Unfortunate report on new Ram

[bsbeedub]

From an earlier thread we ordered and got our brand new Ram 3500 6.4 on August 23. We were in the process of putting 500 miles on her so we could change the rear differential fluid to take her on our first trip. On September 5 she started idling very rough and the check engine light came on. My code reader indicated a misfire on cylinder 7. We took her in to have them look at it and perform whatever warranty work was necessary.
After having her for about 3 or 4 days they decided it was bad gas since the plugs in cylinder 7 were completely fouled so it is not a warranty item. Perfectly understandable. They emptied the 30 gallons that I just bought and cleaned out the tank. They said the gas looked terrible. It was purchased from Quik Trip so we got the form to fill out since their gas is guaranteed hoping for reimbursement. It still kept misfiring with their “known good gas.” Emptied the tank and cleaned the fuel rails two more times. Still misfiring. I’m on the hook for about $700 now. After having the truck for two weeks and looking again at new “known good gas” gas from a new container they concluded it was not the gas.
They now say it is an engine issue so it’s back to warranty work and no charge to me. Their first thought was that it might be the camshaft with a bad #7 lobe. They pulled the cam out and all specs were good. They then looked at the cylinder head and valves. One of the valves had a nick in it and was slightly bent. They feel this is the issue. The team leader wants an entirely new cylinder head (and so do I but I would really prefer a whole new engine!) and not just new parts to rebuild it. I should hear back today to see what FCA’s answer will be.
I had to cancel our first trip with her. We should have left this morning. They’ve had her longer than we have and we’re about to go pay sales tax on a truck we don’t have. This is so disappointing.

[spoon059]

OP, hope the fix works. If they diagnosed it correctly and replaced the right parts, it should be fine. You should know soon enough. We can "want", but that doesn't mean we're gonna "get".

Good luck.

[nodepositnoretu]

OP sorry for your pain,I went thru a lemon law action back in 84 it’s not fun being to the dealer 15 times.
I hope your future is filled with great trips and memories, if you have your health you have everything.good luck,and happy trails, mike

[bsbeedub]

Yes because nothing goes wrong with those brands. Let’s make it a brand war. That was really a stupid thing to say.

[GeoBoy]

Don’t spend money on a lawyer, just get rid of that Ram and buy a Ford or GM truck.

[Dave_H_M]

Best of luck there, it just may be a winner.

[bguy]

Like every profession there are good mechanics, so so mechanics and then there are the ones you wish didn't own tools.
At least you have lots of warranty left.
My advice is to use it and not baby it at least short term.
Best of luck.

[bsbeedub]

The saga has ended but not to my liking. FCA refused to give me a new engine and a new cylinder head arrived at the dealer yesterday and the engine was reassembled today. We have our truck back so we’ll see how the repair goes. I’m going to have to trust the mechanics who did the work.
I could have complained and refused the new head until the cows came home but, you know, I really needed my truck. Transportation and all. We don’t have the extra money to hire a lawyer so we were really at FCA’s mercy.
I appreciate all the suggestions and info and if there is another chapter to this story, I’ll let you know.

[Ralph_Cramden]

Huntindog wrote:

joshuaj wrote:
if it is done properly.

Key words.
From what I have read here, and with my personal experience with dealers over 35 years...... That is a long shot.

Isn't it ever lol....maybe the longest shot ever.

[Huntindog]

joshuaj wrote:
if it is done properly.

Key words.
From what I have read here, and with my personal experience with dealers over 35 years...... That is a long shot.

[Ralph_Cramden]

joshuajim wrote:
There’s a lot of shade tree mechanics whose best qualities are throwing shade and wanna be lawyers on this and most other sites. I owned and operated a transmission shop and had good mechanics (NOT technicians). When we rebuilt a transmission and it left the shop it was as good or better than OEM. There is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with repairing an engine if it is done properly.

