New Big Horn completely died on road

[Uli Jon]

New forum member here, thanks in advance for any input about this. Last month I purchased a new 1500 Big Horn. Right at 3000 miles on Monday, I was in town on the expressway when my radio turned off, a 'service air bag' warning came on, then the ABS malfunction warning, the gas tank dropped to E. Basically all signals went ****** so I decided to exit the highway ASAP onto a side road. But it killed the engine while I was in the middle of the off ramp. Completely dead. The hazards worked and that's it. It is at the dealer and I have no word yet about what happened.

Even worse as it sat there being prepped for the tow truck some knucklehead crashed into the back of it.

I am concerned obviously because this is the most expensive vehicle I have ever purchased, worked hard and saved for it, and now have serious questions about it and Ram.


Has this happened to anyone else?

What caused this in anyone's opinion and should I expect this on a regular basis?

 

[2014StormTrooper]

sounds like a possible BCM issue, happened on one of my last cars. hope you get it squared away

 

[Andy578]

these trucks and really new vehicles in general have a ton of electronics just waiting to fail. i'd be most worried about the damage to the rear end, getting a collision on record with only 3000 miles really hurts. hope they offer you some sort of compensation

 

[InspectGWS]

...hope they offer you some sort of compensation

To include depreciated value of now owning a wrecked truck...

 

[grubbster]

I had my truck go dead but not while driving. Turned out to be the RF module.

 

[ExpressRules]

To include depreciated value of now owning a wrecked truck...

Why would the dealer be responsible for a driver that wasn't paying attention and hit the truck??

 

[InspectGWS]

Why would the dealer be responsible for a driver that wasn't paying attention and hit the truck??

My bad - I meant the drivers insurance company...

 

[baum]

since when are people compensated for depredation due to an accident?

 

[SWJewellTN]

since when are people compensated for depredation due to an accident?

As the responsible party you are responsilbe for everything. Most people are quick to sign-off on the actual damage to get their vehicle fixed or replaced. Nowadays with things like Carfax and such you need to address this issue rather than being in a rush to get a check for damages. My wife was stopped in traffic and had a motorcyclist dump his bike to avoid a crash, and in the process he rolled into the back of her Mustang. It simply popped the rear bumper cover out from the quarterpanel. In other words, no damage, but when we went to trade it in the dealership pulled a Carfax on us and asked about the accident that we were in and the damage to the car. Had I not known the Sales Manager it would have dropped the car's value just for that report showing up.

 

[HemiPower36]

Damn dude. Truck crapped out on the off ramp like like a B-52 being shot down. To make **** worse, some dude plowed into you. I too own a 14' 1500 and the scenario you just described sounds like a damn horror story. Fresking Texas chain saw massacre type ****. Hopefully Ram compensates you.

 

[Andy578]

since when are people compensated for depredation due to an accident?

it's actually pretty common now. my insurance actually had an option that if there's a not at fault accident with more then $5000 damage they will write it off and give you the full purchase price

 

[Uli Jon]

Finally got an update. No one has seen it before. Won't acknowledge any electric charge, installed new battery and other components. Can't even get the key out still. Someone is coming in tomorrow to figure it out they said. I don't think I want it back even if they get it running. Also I spent over 1k on line x , tint and side rails after I bought it. F ing great. Thanks for the replies so far. Maybe they can give me a new one.

 

[GreenClassic]

Give them a chance to fix it. **** happens. But I know it sucks when it happens to us.

They will not give you a new one. Only way they would do that is if it becomes a lemon-law candidate.

 

[HAMMER77777]

Give them a chance to fix it. **** happens. But I know it sucks when it happens to us.

They will not give you a new one. Only way they would do that is if it becomes a lemon-law candidate.

^This. I feel for u man, but be Happy youre under warranty still. This is precisely why Im gonna get the LIFETIME warranty. It will pay for itself, because this type of **** is bound to happen, somewhere along the line.

 

[Sir John]

Give them a chance to fix it. **** happens. But I know it sucks when it happens to us.

They will not give you a new one. Only way they would do that is if it becomes a lemon-law candidate.

I know Ford has a buy back program.....Does Ram?

 

[Uli Jon]

Here is a run down, I am not a high priority obviously. Serves me right for paying for the truck in full I guess and they have my money so f*ck me right??

Main points

• IT IS A MAJOR PROBLEM AND POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS ONE.

• IT IS A RARE / ONE-OFF PROBLEM.

1. Service Department said they have never seen it before.
2. Service Department nor Chrysler/Ram have found the problem after five days in the shop. (9/23 – 9/27)

• CANNOT GET COMMUNICATION FROM DEALERSHIP ON REPAIR STATUS WITHOUT DOING IT MYSELF. (This is horse sh*t.)

TUE 9/23 1:55 PM - Called . They had not looked at it yet. Busy.
THU 9/25 4:12 PM - Called . They do not know what is wrong. They had not seen it before. No chargers, replacement components, or diagnostic equipment work. Someone is coming in Friday morning to identify the problem and then they will fix it Friday. I asked if he would call me with an update on Friday and he said that he would.
FRI 9/26 5:52 PM - No call from Service as promised. Called General Manager who stated I would get an update that evening or Saturday morning.
SAT 9/27 1:00 PM - No call Friday evening or Saturday morning. Called General Manager. Left message. He called back at 3:30 PM stating they were going to use Chrysler assistance and try again on Monday. Apologized for not calling me back but they were really busy.

• SERVICE PERSONNEL CAUSED PROBLEMS AND POTENTIALLY CAUSED OTHERS.

1. Initial phone calls after breakdown: One technician told me to go ahead and pull it up on the tow truck without releasing the axles. This would damage the tranny and void my warranty so I did not of course. I talked to two techs, one was named , but I cannot remember the other one.
2. Service Department did not correctly give instructions on releasing the transmission for safe towing over the phone. The truck was struck by another vehicle while waiting for another response for unlocking the transmission for safe towing.

• WAS TOLD I WOULD GET AN ESTIMATE FOR FIXING THE REAR END DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE ACCIDENT.

This has not been received.

 

[mtofell]

Sounds like it may be time to call an attorney. With lemon law stuff it's very common to get attorney's fees back (at least from what I've read on various internet forums). Point being if you call around and tell this story to a few attorneys you should get a few to jump without you paying anything upfront.

As for the loss in value after an accident thing. The buzz words are "Diminished Value". If/when you get the truck back/fixed you should be talking to company of the guy that hit you about some more $$ because of this.

PM me if you need to. I have a buddy that makes a good living as an auto appraiser and deals with this stuff all the time. He networks with people all over the country and I could likely get you headed in the right direction.

 

[ExpressRules]

At this point I don't think this meets the letter of the law to bring the Lemon Law into it. But it does sound like you are getting the raw end of the deal and that the dealer is being a horses ***. Have you directly tried to bypass the dealer for communications and starting ringing the phone at Chrysler Corporate?

It does seem like the dealer isn't even trying to go to bat for you.

 

[zane8000]

what happened with this?