Ram Ecodiesel Debacle

I bought a 2016 Ram Ecodiesel 1500 (3.0 VM Motori engine) new in late 15. Awesome truck, never let me down, great mileage. Lots of recalls, but they are all handled reasonably well, and I got the payback for the diesel debacle. 

So, I get a check engine light for a glow plug. Ignore it for a long time because the truck runs fine, never hesitates to start, no rough running etc.  Finally decide, another minor recall, lets have them fix the glow plug at the same time. Two hour job, $485 so they say.

Drop it off at 9 am on 24 August. They called back at noon or so, "we broke the head off the glow plug. We will have it for a couple days, please accept a rental car while we figure it out". 

Today is 80 days later. They called me exactly twice in that time frame. Obviously I called many times in the interim, never got angry (on the phone or in person), despite many misdirects, etc. Finally at 60 days called corporate, and they made a case.

Got the truck back today. There were so many delays even in the last couple days... got it home. There are 11 quarts of oil in the back seat (new cases). Checked oil. Overfilled by a quart. Looked around- there were three small bolts/nuts on the cowl.

WTF. I know. I should not have bought a dodge. I get it. But lord. 

Rant off. I'm going to use their rotella to change the oil myself because I don't trust that they did it after replacing the cylinder head. And I (a rank amateur) know how to berkeleying change oil properly. And also how to not break the head off a glow plug, which finally required replacing the entire head. And the repair required lifting the cab off the chassis. 

So after the rant, is it worth using X plan to get a new f150 hybrid and get out from under this, or just keep on, you know, truckin'?

In reply to Teh E36 M3 :

Yeah it's time to move on. 

I've heard a lot of stories about the glory of modern glow plugs.  It's one of the many reasons i won't let a diesel in the shop.

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

I like the EGT sensors that fail, but as they are high-nickel components threaded into high-nickel manifolds, removing them is like playing Russian Roulette with a semiauto.

I did a VW that I managed to not gall the manifold.  Must've had a Kimber that day

A local racer tried to trade his in at the Ram dealer on a 2500 Cummins. They won't take it. That tells me everything I need to know about them.

Sigh. Oh well. It was a good experiment. 
 

gotta trust a Coastie's judgment. Off to shop for a Ford. I hope the hybrids are fairly reliable by now. 

Someone I'm close to owns an ecodiesel. He paid massive money to have the engine replaced; they told him it went out due to him not changing the fuel filter. Yikes. 

I had MULTIPLE customers doing UoA because they were on engines #3-5. I will not ever own one of those. 

I do hear great things about the GM Baby-D's. 

My 2015 eco diesel experience was similar.  Stranded multiple times and every event at the dealership was a multiple day to multiple week fiasco of inexperienced techs awaiting phone calls for support or parts.  I've sworn off anything from Chrysler ever again.

In reply to Teh E36 M3 :

That huge engine bay with a modestly sized engine in it, and they still had to lift the cab off?  That's just bad design.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Fun detail from one of the John Wick movies (II?): in one sequence he's specifically using a Kimber 1911. Until he drops that gun, he does a round check after every magazine change, but he doesn't bother doing that with any other weapon.

Streetwiseguy said:

I've heard a lot of stories about the glory of modern glow plugs.  It's one of the many reasons i won't let a diesel in the shop.

What's different about a modern glow plug vs one in a 25 year old VW? I'm sure I remember them having one. 

This doesn't sound like an EcoDiesel story, it sounds like a Dodge dealer story. Of which I have some as well, including an NHTSA safety recall on steering parts that took a year to perform. I chewed out the service people because, by law, I can't buy from the manufacturer and so as part of that deal the dealer took on full responsibility for dealing with me. I was not patient by the end, and the only way I got the recall done was by being lucky enough to call the day a parts shipment arrived. "You're on the list and we'll call when we have parts" was a complete fabrication. Again, safety recall on the steering.

Mine is a good Cummins engine inside an okay truck backed up by a bunch of idiots who are surprised every time they see three pedals.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

The 1500 Ecodiesel is not a Cummins. It's a VM Motori and the dealers are having all kinds of problems with them. 

I understand it's the Italian diesel here, although I still don't think the main problem Teh E36 M3 is having is an engine problem. It's a dealer problem. Loose bolts left in the truck after service work? That's not the engine.

Mine is a Cummins. I have edited my post to be more clear about that.

I agree that the latest issue here sounds like a E36 M3ty dealer, not a E36 M3ty truck. 

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Got ya. 

