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Crash test question

illucid said:
In this article written by our own 5th gen rams: https://5thgenrams.com/2019-ram-1500-crew-cab-crash-test-results-are-in/
It says in the first paragraph that trucks built after July 2018 had something changed with the C-pillar cab mounts? I wonder if anyone knows anything more about this as my truck was built in June 2018 so I'm curious. View attachment 7905
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I'd like to get more precise information, too!!
The feature article is rather confusing as to what deficiency was observed by who (FCA or IIHS), and what exact change was made, to one (or both) side(s) of the vehicle, and as of WHICH EXACT PRODUCTUION DATE / VIN #.

I telephoned IIHS; they tranferred me to a nice gentleman in their research office.
He informed me that FCA had instituted the upgrade during the month of July; the "after July" statement is simply so that there is no confusion regarding the fact that all '19 1500s built in August (and after) do in-fact include the improvement.

The IIHS man said that FCA knows EXACTLY as of which production VIN # that the upgrade was instituted!

I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW THIS VIN # PLEASE!!! Can somebody out there with inside info. find the answer?
BTW, my vehicle was built on 07/17/18.

Needless to say, I hate that FCA did not put the finishing-touches on their crash testing initially......why short-change their early adopters from getting their best?
 
Duane said:
I'd like to get more precise information, too!!
The feature article is rather confusing as to what deficiency was observed by who (FCA or IIHS), and what exact change was made, to one (or both) side(s) of the vehicle, and as of WHICH EXACT PRODUCTUION DATE / VIN #.

I telephoned IIHS; they tranferred me to a nice gentleman in their research office.
He informed me that FCA had instituted the upgrade during the month of July; the "after July" statement is simply so that there is no confusion regarding the fact that all '19 1500s built in August (and after) do in-fact include the improvement.

The IIHS man said that FCA knows EXACTLY as of which production VIN # that the upgrade was instituted!

I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW THIS VIN # PLEASE!!! Can somebody out there with inside info. find the answer?
BTW, my vehicle was built on 07/17/18.

Needless to say, I hate that FCA did not put the finishing-touches on their crash testing initially......why short-change their early adopters from getting their best?
Click to expand...


Exactly my thoughts! Also curious if they plan on upgrading the earlier models to the same level of safety? I feel like this should be a recall if this is the case.
 
Also curious for my truck built in May. Any updates from RAM?
 
19Jake said:
no chance
Click to expand...

I had an authoritative note of response from IIHS; the final qualifying tweaks (upgraded C-pillar can mounts) where incorporated on new ‘19 RAMs produced as of July 06, 2018. That is the key date.
It was obviously just simpler for IIHS to indicate in their press release “as of August production”.
Anyhow, my thinking is that with the new splayed front frame, tire blockers, stronger roof, extended side curtain airbags, etc., these are extremely safe trucks, regardless.
I still cannot fathom why FCA could not have completed the work by Job #1, as they had literally ten years since their last new pickup in 2008.
 
I mea
Duane said:
I had an authoritative note of response from IIHS; the final qualifying tweaks (upgraded C-pillar can mounts) where incorporated on new ‘19 RAMs produced as of July 06, 2018. That is the key date.
It was obviously just simpler for IIHS to indicate in their press release “as of August production”.
Anyhow, my thinking is that with the new splayed front frame, tire blockers, stronger roof, extended side curtain airbags, etc., these are extremely safe trucks, regardless.
I still cannot fathom why FCA could not have completed the work by Job #1, as they had literally ten years since their last new pickup in 2008.
Click to expand...

I meant “cab mounts”, of course.
 
Buying a post-July built truck was an absolute requirement for me. Since the pre July build crash test data was not published, we have no idea whether the failure was minor or severe. Must have been severe enuff for Ram to engineer a fix.
 
I believe some of the great deals folks get in the price thread are on the pre-july trucks.
 
The article says this was done to improve the small overlap crash. The question in my mind is whether the IIHS top rating was contingent on this improvement.

This is probably the harshest IIHS crash test and, in this crash, the front occupants are typically in more danger than the rear. The front splayed frame rails and tire guard are probably the biggest safety factor here and as far as I know, all trucks have these.

