Ram now spells Customer Service as ***

[photog0611]

Wow! Purchased a 2021 Ram 1500 Limited one month ago. Yesterday, with 800 mi on vehicle it would not start - had power in cabin but computer would not turn starter nor allow any input so vehicle stuck in Park with parking brake on. Battery was only giving 10v. Computer flashed alarms for almost every system (engine, ABS, TPMS, lane depart, etc). Here is my customer service "adventure" to get what seems to be a simple warranty claim addressed:
- called Roadside Assistance (RA) - they said they would only tow to Dealer A (closest) or I could pay $500 to tow to Dealer B where I purchased truck
- called A to set up appt for truck - they said it would be 5 weeks (WEEKS) before they could look at vehicle.
- called Ram customer service abt a rental since this is warranty claim - they said 5 days at $35/d - even though Dealer A said it would take at least 5 weeks. Tough they said
- called RA - after long conversation they agreed to tow truck to B and 5 weeks was unreasonable. You think???
- called B to setup appt. They said ok but no rental car or loaner available
- next day called B with questions how to get vehicle out of park and release park brake. Asked abt loaner again - this time they said one available but mgr approval needed. I reminded them I just dropped $65k on truck one mo / 800 mi ago. After a few hr they got mgr approval for loaner
- tow truck showed. Using a jump box they got truck started, but computer wouldnt clear the previous alarms
- Called B again. They agreed problem was battery and a new battery will allow truck to auto reset all the alarms. They suggested I drive to A since it was closer and faster for me. I'm sure I saved RA a bunch of $ since truck was not towed.
- Called A to setup appt for warranty replacement of battery and to reflash computer.
- Drove 1.5 HR to A. Upon arrival A said appt was only to replace battery - if I wanted warranty replacement it required extra steps and they didnt have a mechanic to work on truck for 1-2 days. When I complained that I had just driven 1.5 hr for a warranty replacement and was now stranded she basically told me to *** - nothing she could do. Service Mgr on vacation
- Got wife to leave work early to drive 3 hr roundtrip to come pick me up. Wrote this post. Waiting on call from A in next 1-2 days abt battery.

You gotta work really hard to be this difficult to your customers. Hoping this turns out just to be a battery replacement. When my wife's car needs replacement I'm pretty sure it wont be a CDJR vehicle.

p.s. I learned why its not a good idea to set your parking brake when you park.

 

[mlrtimemach]

That's bizarre.
200 miles on my truck tranny went out. Called an tow truck arrived within hr. I had the choice between a truck or a Challenger as a rental. Knowing how my foot could be I got the truck. Had that rental truck for about 3.5 weeks as they fixed my truck. No charge to me just had to make sure I returned it with same amount of gas in it as when I picked it up.
My only complaint, the dealer I bought truck from was so new they didn't have capability to rebuild a transmission. They had to tow my truck to their mother ship location about 1.5 hrs away



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[GTyankee]

I have to wonder if after your arrived at the dealership, if the Etorque battery or batteries where ever put on a FULL Charge

Until they have been given about a 90 % charge
I would refrain from using that Automatic Shut Off & restart feature

 

[Farmer Fran]

In my state a vehicle out of service for 20 business days within a calendar year is a lemon. That includes RAM to pay and not limited to all fees -taxes, tags, interest...

just saying.

 

[Kipslonk]

A friend of mine had good luck when he engaged corporate for his Toyota SUV. I would think similar results would be had with all the manufacturers. I would pre-empt a disappointment in the morning by getting it on their radar. I'm sorry to hear about your cluster!

 

[SniperDroid]

Very recently I needed service for the A/C, too hot Heated Stearing wheel, Fuel Gage, and Tailgate on my 2019 Bighorn 2500. Purchased dealer is two hours away. I called Local Dealer #1 where I take my wife's Jeep Cherokee. He said a 6 week wait. Called dealer #2, that is the closest dealer to my house. On a Thursday afternoon he gave me a Monday appointment. Had the truck two days, A/C fixed, replaced Heated Steering wheel, the other two are my imagination.... but service was Fast, and Courteous. I think it's just the dealer you wind up with.

