2021 Limited w Etorque (3k miles) - Power Shutdown while on the highway

[carlskj]

I’m currently 250+ miles from home and 130 miles from where I was heading with my family for Christmas when my relatively new truck shutdown on me (while driving down the highway). It started with some acceleration issues, then a start/stop warning, check engine light, loss of radio/CarPlay/volume and gradually got worse until nearly every warning light was on. Fortunately my wife convinced me to call the dealership that sold me the truck and as the symptoms got worse they convinced me to “get off the highway”. My lights and power steering finally quit and I was lucky enough to coast into a rest areas without power. From what I gathered there is a known issue with the etorque/battery that is likely the issue and it sounds like a known problem after speaking with my dealer and further research now.
I’ll be really curious to see how RAM resolves this. In my opinion this truck is not safe and we were very lucky to make it off the highway (without power/steering). Anyone else experience this or have advice on best path forward with RAM? They have already told me I needed to pay for towing to the most convenient dealership (in the direction of where we were heading and close to the highway ~ 30 miles). Apparently they only cover up to 25 miles. Absolutely horrible customer service considering the circumstances. Not to mention cab service, hotel room, etc.

 

[Willwork4truck]

That sucks. Get after RAM Cares (they are on this forum) and also check if you have Towing and Rental coverage on your auto insurance policy. AAA? Let us know what happened please.

 

[BigD]

There is not a known problem with etorque. Just a few people on here complaining. The vast majority of us with etorque have no problems with it. Sorry u got a lemon. Best of luck to u. I hope everything works out.

 

[PM-Performance]

Not sure how etorque caused this. Etorque is a complimentary system and not primary. I would not think it would cause full loss of power.
Also this would be the first time i have ever heard of roadside assistance not covering the tow. I thought there was travel coverage as well, but could be wrong.
This just all sounds pretty terribly wrong and hope something got lost in translation.
Keep us up to date with the results.

 

[UnloosedChewtoy]

Apparently they only cover up to 25 miles. Absolutely horrible customer service considering the circumstances. Not to mention cab service, hotel room, etc.

Sorry to hear about the entire situation, hopefully its an easy fix. Not sure about the eTorque diagnosis, but please keep us updated.

If they cover up to 25, and the dealership is 30 miles away, seems to me that you should split the bill, and only pay for anything over 25. The rest should be covered by RAM. That is what I would argue for, if I were you, anyway.

 

[GBFNelson]

I’m currently 250+ miles from home and 130 miles from where I was heading with my family for Christmas when my relatively new truck shutdown on me (while driving down the highway). It started with some acceleration issues, then a start/stop warning, check engine light, loss of radio/CarPlay/volume and gradually got worse until nearly every warning light was on. Fortunately my wife convinced me to call the dealership that sold me the truck and as the symptoms got worse they convinced me to “get off the highway”. My lights and power steering finally quit and I was lucky enough to coast into a rest areas without power. From what I gathered there is a known issue with the etorque/battery that is likely the issue and it sounds like a known problem after speaking with my dealer and further research now.
I’ll be really curious to see how RAM resolves this. In my opinion this truck is not safe and we were very lucky to make it off the highway (without power/steering). Anyone else experience this or have advice on best path forward with RAM? They have already told me I needed to pay for towing to the most convenient dealership (in the direction of where we were heading and close to the highway ~ 30 miles). Apparently they only cover up to 25 miles. Absolutely horrible customer service considering the circumstances. Not to mention cab service, hotel room, etc.

I'll be following your situation closely. I bought a brand new 2021 1500 Limited etorque Dec 7. It was towed in on the 9th due to warning light issues later attributed to the etorque battery. The dealer replaced the battery, and I got my truck back on the 24th, but it's already back in dealer service department for what appears to be a similar issue. The truck has been in the shop 16 days of the 23 I've had it. I'm hoping to get the new diagnosis tomorrow, but I cannot feel comfortable driving any distance from home unless I'm thoroughly convinced they've fixed the problem. I certainly don't want to end up in your situation.

 

[PM-Performance]

I'll be following your situation closely. I bought a brand new 2021 1500 Limited etorque Dec 7. It was towed in on the 9th due to warning light issues later attributed to the etorque battery. The dealer replaced the battery, and I got my truck back on the 24th, but it's already back in dealer service department for what appears to be a similar issue. The truck has been in the shop 16 days of the 23 I've had it. I'm hoping to get the new diagnosis tomorrow, but I cannot feel comfortable driving any distance from home unless I'm thoroughly convinced they've fixed the problem. I certainly don't want to end up in your situation.

What kind of lights and warnings were you getting? I have seen some strange occurrences with mine and wondering if there is any similarities

 

[GBFNelson]

There is not a known problem with etorque. Just a few people on here complaining. The vast majority of us with etorque have no problems with it. Sorry u got a lemon. Best of luck to u. I hope everything works out.

I don't know if there is a known problem or not, but there are many issues with the etorque system. It's pretty easy to find people on this site and many others with issues that are often only resolved by replacing the battery. It usually takes at least 2 weeks to get a replacement. I'm one of those people with issues in a vehicle with only 300 miles and 2X as many days in the shop for repair as in my possession. Given the number of issues and difficulty of repair, RAM is looking at getting a very poor reputation from this.

 

[SpeedyV]

Only one post (on 12/24), and nothing in the past 5 days...maybe we won't be hearing much from the OP.

