Rear window surround crack.

[UncaBuddha]

I have a 2019 Rebel that had the rear window frame leak, which let water reach the battery pack control module behind the seat. Had no idea there was water coming in until one day the truck wouldn't start. Had to get the truck towed to the nearest dealership where it has ben for about two and a half months now. On top of that, the repair bill is about $5,000. Luckily insurance will cover the window, but I'll need to pay remaining $3,000 for the module, which seems to keep getting lost during shipping. The most frustrating part is this happened 2 months after my 3 year warranty expired, and my extended warranty doesn't cover this one particular module. I feel totally screwed over, making payments on a vehicle I haven't even sat in for months, and having to pay thousands on a defect that killed my truck juuuuuust out of warranty.

The truck has been great up until then, no issues, and I love it. At this point, I'm fed up and I just want my truck back so I can sell it, and buy from a company that stands behind it's products.

TWO AND A HALF MONTHS??? That is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE! Is your dealership giving you updates or do you have to chase them around like I do?

 

[sylent_snyper]

I have put a new heavy duty gasket seal (Last weekend) around the backside of the 3rd break light. I hoped that it solved my water intrusion problem into the cab at the top of rear sliding window.. Nope! It did not

a few minutes ago I went out to the truck and checked the shark fin secureness to the cab roof and if you view my uploaded video I’m thinking maybe this fin gasket may be my issue?

I have the same play in mine which made me think my newly found leak was coming from there as well. Turns out it is the rear window though.

 

[dts828]

I have a 2019 Rebel that had the rear window frame leak, which let water reach the battery pack control module behind the seat. Had no idea there was water coming in until one day the truck wouldn't start. Had to get the truck towed to the nearest dealership where it has ben for about two and a half months now. On top of that, the repair bill is about $5,000. Luckily insurance will cover the window, but I'll need to pay remaining $3,000 for the module, which seems to keep getting lost during shipping. The most frustrating part is this happened 2 months after my 3 year warranty expired, and my extended warranty doesn't cover this one particular module. I feel totally screwed over, making payments on a vehicle I haven't even sat in for months, and having to pay thousands on a defect that killed my truck juuuuuust out of warranty.

The truck has been great up until then, no issues, and I love it. At this point, I'm fed up and I just want my truck back so I can sell it, and buy from a company that stands behind it's products.

Why would insurance cover the window and not the module which was a direct failure of the window?

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[RSZ]

Just found a wet and stained headliner and a crack in the rear window surround. Trip to the dealer booked for tomorrow.

 

[sylent_snyper]

Just had my leaking rear window replaced last Thursday. The headliner was said to be a 12-15 day lead time so just waiting on that to come in now. Turns out the rear leaked because the sealant had not completely touched everywhere and eventually popped loose.

I'm also told the headliner can only be installed with either the windshield removed or the rear window removed. At this point the dealership will be removing the windshield since they already replaced the rear. I figure if the rear wasn't sealed properly it can't be a bad idea to have the front done too

 

[RSZ]

Truck was at dealer yesterday. Pictures sent off to head office for approval of replacement of back window assembly. Dealer wants to change out the window and the third brake light, see if it leaks again, and try to clean the stains from the headliner. If cleaning it doesn't work, they will replace the headliner, but the rear window and windshield will have to come out to do it.

 

[GKIII]

Why would insurance cover the window and not the module which was a direct failure of the window?

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yea this doesn't make sense....

Also, the etorque components should be covered under the 8 year emissions warranty. The part failed due to a defect elsewhere in the truck, nothing should be coming out of pocket IMO.

 

[mtnsdan]

Thanks for all the good info and advice on this forum. Unfortunately, I am now in need of your advice on the back window crack and water intrusion. I have had 3 Ram 1500s in the last decade and I have to say I am a bit disappointed in the level of quality of my 2019 Laramie. It is very comfortable and feature rich, but having a cracked rear window surround and water coming in during the middle of the winter with just over 20k mi is not very reassuring. I went to the car wash on a warm day and noticed water dribbling down the back window through two cracks on either side of the slider. I also had one of the rear windows literally explode on my 6 year old daughter while parked for no apparent reason.

 

[GARebel19]

Noticed my crack recently as well. The stress mark has always been there. Though not as noticeable as some the crack is clearly there and leaking.

 

[mtnsdan]

Those with experience with this defect, is the right move to go straight to Ram with this or bring it to a dealer? Any suggestions to get this taken care of the right way?

 

[RSZ]

Those with experience with this defect, is the right move to go straight to Ram with this or bring it to a dealer? Any suggestions to get this taken care of the right way?

If your truck still under warranty, any Ram dealer will take care of it. My dealer is calling in a glass shop to actually do the work. The dealer had to take pictures of the issue and send it off to the mothership to get approval. It was approved the next morning.

 

[sylent_snyper]

If your truck still under warranty, any Ram dealer will take care of it. My dealer is calling in a glass shop to actually do the work. The dealer had to take pictures of the issue and send it off to the mothership to get approval. It was approved the next morning.

