New member and owner; excitement has now turned to concern

[2019classicEcoDiesel]

I spent a few months (in the spring) researching for a new truck as I needed a replacement for my 2002 Dodge Dakota V6 RWD club cab. I was very excited about the Ram 1500 ecodiesel, had the power and mileage i was looking for in a package much more economical than a 2500/3500 cummins. Knowing I wouldn't be towing anything regularly and when I do it won’t weigh more than 7,500 max loaded this seemed a great option.

So after several delays, last month i purchased a 2019 1500 classic crew 4x4 ecodiesel laramie. Super excited, only the second new vehicle I've ever owned (outside of company cars). I’m pretty handy and work on my 1954 Chevy hotrod myself (and motorcycles and maintained my own vehicles for decades). I was looking for my next truck to reliably and safely carry me through the next 18 years (like the last one).

My previous research and reviews didn't lead me to this site, niw reading all the threads, the reports of fires, problems throwing into limp mode, expensive “fixes”, recall pending, and reading comments about 100,000 mile “motor life”... I’m now seriously upset I didn't pick up a 2500 crew 4x4 cummins in the workman trim, and add the sound deadening, carpet, leather katskin seat covers and stereo upgrades myself over time.

Are any more than a small handful having long term success with these trucks without tuning/deleting?

My truck has 400 miles on it and im concerned to take my wife and toddler anywhere in it now.

Its my truck now... I still have 30 days to purchase warranties.

Thanks for your input.

 

[John]

There's a 97% chance your truck will be fine. Most owners love their ecodiesel.Extended warranties are a good idea these days.

 

[Holymoly]

Hi John,
Is that a real % backed by research?
I need to read that so I too can feel better about my ecodiesel.
I love mine too but it's defective and looks like it's on showroom floor.
I just asked fca 10 minutes ago how I can prevent my intake and egr system from sooting to the point of lag and shorter engine life on a 20k mile mint truck used for short drives to town shopping etc.
Fca customer care now tells me they can't answer that but will consult techs and get back with me.
Why is this truck not in the News?

Respectfully

 

[Holymoly]

2019
This is what I would suggest based solely on my personal experience.
Sometime in the very near future, while driving you truck, when you notice it feels different while accelerating from a stop.
Maybe it just doesn't move as your used to.
Then a couple days later you notice it more and more.
Then it's time to check the egr cooler, egr cooler tube for soot restrictions.
When it happens, the dealer will clean the system and it will work until it spots again.
It's a nice truck and so comfortable to drive but pay close attention to the( lemon law booklet )in your glove box.
Mine is a 2016 limited with 20k mi.
I could have purchased anything I wanted and I did. Now I'm just waiting for the manufacturer to step up and take responsibility for not doing enough research and selling this truck as a daily driver.
As a motorcycle mech you'll understand what soot can do to a tightly built engine.

 

[hossman]

Don't worry I did a lot of research myself and I'm mechanically inclined. This motor is rated one of the top 10 best motors ever built believe it or not. There's a few flaws here in America that you can fix and eliminate all future issues and will also make the motor run better. I would do this even on a brand-new vehicle. There are delete kits out there if you're interested. Couldn't be happier with mine and I plan buying a future 2025 model when it comes out as a plan on driving mine for quite a few more years. I wouldn't blame the motor and the EPA requirements that were forced upon these. The technology and development for the emissions is why behind in times and not tested. It is far below what we need to make these Run and work better with the environment. I know many people personally that have 150,000 miles on these. And they all have told me it's the best truck they have ever owned. These are also mechanically involved people. You have to understand your vehicle and do things to it as maintenance to keep diesels running good this is standard practice. If you don't know much about the mechanical operation of these go buy a hybrid and let the shop work on it.

 

[Holymoly]

True so true.
It is sold as a family hauler and everyday user though.
I personally expect more from a $60k vehicle of any kind.
If a 70 year old accountant who never picked up a tool in his life or knows nothing about engines should buy one and it breaks down every 10k mi, he or she shouldn't have to know in advance the $60k vehicle is flawed and needs special driving habits to regenerate.
Absolutely this could be the best truck on the planet with a better emission design or board of directors who can get past their pay checks.
Imho

 

[gofishingup]

I do not know where the number 97% of the ED owners will not have problems. Most all of them have had problems, ie the class action lawsuit. At my dealership they have sold 5 ED in 3 years (not a large dealership) and the head mechanic told me all 5 have been back into the dealership for significant repairs and warranty work. Not good. Also there's a lot of talk about putting tuners on the vehicles, that out right voids the warranty. Once you do that, the warranty is out the window, so don't do it. Also, check your state's Lemon Law. In Michigan (where I am from), any modification to the engine or components of the engine, transmission and drivetrain, prohibit a consumer of a defective vehicle from suing under the Lemon Law. So if you add a tuner, and have problems down the road, not only did you void the warranty but you cannot sue FCA under the Lemon Law.

