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Cracked Exhaust? Really?

dn325ci

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@Finn5033 Thanks for your reasonable response.

I went and picked up the truck today because we need it. The final bill was $1,855.98 after tax. Here are the details for you:
tempImageH0A8ko.jpg

Read that - it says both exhaust manifolds were cracked in the middle! I'm sorry guys, that is garbage quality in my book. I'm surprised I even have to say that or be an apologist for it. I was a conquest sale. I was lured to the Ram 1500 from European brands by the design of the new DT. But if Ram isn't going to stand behind obvious defects, I assure you we are one and done with the brand. I could not buy another $62,000 truck with the knowledge that a manufacturer will not take responsibility for their problems.
 

Quint

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1617385086426.png

Sucks. My 2015 developed the hemi tick during the warranty but I never took it to the dealer until just outside of warranty. Mine needed new cam & lifters. My 5yr old truck was pretty immaculate but it did have 112k miles on it.

I think that you're bigger issue is that you are comparing trucks to European cars. Trucks just have never been high quality builds compared to some other types of cars. Then again, I would rather pay the repair bill on a 10yr old truck than a 10yr old BMW. Those European cars are great until they need work, then they are money pits. Remember - you have a $30k truck with $32k of extras!

At least you have it back.
 

Biga

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Go ask the Titan communities about their manifolds. I know forums are a small subset of truck ownership, but I'd say over 50% of Titan owners on the forums have/had cracked manifolds, including myself.

You keep talking about a 2 year old truck. Your engine and mechanical components don't feel like they're 2 years old. They feel like they're 5+ years old if you're over 60k miles. Granted, that's still not an old vehicle, but you have to look at mileage and not age. That's like saying someone that's 30 years old that ran a marathon every year for the last 10 years should feel the same as someone that hasn't at the same age.
I had to get them replaced my 2005 Titan somewhere around 35K, Nissan covers them under the 8/80,000 mile emissions warranty since the manifolds on that truck are all one piece with the catalytic converter..
 

LimitedGRR

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@Finn5033 Thanks for your reasonable response.

I went and picked up the truck today because we need it. The final bill was $1,855.98 after tax. Here are the details for you:
View attachment 87927

Read that - it says both exhaust manifolds were cracked in the middle! I'm sorry guys, that is garbage quality in my book. I'm surprised I even have to say that or be an apologist for it. I was a conquest sale. I was lured to the Ram 1500 from European brands by the design of the new DT. But if Ram isn't going to stand behind obvious defects, I assure you we are one and done with the brand. I could not buy another $62,000 truck with the knowledge that a manufacturer will not take responsibility for their problems.

So it happens It’s not like other cars never break down. You keep dropping the fact that you were lured from euro models. So whAt. Look at customer satisfaction numbers for Euro models. They are worse than ram. .I got rid of my merc amg e63 (90k car) when I got my limited. The merc went through 3 or 4 ball joints and 2 brake calipers in the 6 years I had it. No car is perfect. If you expect perfection and problem free ownership then look away from cars and trucks. If you blew through your warranty in 2 years you probably should have invested in an extended warranty for a few bucks more. These forums are full of problems because they all gravitate to place where people can ***** about them. I’m sure that the vast vast vast majority of ram owners are happy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

duke2001

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Thanks for the great info @UnloosedChewtoy. I am above 60K miles now, unfortunately. I drive quite a bit, usually with just me, a briefcase and a 22" roller suitcase on board. I did not anticipate having a $2,100 repair on a 25 month old truck. I guess you could conclude I need to find a manufacturer with a longer warranty, but I don't accept that line of logic. I've bought many (too many) vehicles in 36 years of driving, typically imports. I have NEVER had a $2,100 repair on two year old car. In fact, I've never had a $2,100 repair on a 5 year old car that wasn't accident-related.

I started my career in manufacturing engineering, and a cracked casting is not due to above average mileage. A cracked casting is due to bad casting material, bad casting processes, or bad casting design. 99% it is one of those things.

The work on the truck by the dealer is already done, though I haven't picked it up.
Very sorry you are having this problem and I hope you can get the repair results you want. But you said you didn’t expect to have this problem on a 25 month old truck, but I think what you really mean on a truck with 60k miles, because it really is about the operating hours, not how long you have owned the truck.
 

Runagun

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@Finn5033 Thanks for your reasonable response.

