Grid Heater Bolt Cracked Piston #5

[NewGTGuy]

Hello all.

I bought my 2022 RAM 3500 Limited with a 6.7 Cummins HO brand new that same year. It currently has 75k miles on it. Unfortunately, I'm one of the lucky ones whose grid heater bolt came loose and got sucked into the intake. It made it through the intake valve of cylinder #5, cracked the #5 piston, and shot out the exhaust valve, manifold, and it looks like the turbo. See pics below.

It's been at the dealer for almost 2 weeks awaiting warranty approval from Stellantis. The latest update is, "Keep waiting."

Anyone have a similar experience? If so, how long did it take to get this resolved. Without warranty coverage, this could have been a $20-30k expense. Thank God for the 5 year/100k powertrain warranty!

 

[stevenP]

Wow, that stinks. Wondering in this case, will they just replace the damaged piston or?

 

[Burla]

No harm no foul when you get it back delete that heater in you are in cold upgrade to banks (only 750 US). Newer Cummins ditched grid heaters for glow plugs.

 

[Burla]

The Power of Air Flow: Banks Monster Ram Intake vs. Stock

Today we are installing a Banks Monster Ram Intake upgrade and showing you the difference between Banks airflow and the stock system. One of the best upgrade...

youtu.be

 

[06 Dodge]

Hello all.

I bought my 2022 RAM 3500 Limited with a 6.7 Cummins HO brand new that same year. It currently has 75k miles on it. Unfortunately, I'm one of the lucky ones whose grid heater bolt came loose and got sucked into the intake. It made it through the intake valve of cylinder #5, cracked the #5 piston, and shot out the exhaust valve, manifold, and it looks like the turbo. See pics below.

It's been at the dealer for almost 2 weeks awaiting warranty approval from Stellantis. The latest update is, "Keep waiting."

Anyone have a similar experience? If so, how long did it take to get this resolved. Without warranty coverage, this could have been a $20-30k expense. Thank God for the 5 year/100k powertrain warranty!

View attachment 579611 View attachment 579613View attachment 579612

OMG was that engine feed a steady diet of B-20 along with a bunch of city driving?

 

[BossHogg]

It's been at the dealer for almost 2 weeks awaiting warranty approval from Stellantis. The latest update is, "Keep waiting."

That, in my opinion, is an unacceptable answer. Why are you expected to "wait" to begin with? I would reach out to @RamCares and have them get involved to get the repar process underway.

 

[Burla]

That, in my opinion, is an unacceptable answer. Why are you expected to "wait" to begin with? I would reach out to @RamCares and have them get involved to get the repar process underway.

squeeky wheel gets the grease, just a fact.

Plus this is such a known issue it isn't even funny, no reason for eurolantis to stall.
.

 

[RamCares]

Thanks for the mention, @BossHogg!

Yes, if you are still experiencing prolonged frustrations, then please send our team a private message @NewGTGuy. Here to help!

Hannah
Ram Cares

 

[tjfdesmo]

Did you do the wiggle test during your ownership, or just fly blind? That bolt doesn't fail instantly. Do the BD grid upgrade, and skip the overpriced Banks nonsense. That elbow does 0.00 for a stock truck. The grid heater was trouble free from 1989-2006, until Cummins cheapened it up with the rollout of the 6.7.

 

[Docwagon1776]

That, in my opinion, is an unacceptable answer. Why are you expected to "wait" to begin with? I would reach out to @RamCares and have them get involved to get the repar process underway.

The process for authorization of warranty work now is:

1) Mechanic takes pictures, does write up
2) Service advisor sends it to India via email/web
3) Somebody in India decides if it's a warranty issue or not. If they ask for more pictures or additional info, your request goes to the bottom of the pile again.

It's just more cost cutting at the expense of the customer. The people approving the claims aren't mechanics and probably never saw a Ram in person. But they are cheaper, you can be sure of that.

You can contact RamCares, but it's just someone different in India who has no authority to do anything. You'll just be "managed" with nebulous phrases that mean nothing like "your case is a priority now" sort of things designed to make you feel like someone is doing something.

 

[NewGTGuy]

Did you do the wiggle test during your ownership, or just fly blind? That bolt doesn't fail instantly. Do the BD grid upgrade, and skip the overpriced Banks nonsense. That elbow does 0.00 for a stock truck. The grid heater was trouble free from 1989-2006, until Cummins cheapened it up with the rollout of the 6.7.

Honestly, I didn’t know it was an issue until after the fact. That’s when I learned it’s an actual thing. Should have been more involved. I did all the proper maintenance with my local mechanic. Sucks!

 

[NewGTGuy]

The process for authorization of warranty work now is:

1) Mechanic takes pictures, does write up
2) Service advisor sends it to India via email/web
3) Somebody in India decides if it's a warranty issue or not. If they ask for more pictures or additional info, your request goes to the bottom of the pile again.