Same.... my dealership has a 3rd party glass guy come in for this issue.

 

[mtnsdan]

Thanks for the advice. It’s still under warranty and this sounds like a known issue where they should extend some goodwill anyway. I will see what they say and hope for the best.

 

[cevans6318]

Thanks for the advice. It’s still under warranty and this sounds like a known issue where they should extend some goodwill anyway. I will see what they say and hope for the best.

if your still in warranty, they will fix it for free. If your out of warranty, your SOL.

 

[Kewlone2gq]

Thanks for the advice. It’s still under warranty and this sounds like a known issue where they should extend some goodwill anyway. I will see what they say and hope for the best.

You will definitely want to get it fixed while under warranty. I heard of the horror stories about the crack coming back again or the dealer doing a messy job, so I held off for bit. But I figured I am almost near my 3 yr warranty and I've taken my previous Rams to a local dealer I trust, so I pulled the trigger. I even mentioned how it was not cool that I would have to have my rear window tinted again. My service adviser went to bat and worked it out so I got reimbursed.

 

[LimitedGRR]

So here’s something interesting from the horses mouth re: our cracked window issues. I met with a client of mine who recently bought a ram. I warned him to watch out for the rear window issue. He mentioned it to his friend who works for Magna in Holland Michigan where the rear windows are made and was directly involved in the engineering. Apparently they screwed up the tolerance requirements for the adhesive they were putting on the trim. Engineering called for a pliable butyl based adhesive but what was being installed in the factory was a rigid adhesive that was too strong and would exaggerate the weakest parts of the trim. So the glue was stronger than the plastic could tolerate so any shift or flex in the cab would travel through the trim and crack it. Magna was not supplying the adhesive but simply told ram what kind to use, and apparently those specs were not matched. He said something as simple as a pot hole or swerve could cause the window crack. It apparently took 2 versions of the fix before they got it right for ram and GM He estimates about 1.2 million windows were installed with the wrong adhesive. He said that the 3rd version was made with a more pliable formulation for the trim that prevents it from cracking regardless if they use a stiffer or softer adhesive.


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[GKIII]

So here’s something interesting from the horses mouth re: our cracked window issues. I met with a client of mine who recently bought a ram. I warned him to watch out for the rear window issue. He mentioned it to his friend who works for Magna in Holland Michigan where the rear windows are made and was directly involved in the engineering. Apparently they screwed up the tolerance requirements for the adhesive they were putting on the trim. Engineering called for a pliable butyl based adhesive but what was being installed in the factory was a rigid adhesive that was too strong and would exaggerate the weakest parts of the trim. So the glue was stronger than the plastic could tolerate so any shift or flex in the cab would travel through the trim and crack it. Magna was not supplying the adhesive but simply told ram what kind to use, and apparently those specs were not matched. He said something as simple as a pot hole or swerve could cause the window crack. It apparently took 2 versions of the fix before they got it right for ram and GM He estimates about 1.2 million windows were installed with the wrong adhesive. He said that the 3rd version was made with a more pliable formulation for the trim that prevents it from cracking regardless if they use a stiffer or softer adhesive.


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If this is true Stellantis/FCA/WhateverTheyAreCalledNow works opposite of every integrator I have ever worked for. Usually the systems integrator sets the engineering requirements, not the other way around like you just noted here. What an *** backwards way of doing business....

(Granted, this doesn't excuse RAM if they were notified of the adhesive requirements. I just find this arrangement very odd)

 

[LimitedGRR]

If this is true Stellantis/FCA/WhateverTheyAreCalledNow works opposite of every integrator I have ever worked for. Usually the systems integrator sets the engineering requirements, not the other way around like you just noted here. What an *** backwards way of doing business....

(Granted, this doesn't excuse RAM if they were notified of the adhesive requirements. I just find this arrangement very odd)

I’m just going from a guy that I’ve trusted for years telling me what his friend from magna said. It wouldnt surprise me that Stellantis and their contractors don’t work in perfect sync with each other. Probably easy just to say ‘use whatever glue we have’ ….what could go wrong with bad glue?

And of course we can’t forget to blame Covid



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[GKIII]

I’m just going from a guy that I’ve trusted for years telling me what his friend from magna said. It wouldnt surprise me that Stellantis and their contractors don’t work in perfect sync with each other. Probably easy just to say ‘use whatever glue we have’ ….what could go wrong with bad glue?

And of course we can’t forget to blame Covid



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I work in aerospace so I'm spoiled by more stringent component lot acceptance requirements and our manufacturing work instructions have a lot of cross-functional input between engineering/manufacturing (and I would know damn well exactly what glue the line techs are using). Even when I worked heavy equipment we set the requirements for our suppliers to bid against.

Not saying I don't believe you, the opposite in fact. Explains a lot lol.

 

[ronmac7609]

Do not order the extra gasket like my dealer did, it already has it installed.
the only diffrence is the little clips on the edge to secure the top gasket.

heres some photos

Did this come with the new screws? Mopar web site won't let me add any quantity. Keeps resetting to 0.