Ram 2500 heating core issues

[scott thorpe]

So I had to get a new heating core install in January of this year. Its a 2016 truck, I took it to the dealership to get the work done. It ended up costing $1823.00 just over in mileage for warranty. I go to turn on the heat this year and basically no heat WTF. I take it back to the dealership and tells me its the heating core and its clogged again , this is where it gets good , he tells me it won't be cover under warranty because the heating core was clogged from the crude in the radiator . which caused the heating core to be bad. just like some feed back. wondering if anyone else had issues with there heating core. Plus I have a dispute in with Chrysler right now.

 

[Hemi395]

How many miles on the truck? They should have done at least a partial coolant flush when they replaced the heater core. You should be able to feel the hoses going to the heater core in the engine bay. If you turn the heat on one should be cooler than the other.

That really sucks they're not standing by their work...

 

[Burla]

That is so sick, 1800 for a heater core, ouch. If I'm not mistaking that work should be covered for 12 mos at ram dealer.

 

[Burla]

I bet the ******* put the wrong coolant back in on the original install. That is what happens when you mix oat with hoat. I'd file small claims at well, any sober judge is giving you back 1800. This is one of the downsides of oat, sometimes it gels and that's that. Super rare with hoat or iat unless left in too long.

 

[Burla]

rmi25 supposedly stops this from happening, or at least let's you know if there is a problem. Any sludge rmi 25 takes it out of system and put it into overflow where it gets trapped. I had it work on a 351w that the previous owner put in dex into the iat cooling system, rmi 25 corrected mine before it was too late, left a bunch of slime in overflow which I dumped out.

 

[Burla]

Man I pissed for you, I cant believe FCA is this bad. Never again for me, what a joke. I will drive my Mopar as long as I can, but if anything happens I wont be going to FCA losers.

 

[scott thorpe]

The truck has around 74,000 now , Its my only work truck , it's how I make my living. It is suppose to be covered by there one year work warranty. They are trying to say its the sediment in the radiator that clogged it. But basically it's the same problem why it failed the first time. sediment in the antifreeze. I just needed to get to 8 more months out of this truck. I have had 2 other ram trucks before this one. With all the problems this past year with this truck plus the lack of support of Chrysler. I will be looking at a different truck to buy next year. NO MORE DODGE RAM FOR ME

 

[indept]

Did you ever add antifreeze to it prior to the original core going bad? As for this one, if it failed due to sludge and they DIDN'T flush the system it's on them NOT you.

 

[GsRAM]

This is BS plain and simple. Part of their JOB when your truck came in was to properly diagnose the problem.

The problem was the coolant. They did a half A repair and now want to blame you? No way! This is why I'll spin my own wrenches as long as I can regardless of cost.

Who in their right mind would see a heater core plugged and then not inspect the coolant condition or just flush it right away as part of the repair?

I swear the techs these days are like the kids in school. Spend all this money on technology and they just come out dumber and dumber.

I feel for you OP. Fight this to the top if you have to! No way this is on you.

 

[Ashton]

+1

 

[Jerry10389]

Are they sure its sediment from the coolant and not foundary sand finally breaking free from the block? Normally it happens just past 100K, but the sand is a common issue with the 6.4 Hemi.


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[16Ram4x4]

This is total BS that the dealership that did the work will not honor there own repair / parts warranty.
When they initially replaced the heater core they (by common sense) should have flushed the whole cooling system before hooking up the new heater core.
If they didn't do the job right in the beginning, then it's on them to correct it and make it right.
Just my 2 cents worth, I would take it to an independent shop that family and freinds recommend and have them give a diagnosis and cost to fix the problem.
Then I would submit the repair bill from the independent shop to the dealership who doesn't want to warranty there repair work.

 

[Lisa Elle]

So I had to get a new heating core install in January of this year. Its a 2016 truck, I took it to the dealership to get the work done. It ended up costing $1823.00 just over in mileage for warranty. I go to turn on the heat this year and basically no heat WTF. I take it back to the dealership and tells me its the heating core and its clogged again , this is where it gets good , he tells me it won't be cover under warranty because the heating core was clogged from the crude in the radiator . which caused the heating core to be bad. just like some feed back. wondering if anyone else had issues with there heating core. Plus I have a dispute in with Chrysler right now.

