Truck Stalling Over 4 Year Period with 14 Visits to Dealership

[ksram]

Hello,


I am in need of some advice in regards to my 2011 Ram 1500 5.7L Hemi. I have been dealing with a stalling issue for the past 4 years now with no end in sight. The truck has a little over 227,000 miles on it and this stalling issue first appeared at 113,000 miles. The stalling occurs when coming to a stop, at less than 30 mph, and with no indication other than loss of power steering. All electronics stay on and you don’t realize it has stalled until you are trying to turn the steering wheel. Lately it has been occurring multiple times a day, at least 2 and sometimes 5 or 6. I’m lucky to have not had an accident yet. I’ve gotten pretty quick at throwing it into neutral, starting it back up, and then throwing it back into drive in motion.

I have the MaxCare lifetime warranty and have taken it in to my local dealership many times and they are unable to determine the issue. I’ve dealt with Chrysler repeatedly and they have been no help. I have had 4 cases with Chrysler with different case workers each time with a 5th case opening up now. I have asked to speak with the case worker’s supervisor or someone that has the authority to make a decision to address this issue. The case workers are clueless as to whom that person is and have said a supervisor would call me in a day or two but no one ever calls.

My dealership has been accommodating by providing a service loaner each time I have taken the truck in for this issue. Sometimes they have the truck for weeks. The way it works is they have to wait for authorization from Chrysler to move forward with a fix that they think might fix the issue, so there are always delays from that. So far, no repairs made have fixed the stalling issue. The manager at the dealership made a comment that Chrysler is like a spiderweb where they make you jump through all kinds of hoops to get anything done, hoping that eventually you’ll give up and get rid of the truck. I’m stubborn so that isn’t going to happen. The dealership did offer to buy my truck if I got another truck but they wanted to give me $3,000 less than the blue book value because of course they didn’t know what was wrong with it. I bought the warranty for a reason and this is not an acceptable resolution.

They have supposedly flown in people from Chrysler to look at the truck but I don’t know if I believe that. I’ve talked to a few attorneys to see if anything could be done but they all say there wasn’t anything to really do until an accident occurred and then they would be happy to take a case. I’ve tried asking for the general manager’s contact info for my region but they said you were not allowed to email or call the general manager directly. They said you had to write a letter and mail it to the general Chrysler customer support address which is very infuriating. I have been keeping a list of everyone I have talked to at Chrysler which has been at least 12 different people over the years.


I asked my dealer to print the service records for times I have taken it in for the stalling issue and here they are. Note that some things they have done don’t show up in the records since they are kind of vague.

113,451 miles - Flashed PCM

117,425 miles - No work listed

143,267 miles - Flashed PCM

162,391 miles - Replaced TIPM

169,054 miles - Flashed PCM

213,171 miles - Replaced Cylinder 6 Ignition Coil

213,807 miles - Replaced spark plugs and oil pressure sensor

214,159 miles - No work listed

215,775 miles - No work listed

219,297 miles - Replaced Transmission filters

221,533 miles - Ordered Engine Wiring Harness

222,405 miles - Replaced Engine Wiring Harness

224,218 miles - Replaced water pump and belt

224,656 miles - Charged Battery


I know at some point the camshaft was replaced as well as some kind of tube in the transmission that was cracked and thought to be sucking air and leading to a stall.


Obviously, things have gotten no where and I’m not sure what to do. Any thoughts?


P.S. Sorry for the novel but I needed to lay down the whole story. I have also posted this in other Dodge forums in hopes to get more input.

Thanks!

 

[15 Handicap]

WOWSER, tough to say when she starts right back up.

 

[Random_Walk]

That's a buttload of miles...

The lawyers don't want it because it's way, way, way beyond any reach of any lemon law that I'm aware of, and everyone (especially a jury) will take one look at how long you've had it, how many miles you put on it, and turn you down for any damages. 225k miles is more than most folks expect in the way of a lifetime out of a non-diesel truck (though honestly, you could probably pass 300k miles if this issue manages to get fixed.)


Default BlueBook for your truck model/year/engine/mileage w/ CrewCab, 4x4, and the Laramie package, in Very Good condition, comes to just under $11k in BlueBook in my neck of the woods... and that was the highest package/settings I could scrounge. (it came in around $12k for Excellent condition, but good luck reaching that...)

