The day I drove it off the lot new, on the way home I kept getting an error message on the Uconnect screen stating "Uconnect Box requires service. Please visit an authorized dealer." No big deal at the time as I was able to simply touch the OK button below the message on the screen and make it go away. Unsettling to say the least though that I just traded in my 2018 BMW X3 M40i that NEVER had an issue throughout its whole life with me and now my brand new truck is showing error messages driving it off the dealership lot.
I contacted my local Ram dealership (leased the truck at a different Ram dealership) about the issue and they said they would take a look at it during the first oil change, which I had done at 5,000 miles. They couldn't replicate the issue while the truck was in the shop, but they did flash new software and told me that the issue should be gone at that point. Literally driving it home from that service, the same message popped up. Again, clicking ok made the message go away so I could drive the truck as normal, so figured I would deal with it again when I go back at 10,000 miles for oil change as the dealership had mentioned to me before.
All of that said, I have had numerous other issues where the mileage was flashing on the dash while driving down the road, again not seemingly affecting anything to my attention, but still something not right with the truck. The other main issue is many times I have been in the truck and get a message on the dash that says "Key not in the vehicle". Then it will honk three times and you can then drive off, or do whatever you were about to do. The key was absolutely in the vehicle during all these times. I have changed keys and gotten the same message. I have replaced the battery in both key fobs and received the same message. The result of this is that the truck, if turned off after seeing this message, then will not start unless you push the starter button with the key fob itself. In almost every attempt at restarting the truck in these instances, it usually takes literally 200-300 times of pushing the start button with the key before the truck will turn over and start.
That being said, at hockey practice for my son on Monday night, the truck did the same "Key not in the vehicle"...three honks issue when my son got out of the truck. I dropped him off and parking in the parking lot for practice. Came out after practice and nothing, could not start the vehicle, vehicle didn't recognize the key was in the vehicle, the mobile app would not start the vehicle as there was a message that stated I needed to start the vehicle to be able to use remote start again. Clearly I was unable to start the vehicle, so I couldn't use any method to try and start the vehicle. I Google'd what to do in this situation and on one of the Ram forums, someone stated to remove negative battery cable for at least 20 minutes to reset all the electronics on the truck. So I did that and my son and I waited 30 minutes before reinstalling the negative terminal. Still no luck.
This is where I lost it with all of the issues...I called connected services at Stellantis and spoke to someone about the issues we were having. Keep in mind, this all was happening at 10PM at night. The gentleman I spoke with at Stellantis couldn't figure out what was wrong with the truck over the phone or remotely, so his suggestion was to stay with the truck through the night and then call my dealership in the morning. His recommendation was for my son and I to stay in the truck, that won't start, won't provide any heat, and on a night that got down to 13 degrees F. This is utterly and completely unacceptable! In fact, just a day or two ago, there were two kids that froze to death in a car in Detroit due to similar weather circumstances.
Needless to say, pissed off is an understatement to be told to not only put myself, but more importantly put my son at risk of exposure and death!
Shortly after that phone conversation as I waited for a tow truck that I had called on earlier, the last beer league hockey game for the night was done and one of the last guys out walked over and asked what was going on. Ironically, he ended up being a software engineer for Stellantis. He stated he thought they had all of the software issues taken care of on these trucks, and proceeded to go through his own troubleshooting of the problems at hand. He asked if I disconnected both negative terminals as he said there is a second battery that mainly deals with the antennas and key fob. I told him I did not as I didn't know there was a second battery. So we disconnected both negative terminals and I told him now we have to wait based on what I found online for more than 20 minutes. He assured me that simply removing them and putting them back on is enough to reset the electronics on the truck. We did that and nothing changed. He then said sorry...doesn't seem like a software issue, so now unfortunately, the dealership will need to tear the truck apart and troubleshoot every line to see where the fault is as it has to be a faulty component or chafed line or something he said.
So I then had the truck put on a flatbed at the rink and driven an hour away to my local dealership. That cost me nearly $300 to have that done. Got a call from the dealership the next morning and they asked me what was wrong with the truck and why was it dropped off as the note said wouldn't start. He said it started right up as he pulled it into the shop?!
On the evening of the 2nd day at the dealership, I got a text that the tech found a TSB out there similar to my problem, so apparently he ordered parts. I have no idea what TSB, what parts, or the timing of the fix.
Now on to the 3rd day of the dealership having my truck and I simply cannot get anyone to return my calls, texts, or emails about the truck. I have been without a vehicle now for the 3 days with no idea when my truck will be fixed, can't get a loaner for some reason from the dealership. The Stellantis manager assigned to my case won't return my emails or phone calls. What the heck is going on with all this crap!? This is my first Stellantis product I have ever bought and is quickly becoming my last with the lack of communication, life-threatening recommendations, and overall handling of these issues. The truck only has 6600 miles on it and I have now been without it for 6 days (3 the first day at my 5000 mile oil change and now getting ready to go on to the 4th with this current time). This is absolutely crazy!!
