Electrical/ Electronics Issues Dealer Not Able To Repair

[Jerseyman26]

I have a 2019 1500 Laramie. As soon as I bought out my lease 2 years ago I have had electrical/ electronics issues. I have been bringing it to a local Ram dealer in St Petersburg FL called Dayton Andrews for repairs. The first issue I noticed was that the overhead console lights stopped working. But after a closer look, the SOS and the Assist buttons didn't work. The rearview mirror stopped dimming at night. They also had to replace the radio touch screen because the screen was delaminating. The dealer had my truck for a week and said they fixed it and charged my warranty company, Mopar, almost $7,000 for the repairs. But it turns out they only replaced the screen of the touch screen and not the radio and fixed the two lights on the overhead console but the rest of the repairs never happened. The SOS and Assist buttons still don't work, the rearview mirror doesn't dim, the front sensors no longer work, the dashboard lights do not auto dim when it gets dark.
I have brought my truck back to the dealer so many times over the last 2 years that I lost count. A few weeks ago I brought it back for the same issues they said they repaired and charged the warranty for but said they could not authorize a rental because they could not diagnose the problem. After a week without transportation and no news from the service advisor that they could fix it, I told them to forget it and picked up my truck.

I had contacted Stellantis during this last attempt at repairs and was assigned a case manager. Sorry to say they were as useless as **** on a bull.

Does anyone have any advise on what to do, short of selling or trading in the truck?

 

[HSKR R/T]

Try a different dealer?

 

[FastBlackRam]

When you picked up the vehicle after the $7000 repair didn't you test the things they said they fixed? Am I missing something? It sounds like these two problems are new: the front sensors no longer work, the dashboard lights do not auto dim when it gets dark. If they never fixed the original problems they should have a record of what they did and should be able to tell that those problems still are there. WTF. FYI our dash light brightness only changes when the lights come on. And there is a setting at the detent in the control for full brightness and other brightness levels on the rheostat control. But its really manual not auto controlled. Also the brightness levels of the Uconnect display are settings in the Uconnect.

 

[Jerseyman26]

I did test them and we determined they still didn't work. They told me to bring it back, which I did 3 more times and they have not been able to fix them. The front sensors and dash not dimming is new in the last couple of weeks.

They blame it on the leaking back window that got the main harness wet. The leak was a known issue to Stellantis but they stupidly didn't inform truck owners about this. The back window would only be fixed when the vehicle owner mentioned that they noticed a leak or wet carpets. I had both. With the factory all weather floor mats wet carpets are not noticed unless the mat is lifted or removed.

 

[FastBlackRam]

Thanks for clearing that up. Them saying the main harness got wet from the leaking window is likely true. Have they quoted a cost for fixing your issues if they are not covered by your warranty due to being caused by water intrusion? I ask this because I just went through an insurance claim on mine because I had damage after Milton due to the leaking back window. My extended warranty covered nothing because it was all caused by the not covered window leak. Hence I turned to Allstate. Insurance covered my fried RF Hub, and moldy carpet replacement, but wouldn't cover my window. I decided to not do the carpet and used the money from that to pay for replacing the window at Safelite. I actually came out ahead which covered my rental car and deductible and then some. I will do the mold cleanup on my own. They paid me over $3500.

Sounds like your damages are different and probably more expensive than mine but if the dealer can quote it and thinks they can fix it, you can do what I did and make an insurance claim so you don't have to pay for it out of pocket. Hopefully the cost to repair doesn't total your truck in the insurance eyes. My story is actually longer and I have left out some other parts, if you want to know more about my experience I could tell you more in a DM.