HELP! 2020 Ecodiesel Engine Failure

[boltsjunky]

Hello to all and @RamCares,

Recently I had an engine failure in my 2020 Ram 1500 3.0L ED. Driving home from work, low oil pressure light, clank and knocking noises, into limp mode.

Had truck towed to nearest dealership (who I had an oil change scheduled with later that week after I was told they were booked out, so I had to wait two weeks after change oil indicator light turned on). They told me it has complete engine failure and that I ran the truck out of oil. I have a video of oil pouring out of engine at time of incident. This was Dec 16th, 2023.

I was later notified via text, not even a phone call by the dealership that they would not be able to open warranty case and that I would have to contact Chrysler cares rep to open a case.

Fast forward to now, Feb 1st, 2024, after almost 7 weeks of trying to contact and back and forth between dealer and case manager, again I was notified via text (not a phone call) that the warranty claim was denied due to maintenance record not being under 10,000 miles on oil changes. All were done under 10.6k miles. I’ve always followed the change oil indicator light and booked appointment as soon as possible (all at ram dealerships). In fact, my first oil changes were done in 5k intervals when I was told by the service tech at dealership that I was doing them too soon and to just follow the change oil indicator on my dash. Nothing on previous visits has been noted in maintenance record as far as any issues.

I was quoted over 21k for a new engine. My vehicle has 56k miles on it total.

To this day they say they don’t “exactly” know went wrong and are chalking it up as my issue due to maintenance records. They won’t open the rig up until the warranty rep or I agree to pay and sign off on it. After spending the last 7 weeks going through this process and reading tons of forums, it appears I’m not the only one with this issue. Interesting to me.

I’ve owned Chryslers since my first car, a Jeep Cherokee. Love them. Sick to my stomach how I’m being handled.

Curious if you have any recommendations, thanks fellas.

 

[BossHogg]

Hello to all and @RamCares,

Recently I had an engine failure in my 2020 Ram 1500 3.0L ED. Driving home from work, low oil pressure light, clank and knocking noises, into limp mode.

Had truck towed to nearest dealership (who I had an oil change scheduled with later that week after I was told they were booked out, so I had to wait two weeks after change oil indicator light turned on). They told me it has complete engine failure and that I ran the truck out of oil. I have a video of oil pouring out of engine at time of incident. This was Dec 16th, 2023.

You had catastrophic engine failure due to loss of engine oil while operating. What was the cause of the engine oil loss?

 

[boltsjunky]

Boss hog,

Today this day, they still don’t know. But they won’t move further on it.

 

[Cummins diesel]

Sorry about your luck. I think this is the first time I heard about a 2020 engine going bad. I was hoping that they had the issues fixed with the newer ones. I have a 2016 eco diesel that we’re in the process of replacing the engine. It’ll set me back around 15k.

 

[TotallyHucked]

Unfortunately, that could be exactly what happened. Most engines use oil as time progresses, whether it be burning a little past the rings or losing it through the PCV system. A 10k mile oil change on a 8.5qt system is insane to me, personally I wouldn't go more than 7500. You really should've been checking the dipstick periodically past ~7-7500mi or so. Although, you'd think these things have a low oil level light that would go off before it starved itself completely

 

[RamCares]

Hello @boltsjunky!

Our team would like to review your case and determine next steps. Please send us a private message with your case number for us to take a look!

Hannah
Ram Cares

 

[Paulh555]

I feel for you mate. I bought a beautiful 16' Ecodiesel, Laramie with just 31k miles last October. 800 miles later, engine failure.... Full service history, all done under 10k miles. I was absolutely p#ssed off. Luckily the dealer took it back and I got most (but not all) of my deposit back. I'm now, as of last week, back into a Hemi Laramie. Never again would I touch an Eco d. Good luck to you, I hope all works out.

 

[06 Dodge]

Hello to all and @RamCares,

Recently I had an engine failure in my 2020 Ram 1500 3.0L ED. Driving home from work, low oil pressure light, clank and knocking noises, into limp mode.

Had truck towed to nearest dealership (who I had an oil change scheduled with later that week after I was told they were booked out, so I had to wait two weeks after change oil indicator light turned on). They told me it has complete engine failure and that I ran the truck out of oil. I have a video of oil pouring out of engine at time of incident. This was Dec 16th, 2023.

I was later notified via text, not even a phone call by the dealership that they would not be able to open warranty case and that I would have to contact Chrysler cares rep to open a case.

Fast forward to now, Feb 1st, 2024, after almost 7 weeks of trying to contact and back and forth between dealer and case manager, again I was notified via text (not a phone call) that the warranty claim was denied due to maintenance record not being under 10,000 miles on oil changes. All were done under 10.6k miles. I’ve always followed the change oil indicator light and booked appointment as soon as possible (all at ram dealerships). In fact, my first oil changes were done in 5k intervals when I was told by the service tech at dealership that I was doing them too soon and to just follow the change oil indicator on my dash. Nothing on previous visits has been noted in maintenance record as far as any issues.