I contacted my local Ram dealership (leased the truck at a different Ram dealership) about the issue and they said they would take a look at it during the first oil change, which I had done at 5,000 miles. They couldn't replicate the issue while the truck was in the shop, but they did flash new software and told me that the issue should be gone at that point. Literally driving it home from that service, the same message popped up. Again, clicking ok made the message go away so I could drive the truck as normal, so figured I would deal with it again when I go back at 10,000 miles for oil change as the dealership had mentioned to me before.
All of that said, I have had numerous other issues where the mileage was flashing on the dash while driving down the road, again not seemingly affecting anything to my attention, but still something not right with the truck. The other main issue is many times I have been in the truck and get a message on the dash that says "Key not in the vehicle". Then it will honk three times and you can then drive off, or do whatever you were about to do. The key was absolutely in the vehicle during all these times. I have changed keys and gotten the same message. I have replaced the battery in both key fobs and received the same message. The result of this is that the truck, if turned off after seeing this message, then will not start unless you push the starter button with the key fob itself. In almost every attempt at restarting the truck in these instances, it usually takes literally 200-300 times of pushing the start button with the key before the truck will turn over and start.
That being said, at hockey practice for my son on Monday night, the truck did the same "Key not in the vehicle"...three honks issue when my son got out of the truck. I dropped him off and parking in the parking lot for practice. Came out after practice and nothing, could not start the vehicle, vehicle didn't recognize the key was in the vehicle, the mobile app would not start the vehicle as there was a message that stated I needed to start the vehicle to be able to use remote start again. Clearly I was unable to start the vehicle, so I couldn't use any method to try and start the vehicle. I Google'd what to do in this situation and on one of the Ram forums, someone stated to remove negative battery cable for at least 20 minutes to reset all the electronics on the truck. So I did that and my son and I waited 30 minutes before reinstalling the negative terminal. Still no luck.
This is where I lost it with all of the issues...I called connected services at Stellantis and spoke to someone about the issues we were having. Keep in mind, this all was happening at 10PM at night. The gentleman I spoke with at Stellantis couldn't figure out what was wrong with the truck over the phone or remotely, so his suggestion was to stay with the truck through the night and then call my dealership in the morning. His recommendation was for my son and I to stay in the truck, that won't start, won't provide any heat, and on a night that got down to 13 degrees F. This is utterly and completely unacceptable! In fact, just a day or two ago, there were two kids that froze to death in a car in Detroit due to similar weather circumstances.
Needless to say, pissed off is an understatement to be told to not only put myself, but more importantly put my son at risk of exposure and death!
Shortly after that phone conversation as I waited for a tow truck that I had called on earlier, the last beer league hockey game for the night was done and one of the last guys out walked over and asked what was going on. Ironically, he ended up being a software engineer for Stellantis. He stated he thought they had all of the software issues taken care of on these trucks, and proceeded to go through his own troubleshooting of the problems at hand. He asked if I disconnected both negative terminals as he said there is a second battery that mainly deals with the antennas and key fob. I told him I did not as I didn't know there was a second battery. So we disconnected both negative terminals and I told him now we have to wait based on what I found online for more than 20 minutes. He assured me that simply removing them and putting them back on is enough to reset the electronics on the truck. We did that and nothing changed. He then said sorry...doesn't seem like a software issue, so now unfortunately, the dealership will need to tear the truck apart and troubleshoot every line to see where the fault is as it has to be a faulty component or chafed line or something he said.
So I then had the truck put on a flatbed at the rink and driven an hour away to my local dealership. That cost me nearly $300 to have that done. Got a call from the dealership the next morning and they asked me what was wrong with the truck and why was it dropped off as the note said wouldn't start. He said it started right up as he pulled it into the shop?!
On the evening of the 2nd day at the dealership, I got a text that the tech found a TSB out there similar to my problem, so apparently he ordered parts. I have no idea what TSB, what parts, or the timing of the fix.
Now on to the 3rd day of the dealership having my truck and I simply cannot get anyone to return my calls, texts, or emails about the truck. I have been without a vehicle now for the 3 days with no idea when my truck will be fixed, can't get a loaner for some reason from the dealership. The Stellantis manager assigned to my case won't return my emails or phone calls. What the heck is going on with all this crap!? This is my first Stellantis product I have ever bought and is quickly becoming my last with the lack of communication, life-threatening recommendations, and overall handling of these issues. The truck only has 6600 miles on it and I have now been without it for 6 days (3 the first day at my 5000 mile oil change and now getting ready to go on to the 4th with this current time). This is absolutely crazy!!