It's just more cost cutting at the expense of the customer. The people approving the claims aren't mechanics and probably never saw a Ram in person. But they are cheaper, you can be sure of that.

You can contact RamCares, but it's just someone different in India who has no authority to do anything. You'll just be "managed" with nebulous phrases that mean nothing like "your case is a priority now" sort of things designed to make you feel like someone is doing something.

The service advisor said it depends on how many “hoops RAM makes them jump through”. Lovely…

 

[Docwagon1776]

The service advisor said it depends on how many “hoops RAM makes them jump through”. Lovely…

It's a ******* circus half the time. A service manager I know quit and went to a Ford dealership because he got tired of being caught in the middle of upset customers and apathetic Indian contractors authorizing repairs.

I had to get the CEO's office involved in my warranty repair after months. I won't recount it on this thread, but if you need the contact info just search my user name and "Kuniskis" and it's one of the top results.

 

[NewGTGuy]

It's a ******* circus half the time. A service manager I know quit and went to a Ford dealership because he got tired of being caught in the middle of upset customers and apathetic Indian contractors authorizing repairs.

I had to get the CEO's office involved in my warranty repair after months. I won't recount it on this thread, but if you need the contact info just search my user name and "Kuniskis" and it's one of the top results.

Gotta love it. What a mess. Thanks so much for the info. Much appreciated!

 

[crash68]

3) Somebody in India decides if it's a warranty issue or not.

It's not in India, Stellantis North America headquarters is in Michigan, drove past the complex twice yesterday.

1000 Chrysler Dr, Auburn Hills, MI 48326

 

[BossHogg]

It's not in India, Stellantis North America headquarters is in Michigan, drove past the complex twice yesterday.

1000 Chrysler Dr, Auburn Hills, MI 48326

When I'm on the roof of my house, cleaning the gutters, I can see the top of the Chrysler Building just breaking the tops of the trees. About 8 miles away, the way the eagle flies.

On my last warranty claim, a local rep came out to authorize the warranty repair.

It was strange, both the tech and the rep turned out to be dumber than a box of rocks. The issue was that the driver's door would not lock with either the FOB or the door lock switch, but all the other doors did. A quick look at the schematic showed that the driver's door and the rear tailgate were on a separate circuit from the other three doors.

The tech wanted to replace the driver's door handle and associated hardware; the rep approved. The problem was still there. Now they wanted to replace the wiring harness, I told them no, search the topic, you will find the BCM circuit failed. They replaced the harness. Problem still there. Then they decided the issue must be the BCM, so they ordered a new one, programmed it with my VIN, and now the driver's door locks and unlocks.

This is a true story; I didn't make up any of it, nothing, nada. Common sense is no longer a requirement, I guess.

I've got more stories, maybe enough to publish a short story book.

For you who have seen my nightmare trying to get my EPS repaired so it stops dropping offline while driving, they decided it is my dashcam's fault. According to them, the dashcam is causing a power loss, forcing the EPS to report low voltage and go offline until the next ignition cycle (the EPS is the only module reporting low voltage). I wish I could tell you I'm joking around but I'm not, I'm dead serious, this is what the service manager told me. He looked directly in my eyes and said this.

And then there is the story of how I discovered a design mistake on the 2015 ITBM, the hard way. Stopping for a quick turning red light, I discovered that below 25 MPH the ITBM stops sending braking signals to the trailer as the 24,000 pounds of combined weight was pushing me into cross traffic. How they handled that should be a lesson taught in engineering class 101.

 

[runamuck]

I thought there was a recall that solved the grid heater problem. seems like I took mine in for something related to that.

 

[crash68]

It was strange, both the tech and the rep turned out to be dumber than a box of rocks.

Unfortunately these guys don't get paid much and there isn't much motivation for them to do a decent job. The smart ones move to positions that pay more.

 

[tjfdesmo]

I thought there was a recall that solved the grid heater problem. seems like I took mine in for something related to that.

There was a separate problem with the grid relay when they went away from the reiable electro-mechanical solenoid to a solid state relay. Certainly a stuck relay could cause the bolt to fail, but that is not the whole issue.

They skirted a recall/proper fix by going to glow plugs, which I do not favor, and just leaving owners holding the bag.

 

[Docwagon1776]

It's not in India, Stellantis North America headquarters is in Michigan, drove past the complex twice yesterday.

1000 Chrysler Dr, Auburn Hills, MI 48326

You think everyone who works, or is contracted to work, for Stellantis works in that building?

Warranty authorization is outsourced to India. RamCares is in India. Jeep Wave was in the process of being outsourced to India, and likely is by now.