My truck has been a nightmare! I don't think I can get myself to buy another Ram product again.

[Rocker1500]

Hey all!

I really was wondering if this is just something I was experiencing or if other people have experienced the same thing and regretted their purchase. I have been a long time lurker on here, never posted before. Just made an account today, but am not new to this forum, so I know for certain these issues are not just happening to me. Get the truck a 2020 Ram 1500 Laramie have no problems at all with it. 36,050 miles on the truck I wake up to a back roof full of water, I contact the dealer and tell them my rear window is leaking, it soaked the entire back roof panel into the speakers. They were literally dripping water. I thought the dealership might have a small sense of care for their customers and do the repair under the bumper to bumper since it literally was 50 miles over it. They tell me its off bumper to bumper and won't help, and basically start telling me they need to do a whole bunch of diagnostics to find out what is going on because they said "rear windows in Rams never leak." I have been on here numerous times and seen enough Reddit posts to know that the window leak is so common it should have literally been recalled. I am surprised it is not yet a safety issue with mold/mildew from the water. Dealer was acting surprised since they said they've never seen a rear window leak before, I knew that was a lie. I spent $1800 getting the back window replaced and then got the headliner cleaned. I still sometimes notice the speakers on the truck sometimes completely fail, and am not sure if that's a whole different issue or was caused by the water from the roof.

Exactly 50 more miles later, I get an active tuned mass module unavailable notification on my dashboard. I decided to ignore it because I called the dealer and they literally had no clue what the active tuned mass module was. I tried both service techs and parts department with four different dealers, and they all had literally no idea what was going on in the car they are supposed to be experts on. Notification starts coming up on the dashboard more and more often, and I call the dealer again and yet again have 0 help. I take it to a friend of mine who has a mechanics shop and specializes primarily in Dodge/Ram/Chrysler vehicles. They lift the truck, discover that the entire wire going to the active mass module is basically destroyed. They contact the dealer on my behalf and yet again dealer has not a clue what the mass module even is, and where to get replacement wires from. They decide to solder the wires and it fixed the issue. I thought I would not face any more issues given that this was literally a 2 year old truck.

Some more time passes and at 46,000 miles the engine on the truck starts ticking. I again have to deal with dealerships, I contact other dealers around me and they tell me they are fully booked, so refer me back to my local dealer who books me an appointment. I take in the truck, and they listen to the noise and agree it has a tick, but explain it is most likely a manifold tick. I tell them it possibly might be, but to make sure to look at the entire engine rather than just the manifolds to properly diagnose it as well so I don't have to come back with the same tick. They take the car for 3 days, refused to give me a loaner and give me back the truck and tell me both exhaust manifolds were cracked and they changed them. In the service notes, it says "tick is now absent." The tick was not absent and had to create another appointment the day I took the truck back. They explain again like they said with the rear window that the manifolds rarely if ever crack on these trucks. This forum says otherwise. The appointment I took it in for repair was 3 weeks ago, my appointment with the dealer is coming up this week, and again they completely refuse to provide a loaner leaving me without a car. I decide to call Ram customer service hoping to get some help with these issues, with the experience today with customer care (should be called customer careless) I had I don't think I'll ever call the customer service again. 3 different agents would hang up on me, they'd say we will check into this and be right back. Transfer me to departments who tell me they only help techs and then Lo and behold they would not be right back, but would hang up.

I have realized this company has become terrible and the products they produce are even worse. My truck used to get 19-22 mpg, is now getting 12.7 mpg and tick is getting worse. For those who currently have a Ram, let me know what you guys think. Is this truck just bad, or are all you guys having the same issues? For those who are contemplating buying a Ram truck, unless you want a slew of bills and a massive headache don't even get near a Ram dealer. I don't think I ever will, unless they decide to improve their cars and customer service alongside their dealerships. Do not get me wrong, their trucks look beautiful, but looks definitely can be deceiving. Oh, and there is also a recall on the tailgate latch assembly. Sorry for the long read, but I truly am getting frustrated with this terrible experience and anyone who has any tips please share them I really need it at this point. I could upload the tick on here if any of y'all want to hear it. It has genuine Mopar oil in it and is up to date on all the service it needs. It has been well maintained. The tick is mainly on startup and goes away when the truck warms up, its a 5.7L V8 but when it starts up it sounds like a diesel for 5-10 minutes.

 

[SD Rebel]

There are problems for all vehicles, luckily they are the minority for most cases, but it seams you have fallen into that situation here. Maybe that leak caused additional damage to your electronics and you have a dealership network that isn't doing a good enough job to help you.