Looking at how the rear of the cab crumpled up, I guess strengthened cab mounts might minimize this a bit but frankly, to my untrained eye anyway, I can't see this being a huge deal.

2018-12-30 19_12_16-Window.png
 
Electrical said:
The article says this was done to improve the small overlap crash. The question in my mind is whether the IIHS top rating was contingent on this improvement.

This is probably the harshest IIHS crash test and, in this crash, the front occupants are typically in more danger than the rear. The front splayed frame rails and tire guard are probably the biggest safety factor here and as far as I know, all trucks have these.

Looking at how the rear of the cab crumpled up, I guess strengthened cab mounts might minimize this a bit but frankly, to my untrained eye anyway, I can't see this being a huge deal.

View attachment 12143
Click to expand...

Bottomline is it did not pass. It did not pass in a severe enuff manner for Ram to do a mid-model-year redesign. How severe did the failure have to be to cause a mid-model-year fix? Don't know. Would be nice if they released the crash tests on the Pre-August Rams.

Be careful drawing passenger safety conclusions by looking at the pictures. It is the data taken from the dummies that is important.
 
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cruz-in said:
Only the models built after July 2018 passed the tests. July and before trucks had some trouble passing the tests. Resulting in a rediesgn that took effect sometime in July. The redesigned trucks passed with the highest marks in all crash tests.
Click to expand...

Do we know that (pre July trucks did not pass)?

I don't wanna doubt you but I'd like to know where IIHS or FCA said that.
 
I don't think Pre July built trucks were tested by the IIHS, they usually test and give the result as tested. Now maybe Chrysler found a defect in their own tests and had the IIHS pospone the test until the design was updated.
 
Quoting from the IIHS Website:

"Beginning with 2019 models built after July 2018, the cab mounts to the vehicle frame at the C-pillars were strengthened to improve occupant protection in small overlap frontal crashes. (Information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on the driver door or adjacent B-pillar.) "


Link to IIHS Report
 
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Good points. My statement implying pre-july models had trouble passing the test was based on the assumption that the strengthening of the cab mounts to the vehicel frame was in response to a test. It could have been in response to a number of factors: an IIHS test, a Ram test, engineering analysis, etc.

My apologies.

Be nice if Ram would chime in with a statement so we would not have to speculate.
 
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Biga said:
I don't think Pre July built trucks were tested by the IIHS, they usually test and give the result as tested. Now maybe Chrysler found a defect in their own tests and had the IIHS pospone the test until the design was updated.
Click to expand...

Ahhhhh. It makes sense now (kinda).

IIHS ratings are a huge deal. If there is only one shot at getting a good rating, you betcha OEMs have internal testing that mimics IIHS.

However, mimic'ing the IIHS test and perfectly replicating it are two different things. There's no guarantee that inhouse results will be identical to IIHS.

To handle this, OEMs will add some margin to give themselves the best possible chance.

It makes sense if Chrysler saw the cab mounts as the weak link and strengthened it before going to IIHS.

But WHY would they make that information public??

EDIT: And why would we *assume* the truck couldn't pass IIHS even before the new mounts?
 
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Well, I just purchased my 2019 on 12-11 and didn't look at the build date which I almost always do before I purchased a vehicle but didn't on this one and it was built on 5-18 -2018. I did get a pretty good deal but maybe it wasn't as I wanted a truck for the safety. I traded in my 2018 Grand Cherokee that I had just had for 3 months and part of the reason for that was seeing how bad they were in a safety test. Since I purchased the quad cab, I just figured that not many want the quad cab and it had sit around because of that. I will try to get the build order from my service manage as he will usually give them to me. I paid 5500 dollars different including taxes OTD including the drop in bed liner and steps. The Ram Msrp was $49,950 and the GC Msrp was $46270 so it seemed like a good deal. I believe I had read on an advertisement that they had improved the small overlap crash before mine was even built. I will definitely check further into this post and see what I can find out. Too bad I didn't check this forum out before I purchased my Ram. I just read that the headlights and preventive head on collisions properly equipped would be the same with the Quad cab but not the other tests so I will see what happens with the Quad cab test if they do one. By the way, I love this truck--have had properly 12 Rams in years past and liked all of them but this is the best and no rattle or any other problem so far.
 
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