Joined
·
13 Posts
I tried posting this earlier this week, but for some reason it didn't post, so I'll try again.
Let me start by saying that I bought my PM new in 2014. Overall, I've been happy with it - it's made me some money driving as an expeditor and courier, but it has had its fair share of troubles. Before I go further, I would like to disclaim that I am not one to complain - I would not be writing this post without good reason.
I have a 2014 PM 2500 159" hi roof with the gas engine. I bought it with just 13 miles on it. In just two short years I've racked over 141K miles. I've always maintained to spec according to the manual and I've also performed recommended maintenance from my Ram service center. I started using synthetic oil that he recommended almost immediately. I don't drive her too hard and I don't load her too heavy. I would say it's only loaded about 50% of the time and my average payload is probably less than 1,000lbs. I would also estimate that at least 80% of the miles on her are highway. I've recently started doing more local pick up and deliveries as a courier, but still, she's on the highway most of the time.
I've had a number of small issues with it since I bought it. Namely a leaky transmission that was under warranty and fixed by the dealer, a leaky radiator that was replaced by the dealer, also under warranty. I've had an electrical issue that was traced back to a computer installed by my old company where the vehicle would lose all electrical power if left sitting more than 48 hours (apparently the computer drew too much power from the battery). I've gotten a handful of CEL that were related to simple fixes such as cleaning the air filter and replacing ignition coils. Finally, I had a light ticking noise coming the engine, thought it was a sticky valve or lifter. I don't remember what it was, but the dealer took care of it after having it for a few days.
Again, these are minor issues that were solved quickly.
But last Thursday, September 8, with approximately 141,941 miles on the OD, I received a flashing CEL immediately followed with a "Service Engine" message. The van start running really rough and started making a very loud knocking sound.
I was on the interstate at this time and empty. I slowed down, got in the right lane and go off at the next exit. After pulling into a parking lot, I shut down the engine and popped the hood. I thought maybe the radiator fan had broken or that something was hitting it. That wasn't it. I thought some how I had ran out of oil, so I checked all the fluids. Fluids were good. I waiting about 30 minutes before attempting to restart. When I did, the knocking was a lot louder. I could see the engine shaking. I tapped the gas to see what would happen at a higher RPM - the noise got louder and faster. At RPMs higher than 3,000 the knocking noise is accompanied by what I can only describe as metal to metal contact.
I had a OBD tester so I checked the codes. The only code that came up was for a Cylinder 1 misfire. I called my mechanic and told him what was going on and he told me that I should not drive on it and I should get it towed.
So, after waiting 5 hours for a tow truck, it was towed back to home base, about 90 miles away.
The next day, my mechanic took a look at it. Sure enough, cylinder # 1 was destroyed and the whole top of the engine was coming apart (according to him). He said the knock I was hearing was from a blown bearing and the loud thuds I was hearing was from the broken piston.
I then had another mechanic take a look at it as I wanted a second opinion. Sure enough, his opinion was the same.
This caught me completely by surprise. There was no indication anywhere that there was an impending issue. I've always maintained it to FCA spec and always changed the oil as soon as the light came on.
After doing some research on this forum, it looks like I am not the only one that has experienced a similar issue. I'm not sure what you guys did to fix it (replace engine, repair, etc) and I'm not sure who paid for it (you or Chrysler). When I called the Ram Customer line, I was told that because it's out of warranty they "decline to provide any assistance." I've called them several times and spoke with several people, they all said more or less the same thing. When I asked if there was any record of this happening to other customers they said no. My service tech at the dealer basically told me there isn't anything they can do and that they can't even look at it until next week. I'm not paying dealer prices just for them to tell me the same thing and charge me $3-400 to open it up again.
Clearly this should not have happened. I'm curious what you guys would do in my situation and what those that have experienced this have done. As I said, It's at 141,947 miles - almost 42K over the warranty. I've been quoted $7-9,000 for an engine swap.
The really sad thing is that the van only bluebooks at about $9-10,000. The rate at which these depreciate is a whole other conversation, but the trouble is I still owe $27,000 on it and now it's completely worthless without an working engine.
