Before I bought my RAM (roughly 2.5 years ago) I spent a lot of time on these forums doing research. It was very helpful in making my purchasing decision. Recently I traded in my RAM and the purpose of this post is share my experience with the RAM. It's not to "bad mouth" the truck or the brand, but just to give an honest review of my experience. I purchased my 2020 RAM 1500 roughly 2.5 years ago. It had roughly 10,000 miles on it and I bought it from a dealership. The truck was spotless and in "like new" condition. I was very pleased with everything. I liked the looks, the ride, the handling, the spacious interior, etc. I was very happy with it.
Somewhere around 20,000 miles I started noticing issues with my ventilation and the flow of air through my defroster (it was restricted). I believe it had to do with the air redirect doors. The dealership couldn't figure it out and couldn't duplicate the issue. That wasn't too big of a deal.
Around 30,000 miles I started noticing some weird shifting in the transmission when shifting out of 3rd gear. The transmission ended up failing and was replaced at around 40,000 miles. Thankfully under warranty. At 60,000, I could swear I started to feel faint "weird 3rd gear shifts" again. Maybe it was in my head.
At 59,000 miles, the valve train was rebuilt because of "ticking" in the rocker arms. Again, thankfully under warranty.
Around the same mileage I noticed water on my rear floorboards and figured out that my rear window was leaking (made my interior smell). Again, thankfully under warranty.
My infotainment display was always glitchy. Sometimes it would not turn on and I would have to restart my truck several times.
This is simply too much to go wrong on a vehicle that lives such an easy life. I'm in my 50's and primarily use it as a commuter truck (driving 20 highway miles each way to work). It was well cared for and taken care of. I really wanted to love the truck, but I just couldn't. I can't imagine how expensive this truck would be to own if it wasn't under warranty. In the first 60,000 miles, it had close to $20,000 in repairs. I know there are plenty of people who love their RAM and it's been reliable. Maybe I just got a lemon.
Recently I traded it in on a Honda Ridgeline. I know, it's not a "real truck", but I owned one before and put 240,000 miles on it without any issues.
Somewhere around 20,000 miles I started noticing issues with my ventilation and the flow of air through my defroster (it was restricted). I believe it had to do with the air redirect doors. The dealership couldn't figure it out and couldn't duplicate the issue. That wasn't too big of a deal.
Around 30,000 miles I started noticing some weird shifting in the transmission when shifting out of 3rd gear. The transmission ended up failing and was replaced at around 40,000 miles. Thankfully under warranty. At 60,000, I could swear I started to feel faint "weird 3rd gear shifts" again. Maybe it was in my head.
At 59,000 miles, the valve train was rebuilt because of "ticking" in the rocker arms. Again, thankfully under warranty.
Around the same mileage I noticed water on my rear floorboards and figured out that my rear window was leaking (made my interior smell). Again, thankfully under warranty.
My infotainment display was always glitchy. Sometimes it would not turn on and I would have to restart my truck several times.
This is simply too much to go wrong on a vehicle that lives such an easy life. I'm in my 50's and primarily use it as a commuter truck (driving 20 highway miles each way to work). It was well cared for and taken care of. I really wanted to love the truck, but I just couldn't. I can't imagine how expensive this truck would be to own if it wasn't under warranty. In the first 60,000 miles, it had close to $20,000 in repairs. I know there are plenty of people who love their RAM and it's been reliable. Maybe I just got a lemon.
Recently I traded it in on a Honda Ridgeline. I know, it's not a "real truck", but I owned one before and put 240,000 miles on it without any issues.