I went and picked up the truck today because we need it. The final bill was $1,855.98 after tax. Here are the details for you:


Read that - it says both exhaust manifolds were cracked in the middle! I'm sorry guys, that is garbage quality in my book. I'm surprised I even have to say that or be an apologist for it. I was a conquest sale. I was lured to the Ram 1500 from European brands by the design of the new DT. But if Ram isn't going to stand behind obvious defects, I assure you we are one and done with the brand. I could not buy another $62,000 truck with the knowledge that a manufacturer will not take responsibility for their problems.
I'm with you. I would push Ram to cover the charges. Not something Id be happy about paying for..
 

RHeller1

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FOR THE LOVE OF GAWD WHEN ARE THEY GONNA RECALL THESE TRUCKS
why would they recall the truck for the few people who have experienced a cracked exhaust manifold? It doesnt effect driveability, just sounds awful. I get the whole cost issue, but I dont see them recalling the trucks over this. I think the back windows are without a doubt a more widespread issue. If they didnt recall the previous generations for broken exhaust manifold bolts, then I wouldnt expect any action on this either.
 

LaxDfns15

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@dn325ci I never said I was ok with it, just said it's more common than you think. Just because you've never experienced it doesn't mean it doesn't happen quite often.

I've never owned a Euro car solely from the horror stories I've heard from family members' vehicles. Mercedes, VW, BMW, you name it. Despite what you're saying, manifolds are an item that can and will wear out. Should they have failed at 60k miles? They shouldn't have, and I definitely agree with you on that. But you are part of a tiny subset of hundreds of thousands of 5th gen's that have been sold. Sh!t happens, man.

I love the people that get on here and scream because they have an issue with their truck. Do you expect a perfect, maintenance-free vehicle?
 

dn325ci

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Follow-up: I did receive a $1,500 refund on this issue, which I was grateful for. I'm still surprised at the reaction of some on this thread, defending an obvious defect to any length. Yes, I do expect a vehicle not to have one, let alone two, cracked exhaust manifolds in 60,000, or 80,000 or 100,000 miles or more. Exhaust manifolds should not crack. They should be designed appropriately for the application, just like an engine block or a connecting rod or any other casting. Ram recognizes there is a problem.
 
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SpookyWatcher

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Follow-up: I did receive a $1,500 refund on this issue, which I was grateful for. I'm still surprised at the reaction of some on this thread, defending an obvious defect to any length. Yes, I do expect a vehicle not to have one, let alone two, cracked exhaust manifolds in 60,000, or 80,000 or 100,000 miles or more. Exhaust manifolds should not crack. They should be designed appropriately for the application, just like an engine block or a connecting rod or any other casting. Ram recognizes there is a problem.
Yeah...the apologists will dog pile here. Then when FCA (or whoever now) starts quietly addressing the issue because it IS an issue and it IS a big enough problem... it's crickets from them. They have no leg to stand on and slink away. Pathetic really, what I've seen from some here. BTW I love my truck, I love the service so far. But it's because of good guys like you... I know what to look for and not wait out the issue. Just take it in and get it fixed before the warranty is up. So... much appreciation from me! And thanks for the follow up.

Very Happy to hear you got most of your money back and FCA did the right thing!

Things we know are problems with the truck:
Cracked Manifolds
Rear Window Cracks / leaks
Certain build dates with less than stellar batteries
Hemi Lift Failure (the big mojamma)
AC substandard cooling - Holy smokes the koolies were dog piling there saying there was no problem! :cautious:
etc. etc.

And there are pages and pages of koolies telling You and others like you and me, that we are wrong for thinking these problems are unacceptable. Keep up the good fight
 

LaxDfns15

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Yeah...the apologists will dog pile here. Then when FCA (or whoever now) starts quietly addressing the issue because it IS an issue and it IS a big enough problem... it's crickets from them. They have no leg to stand on and slink away. Pathetic really, what I've seen from some here. BTW I love my truck, I love the service so far. But it's because of good guys like you... I know what to look for and not wait out the issue. Just take it in and get it fixed before the warranty is up. So much appreciation from me! And thanks for the follow up.

Very Happy to hear you got most of your money back and FCA did the right thing!

Things we know are problems with the truck:
Cracked Manifolds
Rear Window Cracks / leaks
Certain build dates with less than stellar batteries
Hemi Lift Failure (the big mojamma)
AC substandard cooling - Holy smokes the koolies were dog piling there saying there was no problem! :cautious:
etc. etc.

