My New Hurricane HO Concerns after reading the Autoblog Article on Pickup Truck Reliability

[MarkA70]

Howdy, having read the Autoblog pickup reliability article (linked on this site) my bubble is BURST about my new 2026 1500 Tungsten with the Hurricane HO. Specifically two of the problems mentioned. Wondering how many of the Hurricane HO's have these two things happen and where would I find that information. First is Catalytic Converter melting! Damn, that does not sound good, when would this occur, normal driving or some extended high speed??? Second in fluid in the turbo that causes it to crater! Again, how often is this occurring and where is it reported? I do not see any of these issues on this forum, are they happening with regularity or just one-of type events.

A couple of the more minor issues the article mentioned I have had. One, the Key Fob keeping the truck 'awake' all night and running down battery. I reported this on the forum and my solution of buying an RFID pouch to keep my keys in, problem solved. The Second one: the iPhone to Uconnect problem solved by having to again purchase an after market dongle to connect my iPhone.

I REALLY want to LOVE this truck, my fear is that there are bad times ahead. How much of these scares are real and occur often enough to cause one to regret their purchase?

 

[British Bulldog]

I’ve had mine since Feb 25. I have the HO engine…..12,000 mls.
Only issue was silly gremlins in electrics. Cured now, mainly. Except motion based camera frequently deselects. That’s IT……no other problems, I keep my keys well away from truck, thanks to advice here. I use a battery tender if it’s left unattended for more than a couple days. I DO love my truck. I can live with the silly gremlins unless they actually impact my enjoyment.
Never heard of melting cats…..

 

[ramffml]

I believe the melting cats was an early/limited thing, if you make it past warranty then there is probably nothing to worry about.

I'm not a fan of the hurricane in trucks, but the cat issue would be 0 concern for me if I owned one.

 

[jasonw]

If you spend all your time worrying about what might go wrong on a car, you'll never enjoy it. Try to find peace that your truck is fine as it sits now and that you will deal with issues as they arise.

If I were to stress about vehicles...
GMC 6.2s and 3.0 diesels blow up, their transmissions blow up...
Ford cam phasers, wet belts, transmissions that blow up...
Toyota turbo V6 engines blow up...

Most of the common vehicle makers build more good units then lemons, but there will always be a chance you'll draw the short straw. Enjoy it while its good, and who knows, it may be good for a loooong time.

Specifically to the issues you mentioned: If I recall correctly, the melting cats were an issue for the early 2025 HOs. Read about it on the RHO forums as well. In a very rough nutshell, they were not up to snuff for the temperatures that the HO motor was generating. Shouldn't be an issue on 2026s, haven't seen it yet on my late-ish 2025 (built in January 2025). On the bright side, if I am wrong and the cats melt, its an excuse to get some nice aftermarket downpipes (with cats included), and even without a programmer/tuner, you're going to pick up several more ponies. They sell them in ready-to-go kits for our truck/engine.

Sometimes turbos do fail for any turboed vehicle, but I've not heard of a the Ram 3.0 turbos being any less reliable than others. This is the first I've heard about a "common" issue related to fluid.

The key fob keeping it awake was shown to be related to proximity entry/wake-up, I believe. Do you have that turned on?

Also unsure about the iPhone issue. I have an iPhone 16 Pro, the wife an iPhone 14 Pro (upgrading her later this year), and neither of us have had any issues with my truck.