Started a case with RAM today - lemon law??

[firemedic10584]

I didn't read the complete thread, but by chance.
When you tested it with someone sitting in the passenger seat, was their seatbelt on and latched?

Also in your first post, you said another 18 did the same thing? If so, they must have changed the program for some reason.

Yes. Passenger was seat belted in. It does the same thing whether someone is in the seat or not.

 

[indept]

Ya, it's going to hurt since I'm only like 4 months into the loan. So no doubt I took a depreciation hit as soon as I drove off the lot. We'll see though. I may go look at something smaller and cheaper, something I can pay off in a couple years to get me right side up again.

Well that leaves buying an F150 out....

I wish you luck. Too bad it had to turn out this way.

 

[LarryA]

I suppose to save some money you could get an aftermarket seat warmer, something that she would use when she rides in your truck? Not the best solution do doubt, but at least avoids the big time depreciation hit.

 

[Ricks Ram]

I've been following This Thread and don't blame you one bit for being frustrated with the fact that the options you paid for in your truck don't work. I didn't want to take any action earlier because I didn't know if you were going to be in litigation. For all the people saying to take your truck to a shop and have them fix it they obviously don't understand that the shops have no more access to your truck than the dealer does and if there are no codes they're not going to be able to figure out what's wrong with it either unless they're extremely familiar with how your system operates. All that being said if you want to try to figure out what's going on with your truck there are some options available. I recommend you check out the DIY section and look up the alpha OBD thread and the adding heated and ventilated seats and heated steering wheel thread. There are many of us over in the DIY section that are very helpful and less critical and not just trolling to try to cause problems and we may be able to give you some answers. We have successfully added heated and ventilated seats and heated steering wheels and all the wiring into trucks that never came with the options. We've been able to pretty much successfully add every option available to these trucks plus the wiring and have them work flawlessly. We can enable and disable codes in the body control module that your dealer cannot even see with his tools because they are locked out by Chrysler. We also have access to actually connecting to your heated seat module to see what's going on. These are the steps I would recommend only if you're going to keep your truck and a longer pursue trying to have your dealer fix it. Due to the fact that the trucks that came with the heated and ventilated seats don't seem to have the issue I would say that the problem is most likely related to the heated seat module in the 2018 trucks more than the actual BCM programming but of course that's just speculation.
The first thing I would do is post your problem on the alpha OBD thread and get the part number for the heated seat module that's mounted to the bottom of your driver side seat. We can compare that part number with the heated seat module on the 2017 and earlier trucks to try to determine what the differences are. I'm pretty sure I have access to a heated seat module for a 2016 RAM and we may be able to stick it in your truck and see if it corrects your problem. We would need to have a picture of the actual socket in your heated seat module to make sure the pins are identical and it's the same plug which I would assume it is but we would need to make sure. If the connections are the same we can actually send you a seat module to try which is basically just a simple plug-in situation and see what happens. You can also purchase the alpha tool you yourself off the Google Play Store for $49 and download it to any Android device that you have and then purchase a Bluetooth OBD connector for $80 and you can actually program codes yourself in your truck quite easily. You can also use the tool for Diagnostics and actually see more with this tool than your dealer can see with all their tools because it's not locked out of your BCM. If you bought the tool we could tell you what to check and what to look for and possibly help you diagnose your issue. Of course there's no guarantee that it would be fixed but for the $120 investment plus the fact that you could use it for many other uses I thought I would mention it to you. I know you're probably frustrated but there might be things you can do but it's totally up to you. If you shoot a question over into the alphaOBD thread I'm sure you will be surprised how much help you get and how much people actually try to help you solve your problem, this is kind of what we do over there. Since your truck is a 2018 it has a security bypass on the BCM so you will need to have a by bypass harness made for you by M2 mods who are also vendors on the formums plus very knowledgeable DIY guys. You can just plug it in to bypass your security module to read your BCM. Good luck to you whatever you decide to do.

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[MikeG71]

^^^^^^^________ Now that's Bad Ass!!!

 

[Fitz-0518]

^^^Try and find that type of help on the other forums. Outstanding jump in Rick.

 

[clifford15]

Firemedic,
I'm with Ricks Ram on this. I just went through the entire AlfaOBD thread and I went and ordered the MX Bluetooth OBD module from Amazon. It appears that at the very least the activity of the seat heaters could be verified and maybe even reset to a different mode to see if it helps.
For me , I am planning to try the DRLs and express windows down to start. Every one over there are really helpful. Hopefully you will give it a shot.

 

[indept]

Great reply guys.

 

[chrisbh17]

Actually, AlfaODB plus the genuine MX adapter might be able to connect directly to the heated seat/comfort module. I believe some of the data points available in there are the seat pad(s) current, seat pad(s) temp and 1 or 2 others.