The local racer that tried to trade his in, had his truck in the shop constantly in the first two years of ownership. The longest period of time at the dealer was 82 days due to a lack of parts. Some of this was probably dealer issues, some wasn't but when dealing with warranty and recalls, if the dealer sucks it doesn't matter how good the truck is.

His list of repairs. 

* Water leak from 3rd brake light ( damn part had no rubber gasket ). -- replaced with updated part. NOT WARRANTIED ($$$)

*EGR valve failed (WARRANTY)

* coolant smell - replaced water pump (warranty, but I had to pay for expedited parts shipping)

* Two month later... Coolant smell, and replaced water pump again under warranty

* Still had coolant smell. Replaced water pump bypass tube - NOT WARRANTIED ($$$)

*Diesel emissions software recall - flashed new software that reduced highway MPG and killed throttle/power delivery for first few minutes of runtime

* Still had coolant smell - blamed on emissions recall software update "they all do that"

* Intake manifold failure (swirl valve fault) covered under EGR recall

*Coolant smell -- loose clamp

* Coolant smell - Turbo coolant feed hose. Cab-off repair (WARRANTY)

* Failed to reinstall inner fender liner properly from previous trip

* Coolant smell -- turbo feed hose fitting wasn't tight. -- engine harness left partially unplugged during this work (WARRANTY)

* Truck stalled and would not restart... Crank position sensor failure (recall w58)

He's driving a Ford now. 

Apologies, I got the branding wrong. Corrected. Doesn't change the statement though :)

The coolant smell was likely related to the emissions recall. There is a part that has an exhaust/coolant interface - please forgive me as I forget what exactly it was (EGR cooler?), but they crack on the coolant side, and leak coolant into the exhaust apparently causing a fire danger(?). I found out when I overheated on the way back from Home Depot. Added water from a kind lady down the road and made it. I'd been on the recall list for about 6 months while they "waited for parts", and finally got the call.  It's been in the shop a fair amount but until this debacle, I hadn't had much trouble with the dealer.  My list of repairs was probably the same length considering all the recalls.

The motor is fantastic... not really powerful, but can tow my 23' airstream with aplomb, while getting 14-15 MPG. Goes right up the side of the sierra (sea level to 7000'+) with no worries.

Anyway, I think I'm done. Ford can special order a truck with x plan pricing and get it in 10-20 weeks. I might just throw it on CL for $30k (high private party value) and see if I get any nibbles. It's pretty immaculate, and now, fixed.  

Anyone want a truck?

Oh, and while it was broke, the dealer offered me $27K if I would trade it for something on their lot. I would have taken it if it was a cash offer. They had a 2020 2500 cummins with 6k miles for $69k. Nice truck, but it sounded outrageously expensive, and I'm out of the dodge game for a while.

Sounds like a E36 M3ty design made worse by a E36 M3ty dealer. It reminds me of the early Ford DOHC V8s. When their spark plugs started needing replacement, it was found that the extended-tip design likes to break off in the head. That's a pain to deal with in any vehicle, but in a van where one head is buried under the dash...... The long shot is that after two of my vans  encountered trouble in this area, my next four truck/van purchases were Chevys or GMCs.

I wonder if the diesels in the f150 are just as bad lol

Duke said

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Fun detail from one of the John Wick movies (II?): in one sequence he's specifically using a Kimber 1911. Until he drops that gun, he does a round check after every magazine change, but he doesn't bother doing that with any other weapon.

 

Yes.

I used to work with someone who did a lot of IDPA competion and it was a running joke with them that Kimbers could barely get a magazine off before some critical failure.  Yet the people with the fugly, no-poetry Glocks just kept shooting and shooting with the occasional pause for derisive laughter.

As a 1911 fanboy, this hurts.  And I hate that Glocks are the Energizer Bunny of pistols because Browning and 1911 and and and.

Wow, 10-20 (!!) weeks to get a vehicle, so 5 months.  From a domestic company....

Yeah. I think it's worth it to order custom though. Very few dealers have the super crew and 6-1/2 bed, which is sorta mandatory for me. 
 

I'm looking at the f150 hybrid 3.5 most closely, mostly because of the bed power thing. Would be great for our camping. 

E36, the egr cooler recall was worse than that. It was leaking coolant into the intake manifold, where it would mix with soot. This would then catch fire. Did I mention that the intake is plastic? Yup. Bunch of vehicles burned down.

That makes better sense. I knew there was some weird thing. Mainly that I didn't know coolant somehow was flammable.