Rusted Oil Pan Dealer Wont Replace

[CrunkGoat]

Was out a few weeks ago changing the oil on my 2016 1500 4x4 with less than 80,000km (50k miles) on it and noticed the entire pan is absolutely covered in big rust bubbles. Made an appointment at the local dealer assuming theyd take one look at it and change under warranty but it has been nothing but a fight.

Now im a mechanic but figured if i can get it changed under warranty thats more of my time and money i can save plus an oil pan rusting out on a 4 year old truck is insane. Service manager comes out and initially tries to tell me its just surface rust until i tell him i knew better. Changes his tune to "well it'll start to leak soon but until it does we can't do anything about it". He agreed it's obviously a factory defect but to sit around and gamble that it leaks before the last year of my warranty expires is not happening.

Made a call to Dodge/Ram Corporate but at the initial level they just call back to the service manager who changed his tune and is now saying its just surface rust again. Told them i wanted to speak with someone higher and apparently im getting a call in the next 24 hours.

Anyone run into this problem before and have some tips of dealing with Dodge/Ram? If this is how they treat their customers once this truck is payed off i'll never own another thats for sure

 

[pacofortacos]

Had a Gran Prix oil pan rust out within 3 yrs.
Dakota trans pan rusted out within 3 yrs.
It isn't unheard of.

Warranty won't cover it until it leaks - it isn't a failed part, yet. To replace it now is preventative maintenance and that's not how warranties work.

Now if you can get a very very small hole to start leaking oil, well then it is a failed part.

 

[Sandevino]

My experience has been completely different. I've owned a few Dodge and Chrysler (before Daimler / FCA) and RAM / Jeep vehicles post FCA and have not had a single issue or denied repair.

 

[jws123]

On all of my dakota,rams i have never had a pan rot out bad enough that it needed to be changed the only reason i changed mine on my 2011 ram was because i hit something. If it is rotted bad enough pick at it a little to make it leak and then take it back if they say it has to leak Lol.

 

[Lyle Longboat]

Just play along their game (what jws123 said)

 

[tron67j]

Tough thing to have happen. I would be doing the same things. But every warranty repair done factors into the cost basis of vehicles they sell. So double edged sword: limiting repairs to actual problems and not preventative (or pre-break down) issues ensures the repair cost part of new truck prices are minimized, however it can shift costs to us if warranty expires before the full problem manifests. If you are getting near end of warranty, maybe try to work out compromise of they supply labor and you pay dealer cost of parts. Not the exact solution you want, but it is better than losing oil on the road and having bigger problem. Good luck.

 

[yoda]

Chrysler warranty and max care contracts are getting as bad as the fly by night service contracts. Doing whatever they can to get out of warranty coverage to save themselves money.
If you mention corrosion,they automatically reject the claim.
I've been a chrysler tech for 30 years and have never seen some of the crap they are pulling lately.

 

[CrunkGoat]

Thanks for the replies everyone, got a call back and not even from the supervisor. Apparently the supervisor just told them to reiterate their "surface pan rust is caused by outside influence and not covered" line.

Also found out that when I asked to speak to the dealership manager and the service manager told me no he was way outside his wheelhouse. Apparently that dealer is a known troublemaker around here though, have an appointment at a different one today to see what happens.

Might be going under the truck with a wire brush and a pick after this one

 

[Sandevino]

Don't go picking at it until you're ready to change the oil.

Drain the oil then go under the truck and take a wire brush to the pan. It's possible the pan's coating is rusting / peeling and needs a good cleaning and a sealing.

Worst case, buy a new one and replace it.

 

[Dave2018]

Do you think they are buying time till the warranty runs out? Wow, that really is terrible customer service.

Lets see what RAM CARES has to say.....

RAM CARES??? You're on!

I pm'd ramcares to get their thoughts on this just now.

 

[GsRAM]

Do you think they are buying time till the warranty runs out? Wow, that really is terrible customer service.

Lets see what RAM CARES has to say.....

