Did you know if your truck was built before July 2018 it might not be as safe as trucks built later?

[fotomatt1]

This is on the IIHS website. My truck was built before July 2018 (May to be exact) and I'm very concerned that my truck might not be safe for my family with two small children (soon to be three) in the event of an accident. I've been on the phone with FCA trying to find out how they can retrofit my truck to bring it inline with currently made vehicles, but they're telling me they can't and it's just as safe as trucks made after July. That's not the way this reads. Anybody else concerned?

 

[alangsam]

This is on the IIHS website. My truck was built before July 2019 (May to be exact) and I'm very concerned that my truck might not be safe for my family with two small children (soon to be three) in the event of an accident. I've been on the phone with FCA trying to find out how they can retrofit my truck to bring it inline with currently made vehicles, but they're telling me they can't and it's just as safe as trucks made after July. That's not the way this reads. Anybody else concerned?

From the literature it appears that the 2019 did not do well on certain tests and then fca redesigned the cab mounts and it did much better. Someone is not telling the whole story.


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[fotomatt1]

From the literature it appears that the 2019 did not do well on certain tests and then fca redesigned the cab mounts and it did much better. Someone is not telling the whole story.


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That's my point. I'm asking them for crash test data on the pre July trucks and they tell me they can't give it to me and that it's just as safe. It's clearly not and I'm concerned. I bought my truck in December and certainly would have opted for one built after July had they been honest, but they didn't provide this information to dealers or the public so I couldn't make an informed decision. Since this is noted on the IIHS site, I'll likely pay a higher insurance premium for one built after July also.

 

[Creep0321]

This information has been public as I would expect since October/November, when I started looking.

 

[JJRamTX]

It would certainly be helpful if they gave a day that this switched. Most of us on this site know our day of manufacture but the frame build date may be something different. Or is there a picture of the strengthening of the C pillar mounts that we could see to compare to our frames.

 

[fotomatt1]

It would certainly be helpful if they gave a day that this switched. Most of us on this site know our day of manufacture but the frame build date may be something different.

Agreed. I'm getting a total runaround from FCA. They're telling me it was a manufacturing change to make it easier to manufacture or something like that. Clearly not.

 

[Duane]

Agreed. I'm getting a total runaround from FCA. They're telling me it was a manufacturing change to make it easier to manufacture or something like that. Clearly not.

I wrote to IIHS & received an authoritative reply; the actual date when the upgraded rear cab mounts were incorporated on the production line was July 06.

Almost certainly, they had 99% of the safety engineering already incorporated; but final narrow-offset crash testing had revealed further room for improvement.
No question that the ‘19s are all about the safest real life vehicles on the road, regardless.
Frustrating though that FCA did not give their ‘early adopters’ their absolute very best.
I own an 07/16/19 production Limited; the Mrs. drives an October production Longhorn. Admittedly, I’d have been very upset to find out that the stellar IIHS marrow offset test results did not fully or technically apply to our trucks.
This being said, improved safety features & engineering is (thankfully) an ever-developing deal.

 

[alangsam]

View attachment 21294

It’s not run around. It’s deceptive. Do you believe fca or IIhs? They clearly made an engineering change and after the change the truck passed the test.

Only you can decide the risk in terms of whether or not you should trade/sell the truck and get a newer one.



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[troutspinner]

It isn’t as if the truck isn’t safe, it’s just that the newer “if you will” is “rated” safer. Products go through design changes mid-cycle all the time.

 

[Jtr]

There's another thread on topic on this board from last November. Some suspect that the best deals listed on the price negotiated thread pertain to those pre-July builds. Not sure if that can be confirmed.

 

[fotomatt1]

There's another thread on topic on this board from last November. Some suspect that the best deals listed on the price negotiated thread pertain to those pre-July builds. Not sure if that can be confirmed.

And that would be fine if I were knowingly paying for a lesser product. The fact that FCA didn’t disclose it to dealers or customers is an issue for me. I certainly could have chosen a vehicle made after July 6 if I had known that.


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[alangsam]

It isn’t as if the truck isn’t safe, it’s just that the newer “if you will” is “rated” safer. Products go through design changes mid-cycle all the time.

Except this wasn’t mid cycle. This was after it was in production they realized it wouldn’t get top saftey pick in the offset crash and thus they had to reengineer it by strengthening the cab to the frame or whatever.


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[troutspinner]

Except this wasn’t mid cycle. This was after it was in production they realized it wouldn’t get top saftey pick in the offset crash and thus they had to reengineer it by strengthening the cab to the frame or whatever.