And there are pages and pages of koolies telling You and others like you and me, that we are wrong for thinking these problems are unacceptable. Keep up the good fight
It's not that we think they're unacceptable. It's that things happen. No product is perfectly, 100% error free. Ever. In any type of scenario. It is wrong to think these problems are unacceptable, but it's not wrong for you trying to get FCA to cover it even though you're outside warranty. You sign the papers when you buy the truck, you know the warranty lasts a certain amount. If you expect to significantly exceed the "normal" use of the vehicle then you should expect to see problems that don't normally occur.

A little napkin math for you. From what I can find, Ram has sold 1,346,207 trucks in the US from 2019-2021 (this includes all Rams I think). Let's throw out a big number of 50k cracked manifolds that you think should be perfect. That's about a 3.7% error rate, which is not terrible for a cast part that undergoes a lot of temperature cycles. You can only test for so much. Let's say 2% of those are caught under warranty, so you're down to 1.7% outside of warranty. That's a very small percentage of owners, and FCA is going to fight you because you signed the papers understanding the risks of a vehicle and the warranty period offered. Just be happy they decided to refund you in the first place.
 

dn325ci

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It's not that we think they're unacceptable. It's that things happen. No product is perfectly, 100% error free. Ever. In any type of scenario. It is wrong to think these problems are unacceptable, but it's not wrong for you trying to get FCA to cover it even though you're outside warranty. You sign the papers when you buy the truck, you know the warranty lasts a certain amount. If you expect to significantly exceed the "normal" use of the vehicle then you should expect to see problems that don't normally occur.

A little napkin math for you. From what I can find, Ram has sold 1,346,207 trucks in the US from 2019-2021 (this includes all Rams I think). Let's throw out a big number of 50k cracked manifolds that you think should be perfect. That's about a 3.7% error rate, which is not terrible for a cast part that undergoes a lot of temperature cycles. You can only test for so much. Let's say 2% of those are caught under warranty, so you're down to 1.7% outside of warranty. That's a very small percentage of owners, and FCA is going to fight you because you signed the papers understanding the risks of a vehicle and the warranty period offered. Just be happy they decided to refund you in the first place.
Respectfully, I couldn't disagree more. The "nothing is perfect" defense is weak. Cracked castings should happen almost never, and in the vast majority of models within the automotive kingdom, you almost never hear of it, and yet we hear of them frequently here. I am a mechanical engineer by degree and by practice. This common failure could be designed out, but hasn't been.
 

Neurobit

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Respectfully, I couldn't disagree more. The "nothing is perfect" defense is weak. Cracked castings should happen almost never, and in the vast majority of models within the automotive kingdom, you almost never hear of it, and yet we hear of them frequently here. I am a mechanical engineer by degree and by practice. This common failure could be designed out, but hasn't been.
Agree 100%.
FCA must have swapped 1000s of these already, yet they have not done a redesign. Pretty ridiculous in my book.
Glad you got some money back from them.

@dn325ci I never said I was ok with it, just said it's more common than you think. Just because you've never experienced it doesn't mean it doesn't happen quite often.

I've never owned a Euro car solely from the horror stories I've heard from family members' vehicles. Mercedes, VW, BMW, you name it. Despite what you're saying, manifolds are an item that can and will wear out. Should they have failed at 60k miles? They shouldn't have, and I definitely agree with you on that. But you are part of a tiny subset of hundreds of thousands of 5th gen's that have been sold. Sh!t happens, man.

I love the people that get on here and scream because they have an issue with their truck. Do you expect a perfect, maintenance-free vehicle?

Wait, what? Cast manifolds wear out?
No, they don't. Are you frigging kidding me?
 

1D32319

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Follow-up: I did receive a $1,500 refund on this issue, which I was grateful for. I'm still surprised at the reaction of some on this thread, defending an obvious defect to any length. Yes, I do expect a vehicle not to have one, let alone two, cracked exhaust manifolds in 60,000, or 80,000 or 100,000 miles or more. Exhaust manifolds should not crack. They should be designed appropriately for the application, just like an engine block or a connecting rod or any other casting. Ram recognizes there is a problem.

Nobody is defending it in the thread.

The difference in reactions is you are in full spaz drama mode, and others are not. Some of that is understandable as it is your pocket book, but damn man calm down.

You're also beyond 60K miles in a 2019 truck which you admit you don't use as a truck. Ever think you should go to something more economical to drive? I bet you are now.
 

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