 

[Daw14]

Wow! Purchased a 2021 Ram 1500 Limited one month ago. Yesterday, with 800 mi on vehicle it would not start - had power in cabin but computer would not turn starter nor allow any input so vehicle stuck in Park with parking brake on. Battery was only giving 10v. Computer flashed alarms for almost every system (engine, ABS, TPMS, lane depart, etc). Here is my customer service "adventure" to get what seems to be a simple warranty claim addressed:
- called Roadside Assistance (RA) - they said they would only tow to Dealer A (closest) or I could pay $500 to tow to Dealer B where I purchased truck
- called A to set up appt for truck - they said it would be 5 weeks (WEEKS) before they could look at vehicle.
- called Ram customer service abt a rental since this is warranty claim - they said 5 days at $35/d - even though Dealer A said it would take at least 5 weeks. Tough they said
- called RA - after long conversation they agreed to tow truck to B and 5 weeks was unreasonable. You think???
- called B to setup appt. They said ok but no rental car or loaner available
- next day called B with questions how to get vehicle out of park and release park brake. Asked abt loaner again - this time they said one available but mgr approval needed. I reminded them I just dropped $65k on truck one mo / 800 mi ago. After a few hr they got mgr approval for loaner
- tow truck showed. Using a jump box they got truck started, but computer wouldnt clear the previous alarms
- Called B again. They agreed problem was battery and a new battery will allow truck to auto reset all the alarms. They suggested I drive to A since it was closer and faster for me. I'm sure I saved RA a bunch of $ since truck was not towed.
- Called A to setup appt for warranty replacement of battery and to reflash computer.
- Drove 1.5 HR to A. Upon arrival A said appt was only to replace battery - if I wanted warranty replacement it required extra steps and they didnt have a mechanic to work on truck for 1-2 days. When I complained that I had just driven 1.5 hr for a warranty replacement and was now stranded she basically told me to *** - nothing she could do. Service Mgr on vacation
- Got wife to leave work early to drive 3 hr roundtrip to come pick me up. Wrote this post. Waiting on call from A in next 1-2 days abt battery.

You gotta work really hard to be this difficult to your customers. Hoping this turns out just to be a battery replacement. When my wife's car needs replacement I'm pretty sure it wont be a CDJR vehicle.

p.s. I learned why its not a good idea to set your parking brake when you park.

Now that you have joined to rant.make sure to share outcome. Welcome to the forum

 

[Travelin Ram]

I’m not saying this is your situation, just sharing a general observation that when someone joins a forum to contribute a negative experience or rant, without the corresponding positive contributions, it often does not end well.

In some cases, it seems possible or likely that approach also is used in other interactions such as with the dealer or manufacturer.

I’ve had bad warranty experiences too. Probably we all have. ******** about it on the internet never helped, though. Usually just made me more frustrated.

I would pick the dealer I wanted to have an ongoing relationship with, do a reset, and try to make some friends there.

 

[LouM]

Interesting read;
that said I didn't catch that the truck in question was an e-torque version till I went back and looked at the OP's avatar.
Makes me wonder what was going on,
low voltage only reading 10 Volts, that isn't the 48 volt starter drive system voltage, that would have been the auxiliary battery.

I am surprised that a jump box could start an e-torque engine, to my knowledge that 48 volt starter/generator is the vehicle starter.
I am not real versed on how the e-torque system works, just what little I read up on them while looking for a vehicle.

As far as the tow costing less because you weren't towed, nope they responded to your location so the charge would have been the same minimum.

If the 48 volt battery pack went out it certainly would not be the same as changing out a conventional 12 volt battery.

 

[mikeru]

Interesting read;
that said I didn't catch that the truck in question was an e-torque version till I went back and looked at the OP's avatar.
Makes me wonder what was going on,
low voltage only reading 10 Volts, that isn't the 48 volt starter drive system voltage, that would have been the auxiliary battery.

I am surprised that a jump box could start an e-torque engine, to my knowledge that 48 volt starter/generator is the vehicle starter.
I am not real versed on how the e-torque system works, just what little I read up on them while looking for a vehicle.