Any ideas or suggestions?
Let me start by saying that I bought my PM new in 2014. Overall, I've been happy with it - it's made me some money driving as an expeditor and courier, but it has had its fair share of troubles. Before I go further, I would like to disclaim that I am not one to complain - I would not be writing this post without good reason.
I have a 2014 PM 2500 159" hi roof with the gas engine. I bought it with just 13 miles on it. In just two short years I've racked over 141K miles. I've always maintained to spec according to the manual and I've also performed recommended maintenance from my Ram service center. I started using synthetic oil that he recommended almost immediately. I don't drive her too hard and I don't load her too heavy. I would say it's only loaded about 50% of the time and my average payload is probably less than 1,000lbs. I would also estimate that at least 80% of the miles on her are highway. I've recently started doing more local pick up and deliveries as a courier, but still, she's on the highway most of the time.
I've had a number of small issues with it since I bought it. Namely a leaky transmission that was under warranty and fixed by the dealer, a leaky radiator that was replaced by the dealer, also under warranty. I've had an electrical issue that was traced back to a computer installed by my old company where the vehicle would lose all electrical power if left sitting more than 48 hours (apparently the computer drew too much power from the battery). I've gotten a handful of CEL that were related to simple fixes such as cleaning the air filter and replacing ignition coils. Finally, I had a light ticking noise coming the engine, thought it was a sticky valve or lifter. I don't remember what it was, but the dealer took care of it after having it for a few days.
Again, these are minor issues that were solved quickly.
But last Thursday, September 8, with approximately 141,941 miles on the OD, I received a flashing CEL immediately followed with a "Service Engine" message. The van start running really rough and started making a very loud knocking sound.
I was on the interstate at this time and empty. I slowed down, got in the right lane and go off at the next exit. After pulling into a parking lot, I shut down the engine and popped the hood. I thought maybe the radiator fan had broken or that something was hitting it. That wasn't it. I thought some how I had ran out of oil, so I checked all the fluids. Fluids were good. I waiting about 30 minutes before attempting to restart. When I did, the knocking was a lot louder. I could see the engine shaking. I tapped the gas to see what would happen at a higher RPM - the noise got louder and faster. At RPMs higher than 3,000 the knocking noise is accompanied by what I can only describe as metal to metal contact.
I had a OBD tester so I checked the codes. The only code that came up was for a Cylinder 1 misfire. I called my mechanic and told him what was going on and he told me that I should not drive on it and I should get it towed.
So, after waiting 5 hours for a tow truck, it was towed back to home base, about 90 miles away.
The next day, my mechanic took a look at it. Sure enough, cylinder # 1 was destroyed and the whole top of the engine was coming apart (according to him). He said the knock I was hearing was from a blown bearing and the loud thuds I was hearing was from the broken piston.
I then had another mechanic take a look at it as I wanted a second opinion. Sure enough, his opinion was the same.
This caught me completely by surprise. There was no indication anywhere that there was an impending issue. I've always maintained it to FCA spec and always changed the oil as soon as the light came on.
After doing some research on this forum, it looks like I am not the only one that has experienced a similar issue. I'm not sure what you guys did to fix it (replace engine, repair, etc) and I'm not sure who paid for it (you or Chrysler). When I called the Ram Customer line, I was told that because it's out of warranty they "decline to provide any assistance." I've called them several times and spoke with several people, they all said more or less the same thing. When I asked if there was any record of this happening to other customers they said no. My service tech at the dealer basically told me there isn't anything they can do and that they can't even look at it until next week. I'm not paying dealer prices just for them to tell me the same thing and charge me $3-400 to open it up again.
Clearly this should not have happened. I'm curious what you guys would do in my situation and what those that have experienced this have done. As I said, It's at 141,947 miles - almost 42K over the warranty. I've been quoted $7-9,000 for an engine swap.
The really sad thing is that the van only bluebooks at about $9-10,000. The rate at which these depreciate is a whole other conversation, but the trouble is I still owe $27,000 on it and now it's completely worthless without an working engine.
Any ideas or suggestions?
