[El Guapo]

For the people who have owned Promasters for a while and have racked up some miles, are you happy with your van? Have you had many mechanical issues that you've had to deal with?

Im in the verge of buying a Promaster and have been spending a lot of time on this forum reading about them trying to make a final decision (and have been reading about vans in general for the past months).

I'm reading about issues people are having with things like very expensive rear brake issues, flywheels and flex plates cracking, transmission failures, etc. I'm curious about how common these issues are or if they're just flukes.

 

[BillMac]

Great van, No,issues at 60k for my first year.
Disclaimer, my first one was bought back die to a minor programming issue and an inept Dealer. FCA made it right and I'm very pleased. On the issues you read about here the reality is it's only a very very small percentage of owners that ever have issues. This forum and others like it provides an outlet for owners to discuss what we like and dislike as well as provide a great resource for projects and tips. On the complaint side many minor issues get blown way out of proportion as the posts on problems tend to be well read and many offer comments. My biggest suggestion would be to buy from a dealer with a highly rated Service Dept so if in the very slim chance you have a problem they can handle it quickly and professionally.

 

[jostalli]

Fairly early build 2014 159 3500 with zero issues. I did take it in several times to get the recalls done but that's it. Oil changes and tires rotated. I'm living and traveling in it full time.

 

[Skaggydog]

Only gripe so far

"There is no number for home. Would you like me to call the mobile number?" "Say the list number of the person you would like to call." "Would you like me to call towing?" "I’m sorry, say call, and then the whole name, or dial, and then the number you would like to call." "I’m sorry, I did not understand. Please try again."
"I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that."

 

[MsNomer]

September 2013 build 136" 1500 gasser bought September 2014. 41,000 miles of bliss. Minor body issues, mainly rear doors and slider, addressed competently and immediately while we waited at Davis-Moore in Wichita.

Absolutely LOVE this van. I used to love my Toyotas, but I don't like to drive them anymore.

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

Same deal, 2015 diesel, no issues, best highway vehicle I have ever driven, great engine and transmission, no downshifts pulling like a train engine, comfortable, super economic to drive (<1/2 the cost per mile as my F150), recalls done quickly and efficiently by TriCity Ram in Somersworth NH. Those things are RARE, VERY RARE!

 

[Roblee]

I'm with Shaggydog; the handsfree responses are often frustrating. Maybe its poor microphone function? Otherwise no probs with '15 159 gas @ 20K

 

[GaryBIS]

Hi,
We have 31K miles on our 2014PM gasser -- just got back for a 5000 mile trip down to the Texas gulf coast (a winter break from Montana

Overall very happy with it.
We had a problem with squeaky brakes that took a long time to get solved, but fine now.
The only other things I have been back to the dealer for are a couple of recalls which they took care of efficiently.

I have yet to pay the dealer a single dollar for anything except oil changes.

Performance and driveability have been just fine.
This is our PM: http://www.buildagreenrv.com/our-conversion/

Gary

 

[Phranc]

2014 3500 ext gasser... comfortable to drive, great interior for DIY RV, no unscheduled maintence yet, and 17-18mpg... what's not to like?

 

[Rookerlw]

I had a 2016 118" WB diesel that had some emission problems. Like BillMac, FCA made it right and bought back the vehicle. Only issue is that epa stopped the production of my replacement diesel Promaster. I've finally given up and ordered a gasser.

Since I've been without my own vehicle for many months waiting on the epa fiasco, I've rented Promasters from Enterprise several times - either the 136 low roof or the 159 high roof. Absolutely love them. My new 136 high roof gasser is on order and scheduled to ship on March 15th. Wish it was the diesel as I loved the 28-29 mpg and the M40 transmission. I find I get about 18-19 mpg on the rental gassers and they tend to downshift on minor inclines even when unloaded. Just the nature of the beast. The diesel only downshifted on major grades of 5% or greater and sometimes not even then if my load was light.

Rented the Ford Transit once, but actually much preferred the front wheel drive of the Promaster.

Lex

 

[MsNomer]

Had a chat with the Promaster mechanics at my dealership after they changed the oil. They said the PM's have been nearly trouble-free, especially the gassers. Biggest complaint is that original tires don't last long. My Vancos are still OK at 41,000.

 

[keeponvaning]

I changed my vancos at about 64k and they head at least 10k more miles on them!

 

[charity's van]

I like the van, but i've had transmission issues dated back to dec 2015 that are still unresolved. my van has been out of use since june of 2016. it's still broken. FCA has been no real help at all. Dealers refuse to work on my van by telling me they dont/wont do warranty work. I picked it up last monday at a dealer (Benchmark CDJ) that charged me $1847 for parts they put on trying to diagnose my problem. They say I need a transmission,l but told me to take it elsewhere because it don't pay enough for them to do the work. Did I mention it is still broken. I bought the van to work in. I am very disappointed that I'm unable to work in it. The 25mpg was helping my bottom line. The techs have no experience and the dealers are of no help. It has been to 4 and twice that many have refused to work on it. I am not alone in my transmission problems I have met a few others and been contacted through this forum and another. Most of the guys bragging about their trouble free vans dont have hardly any miles on them, mine too was mostly trouble free till about 55,000 miles; since then i've struggled to put any miles on it with it constantly being in a shop for weeks. Most diagnose is that they cannot duplicate the problem and no codes appear. I took 1 service manager ( Homer Skelton CDJ) for a ride after this and had my issue appear on the ride; his reaction "you do have a problem, but I can't solve it take it somewhere else" . I don't know what the issue is with headlights but I've changed 7. Most owners I meet have changed more than me.

