Rear window trim melts, shrinks and comes loose.

[Scott Trent]

I have a 2022 Ram Bighorn. The day I bought the truck I noticed when I got home this trim piece just above the sliding back glass looked melted and creased. It looked awful. I took this brand new truck back to the dealer the next morning and asked them to fix this because it looked terrible. They ordered a new back glass and installed it. Within weeks the new trim piece on the new window looked melted and creased. The cable came out of the sliding back glass so they replaced the back window again. Again, the new trim piece started looking melted and creased and started coming loose. The cable for the sliding back glass came out again. Again they ordered a new window. It’s the one in the truck now. The trim piece on this one started looking terrible and I just lived with it for a while. I went in for a regular service last week and again complained about how terrible this trim piece looks. This time they grabbed the trim piece from a used window that came out of another truck (cable issue probably) and put it on my back glass. That was the fix. A USED part on my 18 month old truck that I bought brand new. The dealership did this. So that is new trim piece number 5 on my Ram counting the factory installed trim piece. The service department is saying they believe this has been happening because I put a standard aluminum tool box in my truck about 1 month into owning it. They think the tool box lid is causing this exterior piece to melt even though I point out I took this truck back on day 1 (with no tool box yet) because of this same now lingering melting trim piece issue.

I’ve bought probably a dozen new Silverados in my life. Never once did I have an issue with truck parts melting because of a tool box. Until now. That’s the line I’m getting from my Ram dealership. If someone would have told me I couldn’t put a new tool box in a Ram truck because it melts exterior parts then I probably wouldn’t have bought this new truck. Anybody else having this issue? The dealer says they have never seen this issue before. I’m tired of messing with this back window in my 2022 Ram truck.

 

[Eighty]

Just asking, because it's happened to someone else on this forum.

Where you park your truck, are there any reflections that direct a super-bright ray of sunlight to that spot? Forget the toolbox, I'm asking about a window or something of the sort that would create a magnifying glass effect to that spot.

 

[Geddyflea]

Just asking, because it's happened to someone else on this forum.

Where you park your truck, are there any reflections that direct a super-bright ray of sunlight to that spot? Forget the toolbox, I'm asking about a window or something of the sort that would create a magnifying glass effect to that spot.

It's funny you pointed this out. There is a building in London nicknamed the walkie-talkie. It has multiple compound curves on the exterior design that would concentrate sunlight into a beam and increase the surface temperature on the sidewalk. It got so hot that it melted a Jaguar parked next to the building!!!!

 

[Scott Trent]

Honestly, no. I park my truck on my driveway pulled in. Every time. The houses here are on big lots. Nothing even close to the back of my truck. My house and driveway faces west south-west. Evening sun does crawl across the back of my truck. And it had the same issue from sitting on the dealership lot until the day I brought it home new. I took it back like I said. Thanks.

 

[Scott Trent]

I’m starting to think the halogen bulbs in the third brake light are heating up and melting this piece. Three bulbs in that component. LED bulbs are much cooler. Maybe that’s a fix for this?

 

[MannyN]

I’m starting to think the halogen bulbs in the third brake light are heating up and melting this piece. Three bulbs in that component. LED bulbs are much cooler. Maybe that’s a fix for this?

Wouldn't the bulbs in the 3rd brake light melt the housing first, if it ever would get that hot? The bulbs in the 3rd brake light are low wattage, they would never create heat to melt plastic.

 

[Scott Trent]

Yea 16 watt bulbs. That’s not much. Thanks