I agree with @PM-Performance that this doesn't sound like an eTorque-triggered issue. We've seen recalls on loose grounds—I could see that sort of issue causing a whole host of problems. Best of luck!

 

[SpeedyV]

I don't know if there is a known problem or not, but there are many issues with the etorque system. It's pretty easy to find people on this site and many others with issues that are often only resolved by replacing the battery. It usually takes at least 2 weeks to get a replacement. I'm one of those people with issues in a vehicle with only 300 miles and 2X as many days in the shop for repair as in my possession. Given the number of issues and difficulty of repair, RAM is looking at getting a very poor reputation from this.

What's the "difficulty of repair"? Waiting on a battery? A contact at AAA informed us that there's a nationwide shortage on batteries (of all kinds) right now.

There are 40K+ members on here, many of whom have eTorque, and only a few have had issues with the system. However, there've been a number of members that have had dead batteries (12V or 48V) when new or nearly new. It happens. It's just a pain if it happens when there's a battery shortage.

 

[GBFNelson]

What's the "difficulty of repair"? Waiting on a battery? A contact at AAA informed us that there's a nationwide shortage on batteries (of all kinds) right now.

There are 40K+ members on here, many of whom have eTorque, and only a few have had issues with the system. However, there've been a number of members that have had dead batteries (12V or 48V) when new or nearly new. It happens. It's just a pain if it happens when there's a battery shortage.

Yes, the 'difficulty of repair' is waiting on a battery and waiting on Chrysler to approve the repair to begin with. There has been a shortage of the 48v since their inception. They're only in their 3rd year. And it's more than a pain if I don't have my truck. There are things I need and want to do and cannot without it.

 

[GBFNelson]

What kind of lights and warnings were you getting? I have seen some strange occurrences with mine and wondering if there is any similarities

The first event the battery charge warning light and check engine light came on and wouldn't turn off. This event it's the battery charge warning light and the service stop/start system warning light. In addition, on the trip to the dealer for this repair, a warning light came on twice that the blind spot warning system was temporarily unavailable. That light only stayed on a few seconds each time. Obviously the sensors weren't dirty since the problem was intermittent. The 48v battery was replaced just last week, so I'm guessing there is either a fault in the wiring, an electronic control system, or in the system that recharges the 48v battery. I'm not a mechanic; I'm just trying to use a bit of common sense. In our state, lemon laws require the manufacturer 3X to fix a problem or no more than 30 calendar days in a year. I wouldn't be surprised if I have another new truck before the end of January.

 

[Drewster]

A lot of folks seem to forget that the eTorque system acts as your alternator. If it dies, it's no different than a normal car with a bad alternator - it'll drain the battery until the modules don't have enough power to operate, and then the ECU itself can't even fire coils.

There was one person on the forum that had an issue and apparently an update fixed it, but since operating as an alternator/ generator is the whole purpose of eTorque it's not like anyone can say "ah yes, that's a common problem".. just that something failed and stopped charging the 12V battery. It could be the firmware on the power pack unit, could be a loose ground, could be a serpentine belt problem.. could be a lot of things

 

[PM-Performance]

So etorque takes place of the alternator?
I thought this was a secondary charging system for that 48v battery?

 

[GBFNelson]

So etorque takes place of the alternator?
I thought this was a secondary charging system for that 48v battery?

From what I've read, it's a little more complicated than being just an alternator/generator. The etorque system does act as a generator/alternator to charge a 48V battery that powers most of the electrical systems and the engine cooling fan. It also keeps a 12V starting battery charged. The 12V is for starting the engine when it's cold. The etorque system also provides additional torque at lower speeds and restarts the engine when its warmer in conjunction with the engine start/stop engine feature. As Drewster said there are a few things that can go wrong. With my truck I was told the 48V battery was bad, but it has been replaced and I'm having the same problems as before less than a week after replacement.

 

[Keezer]

So etorque takes place of the alternator?

Yep. If you have a eTorque equipped Ram have a look at your build sheet under Standard Equipment. 2nd or 3rd line down you will see Delete Alternator.

 

[PM-Performance]

Yep. If you have a eTorque equipped Ram have a look at your build sheet under Standard Equipment. 2nd or 3rd line down you will see Delete Alternator.

I did not see that on my sticker.
I’ll have to take another look.
This makes more sense though

 

[SpeedyV]

I did not see that on my sticker.
I’ll have to take another look.
This makes more sense though

It’ll also be pretty obvious if you open the hood (if you’re familiar with what alternators look like). The eTorque MGU (or BSG) is mounted where the alternator would be, but it looks quite a bit different (and has a beefy belt to match).

 

[MannymanX]

Yep. If you have a eTorque equipped Ram have a look at your build sheet under Standard Equipment. 2nd or 3rd line down you will see Delete Alternator.

https://www.dodge.com/hostd/windowsticker/getWindowStickerPdf.do?vin=1C6RREFT6KN660858

Mine doesn't say that.... but I know exactly what this system is doing..

OPs ET stopped generating power or the DC-DC inverter in the PP died(Same thing that happened to me). Anyway... He probably needs a new PP.
Sucks for him.. It happened to me at 35K miles.

 

[PM-Performance]

It’ll also be pretty obvious if you open the hood (if you’re familiar with what alternators look like). The eTorque MGU (or BSG) is mounted where the alternator would be, but it looks quite a bit different (and has a beefy belt to match).

I am not a Hemi guy, so I have no clue where the alternator would be if it were there.
New truck, have no reason to even pop the hood