New purchase hurricane question

[70runner]

I have a 2025 RAM 1500 Laramie that I bought new last February. Have not experienced any problems with my Hurricane engine, which now has 11,800 miles on it. I changed my oil myself, and the only oil I could find that meets ALL of the Owner's Manual Spec's (besides the expensive Mopar brand) is Valvoline Advanced 0W20 Full Synthetic.

Pennzoil 0W20 Ultra Platinum full syn also meets specs for the SO. IIRC, its the factory fill. 2025 Rebel had 1 minor issue in 7 months/4Kmi, faulty trailer brake module. One thing I recommend with these trucks is to put them on a trickle charger whenever possible. Marginal battery condition and parasitic drain (modules which don't sleep soundly) likely contribute to the electrical gremlins.

 

[turkeybird56]

I find it hard to believe they have not fixed the thermostat and other teething issues with the Hurricane.
I am soon going to replace my 19 Ram Longhorn and not going with the Hemi because I hate the etorque which I presently have.

Keep an eye on electrical gremlins. I wanted to get new 26 Hemi but since it has e torque no go. I will not buy a DI turbo truck, ie hurricane.

 

[Dusty]

I have decided to step away from Ford and purchase my first Ram. I am going with the Laramie trim but have questions concerning engine choice. I know the Hemi is back but have been reading about the hurricane engine thermostat issues among a few other things. Was curious if you guys and gals feel that they have addressed the issues I have heard about.
Also any other input for a Ram newbie would be appreciated. Thanks in advance

If you're buying now you won't have a problem because as of a few days ago you could not order a Hemi in a Laramie or above trim. It comes standard with the Hurricane Standard Output.

Since the EPA no longer gives manufacturers credits for Start/Stop, I was hoping that it would be deleted. Again, at this moment there isn't any 2025/2026 Ram without this annoying feature (sorry for my political commentary). I've been told that Ram did not want to lose the miniscule advantage Start/Stop provides for the EPA certification.

Since the Hurricane and Hemi are now produced in the same factory there are constraints place on 5.7 production due to Hurricane priority. This is because the Hurricane gets a better EPA rating and reduces FCA's need to purchase credits from other companies.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 145903 miles.

 

[PolarisCobra]

I believe that they fixed the thermostat issue in the Jeeps that have the Hurricane, before they even put the engine in the Rams. I have not seen any instance of the thermostat issue in a Ram. (Correct me if I am mistaken. )

 

[mb33458]

If I was buying new right now I’d avoid the Hemi because you can’t get one without etorque. I’m not sure how big of an issue the thermostat is on ‘26 Hurricane equipped models. It’s likely they’ve at least attempted to address those issues but I haven’t seen anything that definitively confirms that. Ram tends to be pretty tight lipped about that kind of thing.

Just curious why you “decided to step away from Ford”? In addition to a 2020 Ram 1500 Limited I also have a 2014 F150 Limited 3.5 EcoBoost we bought used three years ago. I’ve been really happy with that truck but it only gets driven a couple thousand miles a year. I’ll be in the market for a new truck soon and was looking at my options.

Not sure about the OP, my son in law just got rid of his 2018 F150 because his timing chain came phasers went out (out of warranty) $6k repair. He had the 3.5 with the twin turbo, which also had the turbo replaced (in warranty). They do have issues.

 

[coobie]

I have decided to step away from Ford and purchase my first Ram. I am going with the Laramie trim but have questions concerning engine choice. I know the Hemi is back but have been reading about the hurricane engine thermostat issues among a few other things. Was curious if you guys and gals feel that they have addressed the issues I have heard about.
Also any other input for a Ram newbie would be appreciated. Thanks in advance

I purchased my 2025 ram 1500 Laramie and love the hurricane SO motor so far.Decent gas mileage 21 highway 18 city driving.The battery in these new ram trucks SUCK though mine took a chit at 1 year old.Replaced under warranty.I hate the electric tailgate also.

 

[Mlarv5]

I went from a 2025 Ram Big Horn (so a lower trim) with the SST non HO engine, back to a 2025 Lariat Ford F150 with the 3.5 EB.

The engine and tranny seemed fine. The sit in the seat power seemed fine. The issues that caused me to get rid of it in 11 months, had to do with the normal (bad but normal because they all do it) electrical.

The adaptive cruise almost caused me to get rear ended a few times, because it sensed a truck going off an exit. I had three CEL's with no codes.

It would not recognize my wife's phone half the time when she drove it.