Sucks you are going through this, if the dealership isn't doing enough, I would go to another one and after that escalate it up to Mopar itself. As for the tick, if it's getting worse, it could be a broken exhaust manifold bolt or something internal. You should still be under the factory power train warranty, which is 5 years 60K, which would cover either issue.

As for me, my 2019 Rebel has honestly been the most trouble free and reliable vehicle I've owned since new in probably ever. This includes our newest Toyota and quite a few premium makes.

 

[crusher]

wow, i feel you fustration but maybe calme down a little, the water leak, try to get a hold of fca to have a good will, maybe they will pay a part of the bill and talk to them about the electronic,.most likely jist a modul that have to be change, not that expensive,,,

but out of warranty work is always not fun.

the hemi tick on startup and goes aways is perfectly normal, nothing to worry about, then engine is made that way. and you still have plenty off warranty if you dont beleive this

a recall, well every vehicle has some, so i dont see the big problem here...

so basicly the only problem is your 1800$ fix out of warranty, try to get a part of it covvered by goodwill and enjoy your truck since its out off you hands maybe a part of this could be covered by your insurance lile the faulty electronics

 

[Cbty2050]

Man this sucks. If you are the original owner, the water leak should have been taken care of. The dealer(advisor) may not have as much experience as others and know there is an issue with the back glass.

Sometimes the verbiage causes a breakdown between a customer and a dealer personnel.

 

[crusher]

thats a good, point, have you tried a 2nd dealer to see?

 

[PurpleRT]

Hemi tick… super common they all genuinely do that.. unless its a broken manifold stud. Usually goes away once warmed up.. what I’ve noticed with my now 3rd Hemi is Pennzoil platinum syn is my go to oil and will usually kill the tick completely but what might work for me in the past may not work for others.

The rear window leak/ 3rd brake light covered with the bumper to bumper but if your outside of what or don’t have a extended warranty then there’s a permatex fix some guys have had good luck with.. dealer service probably could of goodwill this repair but thats on them. The speaker issue is problem a result of this.

Its a mass produced vehicle all manuf have their problems. Recalls happen. You’ll often hear from guys that have had problems as opposed to the many that don’t.

Breath in.. breath out. Repairs happen.. either get your hands dirty doing some of the easier repairs or find a better service dept or independent shop to handle any future issues.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[boogielander]

maybe @RamCares can help with your situation?

 

[Alejandro_Andretti]

Hey all!

I really was wondering if this is just something I was experiencing or if other people have experienced the same thing and regretted their purchase. I have been a long time lurker on here, never posted before. Just made an account today, but am not new to this forum, so I know for certain these issues are not just happening to me. Get the truck a 2020 Ram 1500 Laramie have no problems at all with it. 36,050 miles on the truck I wake up to a back roof full of water, I contact the dealer and tell them my rear window is leaking, it soaked the entire back roof panel into the speakers. They were literally dripping water. I thought the dealership might have a small sense of care for their customers and do the repair under the bumper to bumper since it literally was 50 miles over it. They tell me its off bumper to bumper and won't help, and basically start telling me they need to do a whole bunch of diagnostics to find out what is going on because they said "rear windows in Rams never leak." I have been on here numerous times and seen enough Reddit posts to know that the window leak is so common it should have literally been recalled. I am surprised it is not yet a safety issue with mold/mildew from the water. Dealer was acting surprised since they said they've never seen a rear window leak before, I knew that was a lie. I spent $1800 getting the back window replaced and then got the headliner cleaned. I still sometimes notice the speakers on the truck sometimes completely fail, and am not sure if that's a whole different issue or was caused by the water from the roof.

Exactly 50 more miles later, I get an active tuned mass module unavailable notification on my dashboard. I decided to ignore it because I called the dealer and they literally had no clue what the active tuned mass module was. I tried both service techs and parts department with four different dealers, and they all had literally no idea what was going on in the car they are supposed to be experts on. Notification starts coming up on the dashboard more and more often, and I call the dealer again and yet again have 0 help. I take it to a friend of mine who has a mechanics shop and specializes primarily in Dodge/Ram/Chrysler vehicles. They lift the truck, discover that the entire wire going to the active mass module is basically destroyed. They contact the dealer on my behalf and yet again dealer has not a clue what the mass module even is, and where to get replacement wires from. They decide to solder the wires and it fixed the issue. I thought I would not face any more issues given that this was literally a 2 year old truck.