RAM CARES??? You're on!

I pm'd ramcares to get their thoughts on this just now.

Yeah, good luck with that. Ram Cares until its something you really need their help with...a la the HD drag link issue....then their useless as **** on a boar hog. They are lip service only and have no authority to make people happy. It's a great concept...if they had that authority.

FCA won't even replace a defensive drag link, instead their fix is to weld a steering component and alter it from its original form. My experience with FCA is the only thing they care about is selling vehicles. Their customer support after the sale is terrible (so is Chevy and Ford)

 

[yoda]

Kinda the same boat they are putting techs and dealers in.
Responsible for customer satisfaction with no authority.

 

[tap4154]

From a pic another member in Canada posted of his badly rusted chassis, it seems you guys in the Great White North use salt sourced from Chernbyl on the roads. I wouldn't expect the dealer to replace a pan because of that. Maybe just needs to be wire-brushed and repainted anyway. I'd use bedliner spray.

 

[DILLIGAF]

POR-15

Problem solved

 

[RamCares]

Do you think they are buying time till the warranty runs out? Wow, that really is terrible customer service.

Lets see what RAM CARES has to say.....

RAM CARES??? You're on!

I pm'd ramcares to get their thoughts on this just now.

Thank you for the tag, @Dave2018. Unfortunately as our team is not mechanically trained we are unable to speculate on vehicle concerns. While our team is limited in the support that we can provide @CrunkGoat due to living in Canada, our Canadian Customer Care team is available via phone 1-800-361-3700 or email follow up by submitting at https://forms.chryslercanada.ca/contact/en/contactCCI.php?brand=dodge.

Mark
RamCares

 

[NJ4X4]

I replaced my oil pan just a few months ago. My truck is a 2013 that I bought new in early 2014 as a leftover. My truck had about 57K miles on it when I replaced the oil pan. It was so rusted / deteriorated...it honestly felt like I could have pushed my finger right through the pan. Living in NJ where they use a salt brine on the roads destroys everything. Right now, I'm in the midst of sanding and taking a wire brush to the entire frame and suspension. I just started applying Corroseal rust converter....so far I like the stuff. After I coat everything with that, I still have to prime and paint everything. What a huge PITA ! It's looking good though.

 

[indept]

I replaced my oil pan just a few months ago. My truck is a 2013 that I bought new in early 2014 as a leftover. My truck had about 57K miles on it when I replaced the oil pan. It was so rusted / deteriorated...it honestly felt like I could have pushed my finger right through the pan. Living in NJ where they use a salt brine on the roads destroys everything. Right now, I'm in the midst of sanding and taking a wire brush to the entire frame and suspension. I just started applying Corroseal rust converter....so far I like the stuff. After I coat everything with that, I still have to prime and paint everything. What a huge PITA ! It's looking good though.

And Jersey is bad about it, they brine the roads 3 days in advance of a chance of flurries. Hell if Detroit is forecasting snow they brine the roads here in NJ.

 

[Regcabguy]

The 5.9 and 6.7's are famous for it. Mine bubbled but no leak yet. I climbed down there and wire brushed it and applied several coats of Rust Oleum paint. I'm 5 miles from the pacific Ocean so I'm sure that helps. My 98.5 5.9 never did it. I'd hope the desert trucks never have an issue.

 

[anchorsaweigh]

FCA customer service is NON-EXISTENT. They are the absolute WORST in the industry. Good luck dealing with them.

Cheers

Bob

 

[tap4154]

The 5.9 and 6.7's are famous for it. Mine bubbled but no leak yet. I climbed down there and wire brushed it and applied several coats of Rust Oleum paint. I'm 5 miles from the pacific Ocean so I'm sure that helps. My 98.5 5.9 never did it. I'd hope the desert trucks never have an issue.

Interesting, I live a half mile from the Pacific Ocean and my two-year-old 3.6 oil pan looks brand new. I wonder what the difference is? Is it a different paint, or a different type of metal used on the other engines?