I had the inflate to 50PSI issue (recall), but my VIN was not listed so they wouldn't fix it until it was recalled, trying to figure out how they would know how I had the issue if they didn't report it. I went to the NTHSB and filed a complaint, which got a fix for it.

There were other electrical issues, that made me trade it in. One of the biggest issues was @RamCares does not exist. I went to my local service, they said I had to call Ram. I called Ram and they said I had to go through service. Service said these other trucks like yours do the same thing. No one wanted to fix the issues they just kept the circle firing squad pointed at each other so no one took ownership of the issues.

I will say I have never had even close of an issue with Ford Customer service.

 

[RamCares]

We appreciate your opinions, @Mlarv5 and understand how frustrating the above would feel to experience. Know if you ever want to give our team another try, then we would love to redeem your previous encounter with us. Send us a PM any time.

Hannah
Ram Cares

 

[mikeru]

I went from a 2025 Ram Big Horn (so a lower trim) with the SST non HO engine, back to a 2025 Lariat Ford F150 with the 3.5 EB.

The engine and tranny seemed fine. The sit in the seat power seemed fine. The issues that caused me to get rid of it in 11 months, had to do with the normal (bad but normal because they all do it) electrical.

The adaptive cruise almost caused me to get rear ended a few times, because it sensed a truck going off an exit. I had three CEL's with no codes.

It would not recognize my wife's phone half the time when she drove it.

I had the inflate to 50PSI issue (recall), but my VIN was not listed so they wouldn't fix it until it was recalled, trying to figure out how they would know how I had the issue if they didn't report it. I went to the NTHSB and filed a complaint, which got a fix for it.

There were other electrical issues, that made me trade it in. One of the biggest issues was @RamCares does not exist. I went to my local service, they said I had to call Ram. I called Ram and they said I had to go through service. Service said these other trucks like yours do the same thing. No one wanted to fix the issues they just kept the circle firing squad pointed at each other so no one took ownership of the issues.

I will say I have never had even close of an issue with Ford Customer service.

It’s unfortunate that Stellantis/Ram doesn’t seem to understand the importance of great customer service. The company I retired from has excellent customer service. When a customer experiences an issue with their products (which is always going to happen no matter what the product is), that company has developed a reputation of taking care of those issues in a timely manner. They offer a 10 year warranty, and have never charged for a warranty repair even well beyond that 10 years. The company is the gold standard in that industry, which competitors all try to emulate.

I think that if one major car maker was to develop a reputation of having excellent customer service, it would force other car makers to follow suit. Customers are willing to deal with problems with a given product if the manufacturer is quick to take care of that problem to the customer’s satisfaction. Car makers don’t seem to worry about future sales by taking care of existing customers. I guess they’re okay with that because they’re making money.

I’ve worked with @RamCares before. They definitely helped to get the rear window replaced. But it never should have had to go that far. Hearing that you’ve never had issues with Ford cust. service makes me think about shopping with them when it’s time to buy a new truck. We’ll see when that time comes in a year or two.

 

[Mlarv5]

We appreciate your opinions, @Mlarv5 and understand how frustrating the above would feel to experience. Know if you ever want to give our team another try, then we would love to redeem your previous encounter with us. Send us a PM any time.

Hannah
Ram Cares

I had sent you several PM's, also included you in several of my post about things. No answers in any of them. A little to little a little to late.

 

[RamCares]

Glad to hear our team was able to assist you in replacing your window, @mikeru! Thank you for your perspective as well.

@Mlarv5 have you sent us a message recently? Just looked at our recent private messages and was unable to find you. Again, we understand your feelings here but would like to re-examine your concerns if interested.

Hannah
Ram Cares

 

[Docwagon1776]

It’s unfortunate that Stellantis/Ram doesn’t seem to understand the importance of great customer service. The company I retired from has excellent customer service. When a customer experiences an issue with their products (which is always going to happen no matter what the product is), that company has developed a reputation of taking care of those issues in a timely manner.

When I first got serious about trail running, I bought a refurbished Garmin Fenix 5X. About 18-24 months later it stopped working, hanging up at the loading screen. I called Garmin to ask if there was a way to do a hard reboot beyond what was in the manual and they said no....but they'd send me a replacement for free. I told the lady I bought it refurbished and it was just a 90 day warranty which was well past. She said that didn't matter, they'd send me a refurb and they would just need a credit card for a deposit until I sent the dead one back to them.