 

[Lisa Elle]

I have the same problem with my heater core. I bought my 2016 2500 4x4 truck from the first owner (in the AZ summer) who said he had it maintained through the dealership under warranty and he sold it to me with 74,000 miles on it (just out of warranty). I’m in AZ and once I needed the heater to work, months after buying it used, I discovered it didn’t blow heat. I had put about 1,000 miles on it and I called the man who I bought it from. He said he had a problem with the heat but a simple flush fixed the issue. I brought it to a local shop where they ended up replacing the heater core for $1,200 and it was full of a sand like sediment. It did blow hot air when I left their shop.

I moved - to a much colder climate 80 miles away (I bought the truck to facilitate my move north) and the truck overheated about 250 miles later. Luckily I was a few miles away from a dealership and they replaced a solenoid and some hoses. After that repair, the heater again didn’t blow heat. I called dealership that replaced a solenoid and hoses and they said to take it up with then the shop that replaced the heater core- I did and they said when I left their shop, months prior, the heater was indeed working so their hands were tied and that they would of course look at it, but I’d have to pay for any repairs, even if the heater core was plugged again. I suffered through the rest of the winter without heat because it was going to be too expensive and I was going to have to take the truck 80 miles and find a place to stay while they repaired it.

It’s getting damn cold where I live now and last week, I brought the truck to the dealer to fix the heater where they said it now needed a new radiator because there was some sort of restriction in the system. They replaced the radiator, for $1,300 and called me to inform me that the truck is blowing hot air but 1- it’s loud and 2- it’s not blowing strongly through the front air vents but it was ready for pick up. Now they think there’s a problem in the air box somewhere and they will have to charge me more $ to diagnose/fix the problem. They also mentioned there might be a blockage in the heater core again and the dealership recommended that I take the truck back to the shop 80 miles away that replaced the heater core last winter. They think the blending doors are working properly.

I suspect after reading the responses here that someone put the wrong antifreeze in the radiator prior to my buying the truck used and I think the sediment in the radiator moved into the heater core again, if that’s possible. I also suspect the radiator wasn’t fully flushed when the heater core was replaced.

Any recommendations of how to fix this problem are greatly appreciated! The only fluid I’ve ever put in the truck is gas.

 

[Jeff Courtney]

I have a '18 3500 big horn 6.4 hemi and recently have no heat to drivers side. Ordered the truck new, never had to add coolant, no overheating no issues ever untill this. Took to dealer for diagnosis and estimate for fixing. Was told bad heater core and reservoir was stained and needed replaced. Estimate was $1900. WTF?
If the coolant stained the tank to the point it needs replaced what's wrong with the coolant? When asked if they reccomend a coolant system flush and coolant replace to unclog the core was told never had any luck unclogging a core. For $1900 I'm considering the CLR flush. If the coolant is breaking down and clogging the core us it causing damage to the other parts if the same system?

 

[mtofell]

I haven't read of many similar issues with coolant and clogged/non-functioning heaters/cores. IIRC, factory spec for coolant flush is 150K so none of these experiences seem close to that. I just don't see how things can be so gummed up after the relatively short amount of time/miles.

 

[GTyankee]

I for one, would never take an OUT of Warranty Ram to the dealership for anything coolant or HVAC related.

I go to Radiator & Air Conditioning Shops for things like that
They know the business, they don't need any computer to diagnose
The computer that they do use, can control every door & actuator in the HVAC Box.

They can use a Borescope to look at things like the evaporator

They deal directly with Radiator manufacturers, they don't go through a middleman.
They will separate the parts of a radiator & can replace bad tanks or cores

It is much easier to check on the reputation of a radiator shop, than it is to check on a dealership

 

[crash68]

I haven't read of many similar issues with coolant and clogged/non-functioning heaters/cores.

seems like the HD trucks have a significant prevailing amount of people reporting issues with the heater core clogged. Also it doesn't seem like either engine sticks out as the problem for those thinking it's a casting sand issue.