Dodge ram

[BigBlue1]

I know enough people with Dodges to kinda avoid...Suspensions over the decades have not been improved much and cause a ton of issues..The mechanicals seem to hold up well, styling is very nice and the interiors are pretty good. The Hemi seems to be a good motor along with the older diesels..Don't know enough to comment on the new coal burners though. To each his own though--been slammed enough on this site for being a GM guy.

I don't think you know as much about Rams as you feel you do. The suspension in the 4th gen 1500 (starting 2009) was revolutionary. It is _the_ thing that pushed the Rams into competition with Ford and Chevy and resulted in them taking a huge bite out of market share. The other brands didn't catch up to the car-like ride for years (if they even have yet). What are these suspension problems you talk about for recent (last 7 years?) Rams?

Rob

 

[tjkubota93]

They are cheaper because they use cheaper parts.
All brands have issues. Get what you like.

 

[jeremymdacosta]

I got the 2016 Ram Laramie crew in late 2015. Test drove all other manufacturers before making that decision. Hands down the most comfortable ride. 50k miles on the rig now. With the 3.0 liter EcoDiesel, I get 25-27 hwy mpg when I don't drive stupid on a trip. Made it from my home in Raleigh, NC to my pop's house in Chagrin falls, OH on one tank of fuel 600miles and still had enough left to make it to the station to fuel up the next day. 16mpg pulling our 28' camper. 21mpg City driving and I'm a lead foot.

 

[JFoy]

I do IT work at a GM dealership. For what it is worth, we get a lot of RAMs and Tacomas for trade-ins. Most are five to ten years old.

As for recalls, Silverado and Sierra 2500s have had a diesel filter sensor issue, but it's a quick fix. Still, from what I've heard, with all the tech in vehicles these days, it is expected there will be recalls on all new model vehicles today be they GM, Ford, etc.

 

[rcooley4]

DON'T BUY A RAM 1500 ECO DIESEL!!! They spontaneously combust! This was my bran new Ram....

2016 Ram Eco Diesel spontaneously combusted 1 - YouTube

I lost a lot of money because of Ram.....



Sent from my SM-G950U using TractorByNet mobile app

 

[blackrams]

DON'T BUY A RAM 1500 ECO DIESEL!!! They spontaneously combust! This was my bran new Ram....

2016 Ram Eco Diesel spontaneously combusted 1 - YouTube

I lost a lot of money because of Ram.....
Sent from my SM-G950U using TractorByNet mobile app

Remember the 4.5L *Duramax? If you’re a GM truck enthusiast, chances are you do, and chances are you have strong feelings about its early demise while still in development. This was mostly due to the fact that the engine was becoming an expensive proposition, and still wasn’t meeting emissions requirements. Another may have been due to the fact that General Motors was developing another diesel engine that could have been used in its trucks and SUV models; a 3.0L V6.

But not just any 3.0L diesel V6. It’s the very 3.0L V6 Chrysler-Fiat is utilizing in vehicles like the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram 1500 pickup truck.
It started back when General Motors purchased*50 percent of Italian engine maker VM Motori in July 2007. Not long after came the announcement that GM and VM Motori were collaborating on a 2.9-liter turbodiesel V6 engine for the European version of the Cadillac CTS, which was to be launched in 2009. As many will not soon forget, GM declared bankruptcy that summer, derailing the plans for a diesel CTS in Europe, among other things. Meanwhile, VM continued developing the engine, but it was never used in a GM vehicle. Sadly.

Fast forward to February 2011, where Fiat bought 50 percent of VM Motori. Lo and behold, there was a certain new V6 diesel engine ready for applications. According to Automotive News, there were some design changes from the original, but Chysler-Fiat will have the chance to use GM’s own hardware against them, labeled as the EcoDiesel V6.

While GM has not announced plans for a diesel for its light-duty trucks or SUVs, VM Motori is free to sell it to other customers, and the company may put the appealing engine to use.*And the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra have a peculiar sticker under their hoods hinting that there’s a diesel engine in the cards down the road.

Chrysler EcoDiesel V6 Development Paid For By General Motors | GM Authority

If it ain't got a Cummins in it, I won't drive it.

Rams

 

[jeremymdacosta]

I am in a customer support role in my career and have some common sense. I would think that if there was a chronic issue with random vehicle fires that the 2016 RAM would be all over the news and many cases of this same issue would be happening. It looks like the fire started in your motor compartment. Nothing just spontaneously combusts without there being an underlying issue created by human error or an animal being involved. I would believe that in manufacturing something was not connected properly or wired properly. There is a bigger chance that a random mouse or squirrel had stored some nuts in the motor and after a long warm drive had caught fire. I have seen this happen before from rodents chewing fuel lines and making nests or storing food. I do drive a RAM and love the 2016 ecodiesel. If mine catches fire, I will still have the same conclusion. Let someone investigate this issue and tell us what the qualified diagnosis comes back as. I would think for Legal purposes, Dodge would have this truck inspected. Have you contacted Dodge corporate? How are they handling it? Just seems like you have tried tarnishing a whole brand without providing any form of diagnostic proof or giving the manufacturer a chance to figure out what happened. I hope you do not take offense to this response and am not trying to pick any sort of fight. It really sucks that this happened to you and I hope that your insurance company is taking care of you.