Last year I upgraded to a new Enduro 3, I never considered any other activity watch beside Garmin.

Compared to dealing with Ram to get my transmission replaced under the lifetime warranty, night and day. Stellantis only cares about cost cutting. While I'm sure the folks at Ramcares are nice people, they are in India and have no real authority to do anything aside from try and manage you while the process plays out. Having to contact the CEO was ridiculous, but after 3 months it's what it took.

I can't imagine buying a new Ram again. Terrible reliability plunge, horrid customer service, if I want 360 cameras now I have to get sleepy driver monitoring? No, none of that appeals to me. At least they raised the prices... If I ever decide to get another, it'll be 2021 or earlier.

 

[Mlarv5]

Glad to hear our team was able to assist you in replacing your window, @mikeru! Thank you for your perspective as well.

@Mlarv5 have you sent us a message recently? Just looked at our recent private messages and was unable to find you. Again, we understand your feelings here but would like to re-examine your concerns if interested.

Hannah
Ram Cares

Not in the last 5 months. I traded the truck the beginning of Dec.

 

[RamCares]

I see. If you would like to discuss your frustrations, know we're here, @Mlarv5! Otherwise, we appreciate your comments.

Hannah
Ram Cares

 

[coobie]

We appreciate your opinions, @Mlarv5 and understand how frustrating the above would feel to experience. Know if you ever want to give our team another try, then we would love to redeem your previous encounter with us. Send us a PM any time.

Hannah
Ram Cares

 

[testerdahl]

Since the EPA no longer gives manufacturers credits for Start/Stop, I was hoping that it would be deleted. Again, at this moment there isn't any 2025/2026 Ram without this annoying feature (sorry for my political commentary). I've been told that Ram did not want to lose the miniscule advantage Start/Stop provides for the EPA certification.

Since the Hurricane and Hemi are now produced in the same factory there are constraints place on 5.7 production due to Hurricane priority. This is because the Hurricane gets a better EPA rating and reduces FCA's need to purchase credits from other companies.

I've been following the EPA news pretty closely. Auto start/stop is not officially out. In fact, the new CAFE documents from the Trump EPA note future vehicles will have it to meet their MPG goals. TLDR: Zeldin fired off a Tweet without actually checking with his team.

The latter is just speculation on the Hemi restrictions in the factory. I just interviewed Tim K and he is basing the Hemi engine production based on demand. They see it the same way Ford does with the V8 engine being around 25 percent or less of trucks sold. Once you drive the Hurricane vs the Hemi (or the EcoBoost vs the 5.0L Coyote), it really is no contest and customers opt for the smaller engine.

 

[JWH-1]

I bought the 2025 Ram 1500 with the Hurricane SO last fall. I got it to tow our travel trailer that weighs a little over 7,000 pounds.

I owned Ford F150s for decades. I went with the Ram 1500 because it was cheaper than the F150 and it has the trailer pulling package included. I am pleased with it so far. The Ram performance is dramatically better. The Ram is smoother and much more quiet. I have read about others missing the V8 sound. We are enjoying the lack of noise.

Our first trip was to Florida in the heat. No thermostat issues. The truck pulled the trailer with ease. Of course that was flat ground. A few weeks later it got a real test in the Smokey Mountains. No problems at all. On both trips I could set the cruise control and relax. It kept the speed within 1 or 2 MPH of the setting, regardless of terrain.

It will get a real test this summer out in Colorado. I hope the trend continues!

 

[johnts]

I purchased my 2025 ram 1500 Laramie and love the hurricane SO motor so far.Decent gas mileage 21 highway 18 city driving.The battery in these new ram trucks SUCK though mine took a chit at 1 year old.Replaced under warranty.I hate the electric tailgate also.

You can turn off the electric tailgate in the uConnect system options. I will be doing this when I get my '26 Laramie in a few weeks. Much easier and quicker for manual operation.

 

[LAramrod]

I too went from a 2010 f250 super duty diesel with 130k miles to a new Dodge 1500 Laramie Hurricane engine and my biggest haul is a 30’ travel trailer and it handles well with an Equalizer hitch with adjustment for the less heavy duty truck springs. Otherwise I have 10k miles on the truck now and no problems. Going to do the trailer light recall but my truck is fine with trailer lights. I really like the comfort and features RAM gave me compared to a Ford and for a much lower price. So far my first RAM is great.

 

[LAramrod]

Also is there a thread just for those who own a RAM with the Hurricane engine?