I don't know if this is where this post belongs, but, here it is;
2019 RAM Rebel crew cab, 5.7, eTorque, air suspension, pano roof, trailer breaks, all the amenities.
I daily this vehicle, 75% highway miles, I put on 30k miles in 2 years. I've towed <8,000lbs for work about 20k of those miles. I don't abuse this truck, I drive to get the best MPG I can, been offroad 1 time in a friend's corn field for 5 minutes.
TLDR; this truck was bought at 31k miles from a Toyota dealership and has non stop issues for the past 2 years. Today, the straw is breaking the camels back. Do I go to RAM directly? Find a lawyer? Go after the Toyota dealership that sold me the truck? Am I SOL? Never had this many issues with a vehicle.
Before commenting about all the red flags before purchasing this truck, I know, I wish I hadn't purchased it, and I felt mildly uneasy with the purchase but thought the problem was fixed and it was gtg. I was very wrong and regret this purchase to the depths of my inner core.
Continuing (the full, unadulterated story):
When I bought this truck in 2022, it was sitting in the back corner of a major Toyota dealership in my area (Le Mieux Toyota). I stopped by and wanted to take it for a test drive. What a terrible decision... I got the key, and the truck was dead. They told me they would charge the battery and to come back. They did, I did. When I arrived, I turned the truck on and the check engine light was on. First red flag. I assumed it was on as a result of the dead battery and would take some driving to reset. CEL never went away. I addressed this issue with the dealership and told them I'm not buying a vehicle with a check engine light, they didn't want to fix it and said "it's just the battery" not even offering to replace the battery. I didn't let that fly, I told them to fix it and I would buy it. They had begun working on the truck to diagnose the issue and over the course of 2 weeks, continuously had no answers for me. I should've just dropped the whole idea and continued looking elsewhere. But instead, I suggested they send it to a RAM certified dealership and get it straightened out. They refused over and over but eventually came back telling me they sent it to a RAM dealership service center and it was a faulty eTorque system, they told me they replaced [what they thought was] the bad component/s and there was no more CEL. I went back, test drove it, no CEL, I believed them but did not see any service related paperwork (dumb, I know).
I went through with the purchase, I purchased a premium extended warranty out of gut feeling (thank God), and left with a new-to-me truck. I was happy.
Over the course of 2 months, I noticed the CEL came back on, as a result of the absolutely abhorrent customer service at Toyota (much of the sales process I did not include due to relevancy), I decided this vehicle is going directly to and only to a RAM certified dealership/service center. I never went back or talked to Toyota after the day I left the lot.
The check engine light was intermittent. It came on, and went off, and came on, and went off, over, and over, and over, over the course of the first year. I made MANY attempts to get this addressed, but the problem persisted that I would schedule an appointment, and come appointment day there was no CEL and they could not pull any codes. So I was left standing there with them telling me there was nothing they could do. I continued driving the truck with the CEL coming on and off until one day I realized the 8.4" uconnect screen was having a ghosting/screen burn-in issues. I got the truck in, the extended warranty covered the replacement with a reman'd part, and after the replacement it was working and has been working fine. I asked for them to see if they could find any codes while the truck was being diagnosed, no CEL and thus, the usual "we couldn't pull any codes". Which is completely contrary to being told "if it's throwing a CEL, it should be storing the codes in the computer."
I took my truck back and continued using it. 6ish months go by with intermittent CEL still unaddressed because dealerships seem to not hear me when I tell them "it's on right now and I can bring it in, but if we schedule it out, it will likely be off come that date." No dealerships wanted to help me address the issue immediately and all wanted to book me out 2-3 weeks consistently. My patience is wearing thin.
6-8 months go by after getting uconnect replaced and I'm leaving a gas station and CEL pops on again and truck had a hard time starting. I immediately call the service center to get it in ASAP, They told me to bring it in the following Monday (I called on a Wednesday). I wasn't happy about waiting, but it was the soonest any certified service center ever offered to get me in their schedule. The next morning my truck won't start. I jump start it, I leave and go about my day. A handful of on and off's throughout the day and I think it must have just gotten too cold and I needed to drive it to charge it up. Luckily I made it home. the next morning, the truck won't start. Same thing. The following morning same thing happens and I've completely lost my patience. It's the coldest part of winter, I work for residential clients, I cannot risk not being able to leave a clients home and depending on them to jump start my truck. Looks bad on me, and is embarrassing. I bring it to dealership that Friday, they take the truck in and tell me they understand and will get working on it right away. They did not get working on it right away but waited until Monday. The truck then sat at the shop for 2 full weeks with no definitive answers until they tell me they found a USB port parasitic drain. The battery is fine, the USB port is outputting power nonstop whether a cable is plugged in or not. They replace the module that is faulting, the battery is at full health. They showed me. Off I go.