I feel your pain. I bought my truck in 2016 believing I was going to put 400,00 plus miles on it without any concern. Now with only 56,000 miles it goes into limp mode about once every 2 weeks with all the lights flashing on the dash board and off to the dealership I go. I have to leave it with them for 3-5 hours until they can get to it. A huge pain, not something I ever dreamed I would be doing.

This ED motor is terrible. Aside from the motor, the truck quality is better than Ford and GM (IMO) but what good is that quality when the motor is junk? I no longer feel safe taking the truck on trips over 100 miles as I know there's a good possibility that during that trip I'm going to see engine lights come on and there's a good possibility the truck will go into limp mode. It's no fun going 75mph down the interstate and have the truck go into limp mode when you're in the far left lane and you have to come to a stop next to the barricade on the left side with cars going past you at 75 mph. The only thing you can do is hope no one hits you and wait for the state police to respond and get a tow truck. That's happened to me more than once with this truck. Not something I should be experiencing with a $48,000 truck with 56,000 miles. Come on FCA, get your act together and address the problem before someone gets killed in these death trap. Harsh words, yes, but if the shoe fits.

 

[Holymoly]

Wow, that's terrible.
I'm so sorry that has happened to you.
With so much trouble or even so little trouble what's taking them so long.
Maybe their going to do like the 6.0 ford a few years back....Nothing....

Today when I spoke with fca, the guy told me if I don't get the flash, they wouldn't repair my vehicle in the future because it wouldn't be covered.
Lol....it's not covered now...
I mean did he really basically say, I will be needing repair and it will be on me.
My last new vehicle is 22 years old and I never made a single warranty claim.
To here somebody say get the flash or pay the future break downs yourself tells all I need to here.
You buy a vehicle and maybe if by chance there is a fluke then you have a warranty but to buy one and know you need it.holy moly

 

[2019classicEcoDiesel]

Thanks for the input, and certainly welcome more.

I do expect many owners don’t read or post...

It seems the AEM fix has really impacted this vehicle in many ways, loss of performance, reduced life, reduced fuel economy, increase maintenance....

I’ve read on tuning and eliminating EGR, EGR cooling and DEF... really seems to eliminate the issues and allow the engine to work efficiently. Struggling with the thought of doing such to a brand new $40k vehicle under full warranty though.

I’d like to modify to allow the engine do what it was designed to do pre-AEM and minimize the issues but not at the loss of warranty coverage.

Open to your experiences and recommendations.
Thank you!

 

[hossman]

I spent a few months (in the spring) researching for a new truck as I needed a replacement for my 2002 Dodge Dakota V6 RWD club cab. I was very excited about the Ram 1500 ecodiesel, had the power and mileage i was looking for in a package much more economical than a 2500/3500 cummins. Knowing I wouldn't be towing anything regularly and when I do it won’t weigh more than 7,500 max loaded this seemed a great option.

So after several delays, last month i purchased a 2019 1500 classic crew 4x4 ecodiesel laramie. Super excited, only the second new vehicle I've ever owned (outside of company cars). I’m pretty handy and work on my 1954 Chevy hotrod myself (and motorcycles and maintained my own vehicles for decades). I was looking for my next truck to reliably and safely carry me through the next 18 years (like the last one).

My previous research and reviews didn't lead me to this site, niw reading all the threads, the reports of fires, problems throwing into limp mode, expensive “fixes”, recall pending, and reading comments about 100,000 mile “motor life”... I’m now seriously upset I didn't pick up a 2500 crew 4x4 cummins in the workman trim, and add the sound deadening, carpet, leather katskin seat covers and stereo upgrades myself over time.

Are any more than a small handful having long term success with these trucks without tuning/deleting?

My truck has 400 miles on it and im concerned to take my wife and toddler anywhere in it now.

Its my truck now... I still have 30 days to purchase warranties.

Thanks for your input.

Thanks for the input, and certainly welcome more.

I do expect many owners don’t read or post...

