Ram warranty/customer service nightmare

[tron67j]

More questions for maxcare warranty holders. Does the rental coverage only kick in if over a certain number of miles from home? Is there a daily limit and total limit for rental? Does the warranty guarantee ONLY genuine Mopar parts will be used, can rebuilt parts be used, and is there a substitution clause in the warranty for non-Mopar parts. The sales material online is either vague or totally dismissive of such answers and reps I have spoken to will not send contract unless I agree to purchase. Guess I ask too many questions.

 

[jejb]

More questions for maxcare warranty holders. Does the rental coverage only kick in if over a certain number of miles from home? Is there a daily limit and total limit for rental? Does the warranty guarantee ONLY genuine Mopar parts will be used, can rebuilt parts be used, and is there a substitution clause in the warranty for non-Mopar parts. The sales material online is either vague or totally dismissive of such answers and reps I have spoken to will not send contract unless I agree to purchase. Guess I ask too many questions.

From my Mopar plan doc:
FIRST DAY RENTAL: First Day Rental Allowance provides up to $35.00 car rental allowance if the Vehicle is to be serviced for any
mechanical repair or maintenance service. Please note: Excludes rental for bodywork to the exterior sheet metal/composite panel or
collision repairs.
RENTAL ALLOWANCE: Rental Allowance will pay up to $35.00 per day for a rental any time repairs take overnight, and a
component covered by the Plan or the manufacturer’s Basic or Powertrain Warranty fails.
The Plan will not pay for rental charges for a vehicle that is awaiting service or parts unless the vehicle is inoperable due to a
mechanical failure of a covered component, or unless continued operation would cause further damage.
The rental vehicle must be obtained from a Dealer. If a Dealer does not have rental vehicles available, you may obtain one from a
licensed rental agency. Rental coverage is subject to state and local laws and policies imposed by the rental agency. Rental charges
in excess of the amount allowed by the Plan are your responsibility. The Plan is not responsible for any refusal of a rental agency to
rent a vehicle to you.
Total Rental Allowance per occurrence is a maximum of 5 days or $175.00.

The section where reman parts are discussed seems to apply only if your service is from a non-FCA shop. The rest of it makes it sound like only new Mopar parts will be used. But it is a bit fuzzy on that:
IMPORTANT! SERVICE OBTAINED FROM A PERSON OTHER THAN AN AUTHORIZED DEALER IS NOT REIMBURSABLE
UNDER THIS PLAN UNLESS AUTHORIZED BY US AND YOU RECEIVE AN AUTHORIZATION NUMBER BEFORE THE SERVICE
IS PERFORMED. DEALERS CANNOT AUTHORIZE REPAIRS UNDER THIS PLAN. Authorized repairs will be made using
remanufactured parts. If remanufactured parts are not available, the Dealer will use new parts.

 

[tron67j]

Thank you, that is helpful to know. So if I read this right FCA is only on the hook for 5 days of rental for the OP's long term down time.

 

[chrisbh17]

Thank you, that is helpful to know. So if I read this right FCA is only on the hook for 5 days of rental for the OP's long term down time.

Correct....my MaxCare Lifetime contract says the same thing: 35.00/day, max 175.00.

I would imagine maybe you could contact your insurance co after that but not sure if/how that would affect your premiums

 

[Killerb]

After reading another Ram story with warranty gone wrong. Went through the same experience myself Ram is nothing but a paper warranty, they give you a hard time. Bought a brand new 18' CTD had an issue within 4000mi and they just wanted to deny everything. Had a FCA claim and all that nonsense my local dealer was a big pain in my ass. Made every excuse not to cover any kind of warranty and even suggested I broke my Ram intentionally.

The service tech put in a put a request for a engineer to come to the dealer and inspect my Ram because there was something that was not normal and I says what it was they wouldn't tell me.. I certainly hope it works out for you.

 

[huntergreen]

After reading another Ram story with warranty gone wrong. Went through the same experience myself Ram is nothing but a paper warranty, they give you a hard time. Bought a brand new 18' CTD had an issue within 4000mi and they just wanted to deny everything. Had a FCA claim and all that nonsense my local dealer was a big pain in my ass. Made every excuse not to cover any kind of warranty and even suggested I broke my Ram intentionally.

The service tech put in a put a request for a engineer to come to the dealer and inspect my Ram because there was something that was not normal and I says what it was they wouldn't tell me.. I certainly hope it works out for you.

The warranty is only as good as the dealer.

 

[Rich_d999]

Updates,

FCA/max care warranty are the two worst service companies I have ever dealt with in my life. I've spent 20+ hours now trying to get someone on the phone that can do something and they just kick you in a circle. 4 different supervisors and multiple reps... It's rediculous the amount of effort I've put into this.