DON'T BUY A RAM 1500 ECO DIESEL!!! They spontaneously combust! This was my bran new Ram....

2016 Ram Eco Diesel spontaneously combusted 1 - YouTube

I lost a lot of money because of Ram.....



Sent from my SM-G950U using TractorByNet mobile app

 

[blackrams]

DON'T BUY A RAM 1500 ECO DIESEL!!! They spontaneously combust! This was my bran new Ram....
2016 Ram Eco Diesel spontaneously combusted 1 - YouTube

I lost a lot of money because of Ram.....
Sent from my SM-G950U using TractorByNet mobile app

I am in a customer support role in my career and have some common sense. I would think that if there was a chronic issue with random vehicle fires that the 2016 RAM would be all over the news and many cases of this same issue would be happening. It looks like the fire started in your motor compartment. Nothing just spontaneously combusts without there being an underlying issue created by human error or an animal being involved. I would believe that in manufacturing something was not connected properly or wired properly. There is a bigger chance that a random mouse or squirrel had stored some nuts in the motor and after a long warm drive had caught fire. I have seen this happen before from rodents chewing fuel lines and making nests or storing food. I do drive a RAM and love the 2016 ecodiesel. If mine catches fire, I will still have the same conclusion. Let someone investigate this issue and tell us what the qualified diagnosis comes back as. I would think for Legal purposes, Dodge would have this truck inspected. Have you contacted Dodge corporate? How are they handling it? Just seems like you have tried tarnishing a whole brand without providing any form of diagnostic proof or giving the manufacturer a chance to figure out what happened. I hope you do not take offense to this response and am not trying to pick any sort of fight. It really sucks that this happened to you and I hope that your insurance company is taking care of you.

I'm curious and wonder if there were any "after market" upgrades done to this Ram that burnt up?

My son runs with a crowd that likes to "soup up" their diesels, two of which have had engine fires. One a Ford, the other a Chevy, not that it really matters what brand they were because, in both cases, the tweaking is what caused the fuel fire and ended up costing a bunch of money to get the vehicles back in service. Not as bad as what was shown in that video but, won't try to suggest that I don't wonder why.

 

[timswi]

I don't think you know as much about Rams as you feel you do. The suspension in the 4th gen 1500 (starting 2009) was revolutionary. It is _the_ thing that pushed the Rams into competition with Ford and Chevy and resulted in them taking a huge bite out of market share. The other brands didn't catch up to the car-like ride for years (if they even have yet). What are these suspension problems you talk about for recent (last 7 years?) Rams?

Rob

I never said I was a RAM expert. Friends who have the 2010 and after are replacing wheel bearings/ball joints etc earlier than they should have to--Well south of 100K. Same issues that Rams have had over the last 20 some years. Ride quality isn't what I was referring to because it's something I could care less about on any truck.

I NEVER said Rams were a bad truck, in fact I said they are pretty nice. Lighten up some.

 

[mopardude318]

I had a 2013 Ram 1500 I bought new in 2013, 2 wheel drive, with the 5.7 Hemi and the 8 speed trans. it was a fun, fast excellent truck. I owned it for 3 years and put 80,000 miles on it. I had no problems with the truck. the ride, although I don't care about ride quality in a truck, was very smooth. The interior was nicely trimmed and comfy. I traded it in because I had a serious need for 4 wheel drive.

At the same time, In 2014 my girlfriend and I bought a brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 3.0 liter EcoDiesel.We had problems with the Ecodiesel the first year of ownership. at first it was the diesel catalist, they replaced under warranty. then it was a catalyst sensor, a dpf sensor, and something else, some other kind of sensor. All replaced under warranty. These were minor annoyances though, the check engine light would come on, and we couldnt remote start it. Other than that, the next 2 years the Jeep treated us just fine, it had great fuel mileage for what it was, about 28-30 mpg. the interior and level of comfort was excellent. the 8 speed transmission and 4 wheel drive system was Excellent, this jeep could go anywhere.

we traded it in with 75,000 miles this year for a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee TrailHawk with the 5.7 Hemi, which we love even more. decked out interior with red stitching, park assist which is hard to let the car park for you, but it does a great job. i prefer to park myself, so I never use it. the 4 wheel drive and transfer case are excellent, it travels up our steep, muddy dirt road up to our ranch house with ease. The 5.7 hemi has excellent passing power on the highway, something the Jeep Ecodiesel never had. Owning this Jeep makes me want the SRT. which we perhaps, might get in a couple years. lol.

I'd love to have a new Ram 3500, but for now I daily drive this old cummins 24Valve.