[Dave martin]

I am looking to buy a promaster 2500 high roof with plans for my own conversion. I like this model for a handful of reasons. I'm been reading reviews on this site and others and I found a handful of what seems to be common problems with the promaster. If I purchase my used PM from a dealer, I want to ensure any likely problems with the vehicle will be covered under warranty.

Big or small, what are the most prevalent issues with promasters I should ensure are covered under warranty?

In my research I've found the following:

• Coolant leak
• Transmission issues
• Headlight bulbs
• Tire pressure sensor
• Sliding door handle

Any wisdom here is appreciated.

The ProMaster Dodge 2500 2016 has multiple problems the dealer keeps pushing you away and hoping that you can't bring the truck back as much until the extended warranty is in place and then they try to hit you up with deductible when the problem was there before coolant leak oil leak crank problems camshaft problems headlight problems door hinge problems headlight problems , please feel free to contact my email dmartin 726 @gmail.com , this problem has started at 12,000 miles and now I have 75000 MI between Freehold Dodge and Lakewood Dodge in New Jersey neither of them are worth the gas getting there

 

[Dave martin]

The ProMaster Dodge 2500 2016 has multiple problems the dealer keeps pushing you away and hoping that you can't bring the truck back as much until the extended warranty is in place and then they try to hit you up with deductible when the problem was there before coolant leak oil leak crank problems camshaft problems headlight problems door hinge problems headlight problems , please feel free to contact my email dmartin 726 @gmail.com , this problem has started at 12,000 miles and now I have 75000 MI between Freehold Dodge and Lakewood Dodge in New Jersey neither of them are worth the gas getting there , oh I forgot to add transmission shifting horribly , we all need to join together and fight the corporate Dodge if FCA doesn't plan on recalling all these issues and actually admitting there was a problem we need to take it to the courtroom

 

[MsNomer]

Sounds like your problems are primarily with your dealers.

 

[keeponvaning]

Exactly!

 

[Mikelandscape1]

Maintaining a fleet of promasters I’ve seen all the problems you can imagine. Most common I come across with ours being deliver vans is cooling fans, cv axles door catch. All door latches. Headlights. Mis fires.

I’ve had common ones and odd ball ones. Replaced a couple cylinder heads due to not enough compression in the cylinder. Oil filter housing cracked on a couple. Roller bearings on the rocker arms locked up grinding on the cam shaft. Regen issues on the eco diesels. Replaced some wheel bearings and transmissions. So on and so forth. These days if it’s happened on a promaster I most likely have seen it.

Don’t let this scare you our fleet vehicles are abused and most of the major repairs have happened after 60k which is about 120k in an average vehicle. Our drivers are rough on them. And the areas we deliver are even rougher.

Hello I bought from a friend that passed away a 2014 ram promaster 2500 3.0 L4 diesel. We fixed a bunch of things but we are having a problem with DEF light coming on causing the van to stay in limp mode. We cleaned and backed the SCR filter. Any other ideas?? Would appreciate any help.
Regards,
Mike L.

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

You did remove and drain the DEF tank right? It has a sensor for DEF quality that has been known to fail and as far as I know the solution is to replace the tank. Not a good option but perhaps a salvage one would be worth a try. DEF will degrade in months if allowed to sit in heat, and has a life of two years MAX. Did it sit long? My dealer reported that some vans on delivery that had sat in MX for months waiting for shipping would show a bad DEF code. They found that filling with fresh DEF would get the code gone.

 

[HVAC1957]

Hello I bought from a friend that passed away a 2014 ram promaster 2500 3.0 L4 diesel. We fixed a bunch of things but we are having a problem with DEF light coming on causing the van to stay in limp mode. We cleaned and backed the SCR filter. Any other ideas?? Would appreciate any help.
Regards,
Mike L.

Try cleaning the injector nozzle also if it's stuck in limp mode the PCM might have failed and would most likely need to be replaced

 

[papab]

Hello I bought from a friend that passed away a 2014 ram promaster 2500 3.0 L4 diesel. We fixed a bunch of things but we are having a problem with DEF light coming on causing the van to stay in limp mode. We cleaned and backed the SCR filter. Any other ideas?? Would appreciate any help.
Regards,
Mike L.

If it's staying in limp mode, unfortunately, you're going to have to take it to a dealer. Good luck, most of them are worthless. Can you read the OBD error code?

 

[Roaddog]

The ProMaster Dodge 2500 2016 has multiple problems the dealer keeps pushing you away and hoping that you can't bring the truck back as much until the extended warranty is in place and then they try to hit you up with deductible when the problem was there before coolant leak oil leak crank problems camshaft problems headlight problems door hinge problems headlight problems , please feel free to contact my email dmartin 726 @gmail.com , this problem has started at 12,000 miles and now I have 75000 MI between Freehold Dodge and Lakewood Dodge in New Jersey neither of them are worth the gas getting there

Just spent $2500.00 dollars replacing the rockers and two cams. Van has 102000 miles. Changed the oil every 4000 miles. Big problem with the 3.6 pinstar engine

 

[Roaddog]

I am looking to buy a promaster 2500 high roof with plans for my own conversion. I like this model for a handful of reasons. I'm been reading reviews on this site and others and I found a handful of what seems to be common problems with the promaster. If I purchase my used PM from a dealer, I want to ensure any likely problems with the vehicle will be covered under warranty.

