Huge mistake

[Bruno Paquette]

Hello everyone, my name is Bruno Paquette, and I purchased a 2016 RAM 1500 Laramie Longhorn Eco Diesel a month ago.
70,200 km's on the clock. The reason I went with a Dodge ECODIESEL was for fuel economy / long term operating costs.

In the past 4 weeks, I have been to a dealership for servicing 5 times, with engine warning light coming on and off on a weekly basis.
a few recalls were done in the first week, which seems to have affected the fuel economy and is causing a pronounced throttle lag, until the engine is fully warmed up.
And then a huge problem surfaced, the mechanic finds a severe coolant leak into the air intake, which has resulted in vehicles catching fire while in operation, and here is where Chrysler is really sticking to the owners, Chrysler has known about this problem for over a year and half, yet still there is a HUGE back order on the replacement parts required to fix this defect.
In my case the mechanic informed me not to drive my new truck until the part is replaced, when will the part be available?..... no one a Chrysler knows, but there are huge numbers of owners dealing with the same problem.
I contacted Fiat Chrysler Canada, they asked me to take my vehicle to a different dealership to have the diagnosis confirmed, I did that this morning and was informed I should not drive my truck, that they would contact me when the part was available, and when can I expect this part to be available? is it days ? weeks? or months away?
No one at Chrysler has any answers for that, oh yeah, and I making payments on a luxury truck that I can not drive!
Is Chrysler going to pay for a rental vehicle while I wait for a replacement part? first I was told "no" and as of this morning Chrysler Canada has informed me that they would think about renting a vehicle for me and would get back to me.
DO NOT PURCHASE AN ECO DIESEL, mine has 70,000 Kilometers on it and it is self destructing! Is Chrysler demonstrating any accountability on this problem? No, none!
To add insult to injury, the customer service weasel at Chrysler Canada took offence to the fact that I am absolutely pissed about this entire event, I am apparently such an unreasonable person!
Look I understand that vehicles have defects that lead to recalls, I certainly did not have expectations of perfection. This is completely a different animal, Chrysler has been aware of this issue for a long time, that they chose not to utilize that time effect repairs, but instead Chrysler went a different way, where now there is a huge back order of parts because scores of Eco Diesel owners are in the same predicament as I am, with a vehicle Chrysler tells me not to drive, they can't tell me when I can expect to have the problem repaired, nor does Chrysler take any ownership of this problem, will they pay / compensate me with anything/ how about paying for a rental vehicle since I cant drive mine? Well the weasel at Chrysler Canada said that he would get back to me .
The bottom line is that if you purchase an ecodiesel, you are playing Russian roulette, maybe it will be ok, or maybe you're in for a very nasty surprise, if you fall under the latter category, and Chrysler's response has been to tell their customers to "suck on it" you will discover all kinds of level of anger. Dodge used to be the only show in town when it came to a Diesel in a half ton pick up. Well, there are other options now to Dodge, go check those options out.
I am so completely disappointed with my purchase and with Chrysler Canada's response that I will never buy a Chrysler product ever again, and I will try to talk anyone else I know to walk away from Dodge otherwise you may just end up like me.

 

[John]

It seems most of the trucks are great sorry you got a bad one. Find out if the dealer can buy back the truck since it's a recent purchase.

 

[carlhenry]

delete and tune that will get rid of all your problems

 

[Bruno Paquette]

Well John, i certainly hope that you never experience what I've gone through in the previous month, but the thing you should keep in mind is that there are thousands of Ecodiesels owners affected by this faulty part, and if you read those owners stories on posts it is that they all loved their diesels and they were all problem free until one day they just were not anymore. Add to that the additional problem of Fiat Chrysler ignoring the problem for over a year and half, and not ordering the replacement parts, so that now there is a huge back order problem, the supply chain is not providing the amount of replacement parts, so that now Chrysler is telling the owner to park their vehicles indefinitely, they are unable to give owners ANY answers as to when the parts will be available, and so far I have been denied a courtesy and or rental vehicles by the dealerships and by Chrysler Canada.
So I am making payments in the neighbourhood of $800.00 per month on a vehicle I am told by Chrysler to ABSOLUTELY NOT DRIVE , with that and housing costs, children etc, wouldn't you know it but I cant afford to rent a vehicle indefinitely in addition to all the other bills / payments.
I phoned Chrysler Canada twice, are they going to stand behind their customers and their warranty? unfortunately the answer so far has been "NO".
So you see John that is an even bigger problem. CHRYSLER is being dishonest and screwing the owners instead fixing the problem, and if they did it to me, what is to stop them from doing the same to you? But in any event I'm not wishing this issue on anyone else, but as an awareness piece, this engine problem is common, not rare.