It seems the AEM fix has really impacted this vehicle in many ways, loss of performance, reduced life, reduced fuel economy, increase maintenance....

I’ve read on tuning and eliminating EGR, EGR cooling and DEF... really seems to eliminate the issues and allow the engine to work efficiently. Struggling with the thought of doing such to a brand new $40k vehicle under full warranty though.

I’d like to modify to allow the engine do what it was designed to do pre-AEM and minimize the issues but not at the loss of warranty coverage.

Open to your experiences and recommendations.
Thank you!

My plan I did buy an extended warranty which I’ve never done in the past. I bought it for the expensive emission problems that diesels in America have. But Then I decided to delete it for every reason that makes the truck better. If my truck does ever have serious issues it’s gonna take me about three hours to put the exhaust back on in the old ECM back in there. I bought a separate ECM For that reason. The cost of the kit you will get back in diesel costs if you owned the vehicle for over five years. But you will save a lot of money not having all the expensive emission problems these vehicles have . And also no chance to get coolant down in the crank bearings from the EGR valve leaking. To me this was a no brainer three hours of work if I have to to put it back together. Supposedly people have told me there’s no way to trace it or prove I had a different ECM on there.

 

[Holymoly]

I wonder have most people taken their eyes off the ball.
Epa sued fca and fca wants owners to sign off on a aem flash that has bad results on the 3.0 ED.
Does the exception of the aem mean the owners can't sue for what's right or wrong with the 3.0.
The problem seems to be the failure of the engine to be driven or used in a normal fashion without causing engine regen failure do to heat, soot, coolant etc, which has nothing to do with the epa ruling.
I'm told at the very least I should change my driving habits because this engine design can't handle normal driving.
This is enough cause for nonconformaty.
Others have said it and it's true.
If you drive the ED a certain way ,it will last longer before it soot up the system and starts lagging worse than normal.
I think the majority of all the ED are sooted up even if the owner thinks it runs great, it takes less than 10 minutes to pull the egr cooling tube.
I would not modiy these trucks while fca is blaming everyone but themselves.
I love the trucks but hate how they pushed that engine on us. It is wrong of fca in the most basic sense. This engine is flawed.
Without epa ruling they would hav

 

[Holymoly]

Oops
They would have soot damage anyhow.

 

[gofishingup]

I have a friend who is an engineer with Chrysler and he says the computer can tell them everything, including any modifications that have been made to the vehicle. If the computer system can tell you how fast you were going if you got into an accident and what RPM's the engine was turning and what time of day or night it was, I sure have to believe it's pretty much a no brainer that it can tell and log when modifications were made to the engine or items installed to defeat emission systems.

If someone makes the modifications, the warranty is void. In most states if you return the vehicle back to its original condition and then try to make a warranty claim, there are laws regarding fraud. Also, because federal emission laws are applicable, federal laws involving tampering with emission control devices apply and federal statutes regarding fraud would apply.

In my opinion, if you opt to modify the emissions that are on the vehicle when you buy it, you should not make a warranty claim if something goes wrong. By the same token FCA has to own up to this being a terrible engine and the consumers did not get what they paid for. FCA should put together a buy back program for all these 3.0 diesels that adequately compensates those that bought this motor, a motor that does not live up to what FCA promised. It's only a matter of time that if FCA doesn't address the problem, the attorneys are going to. I know right now some of the big law firms that have handled other large class action automotive cases are keeping a sharp eye on what's developing with this 3.0 diesel motor.

 

[Holymoly]

Each day that goes by I'm more unsure.
One day I want to sell
The next day I want to believe it will last.
I've never been so undecided.

Does that ext aem warranty cover most everything?
I was told today it will cover AC system, Diffs etc anything that can through a code as written on the first page of the warranty coverages.
I havnt read it yet

 

[gofishingup]

Holymoly you are 100% correct. This engine is flawed and was flawed from the beginning. Part of the present class action has to deal strictly with the 3.0 not being as clean a burning diesel as FCA advertised. Thus the EPA involvement. It's akin to the Volkswagen class action suit, where the suit didn't have to do with motor failure issues, just that Volkswagen, so to speak, cooked the books on the MPG.

