Long Story Short-Help Needed

[TruckFam2020]

2020 Ram 1500 a little under 20k miles lease
-6 month Pregnant Wife driving on a major highway bridge 2 weeks ago and truck goes from 70-0mph in about 10 seconds (thank god no accident).
-Truck towed to the dealership and they say it needs a brand new transmission and will be 1.5-3 months to fix as there are 14 transmissions in front of me. Sent pictures to Chrysler for warranty work.
-No loaner vehicle available (taking money from me as I use my truck to do part time landscaping jobs in the summer).
-I get the truck approved for a transfer through Chrysler to a much larger dealership (I personally have to schedule the tow, the dealership won't do this for me).
-In one day the truck is magically fixed, they say the transmission cooler line popped off the cooler and all is good.
-I wanted to make sure the Internal clutch packs were not fried so I asked how much fluid he had to put back in...5 quarts to get it going (no way internal clutches are not fried with that much loss).
-We noticed zero fluid before the vehicle got towed

At this point we have gone from taking pictures for Chrysler for a brand new transmission to throwing 5 quarts of fluid back in and we are good to go. Also, apparently pictures were never sent to Chrysler for warranty work (so the dealership lied about this).

I have an open case but they are being less than helpful.

All of this is completely unacceptable, we do not know who to trust and who is actually telling us the truth. We feel the truck is getting a bandaid put on to get it out of there as the dealership in their words "has work coming out of their eyeballs".

No Lemon law in this case as Ohio is under 1 year or 18,000 miles

Thoughts?

 

[Daw14]

Welcome to the site , yes dealers lie . Some are worse then others but none should be trusted without verification, even then be skeptical. Maybe you can get them to extend your warranty or give a lifetime on it . Try @RamCares be nice , they seem to be of help to some ,it’s worth a shot.

 

[Jerrybob]

Sorry about all the problems.....I would be PO'd and contact a lawyer......these yahoos should buy back your truck at full price...good luck.

 

[KKBB]

I'm a bit confused...do you lease it?? Or do you own it??

 

[KoboldTaco]

I hope he comes back to see what we all say.

Sadly, dealerships will lie - it just happens. Document everything well so you can ensure your side of the story is backed with better data than the dealership could ever prove. If you end up talking with them, record it but let them know you are recording the discussion and ensure you have their permission. Nothing better in court or with corporate than a discussion evidenced by the actual recording.

I do hope your struggle is solved with the easy way out but I think you can also ask for the diagnostics data to show perhaps what codes were stored in the transmission. That might give you some piece of mind when evaluating this. Transmissions intimidate the hell out of me so normally when something is up with them, there is little I would take on, other than things I can more easily service by dropping the pan etc. If they did not run computer diagnostics, I think you can demand they do, even if to ensure they show you no stored codes. I know you want confidence in your truck before hitting any small or long trip and that would help me feel a hell of a lot more confident.

 

[TruckFam2020]

I'm a bit confused...do you lease it?? Or do you own it??

I leased it

 

[TruckFam2020]

Welcome to the site , yes dealers lie . Some are worse then others but none should be trusted without verification, even then be skeptical. Maybe you can get them to extend your warranty or give a lifetime on it . Try @RamCares be nice , they seem to be of help to some ,it’s worth a shot.

I will give that a shot thank you!

 

[TruckFam2020]

I hope he comes back to see what we all say.

Sadly, dealerships will lie - it just happens. Document everything well so you can ensure your side of the story is backed with better data than the dealership could ever prove. If you end up talking with them, record it but let them know you are recording the discussion and ensure you have their permission. Nothing better in court or with corporate than a discussion evidenced by the actual recording.

I do hope your struggle is solved with the easy way out but I think you can also ask for the diagnostics data to show perhaps what codes were stored in the transmission. That might give you some piece of mind when evaluating this. Transmissions intimidate the hell out of me so normally when something is up with them, there is little I would take on, other than things I can more easily service by dropping the pan etc. If they did not run computer diagnostics, I think you can demand they do, even if to ensure they show you no stored codes. I know you want confidence in your truck before hitting any small or long trip and that would help me feel a hell of a lot more confident.

I appreciate the response. I am not just posting to stir the pot, I am truly wanting honest answers as I am tired of dealing with dishonest people at the dealership and my case manager at Chrysler is less than helpful.

At the end of the day I just want to make sure the truck is safe to drive, not only for me but my family. I have owned a lot of different trucks through other brands and have never had something like this happen.

 

[tron67j]

It's hard to really know the full extent of any damage to the transmission from reading about it and not actually being the mechanic looking at it. However, there's no real way to know if there's any damage internal other than taking the whole transmission apart. However, it is a lease and RAM has a vested interest in ensuring that the repair is correctly done because they will eventually be taking the vehicle back and it would be in their best interest to do the right thing at this point. Also, it's hard to know if all the fluid was gone before the truck stopped or if the engine sensed a lack of proper function and shut down and the bulk of the oil leaked out while the engine was still running but the vehicle was not actually in motion.

In the end you really only have two choices, one is to accept that the truck has been properly repaired and drive it or to you can take the truck to a transmission specialist and on your own dime have a torn apart to see if there's something wrong with it. My suggestion is just drive it and see if it shifts hard or if there feels like there's some improper action going on. My guess is that it is going to function okay.

No, this is not the best situation to have been in but give it a shot and see how it works and let us know.

 

[TruckFam2020]

It's hard to really know the full extent of any damage to the transmission from reading about it and not actually being the mechanic looking at it. However, there's no real way to know if there's any damage internal other than taking the whole transmission apart. However, it is a lease and RAM has a vested interest in ensuring that the repair is correctly done because they will eventually be taking the vehicle back and it would be in their best interest to do the right thing at this point. Also, it's hard to know if all the fluid was gone before the truck stopped or if the engine sensed a lack of proper function and shut down and the bulk of the oil leaked out while the engine was still running but the vehicle was not actually in motion.