My dealer got FCA to cover the starter as a good will. Rediculous that max care denied it. Dealer appealed and they won't cover it so chrysler is paying for it. Transmission is still not here... tried talking to max care about this and they said there's no way to appeal a denial. So dumb.

FCA offered to cover 40$ a day for 10 days of rental but trucks where I live are ~70$ a day so that doesn't do me much good. It's blowing my mind that this paperweight is going to sit at the dealership for at least 2 months waiting on the most popular transmission dodge has used in the last 10 years.

Have a hearing with the mediation group about my truck on 2/20 so I'll see if I can get any kind of compensation from ram.

 

[Mister Luck]

independent of what warranty is implied the dealership’s course of action is either purchase new parts or find a certified used parts as replacement

you yourself can procure a certified used part or salvaged part and the cost of the part and installation covered initially by you and then receipts submitted to FCA warranty for reimbursement

 

[Octane]

My dealer checked my car as the alternator had been getting really hot and smelling like an electric motor burning out.After it was rolled into shop for about 2 days they asked if I had gotten a recall letter.They said that that is the reason I want the alternator replaced as they cant find anything wrong with it. I asked how come it can run for like a minute or two and it gets so hot you can't touch it? And the smell? They said it was my imagination. I called FCA and raised mortal Hades. They told me they would replace it and pay for it. The dealership changed the alternator sent me a bill for it and then FCA said they weren't going to pay for it. and that I would have to pay it and then them reimburse me. First they said it wouldn't cost me anything and they would send the money to the dealer but apparently they lied.they said they didn't have the new and improved alternators so they just put a standard alternator on it and then later on they said they'd put the improved unit on it. But when I checked the recall notices they showed that they had done the recall on the vehicle and the case was closed and I never got the improved alternator.

 

[Octane]

I laugh every time I see a RamCares post on here from those people. I wonder if those people even know what kind of crappy company they work for.

 

[Mister Luck]

My dealer checked my car as the alternator had been getting really hot and smelling like an electric motor burning out.After it was rolled into shop for about 2 days they asked if I had gotten a recall letter.They said that that is the reason I want the alternator replaced as they cant find anything wrong with it. I asked how come it can run for like a minute or two and it gets so hot you can't touch it? And the smell? They said it was my imagination. I called FCA and raised mortal Hades. They told me they would replace it and pay for it. The dealership changed the alternator sent me a bill for it and then FCA said they weren't going to pay for it. and that I would have to pay it and then them reimburse me. First they said it wouldn't cost me anything and they would send the money to the dealer but apparently they lied.they said they didn't have the new and improved alternators so they just put a standard alternator on it and then later on they said they'd put the improved unit on it. But when I checked the recall notices they showed that they had done the recall on the vehicle and the case was closed and I never got the improved alternator.

As a community of consumers
it might be to our advantage if there was a thread regarding recalls, sub categorized
by year and or model an members encouraged to post images of documentation received from FCA
regarding part numbers and procedures.

 

[Elcy]

To the OP:

Are you using your truck commercially? If so, that voids a lot of warranties. Maybe we are missing that part of the story?

 

[Rich_d999]

To the OP:

Are you using your truck commercially? If so, that voids a lot of warranties. Maybe we are missing that part of the story?

No, it's a personal truck I'm just getting bent over by FCA and max care

 

[tron67j]

The warranty is written on paper, which removes the human factor. The financial person reviewing the claim says "transmission was seized and trying to start a engine in this instance is not normal wear and tear, claim denied". The human factor might think that trying to start to maintain safety is a natural reaction so coverage should be there, but the warranty has zero weight for human emotions so financial person reviewing denies. I have little knowledge of how a dealer repair center can affect the warranty coverage, but at the end of the day they submit the claim for reimbursement to FCA and if they can't write it in a way to fully comply with warranty terms, they eat the cost. These "freebies" cost all who buy vehicles as it becomes a part of the overhead of operating a dealership.

Related, I found a survey from 2014 that showed less than half of extended warranty holders had a claim paid for by their warranty, and a small number of those who had claims paid actually got their money's worth. You can look up statistical design if you question the veracity of the survey, but results would be inline with the money making design of them for companies to offer in the first place. One more time, glad OP was not injured and hope back on the road soon.

 

[jejb]

Related, I found a survey from 2014 that showed less than half of extended warranty holders had a claim paid for by their warranty, and a small number of those who had claims paid actually got their money's worth. You can look up statistical design if you question the veracity of the survey, but results would be inline with the money making design of them for companies to offer in the first place.

I don't think anyone is arguing otherwise. But I'd like to see that survey broken down by vehicle type/brand. I'd wager full sized pickup warranties paid out more often then, say, Toyota Camrys.

