RAM Revolutionary... yet Problematic. Why does our favorite brand keep subjecting us to this?

[JD Jackalope]

I am a so called lurker on this great 5th Gen Ram forum. I am 55 years old and grew up with Chrysler products since born. There have been many deviations throughout my years, but I keep coming back. Why? I'm not certain, but Ford and GM born and raised are similar. My current daily driver is a 2014 Dodge Durango Citadel, and my hobby/investment toy is a restored 1970 Dodge Challenger RT/SE 440, 4 bbl, 4 speed. I love both vehicles, but not without issues. I have never owned a pickup truck, but after transplanting to the Great White North of the US (ND) almost 14 years ago, I can understand why intelligent, motivated and hard working go getters are driving them in droves up here (although heavily Ford and GM in my region). They can get through the worst of weather, they are versatile, and now they are becoming comfortable and even luxurious for the entire family.
I have read many posts on this forum as well as watched plenty of YouTube videos concerning this latest iteration of Ram's light duty pickup. We all know the truck is Amazing, and many of us want it badly, including myself! It possesses beauty, power, intelligence, technology, versatility, and in my case let's me stand out from the crowd of passionate Ford and GM lovers. I want this truck and this brand to succeed So much, but Why do they keep shooting themselves in the foot concerning reliability. It never seems to stop concerning Chrysler. So Frustrating when they are on the verge of greatness Again! Awesome beautiful design and driver when it is working properly. But they keep living up to their reputation year after year after year! Chrysler or FCA or whatever you want to call them has great innovative designs and executions, but they Almost always can't be trusted to be problem free. Just the opposite, they Usually have issues. Everybody knows it.
Remember about 10 to 15 years ago when my 2009 Challenger's interior was described as "a black hole"? Look how Chrysler took notice, fixed it, and now is class leading and even world class in their interiors. Great comeback!
I want to see them turn their reliability issue around like that, just like Hyundai and Kia did a while back.
Do you think they could do this?
Do they want to invest the time and money to make it happen?
Do you think that they are perfectly happy selling boatloads of "potentially" great vehicles fast and furious, and then worrying about fixes later?
What's your opinion?

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[pgrant3491]

Do you think that they are perfectly happy selling boatloads of "potentially" great vehicles fast and furious, and then worrying about fixes later?
What's your opinion?

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I think you are pretty spot on right here.

 

[JD Jackalope]

You're thinking kind of like the Microsoft Windows updates thing, but just on a much costlier and more the consuming rate? I can see the software update reasoning, but I can't see the reasoning for it on This level! When these issues happen, FCA is screwing around with people's livelyhoods and their dependability as far as making it to work in a timely manner, and/ or even being able to make it to work
They are causing loss in productivity because of missing work to schedule appointments in order to try to get things resolved.
They are causing stress in people's lives who have just made a huge 5 to 7 year commitment to pay for this vehicle.
They are stressing out the people who work in dealerships as well. Those people are caught in the middle.
I know this particular model of truck is less than 2 years old, and Some "bugs" are expected, but as usual, Chrysler is exhibiting more problems than average.
It's making an Awesome design live up to Chrysler's reputation.
It's a shame, because this, once again is another chance to truly shine.
Not yet.

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[Willwork4truck]

Marketing and bean counters will always overcome enthusiasts who want to build a really great vehicle. Dodge/RAM has had many opportunities to become a real quality leader and could build/maintain a vehicle but chose to not be “risky”.
It would take guts to follow Hyundai/KIA and warranty your new vehicles for 10 years/100K, that alone sold more of their vehicles than any designs and updates could. Same thing with Dodge/FCA offering the unlimited powertrain, if its to the original owner, what’s the real risk? The good press you’d get if you actually paid the claims would sell more vehicles than the warranty would cost you (unless you are putting out junk).
In another thread a poster said the loyalty he had to GM over the years had evaporated due to their many flubs in reliability, and he bought RAM. I don’t doubt that he cost the GM brand $200K plus due to not buying any more new vehicles for himself and his family (sons/daughters/wife). I think it was an MDS oil consumption/lifters engine issue, so if they spent $8K on a complete motor and labor, they could have sold 25x that in sheet metal. Its the shortsightedness of the board of directors and vp’s that hobble a company.

 

[JD Jackalope]

I believe the former loyal GM owner who switched to RAM for the time being, could possibly be switching again to somebody else, unless he bought the lucky Wednesday morning built vehicle jk... I don't think the day of the week of build matters anymore if the management on site and especially above doesn't give a crap more than, "just stay on schedule". Let's pump these things out.
I'm waiting til 2022... at least.