 

[John]

Bruno, Did you buy from a Ram dealer?

 

[Bruno Paquette]

No, unfortunately not John, I purchased it at a GMC dealership, they have been really good about the whole thing, they are obviously waiting to see what Chrysler Canada will do about it, since the issue is covered by warranty.
But they did say that they wanted to keep me as a customer, and will do what they have to to make things right by me.
Unfortunately, my truck was the second problematic Ecodiesel that they sold in February, and the sales manager informed me today that they will no longer be taking ecodiesels in as trade ins because Chrysler will not honour its warranty obligation, and that just leaves, their repeat customers angry at them. So you see John, even if as an owner, you are not directly impacted by the EGR coolant problem, you maybe affected later on, from the point of view of trade in value for your vehicle when you decide purchase your next vehicle.
You know what the irony out of all this is John, its that I've wanted an Ecodiesel since Dodge came out with them in 2014 , and now, especially after numerous calls to Fiat Chrysler Canada Customer service and their completely callous 'I dont care " type of attitude, I can guaranty you, Chrysler will never get my business again.

 

[John]

I wish you didn't have the problems you are experiencing. Well Bruno, I feel like it's too bad you didn't do your research before buying because you see Bruno you would have been a bit more educated and perhaps bought something else instead. There's a reason Ram put the sales on hold. It takes time to redesign the EGR cooler and additional time to manufacture enough stock for 100,000 plus trucks. All in all FCA has been as good or better than the other manufacturers when it comes to warranty and recalls. If you have a 2016 I don't think it's still under warranty anyway. I would consider asking the GMC dealership to buy it back since they are the ones who sold you the truck with defects. Good luck.

 

[Bruno Paquette]

Yes John, I should have done my homework a lot better, and I'm certainly paying for it now. I had wanted a diesel powered half ton since they became available, I let me blind me to the problems this engine has. You may not be aware that Chrysler has known about the failure rate of , the EGR for over a year, but as of this week, they have informed all of their service providers (dealerships), that all of the EGR replacement are suspended, none are available and they (FCA) are unable to inform their affected customers, or their service providers when the part will become available again.
The warranty on the power train is 5 years, 120K Kilometers, so yes, my truck is still on warranty, and no one at FCA is disputing that fact.
This EGR Cooler issue has, in some instances, caused the trucks to burst into flame while driving down the road. Unfortunately, some people have suffered burn injuries because of it. FCA customer service has been rude, uncaring and are offering no information as to when I can hope to have the parts become available again. I have to work for a living, I have kids and a ex wife to pay for, and I can't afford to make the payments on the truck, and also pay for a rental vehicle for god knows how long? Chrysler is not offering any help with transportation, no courteousy or rental vehicle offered. Given all of the above information, I must disagree with you that FCA has handled this matter correctly, from my point of view, they (FCA) have been nothing short of awful.
But yes, I must now make enquiries with the dealership where I purchased this truck, and hope that they are willing to purchase it back, overthought its nothing more than an expensive paper weight at the moment.
I take it you have a newer model than mine John, and that you have not yet had any problem. I hope it stays that way for you, I really do.

 

[John]

I thought FCA Canada provides 5-year/100,000 Km warranty. I thought the EGR cooler was covered by the recall and not powertrain. I hope the GMC dealer buys yours back.

 

[colin]

I thought FCA Canada provides 5-year/100,000 Km warranty. I thought the EGR cooler was covered by the recall and not powertrain. I hope the GMC dealer buys yours back.

in Canada we get 3year 60,000km warranty except for drivetrain

 

[John]

in Canada we get 3year 60,000km warranty except for drivetrain

What do you get for drivetrain?

 

[colin]

What do you get for drivetrain?

powertrain 5 year 100,000 km

 

[John]

Hmm. I thought I was wrong with my post but I was mistaken.