First ram.. already questioning my decision..

[aLarge92]

Howdy all,

I have already found a lot of useful information on these forums so I figured I would go ahead and join up and hopefully have some better luck...
Already completed my $250 rebate

My story:
I had been truck shopping for a while and kept running into the issue of finding exactly what I want, the hardest being the 6'4" bed. I have driven all over the country in various work and personal trucks but none have ever been a ram. For example(98' Chevy 1500 - 50k miles, 02' F150 - 75k miles, 13' F150 - 20K miles, 16' F150 - 35K miles, 16' TITAN XD - 20K miles, 13' Chevy 3500 - 10K miles, 19' Chevy 2500 - 5k miles) so I would say I have a good feeling for what I want and what a quality and dependable truck is. Due to work trucks I never really needed a newer personal truck until recently. I was jumping back and forth between an F150 and the Ram 1500, then after test driving the Ram I was sold. So after months of searching and negotiating I finally decided to pull the trigger and order exactly what I wanted.

Some Highlights:
2020 Ram 1500 Laramie Level 2
6'4" bed
5.7 eTorque
3.92
Off Road group
Air Suspension
12" Screen
White
Brown Interior
etc. (build sheets attached)

I ordered the truck on 1/25/20 and I picked it up the day it was delivered on 3/10/20. The truck had 9 miles on it at delivery. Due to the Corona Virus slow down I haven't truly been able to get out and stretch her legs.

3/23/20
I went out for a drive and while merging onto the interstate, I already have my first problem with the truck @ 215 miles. The forward collision throws up an error code and disables my cruise control, adaptive cruise control and forward collision all say unavailable and "Maintenance Required". I drive home shut the truck off and let it sit. Next day I start it up and see an error but I am able to use the cruise control etc.
3/27/20
Make some time and take the truck to the dealer with 306 miles on it and they pull up the code and state "Temporarily Lost communication with module". I leave the truck with them and they give me a loaner (Ram Rebel). I drive the rebel around for a few days and the ram rebel is throwing a "Service 4x4 system" code, mind you this loaner only has 4000 miles on it...It was fun to drive...but seriously a rebel needs 4x4 maintenance with 4k miles on it?? ( I never even put it in 4x4)
3/31/20
I pick up my truck with 370 miles on it, the service representative informs me the issue was with the Forward collision being too sensitive and should not be set to "Near" but "Far". I respectfully ask to talk to a technician. He was able to pull up the information in front of me and showed me the system lost communication to a module. Ok, that's more like it. He pulled it up and said out of x many tries per second the system talks to different modules mine only lost communication 1 time. Which he could not explain why but could be a faulty module but unable to diagnose for only losing communication once. It should never lose communication but they couldn't find the problem so this will be an ongoing issue.
While he is standing there talking me through the issues I notice some greasy fingerprints on the leather on my door. I ask for them to get some cleaner to clean it up. After realizing they were fingerprints I looked at the steering wheel and saw some more grease and noticed a nick on the leather on the backside of my steering wheel. It looks like someone was wearing a ring and dragged it on the backside of the wheel. Service manager said he would order me a new steering wheel which I appreciated, but still extremely frustrating to have a truck with less than 400 miles on it needed a new steering wheel due to carelessness.

I am concerned about having a brand new truck already having electrical issues at 215 miles. I do systems engineering as a profession but this has me genuinely concerned about potential future problems. Even the ram rebel loner I was given was throwing service codes at 4000 miles. The steering wheel mishap is frustrating and a dealership issue. Perhaps the quality and dependability is not there. I have read some horror stories about this truck and I have read some great reviews on this truck, I guess it truly is the luck of the draw. I took a gamble on this truck over the F150 but I am questioning this decision and only time will tell...

 

[jerryw1000]

Okay...you're not going to believe this...but I just went through the same thing. Picked my new Laramie 2500 up on 03/06/2020. About 4 days later I pulled out on the road and at about 30 mph got the FCW, Traction Control, and Anti Lock Brake unavailable. And when I tried the Cruise it was also unavailable. Then I realized this all started happening right after I plugged my old Escort radar detector in and had it sitting on the dash right over the radio. I had also swapped the fuse for the 12V lighter plug so that it came on with the ignition. I unplugged the radar detector for a few days and did not get any "unavailable" messages. So I moved the Escort over to sit on the dash between the instrument cluster and driver's side A pillar. Been about 10 days now and no more "unavailable" messages. I'm not absolutely certain I've cured the problem but I suspect the radar detector booting up on top of the radio at the same time uConnect was booting up may have been the problem Probably not the same cause as yours but interesting that I was getting exactly the same "unavailable" messages.

 

[Willwork4truck]

So hard to know what will happen to your truck vs my truck vs say Patsy or Vern’s trucks. You had a bad (sloppy) service experience which is a “one-off” due to tech carelessness, which has nothing to do with FCA (you agreed).

You did have a legit issue with the forward collision communication and it sounded like they addressed it.

What was wrong with the loaner Rebel, who knows.

IMHO it would be way too early to have deep buyers remorse based on your issue. Maybe you might, or do, however don’t think that Ford or GM products don’t have their own issues. Just go on their forums and read up.

You bought the RAM after owning, driving and researching several trucks from several years. I’d stick with your choice for now.

Maybe spend appx $2K on a Ziegler or Mopar extended warranty and try to enjoy your truck, with a replacement steering wheel as well!