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[spaightlabs]

Every vehicle brand has similar problems.

 

[Willwork4truck]

Yes they do however the OP and I are wondering why there cant be a commitment to quality and responsiveness as opposed to building just whats good enough.

 

[JD Jackalope]

2022...
Maybe, Finally I can get the options I truly want that are not available today, and Maybe many of the "bugs" will finally be solved.
The 1500 I want doesn't exist right now. Irritating!
My wish list:
Longhorn, No E torque (I know you must have that gimick now), 6' 4" Rambox, Multi Function Tailgate, With Two Tone Paint.
Speed it up Chrysler!
You are losing money from people like me who are sitting on the sidelines.
We are waiting for your fixes to make it down to the assembly lines, and Then to quit holding back on your options!
Get 'er done!

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[JD Jackalope]

Maybe I shouldn't have told Chrysler to Speed it up.
My Bad...
No, Chrysler, Please get your stuff together asap, else as usual, you will either be late to the show, or you will ruin a crashing success.

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[HeliPilot]

I believe the former loyal GM owner who switched to RAM for the time being, could possibly be switching again to somebody else, unless he bought the lucky Wednesday morning built vehicle jk... I don't think the day of the week of build matters anymore if the management on site and especially above doesn't give a crap more than, "just stay on schedule". Let's pump these things out.
I'm waiting til 2022... at least.

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Mine actually was a Wednesday morning build, and it’s been super reliable put to 22,500 miles, totally LMAO.

 

[JD Jackalope]

I think that's great, and I'm certain quite a great number of 1500 owners have had very good experiences. The thing that keeps me rolling my eyeballs and saying here we go again Chrysler is mostly what I'm reading in this forum. The good part is I realize that in a forum as such, you are realistically going to hear many more complaints than praises.
And we can all praise the design and execution of this truck, or we wouldn't have bought it or like me, thought and am still thinking about buying it in (2022?).
Bottom line that nobody can argue, is we have many complaints and failures in general
I Am a Mopar guy. I hope they get their stuff together Soon, or if not, everybody will stop talking about this great truck with positives, or talking about it like that, but...
Chrysler Don't miss this boat!!

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[steveved]

OP, by now you have to realize that 90% of the people who join these forums only do so to vent when they are having an issue. There are literally tens of thousands of new RAM owners that are NOT on this forum. Most of them probably don't have any of the issues that you seem so concerned about.

I personally joined this forum BEFORE I bought my truck to see what features to avoid. At that time, there were a bunch of people complaining about issues with the 12" Uconnect system and the Pano sunroof leaking. So, when I got my Laramie, I made sure that it didn't have either feature.

I bought my 2019 Laramie back in October 2019. Yes it is an e-Torque Hemi. I had hoped it would save me some fuel mileage. I was wrong.

Don't get me wrong, this has been a great truck. While I have had all of the recall work performed, it was not because I was experiencing any issues. These "fixes" were performed at the suggestion of the service writer when I took the truck in for the first 2 of my 4 free oil changes. My only complaints have been the ****ty stock tires and the squealing brakes. Yes I know there is a new pad design that is supposed to fix that, but I am waiting for the aftermarket to produce some slightly grabbier pads.

I currently have 20,653 miles on mine and it is still running great.

Additionally, I am a former GM owner. I still have a GM product: a 2018 ZL1 Camaro with a manual transmission. My last truck was a 2014 Silverado LTZ. It had the known warped brake rotor issue at 22k miles and lost all air conditioning after 3 years. I also had to replace both front ball joints at 24k miles because the alignment shop said they were shot. And, it had the std GM rear end shimmy that just would NOT go away. I have had no such issues in this RAM. But, I have only had it for 15 months, so time will tell.

If you really want a new RAM, just get one. I seriously doubt you will regret it.

Life is too short... Get what you want and enjoy yourself.

 

[JD Jackalope]

Hi steveved,
Thank you for your opinion.
I do appreciate it, and then have my own.
RAM doesn't even offer my bed with Rambox, MFT, and two tone first of all.
Secondly, I will wait until some of these complaints dial down.

When I was researching my 2014 Durango, I thought I was in for a Lot of negatives! I found just the opposite, and most reviews were possitive. It blew my mind. I hope the 2019 Ram and plus years can say that too! I So want this Ram 1500 to succeed!!

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[Willwork4truck]

OP, by now you have to realize that 90% of the people who join these forums only do so to vent when they are having an issue. There are literally tens of thousands of new RAM owners that are NOT on this forum. Most of them probably don't have any of the issues that you seem so concerned about.

