Four Times to Dealer - Rear Window Still Leaking!!! I’m About to Blow my Top

[jromeo215]

So I had my 2019 Ram in the shop again for the water leak in the rear window. This is the fourth time. First time they said they resealed third brake light. Second time and third time related to fully replacing rear window. Fourth time they said they had to reseal the third brake light. Well raining again and more rain than ever coming in. So I don’t know what is wrong with this truck and the terrible design the Ram won’t confess is a recall. I had the truck in with the dealer four times for this. Not fixed once. So I’m utterly unsure what to do. I’m not paying $45000 to “deal” with this for the life of the truck. Plus the ram cares rep I was working with was hard to get in touch with and closed my case prematurely without talking to me.

At this point Ram/Chrysler needs to take this truck back and give me money towards a 2022 assuming the leaking issue is fixed or I’m done with Ram and going to spread the word to save others from this terrible experience.

 

[mikeru82]

I'll preface this with saying you didn't mention whether you bought this used or new. You also didn't say if the warranty has expired or not. This would be good information to include, along with model and cab configuration.

Have you considered it's an incompetent shop that's the problem here? There are tons of these on the road, and while there have been quite a few people who have had posted about their issues with leaks, the vast majority of us haven't had a problem with that. I realize that doesn't diminish your problems though. I'd be trying another Ram dealership if this is a warranty claim. If not, you might want to find an independent shop with good ratings, and see if they can figure out the source of the leak(s). It shouldn't be this difficult, especially with the amount of water you're seeing.

 

[jromeo215]

The dealer I went to is one of the top customer rated in the area and even had a water guy from the body shop work on it. Not sure what else they need to check. It is still under warranty and I have been using that to get it looked at for free repeatedly. I would pay money at this point to get it figured out. I did buy it used with 11k miles on it.

I get that you are trying to get across that this may not be a problem for every truck, but I have read enough issues that it seems like a major design or manufacturing flaw that should not be reduced in its severity by any Ram owner here, whether they had the problem or not. This is entirely unacceptable and has no reasonable justification that this should be something engineered into a car in 2019

 

[Camelot]

It is clearly a design or assembly process issue. I have a 2021 and it was leaking a few weeks after I received it. They replaced the rear window and so far so good. I am definitely not keeping my RAM when the warranty expires.

 

[mikeru82]

Top rated dealership doesn't mean top rated service department.

Just remember that this is a forum. Try not to think of a problem that seems common here as something that's common for anything but a small minority of owners. People come here to post about problems they're having. You rarely ever see someone make a thread to say that their truck has no problems. If every 5th gen Ram 1500 owner who doesn't have a leak issue were to make a thread saying that, the number of those threads would massively dwarf the number of threads from people who do have this issue. This is a real problem for you, and I'm not telling you it's not. I was just trying to talk you off the cliff.

In the end, Stellantis isn't going to lose any sleep over one customer threatening that they're "going to spread the word to save others from this terrible experience.". It's not like they have a great reputation for quality to begin with. But then again, it's not like any of the "big three" truck makers has much of a reputation for that.

 

[MurphBigHorn]

My dad had this issue. And it ended up being a weld missing. Took 5trips. On the 5th my dad said you don’t fix it this time I’m getting a new truck. So you better it it. And that’s when they found the missing weld. So they welded painted. And it been good to go. His was so bad. All the carpet was soaked.

 

[cevans6318]

and even had a water guy from the body shop work on it.

That statement right there tells me you need to find a new dealer. If there isn't a tech that can easily diagnosis a simple water leak, take it to another dealer.

If you have water dripping in from the back window, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to diagnosis it. Has the dealer dropped the headliner and leak tested the car? Have they got the shop foreman/ FCA involved? Service manager/director involved? Sounds like they are just guessing. If it is leaking that badly, how did it leave each time? Take it to a new dealer.

 

[cevans6318]

The dealer I went to is one of the top customer rated in the area

I work at a top rated dealer and work with techs that can't diagnosis ****. That top rated dealer BS means nothing.

 

[GAscooter]

I had this leak also, and since my truck is out of warranty I took a stab at fixing it myself. I tried “fixing” the brake light seal and only made it worse such that it looked like your pic. Then I spent the $35 and bought the new one with the much improved seal, and that stopped the leak. The part number is 68298380AG. You might want to give that a shot.

 

[Fatherof3]

I don't see a crack in your window surround , usually that happens with the leak .
You said they tried the third brake light but have they looked at the shark fin to see if it's leaking there ?

 

[jromeo215]

I don't see a crack in your window surround , usually that happens with the leak .
You said they tried the third brake light but have they looked at the shark fin to see if it's leaking there ?

