RF hub failed - now I know

[FastBlackRam]

Went to get in my truck Sunday morning and the keys wouldn't unlock it. Fobs would not open the doors and it seemed dead. I used my manual key to open the doors and the alarm went off. I soon popped the hood and disconnected the battery to stop the alarm. I had to move it out of the way of my other car in the garage so I disengaged the trans from Park with the lever under the ebrake under the panel. I pushed it out of the way and tried a few more battery connects and disconnects to no avail, the alarm kept sounding and my fobs didnt work. Long story longer, I took my battery out and had it tested and it was good. After leaving the battery disconnected overnight I decided to try it one more time Monday morning and the alarm reset and my fob worked and the Ram started. But it ran for about 30 seconds then shut off and the keys didnt work again. Sheesh. Finally got it towed to the dealer and they found the RF hub is failed. No water intrusion just flat failed.

What a disaster of a design in my mind. What if this happened to someone off-road? I don't know what the design should be but sure isn't it. I also just took a long road trip to SC and am so glad it happened in my driveway, not out during my trip with my family in the truck.

Thoughts?

 

[FLiPMaRC]

Did you try pushing the start/stop button with the key fob? This is a known "trick" to start the truck if your key fob is not detected.

 

[FastBlackRam]

Did you try pushing the start/stop button with the key fob? This is a known "trick" to start the truck if your key fob is not detected.

Yes I did try that. Believe it or not, that only works if the fob battery is dead, not when the RF hub is failed.

 

[MannyN]

I think it's time to carry a spare RF Hub, just in case.

 

[mikeru82]

I think it's time to carry a spare RF Hub, just in case.

It's not like changing an alternator. I certainly don't know the details of the procedure, but it involves programming the truck and/or the rf hub after replacement. I mentioned ordering a spare rf hub when I went to pick the truck up but from what the tech told me when ours was replaced, it won't work until this programming happens. Maybe someone who knows more about this can chime in if that's not the case.

Went to get in my truck Sunday morning and the keys wouldn't unlock it. Fobs would not open the doors and it seemed dead. I used my manual key to open the doors and the alarm went off. I soon popped the hood and disconnected the battery to stop the alarm. I had to move it out of the way of my other car in the garage so I disengaged the trans from Park with the lever under the ebrake under the panel. I pushed it out of the way and tried a few more battery connects and disconnects to no avail, the alarm kept sounding and my fobs didnt work. Long story longer, I took my battery out and had it tested and it was good. After leaving the battery disconnected overnight I decided to try it one more time Monday morning and the alarm reset and my fob worked and the Ram started. But it ran for about 30 seconds then shut off and the keys didnt work again. Sheesh. Finally got it towed to the dealer and they found the RF hub is failed. No water intrusion just flat failed.

What a disaster of a design in my mind. What if this happened to someone off-road? I don't know what the design should be but sure isn't it. I also just took a long road trip to SC and am so glad it happened in my driveway, not out during my trip with my family in the truck.

Thoughts?

Hopefully you won't be waiting for almost four months for a replacement like we did when ours failed last February. Ours died from water intrusion through the cracked rear window frame. You should not trust the dealership if they tell you that water wasn't the issue and check for leaks yourself when you get it back.

 

[wegasque]

Interestingly enough, I have my wife's Pacifica still in the shop waiting for a new RF Hub. The first one the dealership put in was bad so they ordered another and it was magically backordered. I heard today the estimated date they'll get it is August 24. I've often thought about getting an extra RF hub to have on hand just because of the parts shortage. Yes, you;ll have to get someone to program it, but it'll be worth it by shortening the time without a vehicle.

 

[mikeru82]

Definitely true. It would eliminate the long wait for a replacement part. I took his comment as addressing the issue of the rf hub failing at a more inconvenient time, like when on a long road trip. To have a spare on hand to get back on the road (trip).

 

[Nascar Tommy]

There should at least be a "Limp" mode or something for all kinds of safety reasons.

