What DON'T you like about your RAM?

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retired

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Most of the radios, especially the 5" screens did not have the option to turn off the radio. They added this in 20 or 21.
my 2020 8.4 has a radio shut off button.
 

laststraw

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Rather than "turning it off" when you shut down, just get in the habit of lowering the volume to 0. Same overall result. I agree. I would like to turn it off, but the lack of this feature is not keeping me up at night.
You would think "mute" which is the "off" button would be sticky at least between ACC and RUN! I think it is ridiculous. I guess the actual volume is sticky. I will try that and try to remember it when I turn off. I tried the AUX solution others have posted and that does not work for me.
 
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tones2SS

tones2SS

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So,.......despise having the things I dislike about my 4th gen, I really do love the truck. BUT, I will ALWAYS hate the MDS. lol
I mean, no one else sells/sold a full loaded up/well equipped rcsb truck like Ram did. I hardly see any on the road at all, never mind rcsb trucks. There is a guy in my town that has a '15 or '16 black rcsb. I think his is a '15 because I saw his sitting in his driveway and I ordered mine after he already had his.

I was thinking about this on my way home from work today. Other than the little things that bother me,......it's still a head turner, unique and awesome truck.
 

Octane

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I believe that, regardless of any dealer issue I had, that my truck is still one of the most dependable vehicles I've ever owned. And better looking than the competitions trucks too, imo. Sad that folks have had such bad reliability issues here. But my hope that in the bigger scheme of things that those issues are relatively small compared to the number of trucks built, and that are performing well.
 

Bandit517

That Trials Guy
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I don't remember if I said this before, and I'm too lazy to go back to my other comments in here.

I genuinely HATE the amount of plastic on plastic creaks and squeaks. I've had to fix the speedometer bezel already, and now I'm battling a console/dash rattle. I fully understand the "It's a truck" argument that I'm sure most people will debate with, however even with plastic pieces I don't feel we should have to deal with them making noise when rubbing against one another or just being too loose of a fit.
 

jack67

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I don't like the MDS at all. I get around it by hitting the tow button that bypass it. Only takes a second.
 
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Jrh2500

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I am not a fan of the key fobs. Seems like some user interface engineer let his five year old lay it out. The panic button is on the flat that slides into the ignition when started. Sliding the key in pushes the button and my horn goes into panic mode about every third time I start it. My inlaws already think I'm a bit off. Don't need to
Be waking the neighborhood at 2:00 in the morning after we've been visiting late. And the remote start is the same. I'll be getting groceries and hear my truck honk twice and and start itself because I put my keys in my pocket.

Love my Cummins Ram....hate the fob.
 

Sherman Bird

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I love my Ram. I hate 2 things though:
1. Oil filter placement
2. Trans pan
Those engineers were high that day I guess…
Engineers aren't high. Most folks are unaware of the pathway of vehicle design, development, and production.
Powertrain is it's own department. Body design is IT's own department, frequently in another facility from powertrain.
Some here may remember the GM trucks that, for decades, required removal of the transmission crossmember in order to get to the rear pan bolts of the transmission just to do a service. That was due to Fisher Body and powertrain division wars that went on within corporate politics of GM, until 1995, when GM brought over a fellow named Perez from GM Europe (in Spain) to take the helm and get rid of that, among other stupid realities that were causing GM to financially bleed to death.

Entire departments of development and production were at war with each other. Egos had a big part in that, and Perez gave a lot of people walking papers. He restructured the basis of how cars/ trucks were designed and produced.

Finally, as of 1998, the need to remove the crossmember to remove a transmission pan on Chevy/GMC trucks was mitigated by producing the trucks with the crossmember relocated 2 inches rearward.

That, my friend is just one of MANY examples of how the oil filters become a nightmare to access, etc. It's all about production costs, not about yours or my convenience in gaining access to nut, bolts, and so forth.

Try to get to the HVAC amplifier on a Camry!
 

JerryETX

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Engineers aren't high. Most folks are unaware of the pathway of vehicle design, development, and production.
Powertrain is it's own department. Body design is IT's own department, frequently in another facility from powertrain.
Some here may remember the GM trucks that, for decades, required removal of the transmission crossmember in order to get to the rear pan bolts of the transmission just to do a service. That was due to Fisher Body and powertrain division wars that went on within corporate politics of GM, until 1995, when GM brought over a fellow named Perez from GM Europe (in Spain) to take the helm and get rid of that, among other stupid realities that were causing GM to financially bleed to death.