Some more time passes and at 46,000 miles the engine on the truck starts ticking. I again have to deal with dealerships, I contact other dealers around me and they tell me they are fully booked, so refer me back to my local dealer who books me an appointment. I take in the truck, and they listen to the noise and agree it has a tick, but explain it is most likely a manifold tick. I tell them it possibly might be, but to make sure to look at the entire engine rather than just the manifolds to properly diagnose it as well so I don't have to come back with the same tick. They take the car for 3 days, refused to give me a loaner and give me back the truck and tell me both exhaust manifolds were cracked and they changed them. In the service notes, it says "tick is now absent." The tick was not absent and had to create another appointment the day I took the truck back. They explain again like they said with the rear window that the manifolds rarely if ever crack on these trucks. This forum says otherwise. The appointment I took it in for repair was 3 weeks ago, my appointment with the dealer is coming up this week, and again they completely refuse to provide a loaner leaving me without a car. I decide to call Ram customer service hoping to get some help with these issues, with the experience today with customer care (should be called customer careless) I had I don't think I'll ever call the customer service again. 3 different agents would hang up on me, they'd say we will check into this and be right back. Transfer me to departments who tell me they only help techs and then Lo and behold they would not be right back, but would hang up.

I have realized this company has become terrible and the products they produce are even worse. My truck used to get 19-22 mpg, is now getting 12.7 mpg and tick is getting worse. For those who currently have a Ram, let me know what you guys think. Is this truck just bad, or are all you guys having the same issues? For those who are contemplating buying a Ram truck, unless you want a slew of bills and a massive headache don't even get near a Ram dealer. I don't think I ever will, unless they decide to improve their cars and customer service alongside their dealerships. Do not get me wrong, their trucks look beautiful, but looks definitely can be deceiving. Oh, and there is also a recall on the tailgate latch assembly. Sorry for the long read, but I truly am getting frustrated with this terrible experience and anyone who has any tips please share them I really need it at this point. I could upload the tick on here if any of y'all want to hear it. It has genuine Mopar oil in it and is up to date on all the service it needs. It has been well maintained. The tick is mainly on startup and goes away when the truck warms up, its a 5.7L V8 but when it starts up it sounds like a diesel for 5-10 minutes.

Sounds like a bad dealership. The truck has issues but they should’ve took care of you

 

[boogielander]

on the other hand, every manufactures have their quirks.
People say Toyotas are reliable. Let me just tell you at my shop we've replaced at least 1 80 series Landcruiser engine every month this year (and this year was the year I started counting). We've also replaced a few Lexus GX transmissions in the 4th quarter of the year too.
Also replaced countless front swaybar endlinks on all kinds of Toyotas (4Runner, FJ, GX, etc) to the point I stopped counting.
Then there's the transmission gear hunting on Tacomas.
Replaced a few Tundra 5.7 engines as well.

Also turned down numerous inquiries about GM trucks tranny rebuilds (about once a week).
Fords... we don't really touch those since our customer base don't really drive Ford.

point is, there's no such thing as trouble-free vehicle ownership.

 

[HSKR R/T]

The rear window repair should have been a goodwill repair, the dealer service manager should have asked Ram for approval. I can't say I've seen any denied that close to the end of warranty. Speaker issues are probably lingering effect of the water leak.

The tick, you said it goes away after engine warms up, that is pretty much textbook symptom of a cracked manifold. Should be covered under the power train warranty.

Seems your issues are with the dealer you are using, and not Ram itself. Dealers are all independently owned. They pay for the use of the Ram brand. Dealer surveys and reviews are how they keep their status with Ram.

I have only had a few times I have had to go to dealer for warranty work. First was a run in the factory paint. I had a dead battery once that wouldn'tt take a charge(until after I got truck jump started), and had a check engine light that may have been caused by my Pulsar. Running paint was fixed, they pretty much didn't do anything for the battery other than charge it. Over two years later and still have same battery in the truck and no further issues. I only have 28k miles on the truck

 

[Mountain Whiskey]

Looks like you better sell it and buy a Ford.

 

[jloops]

Always love the long time listener, first time caller, bash the brand posts.

 

[c3k]

1. Rear window/brake leak
1b. Rear speaker cutout
2. Active Tuned Mass issue
3. Tick before warmed up
4. Sudden (?) large mileage loss

And a bad dealer.

The bad dealer issue is the icing on the cake. It sets the mood and infuses every bite.

Number 1 should have been a goodwill repair. There is a class-action lawsuit underway. Stay informed on it. Keep all your paperwork on repairs, write a note about anything else you've suffered (time, lost opportunity, other expense) due to the rear window leak. A lawsuit is may or may not set you right.

1b. Yeah, odd. Maybe some other water damage? Pull the speakers and inspect them. Include that in the notes about the window leak.

I'm getting my window replaced (19,000 miles). Once it's home, I'll be using Permatex flowable silicone window sealant like a mofo around it. Belts and suspenders... I don't want to go through this again.