 

[tron67j]

Their annual survey of reliability ratings from November shows Ram at number 7 out of 24 (granted the actual results for Ram aren't that great). And that discussion calls out GM's rise in reliability for their 2500 series of trucks. This doesn't directly prove or disprove anything, it just allows a hypothesis that the potential for extended warranty payouts is greater the further down the list you go not withstanding the exclusions a dealer will invoke when considering such payouts. I don't think it is true that someone walks into a dealership with $60k and says "give me something that I can expect to break down and cost me thousands more to repair". I know I didn't and if I had thought that about Ram, I wouldn't be in one because that would be pretty silly. I do understand things can break, but I know that to be a rare occurrence and not something I should worry about nor let that fear cause me to give FCA even more money. This of course is my way, and I don't preach it as what others SHOULD do but rather an opinion that someone COULD consider and then make their own decision.

 

[johnspd]

December 12th my truck tried to kill me,

This is a 2017 ram 2500 with a 6.4 hemi and lifetime maximum care warranty with 68k miles on it.

Driving down a 2 lane slick highway in Cooper landing Alaska. I was cruising 45 mph through a corner in a 55mph zone, felt a little bump and noticed my truck had died. Since I had no power steering/brakes at this point I rolled the truck into nuetral and pushed the start button. Next thing I know the entire cab is filled with electrical smoke and the headlights turn off in the dark. I stab the brakes with both feet and somehow managed to get the truck and trailer stopped while still on the road. Difficult, since I couldn't see the road and nothing electrical in the truck would work, like the windows to let the electrical smoke out.

This happens in an area that has no service 80 miles from home/dealer. Hitch hike to a place with signal 20° outside and call for help.

Get the truck and trailer home with various tow services. Dealer calls and said that the transmission has sized and the starter likely burned up because it couldn't turn the motor. They would put in the warranty request and let me know.

Yesterday my dealer calls and says that a transmission is backordered untill March 1st and they denied the starter repair. I have been 6 week's without a vehicle to drive and have spent 10-15 hours on the phone over the past 5 1/2 weeks trying to get fca, ram, or the warranty to help in some way.

This has been the worst customer experience event I have ever had in my life. My paper weight of a truck is going to spend over a quarter of 2021 on the shop due to ram not having parts to fix it.

@RamCares should be called @ramdoesntcareaboutitscustomers

FCA is a joke. I called them about infotainment issues in my truck. They entered a case and I have yet to hear a single word back from them.

 

[Svon89]

I no longer have my 2019 ram 2500 because of FCA bs. I owned the truck 8 months, had issues where it ended up being in for repair over a month of that time. The problems started at 1000 miles, and I actually thought in the beginning that I was going to get the truck fixed. After multiple times being in for repairs, they seemingly fixed the transmission dropping into neutral randomly, only to create another problem. When starting off, you would have a dead spot in the pedal and then the truck would lurch forward. After dealing with that for long enough, ,talking to Chrysler customer retention rep Joe I decided I needed to talk to a lawyer about lemon law. Unfortunately during the Chrysler friends and family buy program one of the documents they have you sign is a binding arbitration legal document. See during the signing, I read everything, so it never crossed the desk. A few days later I realized the dealer never gave me the orientation or codes to access the computer, so I went back. During the orientation, the manager came over with a piece of paper and said he needed me to sign it so they could get the discount back from corporate. I stupidly did not read it entirely, and signed it. Never came up until I had a lemon. I wish you luck, I got rid of the truck to a dealer for a loss. Its unfortunate, because I believe that I had a Friday afternoon build, and that if they can actually make a good truck. But FCA really changed my mind on the customer service end of things. I wish you luck, and I hope when they finally get around to getting you a transmission it is a good one.
BUT, if you ever get customer retention rep Joe, get ready, because you are in for it. I played the recordings of a couple of our phone conversations for the lawyer I talked to, and he said "that guy should be in politics, he doesn't say anything, and never answered a single question."

 

[scackley]

Sadly if you have the basic warranty; you may be past your 3 year 36K mileage...not sure... it does seem like your dealership is a POS... I would take it up the line and go above the dealers head and onto corporate.

I have a 2018 with the cummins; thankfully my dealership was running a special when I purchased her and my warranty is 10 year 200K

 

[DaveSharp]

A lawyer could fix this real quick. They have no reason what so ever to deny you warranty on you starter since the starter was damaged due to the transmission lock up and there was no outside indication or warning in the cab that the transmission had failed. It is common dog to attempt to restart the vehicle especially in an emergency situation where one has lost all power. Consult your "driver handbook" it's your friend in court.