Entire departments of development and production were at war with each other. Egos had a big part in that, and Perez gave a lot of people walking papers. He restructured the basis of how cars/ trucks were designed and produced.

Finally, as of 1998, the need to remove the crossmember to remove a transmission pan on Chevy/GMC trucks was mitigated by producing the trucks with the crossmember relocated 2 inches rearward.

That, my friend is just one of MANY examples of how the oil filters become a nightmare to access, etc. It's all about production costs, not about yours or my convenience in gaining access to nut, bolts, and so forth.

Try to get to the HVAC amplifier on a Camry!
I'm not going down the engineers are high road but I would love to hear why they continue to put MDS on engines. It doesn't change my fuel mileage at all and based on the hundreds of responses I've seen on this forum most don't like it. What's the purpose of putting a feature that can only do harm to the engine? I don't get it.

And why put a TPMS feature on a truck that isn't reliable? My tire indicator light comes on when my tires have only fluctuated a couple of psi yet are still within the programmed range and are working fine (according to the dealer).

Ram isn't alone in doing stuff that makes no sense. All manufactures do it just some take it to another level.
 

jack67

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I almost didn't buy my Ram 1500 because of the knob shifter. I'm use to sticks or levers... this seemed out of place and the one thing I've hated since I bought it. I also don't like the MDS, but I bypass that one easy enough. Why did I buy this Ram, well it was so nice other than that stupid shift knob. I'm getting ready to sell it to get my sixth Corvette. If it wasn't for that shift knob, I'd probably still keep the Ram and sell my Ford Ranger 4x4 to get the Vette.

https://moskovita-photography.com/2014_Ram_1500.html
 

Hemi395

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Engineers aren't high. Most folks are unaware of the pathway of vehicle design, development, and production.
Powertrain is it's own department. Body design is IT's own department, frequently in another facility from powertrain.
Some here may remember the GM trucks that, for decades, required removal of the transmission crossmember in order to get to the rear pan bolts of the transmission just to do a service. That was due to Fisher Body and powertrain division wars that went on within corporate politics of GM, until 1995, when GM brought over a fellow named Perez from GM Europe (in Spain) to take the helm and get rid of that, among other stupid realities that were causing GM to financially bleed to death.

Entire departments of development and production were at war with each other. Egos had a big part in that, and Perez gave a lot of people walking papers. He restructured the basis of how cars/ trucks were designed and produced.

Finally, as of 1998, the need to remove the crossmember to remove a transmission pan on Chevy/GMC trucks was mitigated by producing the trucks with the crossmember relocated 2 inches rearward.

That, my friend is just one of MANY examples of how the oil filters become a nightmare to access, etc. It's all about production costs, not about yours or my convenience in gaining access to nut, bolts, and so forth.

Try to get to the HVAC amplifier on a Camry!
This. Then you add in the corporate bean counters that pinch pennies on everything they possibly can on a vehicle. This is how you get the many little quirks and problems on a vehicle. And all car companies do it.

I worked for a big corporation for 15 years and from first hand experience, upper management caters to the share holders above all else. The sheer amount of time they invest to save pennies is astonishing.

Back to the @Bandit517 s example, a piece of felt tape placed in the right area could most likely prevent most squeaks on plastic trim. I guarantee some bean counter from finance told the engineers it wasn't necessary because it could save FCA/Stellantis 3 cents per vehicle.
 

PaleFlyer

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2018
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Hemi 5.7
I'm not going down the engineers are high road but I would love to hear why they continue to put MDS on engines. It doesn't change my fuel mileage at all and based on the hundreds of responses I've seen on this forum most don't like it. What's the purpose of putting a feature that can only do harm to the engine? I don't get it.

And why put a TPMS feature on a truck that isn't reliable? My tire indicator light comes on when my tires have only fluctuated a couple of psi yet are still within the programmed range and are working fine (according to the dealer).