5 months later of the CEL still coming off and on with no actual fix, and I notice one day some fluid leaking directly in front of rear passenger wheel. I schedule to get truck in, I bring truck in, and mention the issues and noted that I also hear ticking from the exhaust manifolds. They do a full diagnostics, both rear body mounts are compromised (seal failure and BM fluid completely gone) and both exhaust manifolds are cracked. All parts covered under warranty. They order the parts, and 3 weeks later I bring it in and everything is replaced within a day.
I get the truck back (we are now just 8 days ago from the time of this posting). The truck has been running flawless minus the CEL coming on 1 time the day after I got the truck back. It turned off within 1 power cycle (usually stays on for days at a time). I thought this may have been the fix. Maybe the exhaust leak was throwing off fuel to air ratio or the O2 sensors were not reading the proper amount of exhaust this entire time. My confidence is finally up with my truck. My MPG has gone up significantly, the truck feels more responsive and has more power, smoother ride. I feel good.
Today, I am driving home, and about 4 minutes from my driveway, My CEL comes on, and my stop/start becomes unavailable. I get a warning message on my cluster to service stop/start system. I turn the truck off and on, it takes a moment longer than usual to start and that's when I realized in the back of my head that this truck is going to be back in the shop. I immediately get a red battery logo on my cluster. I quickly navigate to my system info on the cluster and go to my battery and it's in the red reading 11.5v. I drive home, I call the same service center I just got the truck back from 8 days ago, and told them I have to bring this in immediately. They say absolutely. I drive straight to the service center, and leave it running because I fear if I turn it off, it won't start and I finally have the opportunity to get codes off this truck...after 2 years. As the service advisor is scanning for codes, 1 system fails, then the next, then the next, my cluster becomes a Christmas tree, the entire electric system is failing in front of our eyes (presumably because the battery is dying), and eventually all the electronics shut off. Cannot shift into drive. I was going to move the truck to a better spot when I noticed I couldn't shift, I hop out and start walking towards the front of the truck when I notice smoke billowing form under the hood and the truck is pissing coolant. So I run over and turn the truck off. (Yes, I was dumb and should've turned the truck off as soon as all the electronics went. I was in a state of WTF and didn't think to do so.)
The truck is now sitting in the shop and they are telling me they can't get a read on codes because they can't get the battery to above 9 volts. They want to force me to purchase a $400 battery and will not return it if that is not the problem and it turns out to be something related to the electrical system or eTorque. They also won't guarantee me that the battery is fried. After reading this entire rant, I realize that the battery has been in question since the day I first sat in the truck. I am also aware the from that time, the problems have consistently been other issues in the truck and I have been told over and over that the battery is fine. I'm not interested in spending a single dollar on this truck if it is not going to immediately address the problems I am experiencing. My issue is that my RAM service advisor and tech will not tell me if it's an electrical system fault, or a battery problem, and they will not use a different battery to arrive at a conclusive answer, and are putting it on me to spend the money to potentially be left with 2 perfectly fine batteries, or, 2 completely fried batteries, and needing to buy a 3rd if there is a fault in the system that is killing the battery.
I'm so done with this truck. I hate it. It's been in the shop for over 6 weeks collectively since I bought it. There's been over $4,000 of repairs, and non stop issues. What can I do short of continuously dealing with a problematic vehicle? Do I have any legal right's as a second owner?
Update: They replaced the battery with a brand new MOPAR AGM battery from their parts stock, left truck sit over night, manager just took it for a test drive as of 10:19am cst and check engine light came back on.
Update #2: "Looking like it needs the hybrid battery pack, covered under factory warranty but the part is not typically stocked."
I wonder how long this is going to take to get in?