The reprograming of the computer and the payment by FCA is because the 3.0 was not as clean a burning diesel as advertised. The issue of engine failure and bad design is a completely separate issue that I believe if FCA buries their head in the sand much longer, the law firms that specialize in automotive class action law suits are going to get involved. It's just a matter of time when because of engine failure one of these 3.0 is going to go into limp mode and someone is going to get killed, or they are going to get hit and killed because of the turbo lag. Unfortunately, it will probably take something like that to happen and the attorney getting a huge verdict against FCA before they address the issue. Remember years ago Chevy/GM with the side saddle gas tanks in their pickup trucks exploding? GM did nothing about it for years until a jury, I believe it was in Texas awarded the family of a man killed in one of the trucks over $200,000,000. That got GM's attention and they finally addresses the issue.

Hopefully FCA wakes up and does something before someone gets killed in one of 3.0 diesels because of engine failure.

 

[gofishingup]

The ext arm warranty covers a lot but not everything. In my case I have a 2016 I bought brand new and it now has 56,000 miles on it. It has gone into limp mode over 20 times and about every two weeks I get an engine light on that I have to go to the dealership and leave the truck there for half a day until they can get to it. Meanwhile I have to finds rides back and forth to work and the dealership. I didn't spend almost $50,000 for this headache. I do not trust this vehicle to go on any trip that is over 100 miles from home.The last major repair was on Labor day when it went into limp mode and smoke was rolling from under the hood. I called FCA and they told me to drive it to the dealership, 20 miles away. I told them no way you can drive it, it needs to be towed. The problem, a hole had melted through the intake, a very significant problem. Had I driven the vehicle to the dealership, I'm pretty certain the truck would have caught fire and burned to the ground. In the past 6 months I have done extensive research on problems with the 3.0 and I can say to those that haven't had any problems yet, give it time everyone sooner or later has problems with this motor.

 

[Holymoly]

I was told today by a person who claims to be in the know.
That a little girl was injured in one of the ecodiesel truck fires, when the occupants poured sports drinks on the fire to put it out and, now they recall the egr cooler.
Cooler got too hot because egr valve stuck open, heat went to plastic intake, melted the intake with all the carbon deposits and fuel lines on top etc.
What a mess. I just want fca to help everyone out of the mess before they loose us to another brand.
I'm on my last few weeks of patients with it.
You said it better!

 

[Holymoly]

So they try to fix it, no charge to you?
But they cant, so you have to keep dealing with it?
Have you tried to ask fca if they could broker you a deal with a dealer for another at a affordable price?
I'm considering the subject but, I don't expect much or nothing for sure.

 

[Holymoly]

Im sure if mine did what yours has done, I would be crazy by now.
Dang, if it isn't reliable I got to let it go somehow!
I hope you find a way!

 

[hossman]

I have a friend who is an engineer with Chrysler and he says the computer can tell them everything, including any modifications that have been made to the vehicle. If the computer system can tell you how fast you were going if you got into an accident and what RPM's the engine was turning and what time of day or night it was, I sure have to believe it's pretty much a no brainer that it can tell and log when modifications were made to the engine or items installed to defeat emission systems.

If someone makes the modifications, the warranty is void. In most states if you return the vehicle back to its original condition and then try to make a warranty claim, there are laws regarding fraud. Also, because federal emission laws are applicable, federal laws involving tampering with emission control devices apply and federal statutes regarding fraud would apply.

In my opinion, if you opt to modify the emissions that are on the vehicle when you buy it, you should not make a warranty claim if something goes wrong. By the same token FCA has to own up to this being a terrible engine and the consumers did not get what they paid for. FCA should put together a buy back program for all these 3.0 diesels that adequately compensates those that bought this motor, a motor that does not live up to what FCA promised. It's only a matter of time that if FCA doesn't address the problem, the attorneys are going to. I know right now some of the big law firms that have handled other large class action automotive cases are keeping a sharp eye on what's developing with this 3.0 diesel motor.

I can tell you by deleting the omissions to make the vehicle run better makes no difference if my transmission goes out.
I can tell you this will help Chrysler if you delete the omissions your oil will stay cleaner, motor will run better, and last longer. There’s no a disadvantage of pulling off the Emissions for Chrysler. So you’re telling me if my driveshaft fails and I go to the The warrantee department that modifying the truck is fraud lol , that’s BS. I’ve worked with Chrysler before I’m putting a modified Lyft drive shaft and 37 inch tires on my jeep. And if I put it back to stock and use it for warranty that is fine with them. If I swap out the ecu that’s where the majority of engine codes and storage is Contained. Look at this schematics on how the computer works, that’s where everything is stored so if you swap that out there’s no info I’m not original ECM . The only part that would make a difference is if the turbo failed and you Had a Performance tooner program that created too much boost. Then I could see going to warrantee is not right.