I regret buying a RAM

[turkeybird56]

Interesting reading here about recalls and issues. I've heard many times over the years don't buy the first run year of a vehicle wait until the next year or two so all the problems can be worked out. Well I've never been that good of a listener to scare tactics so I bought a new 5th gen Ram Laramie 4x4 sport with off road package loaded out in first part of December 2018. This was a New 2019 5th gen Ram with all the new upgraded technology that they have over the older 4th gen Rams including what I call my big screen TV in the dash. This means that this coming December 2023 my truck will be 5 years old, as I write this today it shows 64-k and by December it will have a minimum of 70 -k. It has not had one single recall in the almost 5 years I've had it plus the only time it sees the dealership is every 4 thousand miles for oil changes and any other required maintenance service listed in the owners manual. It has never had any mechanical issues of any kind and is a complete joy to drive and own so i guess the first year for a new vehicle model isn't so bad. I think I'll hang on to it another 4 or 5 years.

I bought my 5th Gen, in the first year, one of the first built with a Build Date of April 2018, bought in Aug 2018. Had the 3 recalls done and the AC TSB done. Could have been a lot worse, but runs and performs as should be and fun to drive. Hey starts up, got heat tho not need now since 105F out, AC works OK, not really adequate, has toons and goes Vroom. What more could U ask for, hee hee. But then, I's just a BOIRD.

 

[2Tallguy]

Tell me where to buy one and who makes it. Of course, you do realize this will void my warranty.

Another reason to just get a Tradesman. No much crap on these trucks.

 

[HighDesertRam]

Another reason to just get a Tradesman. No much crap on these trucks.

Unfortunately, when I needed a truck, the one I bought was the only one I could find with a 4X4 and Cummins, within a reasonable distance. Trucks just weren't readily available then.

 

[nlambert182]

Unfortunately, when I needed a truck, the one I bought was the only one I could find with a 4X4 and Cummins, within a reasonable distance. Trucks just weren't readily available then.

It wouldn't have mattered whether you got a Tradesman or a Limited. The grid heater relay and the tailgate is an issue on them all.

But... you have two options... accept it, fix it, and move on and enjoy the truck or sell/trade it and be done with it. With the hopes that the replacement won't have the same type of issues.

Heck my 2012 2500, 2016 3500, and current 2018 1500 ALL had the tailgate issue. Was a quick fix and they did it while I waited on it. They "fixed" my steering issue on my 3500 within 2 hrs of dropping it off and my 2012 had a cruise control recall. I dropped it off with the understanding that they needed to keep it overnight and they called me before I got home to tell me it was ready.

Really man.... if you buy anything 2012 and newer there's a good chance that you're going to get more than 1 recall on them. If you don't want the hassle of it, find an older one that's been taken care of and try your luck with that. Maybe it will be a good one.

 

[Bill T]

Recalls may not be taken care of in a timely manner but at least you don't have to pay for the repair out of pocket.
My 2019 Ram 1500 developed a serious and sudden steering problem. I only had 15,810 miles on my truck but I was told I was past the warranty period and even though Chrysler recalled more than 250 Ram 1500 trucks for power steering problems my vin was not covered.
I had to pay $4,100 to replace a faulty electric power steering gears.

 

[Zac1]

Agree with all, changing a relay will not void W. My 2022 never had a problem with tail gate opening.
You are going to have problem with any manufacturer. That is nature of today's vehicles. Frankly auto tail gate is good for what?

 

[mdc1990zr1]

Three or four years ago there was a recall on my wife's Jeep Patriot. It was regarding the airbag/safety restraint system possibly not deploying properly. It didn't get fixed until September of the following year due to unavailability of parts. And this was for an actual safety issue, not some benign support clip for an innocuous part. What if an accident had happened and the system failed, causing injury or death? Apparently, they weren't that concerned or all of the affected vehicles would have been fixed within a couple weeks.

There are still vehicles waiting for the Takata airbags to fix their vehicles. Who knows when they will become available if ever. I grew up without airbags, seatbelts and "my two daddy" books in school. Somehow I survived.

 

[goatdriver1957]

"When I first bought my truck in 2022", Senior, How many times did you buy it in '22? -- Anyway back on subject, (The rear gate dropping w/o command). Why put yourself in with such grief when it would have been so simple to just add a close-by DPDT switch to cut any pwr route to the gate latch solenoid? The rear doors on my Jeep Grand has the same pwr cuts, simple, cheap, stroke pressure is less, stealerShip does not fear the next visit slinging a M-4.
That 'goat' has much deep luv for your purpose than a simple nother Shina made relay.

 

[goatdriver1957]

BossH, Looks like the guy w/dark glasses just crashed Ur snapShot w/you, Ha! , but you tell me if Mopar Batt are 'useLess'. I purchased a New 'Goat' '05, 2500 Hemi, and that sucker wore its 1st (OEM) battery for 13 years and it did not die in that PU. The reason I replaced it was because 'as we've always heard, OEMs do not last beyond 3yrs'. So I replaced it w/interState. That old batt is still waiting on the shops floor to be traded if the '05 LoneStar Ram needs a R&R one.
The Batt has traits of a good lady, it'll stay w/ya if taken full care.

 

[Dean Sao]

You're making me nervous, man. I picked up my 2023 the end of March and so far no issues in 4+ months. Hopefully, it will stay that way.