Little wonder they're kind of tentative about what they want to do with it, and wanted to buyout your truck entirely with $3k knocked off (because it would cost them at least half that, and they'd still have to sell the thing at or around BlueBook (because nobody is going to want to buy a truck with that many miles for more than BlueBook value...)

 

[Burla]

Just need more description on the stall instead of all that other stuff. The engine shuts off? torque converter would be my first guess if it is stalling at idle. More info needed, what is going on when it stalls, foot on gas? off gas? They never looked at fuel system? fuel filter?

 

[ksram]

Just need more description on the stall instead of all that other stuff. The engine shuts off? torque converter would be my first guess if it is stalling at idle. More info needed, what is going on when it stalls, foot on gas? off gas? They never looked at fuel system? fuel filter?

It stalls when foot is off gas and coming to a stop and more so when turning. They never did anything with the fuel system.

Someone on another forum suggested a throttle body cleaning. I would have thought the mechanic would have looked at that as one of the first things they did. A little bit ago I took the intake tube off the throttle body and the edges looked dirty with carbon buildup. So I went and picked up some throttle body cleaner. See attached pictures. I will report back after a couple days of driving to see if I get a stall. Fingers crossed it's this simple.

 

[Burla]

If your engine was stalling because of the air system, any part, it should have thrown a code. Especially with your foot off the gas. The dealer had it that many times and didn't replace all the sensors related to the air? jees

 

[Burla]

I'm used to Ford's, we have mass air sensor, I know the 5.7 doesn't have one. But there are a couple sensors around the air system you can research.

 

[chrisbh17]

I replied to your thread on the other forum, same basic reply here:

Idle Air Control Valve? Not sure if there is one and/or if its part of the throttle body (maybe under the black plastic cover).

IME if thats dirty you will get stalling when slowing down (as the engine lowers down to idle it goes TOO low and the engine stalls)

You mentioned it happens when turning...is that at slow speed? So your RPMs are low already then you put a load on the engine (power steering) and it stalls. I would think thats not a torque converter thing, but rather some intake issue. ive had it happen before to an older (1989) vehicle, it threw no codes other than "misfire" because of the stall.

 

[Burla]

Looking at the **** they did, that is past humorous to the point of being sad. All those were in attempt to deal with your stalling issue? The sensors are relatively cheap and simple to replace, just do those anyhow 220k miles, talk with the dealer about torque converter, but with new info you given my bet is air.

 

[Karlsweg]

My 05 was doing the same thing. Slowing to stop or turning at under 25 mph. No codes. Did a little research and decided it was the egr valve. Changed it out, made sure tube from it to intake was not clogged, and used new gaskets. And that was it!
https://forums.edmunds.com/discussi...ling-no-warning-or-check-engine-light-tripped

 

[chrisbh17]

Looking at the **** they did, that is past humorous to the point of being sad. All those were in attempt to deal with your stalling issue? The sensors are relatively cheap and simple to replace, just do those anyhow 220k miles, talk with the dealer about torque converter.

Yep, comical...they didnt touch anything in the fuel or intake tracts. With all our modern crap, apparently its hard to go back to basics. Spark, fuel and AIR are the 3 things an engine needs to stay running.

I guess they kinda attempted spark, but I see nothing about fuel or air.

 

[Burla]

Sensors exist to protect an engine from something that can be fatal w/o them, but when they go bad they often shut down the engine to protect itself and leave the electronics on. Kinda simple fix, I'm really puzzled why they didn't change all those first. There must be a reason I'm not aware of.

 

[Burla]

My 05 was doing the same thing. Slowing to stop or turning at under 25 mph. No codes. Did a little research and decided it was the egr valve. Changed it out, made sure tube from it to intake was not clogged, and used new gaskets. And that was it!
https://forums.edmunds.com/discussi...ling-no-warning-or-check-engine-light-tripped

makes sense, good post. That would be funny, all that and a egr valve fixes it, lol.

Well OP I'd just start replacing sensors one at a time or talk the dealer into it. They are usually very simple replacements. The replaced the relay box, so unless it was something causing a short which would short again even with a new box, that shouldn't be the issue. I know you have a warranty, you can keep that in tact for something worse, this is more of a nagging issue even though it is dangerous, it is hard to chase a problem with a dealer trying to get reimbursed for a time consuming ghost hunt.

When they replaced the relay box, did that stop the stalling at all, any length of time?

 

[ksram]

If your engine was stalling because of the air system, any part, it should have thrown a code. Especially with your foot off the gas. The dealer had it that many times and didn't replace all the sensors related to the air? jees

To my knowledge the only sensor they replaced was a crankshaft sensor.

