High Mileage rams holding up

[tdog65]

Just checking to see now that NBS has been out since 19 how they are holding up. I've wanted one of the rams for a while but I'm in sales and drive about 60000 miles a year. So I need to see if a ram will hold up to about 240,000 miles 95% highway. I did see ram offers an unlimited mileage warranty. Just don't want to get into something that is always in the shop. I usually use Lexus as they are reliable as heck. Rams interior looks like the inside of a luxury car. Of course, prices are off the chart now so finding a nice 20/21 might be tough anyway. Anybody here have over 150,000 miles on a hemi.

Thanks
TIA

 

[djevox]

Anything will hold up if you maintain it properly and fix it when you need to. I’m not trying to be a d-bag, it’s just how it is. I remember when working as a full time auto tech at my family business, we had 2 guys with 2nd gen Dodge Rams in the million mile club. It’s all in how much tolerance you have to do proper maintenance and proper fixes as things break.

 

[Reverse]

Just checking to see now that NBS has been out since 19 how they are holding up. I've wanted one of the rams for a while but I'm in sales and drive about 60000 miles a year. So I need to see if a ram will hold up to about 240,000 miles 95% highway. I did see ram offers an unlimited mileage warranty. Just don't want to get into something that is always in the shop. I usually use Lexus as they are reliable as heck. Rams interior looks like the inside of a luxury car. Of course, prices are off the chart now so finding a nice 20/21 might be tough anyway. Anybody here have over 150,000 miles on a hemi.

Thanks
TIA

184,000 and counting on my wife's 2014, and I have 65,000 on my 2020. I would definitely recommend getting the extended warranty. I have the 7yr/unlimted on my 2020. Rams will not be as reliable as a Lexus, but they work for me. The 2020 is our third Ram, and our 4th Hemi. we've only had problems with one Hemi, and that was fixed under extended warranty.

I do religiously maintain the vehicles, although there's not much to it: change oil (synthetic) at interval indicated by truck (for me 10,000 miles) and other fluids and filters as indicated by schedule in manual.

 

[AV8OR]

There is a YouTube channel called High Milage 2019 RAM *Actual Owner’s Review* worth watching and he just updated at 125,000 miles.

 

[KeithStone76]

If you're just using it for driving and not towing, I would consider the Pentastar.

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[Pertzbro]

Plenty of Hemi's out there with huge miles. The tranny will be fine. It's super high end that is designed by an Italian company - you'd be surprised how many vehicles it's in with mild software changes. You'll have the issue with the exhaust manifold warping but that's common on other iron V8 blocks and aluminum exhaust manifolds.

ZF 8HP transmission - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[GKIII]

Plenty of Hemi's out there with huge miles. The tranny will be fine. It's super high end that is designed by an Italian company - you'd be surprised how many vehicles it's in with mild software changes. You'll have the issue with the exhaust manifold warping but that's common on other iron V8 blocks and aluminum exhaust manifolds.

ZF 8HP transmission - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

ZF is a German company.

With that said, RAM states the transmission fluid is "lifetime" while ZF actually says that they recommend a fluid change at 150K kilometers (lets just round up to 100k miles to simplify). Follow that, and it should outlast the motor with no issue.

 

[c3k]

ZF is a German company.

With that said, RAM states the transmission fluid is "lifetime" while ZF actually says that they recommend a fluid change at 150K kilometers (lets just round up to 100k miles to simplify). Follow that, and it should outlast the motor with no issue.

View attachment 110489

Good stuff. FWIW, it seems like all these ZF8HP transmissions have the same oil pan with built-in filter. (I changed out a 2017 Giulia's ZF8 by using a BMW pan. The price difference was ~$700 cheaper for the Beemer part. I also used LiquiMoly transmission fluid. That, too, is far less expensive than the Mopar/ZF fluid and is warrantied. FWIW.)

 

[tdog65]

Thanks for the replies. I know you can have issues with any brand. I know there were some weird quirky things in 19 when they first came out. I'm assuming most of those things have gotten better. IE back window leaking, AC not cooling well, and mostly minor things. Like I said for me it would be 95% mostly hwy and not really hauling anything. Thought the unlimited warranty from Ziegler would be great and well worth the 3k but don't want to have it at the dealer every month getting some fixed.
I watched the high milage ram videos and they were great but his high mileage compared to what I would drive it would be significantly more. I usually put 150,000 miles in 2 years so imagine trying to drive a ram 4 years and 300,000 miles different.

