My issues with the 2019 Ram 1500 - respectful concerns.

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AbruptEnforcement

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I thought I'd post on here to see if I could get any answers or really any comments regarding this thread.

Back in September of 2018 my Dad bought a brand new, right off the lot, 2019 Ram 1500 with the 5.7. He had two other Rams in the past, a 2009 and a 2013 - both amazing, beautiful, and outstanding, reliable trucks... until this 2019.

Now, I am his son and when he was deciding between two, he let me choose the one he should get, go figure!

I simply want to go over some issues regarding his truck that have occurred since late, 2018.

All these issues are not in date order, as I haven't kept good track of dates and when issues have occurred.


Two weeks
after my father purchased his brand new 2019 Ram 1500, the power folding mirrors required service as they power folded in, but manually had to be pushed back out, as they got stuck.

Most recently, the "bolts" or "joints" that I believe connect the exhaust to the muffler somehow "snapped off." One morning we started the truck up via the remote start and noticed it sounded much louder than it did the day before. Don't get me wrong, it sounded amazing, but it's still an issue. My dad called the dealership and they told him it was not covered under Warranty or his purchased, "Extended Warranty." - meaning he had to pay out of pocket.

Back in June-ish of 2020, we were excited to drive 8 hours away from home to go on a vacation. One issue occurred though, about a week before the vacation my dad's truck had to be serviced due to the truck failing to start when the push to start button is pushed. The dealership service department had the truck for almost a week and gave it back to us two days before we had to leave and told us the "RF Hub was replaced and that caused the starting issue." Okay, well that's good that it's fixed! On our way down, skeptical but happy- we made it down to the vacation spot. The truck worked perfectly for the 6 out of 7 days we were there, but go figure- on the last and final day we ran into an issue. One night we were planning on running out to grab some food and the truck failed to start. After about 10-12 tries of starting it, we heard the weirdest noise come from the engine. I mean like if I dropped a sharp heavy metal object into the engine and it hit every single thing inside the engine, it was a not so pleasant noise. After about 20 tries, it started. We got back, tried it a few more times- worked fine. The morning of leaving, guess what- the truck fails to start again. It once again, took my Dad about 20 tries to start it. On our 8 hour ride home, we never once turned the truck off- not for gas, not for stops, nothing. Once we got back, it was serviced and on a 2019, they told us the "starter went bad". A starter on a 2019, a one year old truck at this time?

Sometime, I believe in 2020 as well the truck needed service for some reason, I honestly can't remember. Now this probably leans more on the service department, but they kept my dad's truck for an entire month because they could not figure out what was causing the issue it was causing. Ultimately - it was a very small piece way in the back of the engine.

Another issue that occurred in 2020-2021 were the Front ParkSense sensors. My dad has been in the service shop three different times for these sensors. The first time they told him faulty wiring, second time, once again- faulty wiring, and the third time they told him the actual physical sensors needed replaced. Needless to say, after "repairing" the sensors, literally the day later the "Service Front ParkSense" popped up.

Another issue that occurred was the overhead lighting failed to turn on. They said they had to replace the entire overhead compartment, the compartment that holds the emergency buttons and the moonroof buttons.

Another issue that has occurred has been with the tailgate. Sometimes and a lot of the times, the tailgate fails to open and you only hear a "click." So, you have to push it really hard and then pull it, to open it. My dad went in to get this serviced and they said they "lubricated" the tailgate. Needless to say, this issue still occurs.

Another major issue that has occurred has been with the engine cylinders. My father's truck has had at least 4-5 "Cylinder Misfires" since he bought the truck. The same symptoms every time, the engine fails to give any power and it seems as if you are going to stall. Understanding that all 4-5 times, has been yet again, another drive to the service department. All 4-5 misfires have also occurred in approx. 6 months.

Another issue that needed fixed was the "Throttle Cable." Same symptoms as the misfires, the engine fails to give any power and it seems as if you are going to stall.

Another issue that was never brought into service was one time the truck failed to pump gas normally. It almost seemed as the tank was full and the truck didn't want anymore gas, even though the truck was nowhere near full.

Another issue that was never brought into service was when the truck sometimes fails to get out of Park. It'll display a message stating, "Please put the vehicle in park." - or something along those lines and it'll never let you get out of park unless you restart the engine a couple of times.



And despite all of the issues I have posted, I know these aren't all the issues my Dad has ran into. These are the most upfront and larger scaled or newer issues.

Here's the issue though- when my Dad comes to trade this truck in, how does he know with buying another Ram that he will receive a reliable and durable truck? Would he seriously be a fool to buy another Ram after all the issues he's had?
He loves Ram. He likes the looks, everything. He hates Ford, Chevy, GMC, all the other brands.

I wrote this up just to see if anyone else has ran into any issues with their 2019 Ram 1500's. I meant for this thread to be as respectful as possible to Ram as I understand that this truck was, as my grandpop would say, "built on a Friday."
 

crash68

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I think your dad just got a bad luck of the draw with the truck. Most trucks leave the dealership and don't return for anything other than maintenance and the occasional minor issues.
As for the dealership service departments, a bunch are not what they used to be. Between being back logged due to lack of qualified technicians and part shortages you can get some really crappy service. Even worse some techs at the dealerships are glorified part changers, seen more than one post of people reporting dealers changing the same part(s) over and over.
 

PoMansRam

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Yes, sorry about your issues!

I'm glad my 2019 doesn't have any of those options, nor problems.

I do know something as simple as water droplets on the bumpers will throw proximity sensor errors on our 2019 Nissan. Wipe them off or let it wind dry and its good to go.
 

2012RAM1500RT

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I think your dad just got a bad luck of the draw with the truck. Most trucks leave the dealership and don't return for anything other than maintenance and the occasional minor issues.
As for the dealership service departments, a bunch are not what they used to be. Between being back logged due to lack of qualified technicians and part shortages you can get some really crappy service. Even worse some techs at the dealerships are glorified part changers, seen more than one post of people reporting dealers changing the same part(s) over and over.
I agree with what you're saying. I've been a mechanic all my life, I work for 1 company and keep their equipment going. I'm glad I don't work in a garage for the public now days, I feel for them with the quality of the parts we get too. We look bad when the parts we install fail and we have to replace them again.
 

gfh77665

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I personally don't buy the first (or maybe second) year model of a new generation from ANY company. I bought a 2019 Classic. Any truck you buy just after a major redesign will have some bugs in it that will be worked out in the subsequent model years. With that said, it appears you just had the misfortune of buying one with far more issues than the norm. If you have had most or all of the issues repaired, just roll with it. If there is still new issues popping up and you are frustrated, trade it in. The trade value should not be affected. The odds are overwhelmingly in your favor the next RAM will be much better.
 

JohnnyMac

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Agree with everyone else. Sounds like a lemon(ish) truck. My 2018 hasn't been in for anything except a couple recalls. Right now they are giving some pretty solid trade in values on used vehicles (although he'd probably lose any extra in the purchase of a newer truck). If it were me, I'd trade it in on something a year or so newer if for no other reason, to feel like he has something reliable. You can't trust it now. Good luck!
 

KeithP

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I agree you got a bad one. Unfortunately it happens, especially first year of a new model.

I just had the power fold mirrors replaced on my 19. The mechanism has been re-engineered due to a high rate of failure. This is a warranty item. But aside from that, I have had zero problems with mine.

Trade in prices are high right now. May be a good time to trade for a new one. They’ve had 3 years to fix the “bugs” like the power fold mirror mechanism.
 
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