Transmission Failure - Denied Warranty Claim - Help!

[Dodge 1500 4X4]

One statement were the SCALES ever used to determine the weight capability.

 

[2003F350]

Exactly. Same motor/tranny you can get in a 3500, so it can handle the load. Ram just taking the low road, I guess.

This is the reality of the situation - the driveline can handle it, but OP bought the wrong truck.

At this point (I'm only on page 4), I'm going to say that they should have bought a truck w/o the air suspension, and probably should have picked up a 3500 instead. If the air suspension's set to only allow a certain payload before it triggers the CEL to avoid damage to the air suspension, then they KNOW you pulled way over payload. Because of the limits they arbitrarily set on the truck (which they are allowed to do per law), they can then deny your warranty claim because you willfully or negligently exceeded the capacity rating of the truck.

I don't really see how OP is going to get them to change their mind on the warranty claim, even with a lawyer. Provided the air suspension system was calibrated properly, if they overloaded the truck to the point where it threw a code that is basically a tattle-tale warning, then the dealer knows you overloaded it, whether on purpose or not, and they have the right to deny the claim.

It's a loophole to keep them from having to fix every truck that gets overloaded for free. Is it truly fair to the consumer? Not really. Is it legal? Absolutely.

 

[jejb]

This is the reality of the situation - the driveline can handle it, but OP bought the wrong truck.

At this point (I'm only on page 4), I'm going to say that they should have bought a truck w/o the air suspension, and probably should have picked up a 3500 instead. If the air suspension's set to only allow a certain payload before it triggers the CEL to avoid damage to the air suspension, then they KNOW you pulled way over payload. Because of the limits they arbitrarily set on the truck (which they are allowed to do per law),

Agreed, but I'd change "allowed to do per law" to "required to do per law".

That stupid 10K limit for modern 3/4 ton's really needs to be changed upwards, IMO.

 

[Kbritt0309]

The 2500 Cummins never had the Aisin transmission. It has the 68rfe.

I wasn't sure if they were the same thing. You are correct that it has the 68rfe.

 

[Kbritt0309]

Thanks, everyone, so much for your feedback. I'll be heading to the 3rd dealership on Wednesday and will keep you updated.

 

[chri5k]

Unfortunately they have you by the balls. ....

Not sure they have KIMBERLY Britt by that body part. Though these days you never know ... ;-)

 

[sleboom]

Get used to Chrysler denying warranty claims. Their warranties mean nothing. Big business (Chrysler) doesn't give a damn about honoring their warranties. Corruption at it's best.

 

[jimmyfjk]

I had a similar issue a while back. Truck was 5 days out of warranty and told they could do nothing. Said it was due to towing. I said look i bought the truck to tow. I told you what i was goind to do and your rep said it was well within the specs. I promised if they did nothing to help i would set up a webpage and blast to the world what i had experienced with my ram. They called manufacture and got a new tranny for me with my paying a $500 deductible. I wasnt happy about paying 500 but i got a new tranny. Sometimes you got to raise hell and be heard. Ram has gone to hell since Fiat took over.

 

[Wmjohn]

I had a complete transmission failure replaced under warranty. Workin through Ram customer service or Ram cares, make sure you have a case number. Politely demand a supervisor. They will connect you with one. Have them set up the appointment with another dealer. Find out the exact error code and verify what they are saying. I found that if you get to the right person, all the no's become yes.
With the new tranny they gave me a 4 year 60k extended warranty on the entire vehicle that I did not ask for!

 

[Senodil]

Its a rough one, have fought the dealer myself a few times...... The issue you will have is that it is showing overloaded/overused or whatever it is. Granted they need to prove it but, the code does prove it unless you can prove the code is not correct (good luck witht hat one). I wish you the best but if Ramcares can help that would be great, I would get ready to buy a new transmission unless you have really deep pockets.

 

[becxlt984]

If you decide to hire a lawyer 1st thing he will suggest is having an independent shop take a look at your truck. Either way, this is going to cost some $$$

 

[scausey]

Hope that this helps. I had a dodge dealer tell me also that I overloaded my truck and thus needed a new transmission as per the code it was showing. Also told me that they were going to report my truck to Dodge and void my warranty because it was overloaded. This didn’t sound right so I found a more reputable dealer in TX. Kirbyville TX. Was told that there was nothing wrong with my transmission and there was no code indicated that there was. Found out that the service manager and a mechanic were trying to scam me at the first dealership. Therefore I called and met with the dealership owner. He said that just because a code is showing up it doesn’t mean that there was a problem. Mmmmm. After talking to him for awhile I believe that he was also in in the scam. I was able to get him to reimburse me for all dionogitics. And car rental for the two days they had my truck. He pleaded for me not to talk to dodge. I wrote an extensive letter to Dodge letting them know about the dealership. Never received a response back from Dodge. Truck still running fine. Bottom line, sadly some dealers will try to scam you for money. Other dealers are great to work with. Ram dealership in kirbyville TX is one of the best. They also helped me with another problem that was under warranty when another dealership said that it wasn’t. If you can find a good one stick with them. There are alot of not so good ones out there.