Looking at the **** they did, that is past humorous to the point of being sad. All those were in attempt to deal with your stalling issue? The sensors are relatively cheap and simple to replace, just do those anyhow 220k miles, talk with the dealer about torque converter, but with new info you given my bet is air.

That's correct. All in attempt to fix the stalling issue. It is indeed quite comical.

makes sense, good post. That would be funny, all that and a egr valve fixes it, lol.

Well OP I'd just start replacing sensors one at a time or talk the dealer into it. They are usually very simple replacements. I know you have a warranty, you can keep that in tact for something worse, this is more of a nagging issue even though it is dangerous, it is hard to chase a problem with a dealer trying to get reimbursed for a time consuming ghost hunt.

Thanks for the advice. One good thing is I have not had to pay the warranty deductible each time I have brought it in for this issue. I refused after so many times.

Replacing the relay box didn't really stop the stalling but it is hard to remember exactly how long after it stalled again.

 

[Burla]

That's actually good, means there probably isn't a short somewhere. I quick google search for stalls this is what came up, lol. It's not the gas so look at the other two.

the three most common culprits are:

A Faulty Sensor or Electrical Component
Modern engines rely heavily on electrical sensors to function properly. When an electrical component isn't working properly, the engine's computer isn't receiving the necessary information to keep the car running the way it should, which can result in a stall. Usually if an electrical component is to blame, the car's "check engine" light will be illuminated. A good first step to finding out what might be to blame is to pop the hood and check all the electrical connectors you can see. The problem might be as simple as a sensor that has become unplugged. If that's not the case you may have a sensor that needs replacing. You can take your car to a trusted repair shop, or many neighborhood auto parts stores will perform a free diagnostic check on your computer to help find the problem.

A Leak in the Car's Vacuum System
"Engine Vacuum" is another system that provides important information to your car's computerized management system. Locate the car's vacuum lines, and look them over, checking for unplugged connections, as well as signs of wear and cracking. It can be helpful to take a look at them with the vehicle's engine running so that you can listen for whistling or hissing sounds indicating a leak. While the car is idling the vacuum is at its maximum, so any leaks will make plenty of noise. Touch and move each line gently and listen for changes in the way the engine sounds, being careful of the engine's hot or moving parts.

A Leak or Obstruction in the Car's Intake or Fuel System
Anything affecting the engine's ability to take in air or fuel will cause the car to stall as well. With the car running, have a friend abruptly press and release the throttle (gas) pedal. Look that the hoses that connect the engine to the air box, where the filter is located. Any signs of collapse in the hoses or excessive air noise may indicate a problem with the intake. Check all the connections to make sure they are properly fastened. It's also a good idea to check or replace the air and fuel filters, because plugged filters are a common culprit as well.

 

[Burla]

The not throwing codes is what troubles me. One option that also kinda troubles me the way your engine stalls, is possibly ignition switch. When those go out no codes are thrown but your engine can stall. I don't really think that is what it is, but if sensors and vacuum don't work out look at ignition switch. It usually restarts every time easily?

 

[Tach_tech]

What’s your fuel level when this happens? Do you have a slip tank?

I’ve seen issues like this before and they can be a nightmare to find.

It’s a long shot but depending on fuel level it’s possible your evap canister is getting actual fuel in it and when it is purged it’s actually purging raw fuel instead of vapours.

The couple times I’ve dealt with a similar situation, one guy had a slip tank that was overfilling the gas tank and the other was caused by overfilling the tank when getting gas.

Has fuel pressure been checked?

A cracked or loose transmission filter can cause this as well. It can cause the torque converter to stay locked up when slowing down which will stall the engine.

 

[tbone63]

Install a new fuel pump. Sometimes they go out slowly, especially when the diaphragm is worn which keeps up the fuel pressure.

My Marauder would occasionally stall and sometimes be hard to start. New fuel pump fixed it.

 

[ksram]

Two days of driving since I thoroughly cleaned the throttle body and no stalls yet. Looking very promising. I’m going to give it a couple weeks before I call it good. Something so simple.

 

[Rado]

Two days of driving since I thoroughly cleaned the throttle body and no stalls yet. Looking very promising. I’m going to give it a couple weeks before I call it good. Something so simple.

Been a very interesting thread and sorry for all the crap you had to do through ! Thanks for keeping us updated . Hope the fix was simple !