I bought a brand new Ram 1500 Big Horn crew cab 4 x 4 with Hemi V8 as well and somewhat regretting it as well… I leased a Dodge carvan in the 1990 and had all kinds of electrical issues and told myself I would ever purchase a Dodge again, since these issues were common with those minivans. But after seeing the reviews and thinking the Ram was a completely different division of Dodge I think I was fooled. 3 days after purchasing my fan controller stopped working and needed to be replaced. Now I’m currently dealing with my signal light switch not turning off after making a left turn. Sounds like minor issues, but I’m disappointed as well!!!

 

[HighDesertRam]

Agree with all, changing a relay will not void W. My 2022 never had a problem with tail gate opening.
You are going to have problem with any manufacturer. That is nature of today's vehicles. Frankly auto tail gate is good for what?

I didn't particularly want the auto tailgate. That was just what was part of the package and what was available to buy.

 

[HighDesertRam]

There are still vehicles waiting for the Takata airbags to fix their vehicles. Who knows when they will become available if ever. I grew up without airbags, seatbelts and "my two daddy" books in school. Somehow I survived.

I used to walk to school in the snow. Really....

 

[Bob1313]

Chevrolet Vega anyone?
Engines melted and there was a major shortage of spare parts. Worked at a dealer back in the day. It would often take over a year to get the cars fixed. Our shop’s parking was full up.
For an encore GM then built the X-Car. Another example of exceptionalism.

 

[HawkSERE]

Let me put it this way. I've owned numerous trucks and SUVs. This is the most expensive, by far, vehicle I have ever bought. It's also the one that has had the most problems, the most recalls. If selling it was a viable option, then I would certainly do so. I'm not in a financial position to do that. I wouldn't even mind if every time there was a recall it was fixed promptly AND correctly. Two years is a long time to wait for a part to be supplied.

Suck it up buttercup.

 

[Zac1]

I didn't particularly want the auto tailgate. That was just what was part of the package and what was available to buy.

I know. I did not either.

 

[aloose]

I am a mechanic in montana. We work on lots of trucks. They are all **** compared to some imports. The issue is trucks are a need and you just have to put up with failures. Go back in a time before toyota set the bar so high. Cars and trucks had lots of issues. Now toyota has set the bar so insanely high that it's not realistic. Toyota also does not make fun or interesting vehicles. Nor does it make 3/4 and 1 ton trucks. The supply issue is not just ram. I used to work for Mercedes and we had backorders on tons of diesel emissions parts constantly. I am buying a 2023 ram 1500 Laramie fully loaded because I feel the hemi v8 is a pretty solid engine. I also like the tech they have and the trucks look better then the alternatives. I also am not worried about little issues as I can just fix them.

On the remark of voiding warranty. Just install a relay and keep the original one. When the part comes available plug it back in and take the truck to the dealer. The aftermarket part has to be a proven cause of failure for it to void a warranty claim. If you put in LED bulbs and your engine knocks. They are unrelated they would have to prove the LED light caused the engine failure.

 

[Killerb]

Still crapping on the brand, I see. There are plenty of forums users that spent silly money on there Rams including me with issues.
Go buy product X and and surely you will be ******** about there problems.

My 22' Laramie Cummins is going through the issues as yours, but after 8 Rams I have other things to worry about. Goodluck

 

[Jimmy07]

Everyone keeps telling me "it's out there," but nobody has pointed me towards a replacement. I asked our local independent diesel shop, where I have my maintenance done, and they don't know where there are any. I'm sure they'd like to sell me one.

I've searched on line and can't find one. So, please tell me where they might be available????

That’s because most of the people posting in this thread have absolutely no clue what the recalled relay is, and why it’s hard to have the recall for it done.
There’s no such aftermarket grid heater relay to replace the factory one with, so the whole “void warranty with aftermarket parts” discussions are moot.
No matter how many mopar parts supplier sites say that they are in stock, they are not available to buy on your own outside of the dealership obtaining one to perform the recall. You can place the order, but it will get kicked.
That’s why it takes so long for this recall, and why the recall repair availability was released in tiers- dealer stock 2023 inventory first, then 2023 owners, then 2022, then 2021. It’s because the replacement relay that fixes the issue didn’t exist when the potential fire issue was discovered (and subsequently owners informed), and there’s no way any manufacturer can crank out 400,000+ redesigned grid heater relays overnight.
So, they have to take the supply of new relays that they receive, and distribute them to all the dealerships at a rate of 1-2 a week. Those who have small rural dealerships nearby might have a better chance at getting the recall done sooner than large dealerships because they might not go through their weekly relay allotment as fast.

 

[mdc1990zr1]

I used to walk to school in the snow. Really....

Walking to school never hurt anyone, and I used to do that too. Look at pictures of the population from the 60's, 70's and eighties. Check out pics from mass gatherings like sports stadiums and such. The population has gotten "fatter". Walking to school was't so bad after all.

 

[SimpDAD]

I love my 2016 RAM 2500. When I got it used in 2017, I had 3 recalls on the transmission. All taken care of (this was prior to our current crisis with parts, etc.) and the truck has been fantastic since. 95,000 miles and running the same as she did the first day. Hang in there, every car/truck has an issue eventually.