I personally joined this forum BEFORE I bought my truck to see what features to avoid. At that time, there were a bunch of people complaining about issues with the 12" Uconnect system and the Pano sunroof leaking. So, when I got my Laramie, I made sure that it didn't have either feature.

I bought my 2019 Laramie back in October 2019. Yes it is an e-Torque Hemi. I had hoped it would save me some fuel mileage. I was wrong.

Don't get me wrong, this has been a great truck. While I have had all of the recall work performed, it was not because I was experiencing any issues. These "fixes" were performed at the suggestion of the service writer when I took the truck in for the first 2 of my 4 free oil changes. My only complaints have been the ****ty stock tires and the squealing brakes. Yes I know there is a new pad design that is supposed to fix that, but I am waiting for the aftermarket to produce some slightly grabbier pads.

I currently have 20,653 miles on mine and it is still running great.

Additionally, I am a former GM owner. I still have a GM product: a 2018 ZL1 Camaro with a manual transmission. My last truck was a 2014 Silverado LTZ. It had the known warped brake rotor issue at 22k miles and lost all air conditioning after 3 years. I also had to replace both front ball joints at 24k miles because the alignment shop said they were shot. And, it had the std GM rear end shimmy that just would NOT go away. I have had no such issues in this RAM. But, I have only had it for 15 months, so time will tell.

If you really want a new RAM, just get one. I seriously doubt you will regret it.

Life is too short... Get what you want and enjoy yourself.

Well said. Since nobody knows what reliability their particular truck will have, its rolling the die... I only have 6K on ours and it has not had any of the issues so far reported like a leaking pano, bad U Connect 12, problems with the air suspension, squeaky brakes, wind noise or anything. Course if we turned it on more often it might show something...

 

[Bighorned]

Ive been pretty fortunate, I have 7000 miles on my Ram and the only thing that has come up is the missing seal between the bed and cab and a radio update done by dealer. But I do agree instead of pumping out a "potentially" great truck and fixing issues later, it should be done right the first time. I am a former GM owner. had a 16 Silverado. Really enjoyed the truck but I think the build quality in the new Ram is second to none design, function and comfort.

 

[silver64]

Like any company they must contend with the critical decision of speed to market or conservative release of innovation. The term bleeding edge did not come from the auto industry but certainly applies here. These trucks are made up from so many complicated subsystems that it makes diagnosis and repair extremely difficult. Many of the solutions today are software fixes that on the surface seem to be easy to apply but can have many other ramifications (no pun intended) if they implement these changes without testing what happens to the other connected systems. I am not trying to justify poor service or failures to address defects. I am just saying that it takes a smarter and more dedicated company and service technical people to make these beautiful machines operate to their potential. All of the auto industry have these dilemma's but its how the public perception is of there willingness to listen to the user community and the responses they give about addressing these issues that will determine loyalty. I have been lucky enough so far to have a dealership near me that values good techs and pays them appropriately so they stay. I wish that all dealers had this same attitude about the value of people in the delivery of service and happy customers. Sorry for the ramble but its something i have thought about quite a bit.

 

[Bighorned]

I agree. I have had some horrible dealer experiences with Ram in the past. Had a 2010 bighorn with trans issues.

 

[JD Jackalope]

I am glad this thread has exposed some emotions.
I am not committed yet, possibly waiting for my 6'4" Rambox and MFT to come about, however, the responses coming through are Awesome! You all make lots of great points for all of us to think about.


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[JD Jackalope]

silver64, you are making a lot of sense!

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[Reverse]

We were hesitant at first to buy a Chrysler product,having never owned an American vehicle, but in 2012 we pulled the trigger on a Challenger R/T 6MT in Header Orange. Great car. My wife's daily driver/commuter for years. Put over 100,000 miles on it with just one fairly minor problem that was fixed under warranty. That purchase gave us the confidence to buy two Rams, both 2014 - one Express and one a Big Horn. So now we had three hemis. All of them we drove for at least 100,000 miles. Of these three, we still own the Big Horn today with 165,000 miles on it.

Now, even though we liked these vehicles, we aren't blind to Chrysler's quality reputation, so we bought extended warranty - we figure it into the price when we go shopping for a vehicle.
Of the 4 hemi's we have owned so far, only one gave us problems - the Big Horn we still own today needed the lifters and cam replaced, a $5,000 job that fortunately was paid for by the extended warranty.

To us, the totality of the experience - design, pride of ownership, quality, styling - still puts Ram at the top of our shopping list. The engine repair was a bummer, but didn't keep us from buying a 2020 Limited.

.