 

[CogitoErgoLevo]

Driving 60k miles per year, you might want to consider the EcoDiesel and 3:21 rear ratio.
That could save you around $5k/year in gas alone depending on diesel price in your area.
Add the 33 gallon tank and you would also have 900 miles of range

 

[GKIII]

Driving 60k miles per year, you might want to consider the EcoDiesel and 3:21 rear ratio.
That could save you around $5k/year in gas alone depending on diesel price in your area.
Add the 33 gallon tank and you would also have 900 miles of range

The downside being that the 3rd gen ecodiesel motor is fairly unproven. Any known very high mileage examples out there?

 

[AngelPhoenix]

Have to concur with the others here, Pentastar or EcoDiesel would better suit your needs. The overage of HP in the Hemi vs the other two won't really be taken advantage of.

 

[c3k]

The downside being that the 3rd gen ecodiesel motor is fairly unproven. Any known very high mileage examples out there?

Well, my 3rd gen EcoDiesel has been absolutely flawless for each of the seven thousand and twenty three miles I've driven it. Extrapolating this record out into the future, it looks like a rare million-mile gem.

I don't think anyone will have put as many miles on 3rd Gen EcoDiesel as you're looking for...and be on this forum.

In a serious vein, my EcoDiesel w/3.21 and long bed, 4x4, etc. would give me over 30+mpg with highway cruising at 70-ish mph. (I just changed wheels/tires to a larger/heavier style, so I'm still trying to figure my new numbers.)

I think you'd be well served with a diesel for the cruising miles you put on. FWIW.

 

[AV8OR]

If CogitoErgoLevo numbers are correct and you save $5k per 60,000 miles in fuel cost with the EcoDiesel and the 100k power train warranty seems to me you are money ahead on any kind of engine repairs.

At 100k you will have saved $7k in fuel and at 120k you have $10k in the engine repair cookie jar.

Is there a maintenance item on the EcoDiesel like the Duramax belt change where you have to pull the tranny?

 

[tdog65]

Thanks for all the replies. I thought about the eco diesel but here's what I ran into. I'm looking at a 19 or 20 ram. with less than 30000 miles. I can get the Max care unlimited mileage warranty for around 3500 for 3 years depending on the service date. I would probably keep the ram for 2 to 3 years. At 3 years I will put 60k per so the truck will need to make it to 200,000 miles. You can't get unlimited mileage on the diesel. As an added note I get a car allowance and gas paid for when using for work, so while MPG is important it's not my deciding factor. My current GX only averages around 20 mpg. All those miles will be 95% hwy mileage. I did get a chance to spend some time yesterday in a 19 ram limited and liked it. I did run it about 30 miles on the highway and only averaged 17 mpg and that was with 3.21 gears. I did have really strong crosswinds but thought it would be a little better. I've read some guys only getting 15 or so on hwy and that would be kind of ugly but it seems dependent on the individual trucks. I guess I would be more worried about the other issues that would come up. Do you think some of the common issues in the 19s were corrected in 20 and 21?

 

[KeithStone76]

Thanks for all the replies. I thought about the eco diesel but here's what I ran into. I'm looking at a 19 or 20 ram. with less than 30000 miles. I can get the Max care unlimited mileage warranty for around 3500 for 3 years depending on the service date. I would probably keep the ram for 2 to 3 years. At 3 years I will put 60k per so the truck will need to make it to 200,000 miles. You can't get unlimited mileage on the diesel. As an added note I get a car allowance and gas paid for when using for work, so while MPG is important it's not my deciding factor. My current GX only averages around 20 mpg. All those miles will be 95% hwy mileage. I did get a chance to spend some time yesterday in a 19 ram limited and liked it. I did run it about 30 miles on the highway and only averaged 17 mpg and that was with 3.21 gears. I did have really strong crosswinds but thought it would be a little better. I've read some guys only getting 15 or so on hwy and that would be kind of ugly but it seems dependent on the individual trucks. I guess I would be more worried about the other issues that would come up. Do you think some of the common issues in the 19s were corrected in 20 and 21?

I'm assuming the truck was a Hemi? I drive about 50 miles round trip a day to work and it's mostly highway. I have the Pentastar 4x4 with 3.21 and I average 20 or above mpg. Just something to consider.

