I wanted to put my story out there so that new owners can take note and the longtime owners may be able to add some direction.
I have a 2017 RAM Ecodiesel with 117,000 miles. I bought it in 2022 when it had 47,000 miles on it and apparently, it was a corporate owned truck prior to my ownership. It was maintained well by the previous owner and was never off road very often. I believe in maintaining good maintenance on anything that I drive. So, throughout my ownership, I have always ensured that the oil was changed on time, all filters were replaced on time and all recalls were done on schedule (there were a number of them).
First, I need to make clear that I do not go 4 wheeling in this truck. This truck has been very well taken care of throughout its life. When it bought it in 2022, I bought a 3 year or 100,000-mile warranty from the RAM dealership and honestly did not have to use my warranty very much except for the recalls on the injection manifold and the EGR system.
When I hit 100,500 miles, I noticed that sometimes, when I started the truck, I would have no power steering. I would turn it off and crank it up again and my steering would be back. So, I took it to the dealership, and they told me that I needed my EPS replaced at $6000. I said no and when I picked it up, I had power steering. So, instead of selling it while it had steering or immediately getting another warranty policy, I thought that the dealer was wrong and there was just a short in a connection to the EPS and they must have inadvertently fixed it when they pulled the wiring off the EPS and cleaned the connection.
Then, about 3 months later, it went out for good. So, I got a private (but reputable) garage to replace the EPS as well as the water pump that was starting to leak a little according to them. $6000.00 later, I was back up and running. This time, I purchased a warranty up to 165,000 miles or 3 years, whichever comes first. I thought all would be well because now I was covered.
On Saturday July 4th of this year, I was driving in town when I immediately lost oil pressure and my oil gauge plummeted. Thankfully, I was moving slow and was able to pull into a parking lot. The engine was able to run, but I shut it off and had it towed to the dealership. The following Monday morning, I spoke with the service and explained the problem. On Tuesday afternoon, I returned to the dealership to retrieve some more of by belongings but could not find the truck. I asked the Service Advisor to let me know where the truck was and he asked me to please wait. Then, he drives the truck to the service carport. I asked him how was he driving it. He said that in their preliminary checks, the engine had good oil pressure at 2,000 and 3,000 RPMS and seemed to be running OK. I retrieved my belongings and asked him to make sure they check it thoroughly as it was concerning to me that they allowed him to pull it around to me. He then drove it back into the shop.
On Wednesday, I was asked by the warranty company to provide my oil change records and the receipt for the EPS and water pump replacement. When I brought it them in on Thursday, I was then told that I needed a new Ecodiesel engine. Cost- $21,500. I was told that the technician was in the process of taking it on a test drive and when he was leaving the parking lot onto the road, the motor shut off and all of the oil leaked out. After further inspection, I was told that the motor had thrown a rod and put a hole in the block. The motor was now a paperweight as it does not have even a core value now.
I asked the dealership to cover this under their shopkeeper’s insurance policy because I feel that it was negligent to try to drive it based on the lubrication issue that it experienced when I had it towed. They did not check the oil filter for any metal shavings. They did not perform any manual pressure tests. Had they done further testing, I may have been able to either fix the issue or even have the current engine rebuilt by another garage (they don’t rebuild). These options would have been much less expensive than the $22,000 that I am facing now. My warranty company has a $10,000 cap, so even IF they do pay up to the cap, I am still looking at $12,000. I am having to get legal counsel for this situation as I do not think that they should have attempted to drive it. The dealer says that they did not cause the problem and it was going to do it anyway. I say that while they may not have caused the original issue, THEY did make a decision that put a hole in my motor to the point of making it unfixable and much more expensive for me to fix. The total repair bill will exceed the value of the truck.
Any suggestions? Has anybody dealt with something similar and if so, how did it turn out?
Thanks in advance,
Brian
I have a 2017 RAM Ecodiesel with 117,000 miles. I bought it in 2022 when it had 47,000 miles on it and apparently, it was a corporate owned truck prior to my ownership. It was maintained well by the previous owner and was never off road very often. I believe in maintaining good maintenance on anything that I drive. So, throughout my ownership, I have always ensured that the oil was changed on time, all filters were replaced on time and all recalls were done on schedule (there were a number of them).
First, I need to make clear that I do not go 4 wheeling in this truck. This truck has been very well taken care of throughout its life. When it bought it in 2022, I bought a 3 year or 100,000-mile warranty from the RAM dealership and honestly did not have to use my warranty very much except for the recalls on the injection manifold and the EGR system.
When I hit 100,500 miles, I noticed that sometimes, when I started the truck, I would have no power steering. I would turn it off and crank it up again and my steering would be back. So, I took it to the dealership, and they told me that I needed my EPS replaced at $6000. I said no and when I picked it up, I had power steering. So, instead of selling it while it had steering or immediately getting another warranty policy, I thought that the dealer was wrong and there was just a short in a connection to the EPS and they must have inadvertently fixed it when they pulled the wiring off the EPS and cleaned the connection.
Then, about 3 months later, it went out for good. So, I got a private (but reputable) garage to replace the EPS as well as the water pump that was starting to leak a little according to them. $6000.00 later, I was back up and running. This time, I purchased a warranty up to 165,000 miles or 3 years, whichever comes first. I thought all would be well because now I was covered.
On Saturday July 4th of this year, I was driving in town when I immediately lost oil pressure and my oil gauge plummeted. Thankfully, I was moving slow and was able to pull into a parking lot. The engine was able to run, but I shut it off and had it towed to the dealership. The following Monday morning, I spoke with the service and explained the problem. On Tuesday afternoon, I returned to the dealership to retrieve some more of by belongings but could not find the truck. I asked the Service Advisor to let me know where the truck was and he asked me to please wait. Then, he drives the truck to the service carport. I asked him how was he driving it. He said that in their preliminary checks, the engine had good oil pressure at 2,000 and 3,000 RPMS and seemed to be running OK. I retrieved my belongings and asked him to make sure they check it thoroughly as it was concerning to me that they allowed him to pull it around to me. He then drove it back into the shop.
On Wednesday, I was asked by the warranty company to provide my oil change records and the receipt for the EPS and water pump replacement. When I brought it them in on Thursday, I was then told that I needed a new Ecodiesel engine. Cost- $21,500. I was told that the technician was in the process of taking it on a test drive and when he was leaving the parking lot onto the road, the motor shut off and all of the oil leaked out. After further inspection, I was told that the motor had thrown a rod and put a hole in the block. The motor was now a paperweight as it does not have even a core value now.
I asked the dealership to cover this under their shopkeeper’s insurance policy because I feel that it was negligent to try to drive it based on the lubrication issue that it experienced when I had it towed. They did not check the oil filter for any metal shavings. They did not perform any manual pressure tests. Had they done further testing, I may have been able to either fix the issue or even have the current engine rebuilt by another garage (they don’t rebuild). These options would have been much less expensive than the $22,000 that I am facing now. My warranty company has a $10,000 cap, so even IF they do pay up to the cap, I am still looking at $12,000. I am having to get legal counsel for this situation as I do not think that they should have attempted to drive it. The dealer says that they did not cause the problem and it was going to do it anyway. I say that while they may not have caused the original issue, THEY did make a decision that put a hole in my motor to the point of making it unfixable and much more expensive for me to fix. The total repair bill will exceed the value of the truck.
Any suggestions? Has anybody dealt with something similar and if so, how did it turn out?
Thanks in advance,
Brian