 

[aLarge92]

Okay...you're not going to believe this...but I just went through the same thing. Picked my new Laramie 2500 up on 03/06/2020. About 4 days later I pulled out on the road and at about 30 mph got the FCW, Traction Control, and Anti Lock Brake unavailable. And when I tried the Cruise it was also unavailable. Then I realized this all started happening right after I plugged my old Escort radar detector in and had it sitting on the dash right over the radio. I had also swapped the fuse for the 12V lighter plug so that it came on with the ignition. I unplugged the radar detector for a few days and did not get any "unavailable" messages. So I moved the Escort over to sit on the dash between the instrument cluster and driver's side A pillar. Been about 10 days now and no more "unavailable" messages. I'm not absolutely certain I've cured the problem but I suspect the radar detector booting up on top of the radio at the same time uConnect was booting up may have been the problem Probably not the same cause as yours but interesting that I was getting exactly the same "unavailable" messages.

That is very interesting in my experience with systems in the past sometimes random static and voltages can cause issues. My truck is bone stock with no mods or add ons. Quite an interesting point. Thanks for the feedback.

So hard to know what will happen to your truck vs my truck vs say Patsy or Vern’s trucks. You had a bad (sloppy) service experience which is a “one-off” due to tech carelessness, which has nothing to do with FCA (you agreed).

You did have a legit issue with the forward collision communication and it sounded like they addressed it.

What was wrong with the loaner Rebel, who knows.

IMHO it would be way too early to have deep buyers remorse based on your issue. Maybe you might, or do, however don’t think that Ford or GM products don’t have their own issues. Just go on their forums and read up.

You bought the RAM after owning, driving and researching several trucks from several years. I’d stick with your choice for now.

Maybe spend appx $2K on a Ziegler or Mopar extended warranty and try to enjoy your truck, with a replacement steering wheel as well!

Thanks for your feedback. It's true that all modern vehicles have problems, hence why I didn't even consider buying a GM truck... For me its a combination of frustration and concern. You work so hard to buy yourself something nice and you just want what you pay for.

-Cheers

 

[Willwork4truck]

That is very interesting in my experience with systems in the past sometimes random static and voltages can cause issues. My truck is bone stock with no mods or add ons. Quite an interesting point. Thanks for the feedback.




Thanks for your feedback. It's true that all modern vehicles have problems, hence why I didn't even consider buying a GM truck... For me its a combination of frustration and concern. You work so hard to buy yourself something nice and you just want what you pay for.

-Cheers

I get your frustration and concern. Every day I walk past (her) truck in the garage and am thankful its ok. Course not being driven much doesn't bring problems to the forefront either.

 

[LaxDfns15]

I know this doesn't help you much, but this was the biggest reason I stayed away from getting the advanced safety group (adaptive cruise control) on a new truck. I've had it on 3 Nissans now, and it's absolutely terrible. I can't attest to Dodge's follow distance or cruise control smoothness for the adaptive one, but Nissan's Intelligent Cruise Control pushed me away from buying a new Titan. As soon as I knew I couldn't get a Pro4X without it I said "Nope."

If the broad daylight instance of losing communication to the module becomes an "ongoing issue" as they put it I would immediately consider learning about Lemon Law in your state. If they can't correct the issue that could be a course of action.

I hope this doesn't give you more buyer's remorse, but any time that forward system is obscured by ANYTHING (rain, mist, snow, fog, etc) you will not have cruise control. Hopefully it is not as sensitive as Nissan's. You say you took a gamble over the F-150, but have you been on the F-150 boards? Just as bad if not worse. With the several hundred thousand parts in vehicles nowadays you're bound to find small things right out of the gate. The amount of software in these vehicles makes it even worse. Hardware is easy, software is finicky.

 

[Fatherof3]

Welcome and congratulations on your new truck , hopefully you won’t have any more issues with it .

 

[Willwork4truck]

I know this doesn't help you much, but this was the biggest reason I stayed away from getting the advanced safety group (adaptive cruise control) on a new truck. I've had it on 3 Nissans now, and it's absolutely terrible. I can't attest to Dodge's follow distance or cruise control smoothness for the adaptive one, but Nissan's Intelligent Cruise Control pushed me away from buying a new Titan. As soon as I knew I couldn't get a Pro4X without it I said "Nope."

If the broad daylight instance of losing communication to the module becomes an "ongoing issue" as they put it I would immediately consider learning about Lemon Law in your state. If they can't correct the issue that could be a course of action.

I hope this doesn't give you more buyer's remorse, but any time that forward system is obscured by ANYTHING (rain, mist, snow, fog, etc) you will not have cruise control. Hopefully it is not as sensitive as Nissan's. You say you took a gamble over the F-150, but have you been on the F-150 boards? Just as bad if not worse. With the several hundred thousand parts in vehicles nowadays you're bound to find small things right out of the gate. The amount of software in these vehicles makes it even worse. Hardware is easy, software is finicky.

Exactly, well said. Coming from Ferd I’d have been scared to have bought a new or slightly used F150, rampant problems there on the forums. Replacing complete blocks due to oil usage in the 17 and 18’s... sheesh.

I avoided the Limited level 1 add on partly due to the adaptive cruise and auto braking, also cause I’m not an audiophile and I’m cheap.
If FCA would allow us to buy some of that package (I wanted the cameras) then that would have been great. Lane-keeping seems ok (at least that’s what my sons level 1 Limited has and I like it).