 

[Nascar Tommy]

Interestingly enough, I have my wife's Pacifica still in the shop waiting for a new RF Hub. The first one the dealership put in was bad so they ordered another and it was magically backordered. I heard today the estimated date they'll get it is August 24. I've often thought about getting an extra RF hub to have on hand just because of the parts shortage. Yes, you;ll have to get someone to program it, but it'll be worth it by shortening the time without a vehicle.

Any idea of the cost on that?

 

[wegasque]

Any idea of the cost on that?

Nore sure, but I think I recall someone saying in a separate thread that the cost was under $200.

 

[Dewey]

Can you imagine the backlog if everyone srarting ordering spares?

 

[Nascar Tommy]

That's not too bad of a price.
I mean it sounds like it would be $1,200.

 

[FastBlackRam]

It's not like changing an alternator. I certainly don't know the details of the procedure, but it involves programming the truck and/or the rf hub after replacement. I mentioned ordering a spare rf hub when I went to pick the truck up but from what the tech told me when ours was replaced, it won't work until this programming happens. Maybe someone who knows more about this can chime in if that's not the case.


Hopefully you won't be waiting for almost four months for a replacement like we did when ours failed last February. Ours died from water intrusion through the cracked rear window frame. You should not trust the dealership if they tell you that water wasn't the issue and check for leaks yourself when you get it back.

Dealership says they have the part in stock. I know hard to believe. Just waiting for approval from warranty. I played expediter between Assurant (warranty company) and dealership. Called Assurant and they told me they were waiting for dealer to call in cost of parts, labor, pricing, so I called dealership and asked them to provide that to Assurant. Dealer says they did that a bit after I asked them to do that. Should have it back to me today. Assurant also asked them why it failed. I assume they wanted to know if it was shorted from water intrusion. Dealer said the reason was an internal failure. I don't trust the dealer either and keep a close eye on them but at some point I have to let them do their job right?

I have never had a water leak on the back window (knock on wood). I check it often because so many have reported it.

 

[c3k]

This makes me want to open up my rear seat area to put a water diverter above my RF hub. I already had the rear window replaced (and, yes, I filled in the joint with the soft silicon above the new window). I think a belt, suspenders, and second belt approach is needed for this thing.

 

[wegasque]

This makes me want to open up my rear seat area to put a water diverter above my RF hub. I already had the rear window replaced (and, yes, I filled in the joint with the soft silicon above the new window). I think a belt, suspenders, and second belt approach is needed for this thing.

Take video if you do. There's plenty of us that would add it to protect the hub.

 

[silver64]

There is no redundancy if the hub fails. Once it's gone you are screwed. Not only is it a bad design with no redundancy but who are the geniuses that thought placement of such a critical part below a rear sliding window that if you forget and leave it open in a rainstorm kills your vehicle.

 

[FastBlackRam]

There is no redundancy if the hub fails. Once it's gone you are screwed. Not only is it a bad design with no redundancy but who are the geniuses that thought placement of such a critical part below a rear sliding window that if you forget and leave it open in a rainstorm kills your vehicle.

One of my coworkers was quick to point out to me that there are lots of components in our vehicles today without redundancy and if they fail you are screwed!!!

 

[mikeru82]

One of my coworkers was quick to point out to me that there are lots of components in our vehicles today without redundancy and if they fail you are screwed!!!

That's definitely true. I think the more pertinent part of his post was the part about mounting it where they did. And besides the etorque battery module, most other critical components are mounted in areas less susceptible to water intrusion because the owner forgot to shut the slider.

 

[GeorgeA]

Take video if you do. There's plenty of us that would add it to protect the hub.

I second the idea of doing a video. I would like to see the process of removing the back seat and other components to get to the RF Hub. The dealer made it sound like it was a big deal - I always doubt what the dealers tell me.................................

 

[FastBlackRam]

I second the idea of doing a video. I would like to see the process of removing the back seat and other components to get to the RF Hub. The dealer made it sound like it was a big deal - I always doubt what the dealers tell me.................................

I don't think it is that big a deal to install. The charge on my bill was $165 labor. Which included programming the keys. That might be their hourly rate, not sure.