In the end you really only have two choices, one is to accept that the truck has been properly repaired and drive it or to you can take the truck to a transmission specialist and on your own dime have a torn apart to see if there's something wrong with it. My suggestion is just drive it and see if it shifts hard or if there feels like there's some improper action going on. My guess is that it is going to function okay.

No, this is not the best situation to have been in but give it a shot and see how it works and let us know.

Appreciate this response, thank you

 

[KKBB]

My take is since it is being leased, drive it and don't worry about it. If it screws up, it is on them to fix and at the end of the lease if you don't feel good about it, let it go back and lease or buy another.

 

[anchorsaweigh]

The worst thing about FCA is their customer service and warranty dodging (no pun intended).

 

[Marshall]

As K said a lease ,it is their truck , and not yours ,is it not?
If it blows up, it should not cost you a cent.
But than I have never leased, always just bought.

 

[airrecon]

2020 Ram 1500 a little under 20k miles lease
-6 month Pregnant Wife driving on a major highway bridge 2 weeks ago and truck goes from 70-0mph in about 10 seconds (thank god no accident).
-Truck towed to the dealership and they say it needs a brand new transmission and will be 1.5-3 months to fix as there are 14 transmissions in front of me. Sent pictures to Chrysler for warranty work.
-No loaner vehicle available (taking money from me as I use my truck to do part time landscaping jobs in the summer).
-I get the truck approved for a transfer through Chrysler to a much larger dealership (I personally have to schedule the tow, the dealership won't do this for me).
-In one day the truck is magically fixed, they say the transmission cooler line popped off the cooler and all is good.
-I wanted to make sure the Internal clutch packs were not fried so I asked how much fluid he had to put back in...5 quarts to get it going (no way internal clutches are not fried with that much loss).
-We noticed zero fluid before the vehicle got towed

At this point we have gone from taking pictures for Chrysler for a brand new transmission to throwing 5 quarts of fluid back in and we are good to go. Also, apparently pictures were never sent to Chrysler for warranty work (so the dealership lied about this).

I have an open case but they are being less than helpful.

All of this is completely unacceptable, we do not know who to trust and who is actually telling us the truth. We feel the truck is getting a bandaid put on to get it out of there as the dealership in their words "has work coming out of their eyeballs".

No Lemon law in this case as Ohio is under 1 year or 18,000 miles

Thoughts?

 

[airrecon]

The worst thing about FCA is their customer service and warranty dodging (no pun intended).

Chrysler had great customer service before FCA and now Stellantis owned them. Not even worth a toll free phone call now.

 

[airrecon]

Just my thought. Your vehicle instantly stopped when it sensed a low transmission fluid problem. Good chance the trans was not damaged in that brief time.
Many shops do not like to do warranty work because it pays less. And Chrysler/Stellantis pays less than, say, Toyota.

 

[Sherman Bird]

It's hard to really know the full extent of any damage to the transmission from reading about it and not actually being the mechanic looking at it. However, there's no real way to know if there's any damage internal other than taking the whole transmission apart. However, it is a lease and RAM has a vested interest in ensuring that the repair is correctly done because they will eventually be taking the vehicle back and it would be in their best interest to do the right thing at this point. Also, it's hard to know if all the fluid was gone before the truck stopped or if the engine sensed a lack of proper function and shut down and the bulk of the oil leaked out while the engine was still running but the vehicle was not actually in motion.

In the end you really only have two choices, one is to accept that the truck has been properly repaired and drive it or to you can take the truck to a transmission specialist and on your own dime have a torn apart to see if there's something wrong with it. My suggestion is just drive it and see if it shifts hard or if there feels like there's some improper action going on. My guess is that it is going to function okay.

No, this is not the best situation to have been in but give it a shot and see how it works and let us know.

As a transmission specialist in Ford and GM dealers for 27 of my 46 years in the trade, I'll weigh in on this with a degree of knowledge. Don't "assume" that the clutches are fried. If a cooler line popped off, the converter was starved first. The loss of fluid to the converter cause loss of transmission engagement FIRST. The clutches are likely OK.. Then again, there is a degree of possibility that the clutches got glazed some, but I doubt it.

 

[etbrown4]

The tranny in my 2016 failed at 60k. Code that triggered the warranty was bad clutches. New trans paid by FCA.

Factory will NOT authorize tranny warranty work without a code. Ask the dealer to share ALL the codes they have seen to date.

Get a code reader or take it to a parts place who will read them for free, except any that were cleared.

Once you have a code you can arm twist the factory into a repair or replacement. (the dealer has no say so) With a code you can appeal your case or ask for a case manager supervisor.

Mine took 3 trips to the shop and 3 months as they fight every step of the way.

 

[tron67j]

As a transmission specialist in Ford and GM dealers for 27 of my 46 years in the trade, I'll weigh in on this with a degree of knowledge. Don't "assume" that the clutches are fried. If a cooler line popped off, the converter was starved first. The loss of fluid to the converter cause loss of transmission engagement FIRST. The clutches are likely OK.. Then again, there is a degree of possibility that the clutches got glazed some, but I doubt it.

Not sure if you meant to quote my post, but I was agreeing that there is no way to know unless it is disassembled. I am in the camp of drive it and see how it works.

 

[Silver21Ram]

Personally I would not worry about it as long as it's running and you are getting daily use of it.
Just don't plan on buying it at lease end.
Turn it in and lease another new one.