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[silver billet]

Thanks for all the replies. I thought about the eco diesel but here's what I ran into. I'm looking at a 19 or 20 ram. with less than 30000 miles. I can get the Max care unlimited mileage warranty for around 3500 for 3 years depending on the service date. I would probably keep the ram for 2 to 3 years. At 3 years I will put 60k per so the truck will need to make it to 200,000 miles. You can't get unlimited mileage on the diesel. As an added note I get a car allowance and gas paid for when using for work, so while MPG is important it's not my deciding factor. My current GX only averages around 20 mpg. All those miles will be 95% hwy mileage. I did get a chance to spend some time yesterday in a 19 ram limited and liked it. I did run it about 30 miles on the highway and only averaged 17 mpg and that was with 3.21 gears. I did have really strong crosswinds but thought it would be a little better. I've read some guys only getting 15 or so on hwy and that would be kind of ugly but it seems dependent on the individual trucks. I guess I would be more worried about the other issues that would come up. Do you think some of the common issues in the 19s were corrected in 20 and 21?

How fast do you drive? Did you reset the MPG meter just before heading on the highway (If you didn't, you calculated "combined mpg", not "highway mpg").

If I reset and then drive conservatively at just above 60 mph (60 to 65) it's incredibly easy to sit above 20 mpg. Best to date was with 25 with MDS disabled, but I haven't seen that since replacing the factory wheels and tires and I'm now more in a hurry too lol. I can usually hit 20 to 23 though.

If you're not going to tow and you're only using it as a commuter, the v6 is a great option too. I would consider the 3.55 rear end in the v6, owners have reported some slight gear hunting on the highway with the 3.21 in strong head winds. The 3.55 will bump up your final RPMs about 300 or so and that might work better.

I do love the power and sound of the v8, but in terms of reliability I would rate the engines: v6 (best), hemi v8, eco diesel (unknown in 5th gens yet but definitely worst in 4th gen trucks so much so that you want to avoid them at all costs).

 

[Rebelguy2020]

Plenty of Hemi's out there with huge miles. The tranny will be fine. It's super high end that is designed by an Italian company - you'd be surprised how many vehicles it's in with mild software changes. You'll have the issue with the exhaust manifold warping but that's common on other iron V8 blocks and aluminum exhaust manifolds.

ZF 8HP transmission - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The ZF transmission is a German design

 

[Redfour5]

If you're just using it for driving and not towing, I would consider the Pentastar.

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After renting various ones when visiting home then driving for a week. IF, all you do is drive like the guy says, the Pentastar is really nice and not a dog at all... And, if you want, it will even do a small trailer.

(neat trick - order cheapest rental car online and when you get to airport to pick up ask about what it would cost to get a Ram... I once paid the same as the cheap car and they said it was going to snow and apparently the trucks have less demand?) I've gotten Laramie Longhorns, limiteds but mostly bighorns mostly 4WD 5.7's but a few other variants including the V6. I particularly loved the gas mileage on them here a few years ago before the newer electronic stuff... Once, I got a 2WD with the Pentastar and was consistently hitting 24 mpg on the highway with it. Not what I would buy but hey for a city boy in the midwest why not?

 

[Andymax]

I have a fairly similar situation....in sales, and lots of highway. I average 52K+ miles/year. In Feb 2021 I bought a fairly highly-optioned 2019 Laramie CC Hemi 4x4 that had 17K on it. I opted to forgo the warranty, instead banking the money. I just turned 52K on it yesterday. On probably 70% of my tank fills I hand-calculate and can reliably count on an average of 20.9MPG for mostly highway trips. I've had zero issues so far. I love the comfort and the Laramie suits me well...I like the creature comforts!

I came out of a loaded Jeep Grand Cherokee with the EcoDiesel. Loved it, but did the math using my real world experience and I'm in a Hemi now because I do not believe the fuel savings outweigh the potential issues with the EcoDiesel. (Yes, I know I had a gen2 vs gen3).

This truck is super comfortable...I drove 12 hours straight last Tuesday and then returned in two 6-hour stints over the weekend...ZERO complaints.

Others my disagree, but a good friend has a similar Limited and he complains about his fuel mileage. I do wonder if that is weight-related...his is fully optioned.

FWIW - I'd recommend the Safety group, if only for the adaptive cruise control. The lane-keep is OK, but not great. I got the 12" screen and have really grown to love it. This is the first vehicle in many years that doesn't have a sunroof and I have to say I really do not miss it all. Also, the surround-view camera system is awesome.

Lastly I don't agree with the V6 Pentastar suggestions...the Hemi will hold its value way better and provides enough other benefits to offset the fuel savings.

Good luck!