Dodge Tow Vehicles

[rtguy007 74]

Okay... so now I'm worried about the 2013 we're going to look at (even though it's not part of the recall).  Found a Ford F250 that I like... but even IF we could get the dealer to come down, it would still be $5k more than the Dodge.   Upsetting....

I own a 2012 Ram that is right in the midst of this. I'd buy another Ram without concern.

Same here. My 2013 1500 was fantastic. You would have to pry my cold dead body out of the 2015 2500 drivers seat to get me to part with it.

Look at it this way, every manufacturer has issues. Ram is just in the spotlight now because 2 issues popped up quickly in the media and the one recall has been around for a while.

Regardless of what you choose, you will always have things that need maintenance and repair. Just like your TT will over time. Nothing stays in perfect shape forever.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

A Greetings from Wisconsin

 

  :hello-smiley:

 

 

 

 

Go ahead and look at the Dodge.  My Ram is one of the ones in the buyback, and there is no way I would give it back (unless they wanted to really give me a great deal).  The truck is great, and the recall was done a year and a half ago.  Much of this is punishment for a slow response to recalls, but in reality most of it is not deserved.  The pinion nut recall behind the Ram 1500 buyback offer has been available for some time, but I guess the government feels Chrysler was not aggressive enough with people who failed to get the recall done.  

 

Again, I wouldn't worry about the recalls, especially with the truck you're looking at.

 

Same here. My 2013 1500 was fantastic. You would have to pry my cold dead body out of the 2015 2500 drivers seat to get me to part with it.

Look at it this way, every manufacturer has issues. Ram is just in the spotlight now because 2 issues popped up quickly in the media and the one recall has been around for a while.

Regardless of what you choose, you will always have things that need maintenance and repair. Just like your TT will over time. Nothing stays in perfect shape forever.

 

Tom does still want to look at it... his preference is the Ram, mine is the F250.  Of course, we're camping this weekend so that makes everything a little trickier.  I'll just be glad when the search/purchase is over.

[MacDR 1]

We have the 2013 Ram "Cummins "... Best truck I have ever pulled with.

Greetings from Wisconsin

[southernview -- Ray 25]

The defective steering is the tie rod issue on some of the HD Rams.  The bulk of the recall and the buybacks are the ram 1500, 2008 - 2012 for the pinion  nut recall.  I don't get that one.  I had the pinion nut recall done a year and a half ago, and so have 60% of the other Ram 1500 owners to which this applies.  The remaining 40% have not pursued the recall and the NHTSA says that Ram was not aggressive enough going after those who did not get it performed.  I don't quite get that.  Chrysler was slow with the parts on the recalls, especially as they were trying to recover and re-establish their supply line.  However this is WAY overblown.

 

The NHTSA was right on this one, Chrysler was either negligent or their dealers were negligent.  I own a 2011 Ram and had all kinds of trouble getting the pinion nut recall done.  Chrysler says the recall was first advertised on February 13, 2013, but I didn't get notification of the recall until, sometime in November of that year and the repair didn't take place until October 2, 2014.

 

As a note, I must say that this truck doesn't get daily use and, in fact, sits for long periods of time without being driven.  Due to that, I admit to not pursuing the matter as diligently as I probably should have, but here is my experience.  I first called my dealer in November of 2013 about this recall and was informed that they did not yet have the parts available to make the repair.  I was told, at this time, that I would be notified when to come in for the repair, but heard nothing from them.  Note, that this was nearly 7 months after they claim the recall was advertised, and they still don't have the parts?  I received another letter advising me of the recall, around March of 2014, and visited the dealer at that time.  The service advisor said that they still didn't have the parts for the repair and entered my information into his computer saying that I would receive a call when the parts arrived.  Again, I heard nothing from them.  On October 2, 2014, I took the truck in for another minor problem and inquired about the recall while there.  This was the occasion that I finally got the recall taken care of.

 

Again, let me stress that I might have gotten this done a little faster if I had pursued it properly, however you can see that they were still claiming they didn't have the parts available as late as March of 2014.  I did read on other forums that the unavailability of parts was experienced by others trying to get this repair.  My Son is a diesel mechanic and had checked the pinion nut on a couple of occasions just to make sure it wasn't unsafe to drive.

 

Having said all of that, I can still say that my experiences with the Ram have been positive.  I owned two Dodge Dakotas and a 2004 Ram before we purchased the one we have now, and I have had no problems of any consequence over this time.  It is important to note that the recall for the steering problem does not apply to all of the vehicles indicated on the recall notice.  There is a website that you can visit and find out if your particular vehicle is one of those affected.  I have checked mine and found that it is not in the recall and I have never had any steering issues.  If I were looking for a new tow vehicle, I would include the Ram in my search, and if you are interested in a used one, have the seller or yourself check the website and see if it is part of the recall.

 

http://recalls.mopar.com/

[ependydad...Doug 176]

One of my experiences echo that of Ray's- one of the recalls that I had done, I had to call and ask a few times before it was done. The first time I called, they said that the part for the recall fix itself had been recalled.

[stacktester 78]

Had this been mentioned this recall is for 4x4 models only is what I was told.

[djsamuel 322]

Had this been mentioned this recall is for 4x4 models only is what I was told.

The pinion nut recall is for several models.  My 2WD 2009 Ram 1500 had this recall performed a year and a half ago.  The tie rod recall, I believe, is for 2500 and up vehicles, I think both 2WD and 4WD.  You can go to the Ram owners section of their web site and enter your VIN to see what recalls are applicable.

[Humphrey Bear…Rob 42]

it's a crapshoot - if you get a ram (and stay up on maintenance in your front end!!) you may never have a problem.   If it starts the death wobble...you can throw money at it all you want, and you may stop it for 30K miles, but having lived thru 2 Rams with Death Wobble and the inherent danger it poses, especially while towing - not worth it to me. 

 

Forgive me if I'm repeating anything, but to be clear - I've owned every brand of truck, Ford, Dodge, Chevy - never had a motor problem with any of them.  The ONLY issue I've had was the death wobble on my 07 Ram 2500 at about 100K miles - dropped $1500 into it and couldn't get it to stop (Dodge denied there was an issue).  Traded it for a 2013 Ram 3500 (supposedly updated the suspension so it COULDN'T wobble - and then had the wobble at 21K miles....that's right 21K miles. Took it to dealer and they said it was out of line....Lined it up and it wobbled the very next day. Had to cancel a last minute camping trip because my wife refused to ride in it.

 

Folks who have never experienced it have a hard time understanding how violent and difficult to control the vehicle when it happens.. 

 

Took a bath trading it for my 2015 Chevy, but my piece of mind is worth it.    Good luck with whatever you buy, but if you see a 2013 Charcoal 3500 Megacab dually with 23K miles on the used lot - STAY AWAY!!!

 

I loved my Ram's  - the Cummins is hard to beat.  But for Dodge to try to say there is no problem and then this recall.  I'm done, no Chrysler product will ever drip oil in my driveway again.  I truly hated buying a "Gubment Motors" truck, but what are you going to do?  At least now when I come to a bridge abutment or pothole my wife doesn't flinch....