 

[Scott0700]

If it is possible for them to tell from sensors that a truck was overloaded, or was trying to pull too heavy a load, those same sensors should have prevented the truck from attempting either act in the first place.

 

[Janelle]

I purchased a 2022 2500 diesel for my business, new from the plant. The truck only has 14k miles on it right now. Within the first few months there was a transmission issue, we took it to local dealership, and it was fixed under warranty (after many, many months due to the nationwide part list shortages). Once we got it back, again, within a few months we were having transmission issues. Took it to same dealership and they said that it was throwing a code that said the truck transmission had been "overused" due to towing a load too heavy for the vehicle. I know that we definitely did not ever have the truck/trailer overweight/overcapacity. The dealership then told us we need a new transmission for $15k because Chrysler denied the warranty claim. The dealership was no help. I did call the Chrysler customer advocacy line and was told to take it to a second dealership in the next town over. When I took the truck there the second dealership said there was nothing they could do as the truck was now basically black-listed for the denial and turned us away without looking at it.

I see all over the internet many issues with that transmission, in that year/model so we aren't the only ones. I can't find an attorney who will help with a denied warranty claim that is knowledgeable as we are not a direct consumer, it was a B2B transaction.

Can anyone help point me in the right direction or what to do before we lose $15k replacing something that Chrysler should be covering under warranty?

 

[Janelle]

Hope that this helps. I had a dodge dealer tell me also that I overloaded my truck and thus needed a new transmission as per the code it was showing. Also told me that they were going to report my truck to Dodge and void my warranty because it was overloaded. This didn’t sound right so I found a more reputable dealer in TX. Kirbyville TX. Was told that there was nothing wrong with my transmission and there was no code indicated that there was. Found out that the service manager and a mechanic were trying to scam me at the first dealership. Therefore I called and met with the dealership owner. He said that just because a code is showing up it doesn’t mean that there was a problem. Mmmmm. After talking to him for awhile I believe that he was also in in the scam. I was able to get him to reimburse me for all dionogitics. And car rental for the two days they had my truck. He pleaded for me not to talk to dodge. I wrote an extensive letter to Dodge letting them know about the dealership. Never received a response back from Dodge. Truck still running fine. Bottom line, sadly some dealers will try to scam you for money. Other dealers are great to work with. Ram dealership in kirbyville TX is one of the best. They also helped me with another problem that was under warranty when another dealership said that it wasn’t. If you can find a good one stick with them. There are alot of not so good ones out there.

FYI: So last year I had my 2014 1500 in for routine service, there was a guy with a 3500 diesel that needed new turbo & intercooler replaced, Dodge decline the 10K repair because the truck was use for business and had his business logo painted on the door or his truck. The service manager was very apologetic but he said the factory refused.

 

[Jack1369]

I had a complete transmission failure replaced under warranty. The first dealer did me no favors and broke it twice. Charging me almost four hundred for the privilege. Working through Ram cares, got a case number. We set up the appointment with another dealer (selling dealer) 250 miles away. With Ram cares they had a new transmission to the dealer and I had my truck back in a week and a half. I filed a complaint with Bureau of Automotive Repair (Consumer Affairs) on the first dealer, due to their negligence and should be receiving a refund.

 

[Tulecreeper]

If it is possible for them to tell from sensors that a truck was overloaded, or was trying to pull too heavy a load, those same sensors should have prevented the truck from attempting either act in the first place.

That's an interesting observation. With all the other nanny devices on these vehicles why is that not one? I don't know if they can detect the weight of a trailer being towed, but if the sensors detect that you are over payload capacity they should be able to disable the transmission. I mean, not that I would want that but you would think that the engineers would.

 

[Danny Phillips]

Why hasn't RAM fixed the transmission issue yet. I would rather have an Alison tranny

 

[Ratman6161]

Here is the window sticker. It does have auto-leveling rear suspension. That is where the overload code came from. The max payload per the VIN is 2699. If the combination weighed 23,000 Lbs - 6,000 Lbs for the truck then the trailer is about 17,000 Lbs. The VIN shows the gooseneck prep package. 20% of 17,000 is 3,400 Lbs. So looks like it was a good bit over max payload.

FYI the truck isn't 6000. The weight of the truck is GVWR - payload. That would be 10,000 - 2699 = means the truck is 7301. You would still be kver payload though.

 

[captaindon]

Should buy the next 5 trucks from different dealer

**** like this would send me right back to GM.