They totally replaced the rear window because of the crack they said was there. No, I don’t think they checked the fin. Is that another culprit?

 

[jromeo215]

Where did you buy it from?

I found it on the molar parts site. It says it’s the third light for 2019-2021. This is not the one that is already on the 2019 1500 from the factory?

 

[mikeru82]

Where did you buy it from?

Any dealership, either brick and mortar or online. I use BAM for most of my OEM parts.

Mopar 68298380AH Center High Mounted Stop Lamp Mopar OEM 68298380AH | Auto Parts

2019-2024 Ram 1500 68298380AH - 68298380AH Center High Mounted Stop Lamp Mopar OEM | Auto Parts

www.bamwholesaleparts.com

 

[silver64]

Not sure after a few trips I would be back at the dealer. I would probably have gone to a good glass shop. Those guys have a lot of experience with leaks, bad glue jobs and dealing with windows that don't mate up well with the opening.

 

[Yankee Echo]

If every 5th gen Ram 1500 owner who doesn't have a leak issue were to make a thread saying that, the number of those threads would massively dwarf the number of threads from people who do have this issue.

Can you imagine having to wade through threads from people reporting they're NOT having an issue with windows leaking, or transmissions slipping out of gear, etc? The data sample is so skewed on forums. If an issue is mentioned a few times it's a huge problem that should be subject to a recall.

I feel for the OP and would be upset about water leaking into the cabin. Definitely recommend going to a different dealer. Not all service depts are created equal. My parents had an issue with their minivan and took it 3 times to the dealer they bought it from to get it fixed. Finally took it to another dealer in the next town over. As soon an my dad described the problem, the service manager told him there was a technical service bulletin for that exact issue! Got it fixed and it the issue never came back.

 

[Fatherof3]

They totally replaced the rear window because of the crack they said was there. No, I don’t think they checked the fin. Is that a

They totally replaced the rear window because of the crack they said was there. No, I don’t think they checked the fin. Is that another culprit?

There isn't very many of them but I have read of a few people having it leak .
If they're saying that they've fixed the leak and gave it back to you with it still leaking I'd think about the shark fin . If they're only checking the window and third brake light it could explain why they haven't found the actual leak yet .

 

[Andymax]

My truck is a 2019 w/65K miles and just started leaking. I bought the following seal material and simply peeled off the existing gasket, stuck this new seal on and voila...no leak. HOWEVER...I am closely monitoring to be sure. The key difference is the factory seal is an open-cell foam, aka sponge, and the new is a closed-cell foam. This entire job took about 15 minutes.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I1QHA8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[User_3336]

Any dealership, either brick and mortar or online. I use BAM for most of my OEM parts.

Mopar 68298380AH Center High Mounted Stop Lamp Mopar OEM 68298380AH | Auto Parts

2019-2024 Ram 1500 68298380AH - 68298380AH Center High Mounted Stop Lamp Mopar OEM | Auto Parts

www.bamwholesaleparts.com

Their shipping is more than the part itself.

 

[Hydroblueguy]

So I had my 2019 Ram in the shop again for the water leak in the rear window. This is the fourth time. First time they said they resealed third brake light. Second time and third time related to fully replacing rear window. Fourth time they said they had to reseal the third brake light. Well raining again and more rain than ever coming in. So I don’t know what is wrong with this truck and the terrible design the Ram won’t confess is a recall. I had the truck in with the dealer four times for this. Not fixed once. So I’m utterly unsure what to do. I’m not paying $45000 to “deal” with this for the life of the truck. Plus the ram cares rep I was working with was hard to get in touch with and closed my case prematurely without talking to me.

At this point Ram/Chrysler needs to take this truck back and give me money towards a 2022 assuming the leaking issue is fixed or I’m done with Ram and going to spread the word to save others from this terrible experience.

Just one of the many issues that are still unresolved. Luckily I have not had water issues yet! However I had a 19 bought back because of unresolved vibrations and balance issues. They fought a tough fight and ran me through the ringer! I had a 2021 Laramie built, because I do love the new rams when they are not having issues! Now the 21 with only 9600 miles is having electrical issues, many lights on the dash and many options disabled. Took into the dealer and they checked a few things, but still unresolved, dealer stated they need a at least a half day to go through the wiring harness from the rear wheels to the engine compartment I read on here that others have had my same issue since the first builds in late 18 I’ve been told it’s a design flaw and the connections under the truck get wet and or are rubbing through! One story I read had to have fuel take dropped down to repair his wire harness sounds like a nightmare on a $65,000 year old truck! Good luck with your repair, hope they can get it fixed! Never again for me, mine will be traded when the warranty is up!

 

[ronmac7609]

Mine is a 2019 in was leaking. I replaced the third brake light with the newest one and haven’t had an issue since.