. The only error code that went away was the auto idle code. I then went and got new fuses for center display, and my aftermarket airshocks as they had both blown and those two worked.
However, my headlights did not work at all both low and high beams and still get error message "service front steering directed headlights". I spent hours researching and no-one seemed to have the issue of their headlights not working from a dead battery or jumping.
I took it to a ram dealership as they would have more experience with Ram vehicles then my local mechanic. My representative told me, after I breifly explained everything above, that there was short in both headlight assemblies as I had feared. He noted that his "best" tech and the shop manager spent a while trying to figure it out. The cost to replace the front headlight assembly with labor would be $4,300 (3300 parts and 1k labor (5hrs)). I almost crapped my pants.
I was not expecting the dealership to do anything as I did not buy it from there, it was outside of warranty, and I had no aftermarket/extended warranty. But IMO this was an absurd expense for something not critical, and not a wear and tear mechanical issue like transmission/engine/fuel pump needing replaced. This was headlights that were working perfectly fine before I left for vacation.
I then get a number from the dealership to call: 800-992-1997. I call the number says I need to do a request for assistance with repairs. I ask the dealership to submit one for me, he said they cant as it is cosmetic and not mechanical. I left the dealership and called the number back and asked to be escalated to a supervisor and got a case manager. She then called and said they did not submit request right for the warranty department to review. 1 week goes by and I got told it was not eligible due to age of vehicle and miles. Asked to speak to her manager, and after long back and forth and another week they confirmed dealership was submitting form correctly it was still not eligible for anything due to age and miles on vehicle. By about 2 months, so there warranty window must be 6 years?? I could not go any more up the "food chain" and that there was nothing else they could do or contact. All in All a very frustrating experience.
Questions for you all. -Any input appreciated.
1. Is it worth even trying to contact someone else at Ram/Stellantis/Chrysler? (see point 1 from the top: but I just feel this should not happen to some headlights for either a dead battery, or jumping a battery).
2. If it is worth trying to get in contact does anyone have a phone number for Ram cooperate or a warranty number? (again see point 1)
3. I have found some OEM headlights for about 2k total, but also some after market LEDS for $400 each. Could my truck still operate correctly even without the steering directed mechanism? I dont want anything to happen to computer or have more issues.
4. How hard is it to replace on my own? As mentioned previously I am not a gearhand but would consider myself moderately handy.
A descent part of me wants to get rid of it out of spite, but trying to keep a level head.
Thanks for reading my book. Haha.