As far as the tow costing less because you weren't towed, nope they responded to your location so the charge would have been the same minimum.

If the 48 volt battery pack went out it certainly would not be the same as changing out a conventional 12 volt battery.

The 48 volt starter motor/generator only restarts the engine during stop/start situations. When starting the engine using the fob or start button it uses a normal 12v starter.

 

[photog0611]

Very recently I needed service for the A/C, too hot Heated Stearing wheel, Fuel Gage, and Tailgate on my 2019 Bighorn 2500. Purchased dealer is two hours away. I called Local Dealer #1 where I take my wife's Jeep Cherokee. He said a 6 week wait. Called dealer #2, that is the closest dealer to my house. On a Thursday afternoon he gave me a Monday appointment. Had the truck two days, A/C fixed, replaced Heated Steering wheel, the other two are my imagination.... but service was Fast, and Courteous. I think it's just the dealer you wind up with.

I'm with you on that. I'm regretting leaving the truck at Dealer A and was shocked I was turned away from an appointment they had agreed to. But my only other option was to drive back home and then hope truck started the next day so I could take it to Dealer B like I should have in the 1st place. A bad decision I made under duress! Hopefully a new battery fixes things up!

 

[photog0611]

Yes it is an eTorque. The jump box did get it started (I think it had 3000 or 4000 amp, it was a beast). Thx for comment on the 48V aux battery - glad to hear that isnt involved with normal starter.

While I'm waiting on Dealer A to get back to me abt battery replacement, Im just wondering if the root problem is a bad battery or if I have a parasitic current flow? I don't drive the truck every day, maybe I need to attach a trickle charger when it sits for a few days?

 

[mikeru]

The symptoms you described are common for a low voltage condition. All kinds of weird warnings and lights appear and systems mis-operate. My guess is that a new battery will solve the issue. I've seen lots of complaints about OEM batteries going bad prematurely on another Ram forum.

 

[4xdad]

take it back tell them (the manager) wtf in Alberta you have 90 days I think to change your mind

 

[4xdad]

their is always some sort of draw to keep your settings/computer happy but a couple of days should not be enough to do that,

 

[BWL]

That's bizarre.
200 miles on my truck tranny went out. Called an tow truck arrived within hr. I had the choice between a truck or a Challenger as a rental. Knowing how my foot could be I got the truck. Had that rental truck for about 3.5 weeks as they fixed my truck. No charge to me just had to make sure I returned it with same amount of gas in it as when I picked it up.
My only complaint, the dealer I bought truck from was so new they didn't have capability to rebuild a transmission. They had to tow my truck to their mother ship location about 1.5 hrs away



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The transmissions are not Chrysler so that's not unusual. When mine needed repair they had to get a ZF tech (not chrysler) to inspect, file a report and do the repair once FCA approved. Was only a 2 day job total, but took 6 weeks to clear all the red tape. Dealer was only allowed to remove and install the "sealed units" .

 

[BWL]

Problem with getting loaners is the factory warranty doesn't include a rental. I learned that when my diesel went down in 05 on my 06. It was so new and they were going through some job action at the time. They couldn't get the part they needed for 6 weeks and I was SOL on the loaner car. Hard to blame the dealer. They didn't build the truck and they got maybe 4hrs labor on the repair so giving me a service loaner for a month is a lot to absorb by them for a small job.

 

[mlrtimemach]

The transmissions are not Chrysler so that's not unusual. When mine needed repair they had to get a ZF tech (not chrysler) to inspect, file a report and do the repair once FCA approved. Was only a 2 day job total, but took 6 weeks to clear all the red tape. Dealer was only allowed to remove and install the "sealed units" .

I meant his experience was bizarre compared to the experience I had.
But it was also the same that a dealership will sell a product an not be equipped to fix it

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[photog0611]

Update. Dealer A ( the bad one) just called and said battery tested ok. They are going to leave it overnight and test again in a.m.

Does this make sense to anyone given that the truck was unable to start a few days ago???

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[4xdad]

batteries dont magicaly recharge