Based on the values for those data points, we should be able to determine with very little (or even NO) doubt why the heated seats are shutting off.

If the dealer claims they are shutting off on high temp, we'll see it. High current? Same deal. Can see the status of the switches too...maybe the switch itself is shutting down for some reason. Who knows. This is all stuff that Im not really sure the dealer ever tried to look at. As far as Im concerned, unless Im physically next to them, anything a dealer tells me they did for "troubleshooting" is suspect.

Further...since this issue seems limited to 2018, and the only "real" change in the 2018 MY was the head unit (where the heated seats have secondary controls built into)....could it be the programming of the head unit is glitchy and turning the seats off itself?

 

[wallacemf]

I have a 2018 2500 BH with the 8.4 nav, with heated seats and wheel. The seats work fine, I’ve had them on for over 90 minutes during my 50-mile commute. I don’t think it’s a 2018 problem, I think there’s just an issue with his truck....

 

[Ricks Ram]

I have a 2018 2500 BH with the 8.4 nav, with heated seats and wheel. The seats work fine, I’ve had them on for over 90 minutes during my 50-mile commute. I don’t think it’s a 2018 problem, I think there’s just an issue with his truck....

It's definitely not on all the 2018 trucks but we have not seen this issue on any of the 2017 and older trucks so it's something the Chrysler changed that's only affecting some of the 2018 trucks that have the heated seats and wheel only not the heated/ventelated seats.

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[Ricks Ram]

Actually, AlfaODB plus the genuine MX adapter might be able to connect directly to the heated seat/comfort module. I believe some of the data points available in there are the seat pad(s) current, seat pad(s) temp and 1 or 2 others.

Based on the values for those data points, we should be able to determine with very little (or even NO) doubt why the heated seats are shutting off.

If the dealer claims they are shutting off on high temp, we'll see it. High current? Same deal. Can see the status of the switches too...maybe the switch itself is shutting down for some reason. Who knows. This is all stuff that Im not really sure the dealer ever tried to look at. As far as Im concerned, unless Im physically next to them, anything a dealer tells me they did for "troubleshooting" is suspect.

Further...since this issue seems limited to 2018, and the only "real" change in the 2018 MY was the head unit (where the heated seats have secondary controls built into)....could it be the programming of the head unit is glitchy and turning the seats off itself?

We have have seen some cases where people were having issues similar to this in trucks that had been converted and we were able to correct it by simply changing the seat material type in the BCM. There are several settings that can be changed to see if it helps but it's up to the OP to decide if he wants to go that way. Im not trying to high jack his thread and turn it into a what's wrong with it post and I not going to post anything else on this thread. I am just trying to give him options if he chooses. Alot of people are unaware of the things we have actually been able to figure out with these trucks. I have a 14 Express that now has pretty much every option available including heated and ventelated seats and heated wheel, ATC,Nav ect and did it all by just figuring it out and with help from other guys on this forum that have the same interests as I do. I can honestly say there's no doubt in my mind I know much more about the electronics in my truck then the techs at my dealer ever thought of knowing.

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[firemedic10584]

I appreciate all the help everyone. I unfortunately bit the bullet and traded the truck in. After everything, including how FCA pretty much gave us the finger, I just didn't want to continue with the truck. Like I mentioned, there were some other smaller issues the truck was having that helped me just turn it in. I ended up getting a used 2016 F150 - I had to pocket out some money but in the end I'm happy to be out of that truck. Once again, I appreciate all of you all trying to help. I'm still disappointed FCA wouldn't step up and make things right but I guess it is what it is. I probably won't be lurking around on here too much more. But if I can help anyone with anything else, shoot me a PM and I'll get that to me email.

 

[huntergreen]

Imho, it's absurd that the dealer didn't fix this for you. Good luck with the new truck.

 

[clifford15]

Sad ending, good luck with your new truck.

 

[firemedic10584]

Sad ending, good luck with your new truck.

Indeed it was sad

 

[indept]

Good luck. Did you go with 2.7l ecoboost, 3.5l EB, or 5Lv8?

 

[firemedic10584]

Good luck. Did you go with 2.7l ecoboost, 3.5l EB, or 5Lv8?

They V8. It's a pretty nice truck. I never thought I'd go for a Ford but after seeing it in person, it's pretty nice!

 

[Fitz-0518]

Most important, you and your wife are happy and you found a way to put it behind you.

 

[chrisbh17]

They V8. It's a pretty nice truck. I never thought I'd go for a Ford but after seeing it in person, it's pretty nice!

Does it have heated seats?

Good luck with it!

Im sure you still have the VIN for the RAM....Id be interested to see if you can locate it for sale at some point.