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Right, they seen they weren’t going to get a rating they could use in a sales pitch so they made a change. ie, mid-cycle improvement.

 

[Jhill]

I wrote to IIHS & received an authoritative reply; the actual date when the upgraded rear cab mounts were incorporated on the production line was July 06.

Almost certainly, they had 99% of the safety engineering already incorporated; but final narrow-offset crash testing had revealed further room for improvement.
No question that the ‘19s are all about the safest real life vehicles on the road, regardless.
Frustrating though that FCA did not give their ‘early adopters’ their absolute very best.
I own an 07/16/19 production Limited; the Mrs. drives an October production Longhorn. Admittedly, I’d have been very upset to find out that the stellar IIHS marrow offset test results did not fully or technically apply to our trucks.
This being said, improved safety features & engineering is (thankfully) an ever-developing deal.

Wow....I just looked at build date of my Rebel that I custom ordered in April of 18 that took forever to get built. I ordered every available option (except e-torque, Ram box, and block heater) and finally got it in mid August. Now looking at build date, it is 070820 on sticker in drivers doorjamb. July 8 at 8pm. Maybe they delayed a custom order rig until the C pillar and mount changes were in place that cut in on July 6. My truck has only had squeak in console issue and rest of truck is wonderful! Only 4k miles as I am retired and don't rack up many miles. Lucky me by getting built 2 days after changes!!!!!

 

[brewdad]

@Jhill, thanks for the above post; I thought the manufacture date 07/18 was the only info listed and then saw where you found 070820 on the door sticker; at first I was confused about the number 20 and then read your post again and realized it was military time, 2000 hours=8:00p.m. civilian time; that is pretty neat seeing the time your truck was built.

 

[2019REBEL]

This is on the IIHS website. My truck was built before July 2019 (May to be exact) and I'm very concerned that my truck might not be safe for my family with two small children (soon to be three) in the event of an accident. I've been on the phone with FCA trying to find out how they can retrofit my truck to bring it inline with currently made vehicles, but they're telling me they can't and it's just as safe as trucks made after July. That's not the way this reads. Anybody else concerned?

July 2019 hasn't even happened yet.

 

[fotomatt1]

July 2019 hasn't even happened yet.

True that. Will correct!

 

[firecadet613]

5/30/18 build here and I'm not concerned. The 2019 Ram is about the safest vehicle on the road, improving quite a bit over the 2016 F150 I had before, which was quite an improvement from the 2014 F150 I had before that.

Maybe a lesson learned, do plenty of homework before you buy. I ordered and took delivery before the crash test data was released and I was ok with that. Safer than the truck I was driving when I ordered the Ram.

 

[jdmartin]

5/30/18 build here and I'm not concerned. The 2019 Ram is about the safest vehicle on the road, improving quite a bit over the 2016 F150 I had before, which was quite an improvement from the 2014 F150 I had before that.

Maybe a lesson learned, do plenty of homework before you buy. I ordered and took delivery before the crash test data was released and I was ok with that. Safer than the truck I was driving when I ordered the Ram.

Exactly. I thought this thread sounded real familiar and then I realized this is (more or less) the same thread going on the other Ram forum.

I think you (the OP) have to decide if you are so concerned about it that you're willing to pay the cost to ensure what you perceive to be your family's safety. If I thought I had a truck that was unsafe, I'd trade it in even if I had to take a depreciation hit and get something else. I don't know about you, but my family is worth more than $10k or whatever your depreciation hit would be for trading in so early.

I think you're wasting your time if you think FCA is going to redesign your truck to meet the new design, whatever it is. The only way you're getting some improvement to your truck is if NHTSA mandates a recall or FCA enters into some kind of voluntary agreement to improve the previous trucks. Otherwise, it's a change made during a model year, which happens all the time.

I realize that people just want what they want, but if I had 2 (soon to be 3) small kids and a wife and I was worried that they were going to be injured in the truck because FCA didn't engineer it properly and now was making changes, I would get rid of the truck, that's all there is to it. I wouldn't spend any time trying to get someone to make changes to it - how would you even know if the improvements were made, or if they could even be bolted on?

Personally, I think the trucks are just fine either way. Probably the safest thing I've ever driven, regardless of what crash test scores say. I've never had a rear camera, early warning system, side air bags, or auto braking on any vehicle ever. I wouldn't care one way or the other if FCA added something or not.

 

[firecadet613]

One thing I forgot to say, look at the 4th gen to 5th gen Ram crash test. No comparison.