Cyl 3 misfire (P0303)

[ITGuy2020]

So with 38K miles and changing oil at 5K intervals (Full synthetic BTW), my check engine light came on and the OBD reported a P0303 that wouldn't clear. Took to local dealer who got the same error as well. After having it for a few days, they said it was the camshaft and replaced it along with gaskets, bolts, etc. Luckily I'm still under the 5 year, 60K powertrain warranty, but that doesn't leave me with a good feeling. A hemi motor shouldn't require service like this until well over 200K miles.

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[jdefoe0424]

Did they replace the lifters too? Because that seems to be the thing that fails and takes out the cam...

 

[F150stx27]

This scares me. Hasn’t this been an issue going back to 2009? Is there a way to drive or service to avoid this problem, or is it the luck of the draw? I don’t understand how some HEMI’s have zero issues and some folks get 250,000+ miles with nothing but air filter and oil changes and spark plugs, and others get absolutely screwed before 50k. What gives?

 

[Patamaran]

This scares me. Hasn’t this been an issue going back to 2009? Is there a way to drive or service to avoid this problem, or is it the luck of the draw? I don’t understand how some HEMI’s have zero issues and some folks get 250,000+ miles with nothing but air filter and oil changes and spark plugs, and others get absolutely screwed before 50k. What gives?

The lifters were updated in 2015, and the issue has been significantly reduced, but that doesn't mean it never happens anymore. the issue isn't driven just by the lifters themselves, but the actual design of the motor plays a part as well. I'm not sure if the OP idles a lot, but apparently that can be a contributing factor.

Failure vs mileage follow a bell curve, some will fail early, some will fail late, and the vast majority somewhere in the middle. You never hear from those people in the middle because they have no reason to ever think about the condition of their lifters or cams. The subset of people that experience early failures are going to be much louder, and have far more presence on forums looking for information about their failed component.

Try not to let it make you nervous, just follow the maintenance intervals, and don't let your truck idle for 5 hours a day. Statistically, you are far more likely to land on your feet than your a**

 

[JLaw297]

I'm interested to know more as well. What was your idle time like? Did you leave MDS on most of the time or turned off?

 

[JLaw297]

So with 38K miles and changing oil at 5K intervals (Full synthetic BTW), my check engine light came on and the OBD reported a P0303 that wouldn't clear. Took to local dealer who got the same error as well. After having it for a few days, they said it was the camshaft and replaced it along with gaskets, bolts, etc. Luckily I'm still under the 5 year, 60K powertrain warranty, but that doesn't leave me with a good feeling. A hemi motor shouldn't require service like this until well over 200K miles.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Any feedback for us on what your idle time was like? Did you leave MDS active? Had it been a noisy engine from the beginning or show any signs prior to the CEL?

 

[ITGuy2020]

Any feedback for us on what your idle time was like? Did you leave MDS active? Had it been a noisy engine from the beginning or show any signs prior to the CEL?

Sorry, didn't realize the tapatalk thread emails were being quarantined. No, I didn't leave MDS active. Also, no signs of issues prior to CEL. Another weird thing happened today. As I approached a stop sign (twice), a warning came up to put my truck into park and back into drive as though it forgot it was in gear. Very weird. So far though, no more P0303 error.

 

[SpookyWatcher]

I may have missed it, and I just looked again but didn't see anything. OP what year is your truck if you don't mind me asking? And what part number of lifter did they use for replacement?

 

[ITGuy2020]

I may have missed it, and I just looked again but didn't see anything. OP what year is your truck if you don't mind me asking? And what part number of lifter did they use for replacement?

Wasn't sure if this question was meant for me, but I have a 2019 RAM 1500 Crew Cab. On the repair record, it doesn't show that they replaced any lifters, just the camshaft.

 

[tidefan1967]

Wasn't sure if this question was meant for me, but I have a 2019 RAM 1500 Crew Cab. On the repair record, it doesn't show that they replaced any lifters, just the camshaft.

That’s kind of unusual. Generally the needle bearings fail in the roller causing it to freeze up causing damage to a cam lobe. The only way to prevent this is by running a high Moly oil or an additive with Moly in it. In my previous Ram I ran either Redline 5W30 or Shell Gas Truck 5W30 with a 10 oz bottle of Biotech Lubeguard. Never had any Hemi tick problems with either of these combinations. Did you have any startup noise (Hemi tick) at any time?
This has been heavily discussed in the synthetic oil thread on the other Ram forum. I lost the cam/lifters on my 2015 Ram at 32K miles and this is how I avoided it again on my 2017. It’s obviously a controversial subject but it has worked for me and countless others.

 

[MValdez]

I just got my truck back from the dealership 4 days ago from cyl 3 misfire (P0303). They said the misfire was a result of a bad fuel injector. They replaced with a new one and I had my truck back in 2 days. I have put about 300 miles on it so far and it runs smooth and seems ok (Knock on wood). I will however have to bring it back late June when they get the back-ordered exhaust manifold in to replace the cracked manifold On my Longorn with 41K miles on it...

 

[pber1]

Sorry, didn't realize the tapatalk thread emails were being quarantined. No, I didn't leave MDS active. Also, no signs of issues prior to CEL. Another weird thing happened today. As I approached a stop sign (twice), a warning came up to put my truck into park and back into drive as though it forgot it was in gear. Very weird. So far though, no more P0303 error.

I had this happen to me on Friday! If you don’t mind me asking, what caused your pick up your pick up to do that?