Need some Cummins love!

[jejb]

I've had my Ram CTD about a month now, and have been reading the forums/FB pages. Now I've been an active forum user/owner/admin for a LOT of years and know that most of the traffic to a site like this is going to be the folks having issues. That generally paints a much darker picture of reliability than what is realistic. So just wanting to hear experiences/stories of folks who have had little to no issues with the CTD and 6 speed auto.

I will not be modding the powertrain at all on my truck. Bought it Certified pre-owned with 14K miles on it. Have an 8.3l Cummins in our diesel pusher RV and it's been very reliable over the years. Sure hoping this smaller 6.7 Cummins is from the same mold that way.

 

[crash68]

My buddies '14 2500 CTD early on had the SCR replaced and reprogramed under recall along with the water pump replaced which was also a recall, both of which I think were specific to the '14 model year. His truck is well over the 100K mile mark with no issues other than regular maintenance. He does work the truck pretty hard towing a sizable fiver and some other trailers.
He has had a rogue Water in Fuel alarm pop up with no signs of water in the fuel. Some people have had the same issue and all solved it by replacing the sensor(they're in the fuel filter assemblies).

 

[Josephc1]

I have a 2014 6.7 coming up on 70K with no issues other than the recall items. Truck is all stock and is solid.

 

[chri5k]

You're right about many of the posts are problems or modifications. Good stories are usually not in the Internet. I would add one but I don't want to jinx myself. I suppose to get a rough number of "happy" owners you could take the number of units sold as the denominator and put the complaints over it to form a better picture.

Q1 2020 RAM 2500/3500 Diesel sales were ~26,000. Figure ~250,000 for a year. Maybe 1000 complainers on the Internet. Over 99% are happy.

 

[Sandevino]

It's funny now that you bring it up, but most of the problems you read about are from those that mod their perfectly capable vehicles and end up messing them up.

 

[MADDOG]

I'm very happy with my truck even though I had to modify it as the dealers couldn't fix the problem that kept stranding me 14 Miles North Of Nowhere.

 

[jejb]

It's funny now that you bring it up, but most of the problems you read about are from those that mod their perfectly capable vehicles and end up messing them up.

I'm not sure about most, could be. You do have to look at that part of the equation, though. Seems like modding these trucks is a lively market.

 

[Sandevino]

I'm not sure about most, could be. You do have to look at that part of the equation, though. Seems like modding these trucks is a lively market.

Agreed, modding is alive and well but you can’t cheap out expecting good results. There are exceptions of course...

 

[mtnrider]

2016 2500 cummins just turning 64K on it and zero problems. Love this truck! Mine is stock engine and powertrain (other then a pedal commander), level kit and 35's for tires.

Be warned, this is a Very gas oriented forum so you will get a lot of diesel hate here so be ready. Lol.


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[MADDOG]

Don't worry about the Cummins haters...you have a site Administrator who is a Cummins Advocate.

 

[Sandevino]

Who’s a hater? They’re fantastic engines.

 

[TMyers]

My 2013 is getting ready to trip 100K. The only issue my truck has had was the turbo actuator at around 80K. It's a pricey job at the dealership but it's not a hard DIY job for under $400. There is a reprogram that cycles the actuator at startup. Make sure to get this reprogram.

My feelings on the Cummins 6.7L... My next truck will have a Cummins 6.7L engine.

 

[Dennis Shellito]

My 2011 CTD has had only two problems. I will state that I tuned and deleted the truck when it was almost new via an H&S Mini Maxx programmer with box tune, and that caused one of the issues which was the head gasket failure. The other problem was a fan clutch that would only work part of the time when it needed to run, and I fixed that with the Strictly Diesel conversion hub and viscous fan clutch. Since having a new HG I had the truck retuned with an EZlynk tow tune. If my truck would have been the newer DEF system trucks I am pretty sure I would have left the emissions in place. Most of the problems with these Ram diesels are the same issues that all newer vehicles have that are from the plethora of electronic controls that have weird glitches, though my truck has only the FC that i mentioned.

 

[Gr8bawana]

I have a 2017 with only 43,000+ miles on it. I've only put about 10,000 on it since we bought it last June and it has been flawless. The towing power compared to my 5.9 gasser is amazing. Zero problems so far and I don't anticipate any.
I believe that far more people have absolutely no problems than those who do by leaving their trucks 100% stock.
I agree that many people come here only to complain about any problems they're having but many of them start with "my truck is deleted and tuned".

 

[jejb]

The power from the Cummins is really amazing. I'm still getting used to how effortlessly it pulls all of our trailers up and down our Ozark Mt roads. I'm sure I'll never personally want or need a tuner of any kind for what I pull and how I drive. If I was going to put a tuner in anything, it would be the Cummins in our motor home. It could use a little more oomph on some hills when towing. But I won't risk the possible downsides. We just drive it easy and enjoy the reliability of it.

 

[Dennis Shellito]

Most of the guys that see no need to tune and delete their Cummins own the newer generations that run DEF fluid. Most owners of the 4th gens have done the deletes unless they live where they have periodic emissions tests, and those are the fellas that are wondering how to get their failed EGR and DPF systems clean so they don't spend a small fortune on the new parts. One of the main reason I tuned and deleted my 2011 was the thing drank fuel like it an OPEC poster child. I hear the owners of 5th gen Cummins talking about getting 17 - 20 mpg on their stock truck and mine stock was running 11 -14 mpg and usually about 12-12.5 mpg on the highway empty. I didn't own my 5th camper when I bought my truck new but heard others that owned the 10 and 11 year models saying they made 5.5-6 mpg pulling with their stock truck. No, no, that wouldn't work for me.

 

[BossHogg]

My observation from reading the various RAM forums over the years is that issues and deletes are related. I took a different route with my 2015 3500 SRW Cummins, 68RFE, and 3:42 axle ratios. I left it the way RAM's engineers designed it and perform scheduled maintenance. According to many opinionated posts on various RAM forums, I'm not capable of towing a wet rope. Well, I've got 27K miles of pulling a 15K pound fiver, problem-free. I've never experienced the fearmongering often spread of engine lugging, transmission gear hunting, lack of power, or any of the other doom and gloom scenarios they post.

Recalls related to the Cummins powertrain to date, SCR replacement, and water pump replacement.

I did have the rear air suspension system go out which was troubling. The rear left sensor went out and the compressor was seized. Repaired by Maxcare.

 

[chri5k]

Same here BossHogg. I have about 30K miles towing a 13K horse trailer with 120K total on the truck. All stock except for the Banks rear diff cover. Put it in tow/haul mode with full exhaust brake and it pulls just fine. I do my regular maintenance religiously and "knock on wood" no issues.

 

[Gr8bawana]

Same here BossHogg. I have about 30K miles towing a 13K horse trailer with 120K total on the truck. All stock except for the Banks rear diff cover. Put it in tow/haul mode with full exhaust brake and it pulls just fine. I do my regular maintenance religiously and "knock on wood" no issues.

As I said before I do believe the vast majority of Cumins owners have zero problems. I would also guess most of them don't drive them as they're "supposed" to as we're told to do by the numerous Cumins forums self proclaimed experts.

 

[SOKY_RAM]

2016 2500 cummins just turning 64K on it and zero problems. Love this truck! Mine is stock engine and powertrain (other then a pedal commander), level kit and 35's for tires.

Be warned, this is a Very gas oriented forum so you will get a lot of diesel hate here so be ready. Lol.


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I haven't really felt hated since going diesel, however i joined the forum with a Hemi so maybe I got grandfathered in.