I was quoted over 21k for a new engine. My vehicle has 56k miles on it total.

To this day they say they don’t “exactly” know went wrong and are chalking it up as my issue due to maintenance records. They won’t open the rig up until the warranty rep or I agree to pay and sign off on it. After spending the last 7 weeks going through this process and reading tons of forums, it appears I’m not the only one with this issue. Interesting to me.

I’ve owned Chryslers since my first car, a Jeep Cherokee. Love them. Sick to my stomach how I’m being handled.

Curious if you have any recommendations, thanks fellas.

You may be sick about it but by your own words your at fault for not having the oil changed in/on time, they are booked up is not a good or valid excuse.. Any time you go over the time or mileage listed in the owners manual you take a very big risk of paying out of pocket when stuff like this happens...I mean the dealer put a sticker on the windshield to remind you of when either by miles, months or both when the next oil change is due so that when its close you can make an appointment ahead of time and not go over the allotted time or miles, your only hope is they offer some sort of good will..... Good Luck

 

[clay282]

Work with RamCares and hopefully get it fixed. Then, UNLOAD THAT THING! Sometimes in this life, the money you lose has to be looked at like life’s trade school and you paid for the education.

The idea of a light duty diesel is great but it never works. It doesn’t now for personal vehicles and it hasn’t since my dad proudly watched his special order 1982 Caprice Classic diesel roll off the truck at Lou Bachrodt Chevrolet in Rockford, IL.

The premium additional buy in, the maintenance, the higher fuel price, the repairs, the time at the dealer, the trouble of getting a loaner, getting parts, the ENORMOUS LOSS to sell or trade in because nobody who knows better, wants one used… People are better off paying the extra upfront for a 2500 Cummins.

 

[Rut Row]

The idea of a light duty diesel is great but it never works.

There are plenty of post on the various RAM forums of these trucks getting 300K or more. My 2016 has over 100K and is still going strong. So, it does work if not abused and is maintained. This comment is not directed at the OP.

 

[MarkMac77]

I’ll second what was said about light duty diesels in American vehicles. They just don’t seem to historically show good longevity in that application.

40 years ago people were yanking dead 6.2L diesels out of half-ton GM pickups and swapping in 350 V8s. It was epidemic. You don’t realistically have that option today with modern powertrains.

I put partial blame on the light duty diesel itself, but I tend to believe the root problem is owners trashing them through ignorance.

Diesels have very heavy components reciprocating. So be patient, let the big chunks of metal warm up before you hammer the throttle, the. let them cool down before you shut down, and be smooth & steady on the throttle, don’t rev it up unloaded. I drive my Cummins like an industrial engine, because that’s what it is..

I’d wager the owners who get 300K from an eco diesel probably drove it drastically different than the owners with the dead ones.

If you wanna bounce off the rev limiter rolling coal at stop lights, then expect your diesel to scatter itself.

 

[J-rod0912]

should check and see if the engine is one of the part numbers for the buyback that just got released. not sure if you guys caught wind of it on the ecodiesels yet but saw a nice size part number for engines and certain fuel systems eligible for the buyback.

 

[MelBee]

should check and see if the engine is one of the part numbers for the buyback that just got released. not sure if you guys caught wind of it on the ecodiesels yet but saw a nice size part number for engines and certain fuel systems eligible for the buyback.

Could you please point me to where you can look this up, or is this information updated for when you query your VIN for recalls, etc? Thank you!

 

[tjfdesmo]

I’ll second what was said about light duty diesels in American vehicles. They just don’t seem to historically show good longevity in that application.

40 years ago people were yanking dead 6.2L diesels out of half-ton GM pickups and swapping in 350 V8s. It was epidemic. You don’t realistically have that option today with modern powertrains.

I put partial blame on the light duty diesel itself, but I tend to believe the root problem is owners trashing them through ignorance.

Diesels have very heavy components reciprocating. So be patient, let the big chunks of metal warm up before you hammer the throttle, the. let them cool down before you shut down, and be smooth & steady on the throttle, don’t rev it up unloaded. I drive my Cummins like an industrial engine, because that’s what it is..

I’d wager the owners who get 300K from an eco diesel probably drove it drastically different than the owners with the dead ones.

If you wanna bounce off the rev limiter rolling coal at stop lights, then expect your diesel to scatter itself.

While the 6.2 was a crank-snapping piece of junk, it was the disastrous Olds 350 diesel that was the diesel-to-gas engine swap king.

 

[tangocash001]

Sorry to hear this. My 2018 Ecodiesel needed a new engine at 108 000km. Put me back about $ 17 000. Honestly, the worst truck I have ever owned and I have owned several gas and several diesel. At least I got my notice that the HPFP recall can be fixed next week. I am kind of soured on the Ram brand, to be honest.