 

[KeepMeMoving]

I like the van, but i've had transmission issues dated back to dec 2015 that are still unresolved. my van has been out of use since june of 2016. it's still broken. FCA has been no real help at all. Dealers refuse to work on my van by telling me they dont/wont do warranty work. I picked it up last monday at a dealer (Benchmark CDJ) that charged me $1847 for parts they put on trying to diagnose my problem. They say I need a transmission,l but told me to take it elsewhere because it don't pay enough for them to do the work. Did I mention it is still broken. I bought the van to work in. I am very disappointed that I'm unable to work in it. The 25mpg was helping my bottom line. The techs have no experience and the dealers are of no help. It has been to 4 and twice that many have refused to work on it. I am not alone in my transmission problems I have met a few others and been contacted through this forum and another. Most of the guys bragging about their trouble free vans dont have hardly any miles on them, mine too was mostly trouble free till about 55,000 miles; since then i've struggled to put any miles on it with it constantly being in a shop for weeks. Most diagnose is that they cannot duplicate the problem and no codes appear. I took 1 service manager ( Homer Skelton CDJ) for a ride after this and had my issue appear on the ride; his reaction "you do have a problem, but I can't solve it take it somewhere else" . I don't know what the issue is with headlights but I've changed 7. Most owners I meet have changed more than me.

We also had transmission issues with our gas van right after we bought ours but the dealer fixed them quickly. Is suspect with 25 mpg yours was a diesel?

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

Multiple lights blown out is almost always poor voltage control on the alternator and its circuit. You have reported all those reluctant dealers to FCA right? Your transmission internals are warranted to 100K. No excuse! My dealer’s techs have been very knowledgeable about anything I have discussed and yes, I have quizzed them. However with absolutely no issues I don't have much to compare too. I am still under 55K.

 

[Ed Sebring]

2015 3500 Promaster. 13000 miles. Very easy to drive. No problems.

 

[flyingfork]

I have a 2015 159 WB 2500 w/ the pentastar engine. No problems or complaints so far.

 

[komac]

Engine Problem

I have a 2014 Promaster with the 3.6 liter gas engine. It's an RV Winnebago "Trend" that uses the Promaster chassis. We bought it new in early 2015 and have been quite happy with it until last week. We were on vacation in St. Augustine, Florida. I noticed a clicking/clacking noise from the engine which has less than 16 thousand miles on it. I took it to the Dodge Ram dealer in St. Augustine, but was told they do not work on Promasters. They told me to go to Daytona Beach, the nearest Ram dealer who is Promaster certified. I drove there slowly. After taking it to their service department and waiting about 30 minutes, a service technician told me that they believe the noise is the sound of a cracked flywheel. I was strongly urged not to drive it anymore. I called the Dodge Customer Assistance Center. They were very polite and also urged me not to drive it. They then switched me to the "Promaster Team." That number, by the way, is 866-726-4636. They registered me and have given me a case number. We rented a car and returned to our Tennessee home last night, 13 February 2017. I'm waiting now to hear from the Daytona Beach dealer. In all my years of owning vehicles, trucks, cars, motorhomes, etc., I've never had a "cracked flywheel" problem. I have no idea how that would even occur, unless the metal was defective when installed by the factory. I'm writing this to see whether anyone else on this forum has had a similar incident. Komac

 

[charity's van]

We also had transmission issues with our gas van right after we bought ours but the dealer fixed them quickly. Is suspect with 25 mpg yours was a diesel?

mines diesel

 

[charity's van]

We also had transmission issues with our gas van right after we bought ours but the dealer fixed them quickly. Is suspect with 25 mpg yours was a diesel?

Multiple lights blown out is almost always poor voltage control on the alternator and its circuit. You have reported all those reluctant dealers to FCA right? Your transmission internals are warranted to 100K. No excuse! My dealer’s techs have been very knowledgeable about anything I have discussed and yes, I have quizzed them. However with absolutely no issues I don't have much to compare too. I am still under 55K.

headlights are a problem for most of us high mileage guys, lots of feedback on the expeditor site. FCA says they cannot make/force dealers work on customers vehicles under warranty. FCA refused to replace my transmission under warranty but to have it rebuilt at the dealer by the tech, that was dec 2015; it did not solve my jump outta gear problem. Subsequent visits back to this dealer yielded the story of " we cannot duplicate the problem" on numerous attempts. It would stay for weeks at a time as "we are very busy".