2. Sounds like road damage. That's on you. Soldering is a great solution for broken wires.

3. Tick: classic exhaust manifold (if it's the one that goes away after warmup). That was covered. So, bad design, but you're repaired, right?

4. Yeah, that NEEDS some investigating. Something is wrong when an engine starts consuming double the fuel it used to. It should be covered under your powertrain. Get on it. Get noisy, contact RamCares. Get an invoice written up on it. Paperwork is proof. Document your concern, the mileage, the date, and what the dealer says the issue is (or isn't). Then keep on them.

Overall, yeah, not a great experience. Number 1/1b is a crappy dealer. But, before any vehicle gets within a few thousand of a bumper-to-bumper expiring, I go over it, hard, to make sure I haven't missed something. Sucks. Contact Ramcares?

With the crappy dealer, I'd be nervous about number 4, but if you have paperwork and some support, I think you'll be set right.

TL;DR: Involve RamCares, document everything, get the Service Manager's cell phone number. Push, but don't be an a.ss.

 

[RamCares]

Hey there, @Rocker1500

We appreciate being tagged in this post. We're sorry to hear about all of the concerns you've had with your vehicle and we'd like to get you some help. Would you mind sending us a DM so we can look into this with you?

Callie
Ram Cares

 

[VectorZ]

Looks like you better sell it and buy a Ford.

Agree, trade that lemon in and buy a GM or Ford truck. Both of them have zero issues!

 

[Lpsouth1978]

Agree, trade that lemon in and buy a GM or Ford truck. Both of them have zero issues!

That's funny stuff right there!! Ford's "have zero issues".

My brothers 2022 F-250 with less than 9,000 miles, has already had an axle AND the tranny replaced. Even he says it is a very uncomfortable truck to sit in for long, and he has only ever been the in the drivers seat. The back seat is absolutely atrocious!!

My RAM has so far been trouble free, but if anything does come up, I have a good dealer less than 5 miles from my home.

Hopefully the OP is able to get some help from @RamCares.

 

[crusher]

Agree, trade that lemon in and buy a GM or Ford truck. Both of them have zero issues!

lada is also known to be trouble free vehicles

 

[Rocker1500]

Always love the long time listener, first time caller, bash the brand posts.

I never really intended to bash the brand, dont get me wrong, it is a beautiful truck. But for a 2020 having this many problems and spending out of pocket repairs while the truck is 2 years old is absurd. I have driven many other makes of cars before and have yet to come across one that gave me as many issues as this truck. From window switches failing, to reverse sensors all the way to the engine tick that is still present after both manifolds and bolts being replaced. I had a mechanic look at it who said this was not a Hemi tick, but sounded like an actual problem with the engine. My experience is just one experience and one experience might not necessarily represent a whole brand, but with terrible customer service and terrible dealers I think we can all agree the brand can do somewhat better and care more about their customers.

 

[Rocker1500]

That's funny stuff right there!! Ford's "have zero issues".

My brothers 2022 F-250 with less than 9,000 miles, has already had an axle AND the tranny replaced. Even he says it is a very uncomfortable truck to sit in for long, and he has only ever been the in the drivers seat. The back seat is absolutely atrocious!!

My RAM has so far been trouble free, but if anything does come up, I have a good dealer less than 5 miles from my home.

Hopefully the OP is able to get some help from @RamCares.

Sounds like your brother is having a terrible experience with Ford, I've noticed the biggest thing that makes or breaks the brand is the dealerships. Had the dealership's around me not been terrible when dealing with I would've probably been more inclined to the brand. I just sent a DM to Ramcares, hopefully the whole thing gets sorted out.

 

[Rocker1500]

There are problems for all vehicles, luckily they are the minority for most cases, but it seams you have fallen into that situation here. Maybe that leak caused additional damage to your electronics and you have a dealership network that isn't doing a good enough job to help you.

Sucks you are going through this, if the dealership isn't doing enough, I would go to another one and after that escalate it up to Mopar itself. As for the tick, if it's getting worse, it could be a broken exhaust manifold bolt or something internal. You should still be under the factory power train warranty, which is 5 years 60K, which would cover either issue.

As for me, my 2019 Rebel has honestly been the most trouble free and reliable vehicle I've owned since new in probably ever. This includes our newest Toyota and quite a few premium makes.

Glad to hear the truck you have isn't causing trouble! I think I just got unlucky with this truck. The dealer changed both manifolds and the bolts since both were cracked. Tick never went away or even diminished after them being replaced. I have an appointment with the dealership tomorrow. Really hoping they get this sorted out.