I agree with all of that. That being said if I bought a new truck tomorrow, with a price that could be in excess 50K up to who knows what 70K?...80K?, I'll be damned if I would accept nothing short of an entire new off the transporter truck in the OPs situation. I would foot the bill to make it happen if required, and that would not be with an RV net attorney. I would not accept a major engine repair or rebuild on a truck with 500 miles on the ticker if was the late Smokey Yunick or Robert Yates doing the work. It's a matter of principle.

[Perrysburg_Dodg]

joshuajim wrote:
There’s a lot of shade tree mechanics whose best qualities are throwing shade and wanna be lawyers on this and most other sites. I owned and operated a transmission shop and had good mechanics (NOT technicians). When we rebuilt a transmission and it left the shop it was as good or better than OEM. There is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with repairing an engine if it is done properly.

Amen, I have been saying this forever. Same holds true to bodywork, if done correctly the vehicle will be as good or better than new.

Don

[Perrysburg_Dodg]

Well with the number of vendor audits we run every week Troy, you and Fordlover must be the only shops that are audited like that. Don't get me wrong they go through a pile of documents and it takes four days to get through it.

But with the amount of junk coming in just our plant from so called ISO certified vendors these guys must be putting on one hell of a dog and pony shop to get their certification!

Don

[joshuajim]

There’s a lot of shade tree mechanics whose best qualities are throwing shade and wanna be lawyers on this and most other sites. I owned and operated a transmission shop and had good mechanics (NOT technicians). When we rebuilt a transmission and it left the shop it was as good or better than OEM. There is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with repairing an engine if it is done properly.

[FishOnOne]

Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:

BenK wrote:
Missing is re-certification. As once ISO-9000 compliance is awarded...there is NO retesting and self regulation is the order of the day

I disagree with the above.

ISO requires audit's to be performed by your internal audit teams on a monthly basis. They audit all department SOP's, manufacturing compliance to Work Instructions, Quality Plan, Monitoring Plan, FOD compliance, Risk Assessments, Supplier Audits, KPI's, product yields, training matrix's, NCR process, CARS and along with an annual audit by outside auditors.

The most important job for management is to support and promote a Quality Culture.

Our plant is audited every year and for almost everything you posted above Troy. When they show up they are treated to a catered breakfast, lunch and than taken out for dinner. This is the norm everywhere. Makes you wounder what goes on at those dinners doesn't it? Kind of like our training centers (BTW this is going on at Ford and GM too),"keep them fat, dumb and happy" LOL

Don

Like I said the most important job for management is to support and promote a Quality Culture. I can assure you when the ISO auditors audit my shop, they audit very thoroughly and now that we're AS9100D (Aerospace) is like ISO9000 on steroids and the auditors are even more detailed and thorough so it doesn't go on everywhere like you think it does.

[Fordlover]

Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:

BenK wrote:
Missing is re-certification. As once ISO-9000 compliance is awarded...there is NO retesting and self regulation is the order of the day

I disagree with the above.

ISO requires audit's to be performed by your internal audit teams on a monthly basis. They audit all department SOP's, manufacturing compliance to Work Instructions, Quality Plan, Monitoring Plan, FOD compliance, Risk Assessments, Supplier Audits, KPI's, product yields, training matrix's, NCR process, CARS and along with an annual audit by outside auditors.

The most important job for management is to support and promote a Quality Culture.

Our plant is audited every year and for almost everything you posted above Troy. When they show up they are treated to a catered breakfast, lunch and than taken out for dinner. This is the norm everywhere. Makes you wounder what goes on at those dinners doesn't it? Kind of like our training centers (BTW this is going on at Ford and GM too),"keep them fat, dumb and happy" LOL

Don

Union land must work very differently than down here in right to work states. We are audited frequently to maintain our ISO, both internally and externally. No meal, no trips to the strip club, just a meeting room, cold bottled water, and a poor sap from a few selected departments that have to pull up document after document as requested.

Findings are a regular part of the audits, and are revisited at each follow up audit to ensure the finding was corrected.