Ram isn't alone in doing stuff that makes no sense. All manufactures do it just some take it to another level.
The MDS system is likely an EPA thing. Show that they are "trying" to improve economy, and also a sales tactic. "We turn off half of your 5.7L V8, so it becomes a 2.35L "V"4 when it doesn't need the 350+ HP".

My TPMS system has been rock solid for 5 years... You might want to get yours checked? Mine has gone off 2x in 5 years. Once when I got a hole in the tire big enough to slide 4 fingers in, (no idea what I hit...) And the second when Discount put 35# in my 33" tires... That I payed $1600 for installed, and was told "The TPMS will reset after a few miles..."
 

ThunderMug95

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I amend my “engineers were high that day” to the manager who signed off on it was high that day. You have to admit that the trans pan is ludicrous. Having to level off the truck…Thats a pain even if you have a lift…
 

Sherman Bird

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I'm not going down the engineers are high road but I would love to hear why they continue to put MDS on engines. It doesn't change my fuel mileage at all and based on the hundreds of responses I've seen on this forum most don't like it. What's the purpose of putting a feature that can only do harm to the engine? I don't get it.

And why put a TPMS feature on a truck that isn't reliable? My tire indicator light comes on when my tires have only fluctuated a couple of psi yet are still within the programmed range and are working fine (according to the dealer).

Ram isn't alone in doing stuff that makes no sense. All manufactures do it just some take it to another level.
MDS is likely motivated by an implied belief that the mileage will, somehow, get very high. That's myopic at the base level, physics wise. I mean, there is so much energy needed to hurtle a 5,000 + pound vehicle down the road, overcoming all considered laws of nature and physics regarding friction, wind resistance, etc.
 

PaleFlyer

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MDS is likely motivated by an implied belief that the mileage will, somehow, get very high. That's myopic at the base level, physics wise. I mean, there is so much energy needed to hurtle a 5,000 + pound vehicle down the road, overcoming all considered laws of nature and physics regarding friction, wind resistance, etc.
I put MDS in the same cup with the "auto engine off" thing. It saves so little gas over the life of the engine, versus the damage it does to the engine. It goes hand in... FRICKEN BLEEP!

THEY ARE SOLD AS "save", BUT THEY ARE THE SAME AS THE FRICKEN EV BATTERIES! INTENTIONAL CAR KILLERS!

Design in a method to decrease the lifespan of the engine, and you buy a new car sooner... While selling it as a way to "save gas".

Most people when the car starts being weird, will sell it, and the dealer then deals with it. Plus they are designing the cars now to last a lease, maybe an extra year/2 past a lease, not like it used to be. IE I noticed the other day, I was in line with a Gen 2 and a Gen 3 RAM.
 

HK1837

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This. Then you add in the corporate bean counters that pinch pennies on everything they possibly can on a vehicle. This is how you get the many little quirks and problems on a vehicle. And all car companies do it.

I worked for a big corporation for 15 years and from first hand experience, upper management caters to the share holders above all else. The sheer amount of time they invest to save pennies is astonishing.

Back to the @Bandit517 s example, a piece of felt tape placed in the right area could most likely prevent most squeaks on plastic trim. I guarantee some bean counter from finance told the engineers it wasn't necessary because it could save FCA/Stellantis 3 cents per vehicle.
Car companies have for a long time had Employee incentive schemes too. The employees were encouraged to give suggestions as to how to make the assembly process easier (hence cheaper) and also how to cut costs. I've seen lots of them for GMH. Somere were things like using 7 screws rather than 10 to hold the back board on buckets seats in place, the Change Notice card showed the 2c per vehicle saving. They employee would have gotten a $20 voucher or something like that. Other ones were like changes to the body to get to hard to get at body mounts that if one fell off its location during the body drop process it was a pain to re-insert it in place as you couldn't reverse the assembly line. So certain body sections were made removable rather than welded so that it could be done in seconds - saved maybe a 5min delay which had a cost associated with it. Most of these things would be practical changes rather than pretend fuel saving.
 
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tones2SS

tones2SS

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I don't like the MDS at all. I get around it by hitting the tow button that bypass it. Only takes a second.
Amen brother!!!
I turn the MDS every single time I drive the truck! I HATE it with a passion.

That is one of my biggest gripes with this truck.
 
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