Big or small, what are the most prevalent issues with promasters I should ensure are covered under warranty?

In my research I've found the following:

• Coolant leak
• Transmission issues
• Headlight bulbs
• Tire pressure sensor
• Sliding door handle

Any wisdom here is appreciated.

Mine also has had a coolant leak sense 45000 miles and it leaks rain water under the scowling on Top of the motor. I tell the local ram dealer about all of this and theu look at me like they have never heard of this.

 

[travelvanvan]

Just spent $2500.00 dollars replacing the rockers and two cams. Van has 102000 miles. Changed the oil every 4000 miles. Big problem with the 3.6 pinstar engine

Yes, the Pentastar engines do have a weakness with the rocker arm bearings. It's best that it be dealt with right away before the cams are damaged.

My minivan had this problem. Converted to USD, my repairs came to just under $1000 USD. I caught it early enough to avoid camshaft damage. But I went ahead and replaced all the rockers and tappets.

So I'm not quite sure why it cost so much for your repair. Maybe camshafts are expensive. I did negotiate a good price from my dealer though.

Mine also has had a coolant leak sense 45000 miles and it leaks rain water under the scowling on Top of the motor. I tell the local ram dealer about all of this and theu look at me like they have never heard of this.

The water leak should be no surprise for your dealer. Every PM in existence will have this problem including I suspect, the 2020 models on their lot. All you'd have to do is to ask them to go outside and hose down the windshield. The trouble is, they don't have an official way of repairing it since FCA hasn't redesigned the parts for the cowl area. Search this forum for creative and clever ways to DIY rain-proof your engine. I strongly suggest you do that.

I can't say too much about the coolant leak issue other than my coolant level is currently just below the MIN, but hasn't dropped further. I've heard some say that if you fill it to max, it will, over time, drop to the min and stay there. I'm choosing to keep it at my low level and monitor it.

 

[joeltreacy]

You could look for one with the remainder of a factory extended warranty.They even fixed something I screwed up once

 

[Roaddog]

Yes, the Pentastar engines do have a weakness with the rocker arm bearings. It's best that it be dealt with right away before the cams are damaged.

My minivan had this problem. Converted to USD, my repairs came to just under $1000 USD. I caught it early enough to avoid camshaft damage. But I went ahead and replaced all the rockers and tappets.

So I'm not quite sure why it cost so much for your repair. Maybe camshafts are expensive. I did negotiate a good price from my dealer though.



The water leak should be no surprise for your dealer. Every PM in existence will have this problem including I suspect, the 2020 models on their lot. All you'd have to do is to ask them to go outside and hose down the windshield. The trouble is, they don't have an official way of repairing it since FCA hasn't redesigned the parts for the cowl area. Search this forum for creative and clever ways to DIY rain-proof your engine. I strongly suggest you do that.

I can't say too much about the coolant leak issue other than my coolant level is currently just below the MIN, but hasn't dropped further. I've heard some say that if you fill it to max, it will, over time, drop to the min and stay there. I'm choosing to keep it at my low level and monitor it.

You wonder why they keep making these with the same problems. I also had water leaking in the cab. Had to replace the marker lights. Will not buy another dodge product.

 

[Roaddog]

You wonder why they keep making these with the same problems. I also had water leaking in the cab. Had to replace the marker lights. Will not buy another dodge product.

On my promaster they replaced both side rockers and one side intake and exhaust cams. It was ticking a month before, could not get it in for repair. There were 5 other promaster in for the same problem. Just kidding on the other promasters. Doesn't take long to destroy cam lobes when the rocker rollers fail.

 

[travelvanvan]

Interestingly, I bought the PM in a big part due to how happy I was with my Dodge minivan with the same Pentastar engine/drivetrain. Of course with the rocker arm bearing problem, my happiness is slightly diminished. But I'm otherwise so happy with my minivan that I made the decision to pay the repair costs and keep it in the family (my daughter is now the primary driver of it).

I'm hoping that my more mature PM's Pentastar won't have this problem. I went into my minivan situation knowing that 2011 was the 1st gen (1st year in fact) of the Pentastar (I bought it used and it was too cheap to resist). Am hoping they have ironed out the issue...7 years later...in my 2018.

If you buy into a different brand, you could buy into their problems. No brand is immune. I'm a huge Honda fan and have had a number of their vehicles. But I understand a lot of Odessey owners are having issues with their transmissions, quite an expensive thing to repair.

 

[Roaddog]

Interestingly, I bought the PM in a big part due to how happy I was with my Dodge minivan with the same Pentastar engine/drivetrain. Of course with the rocker arm bearing problem, my happiness is slightly diminished. But I'm otherwise so happy with my minivan that I made the decision to pay the repair costs and keep it in the family (my daughter is now the primary driver of it).

I'm hoping that my more mature PM's Pentastar won't have this problem. I went into my minivan situation knowing that 2011 was the 1st gen (1st year in fact) of the Pentastar (I bought it used and it was too cheap to resist). Am hoping they have ironed out the issue...7 years later...in my 2018.

If you buy into a different brand, you could buy into their problems. No brand is immune. I'm a huge Honda fan and have had a number of their vehicles. But I understand a lot of Odessey owners are having issues with their transmissions, quite an expensive thing to repair.

You are right on other vehicle problems. I guess I am most disappointed in the dodge dealers. One told me the engine was bad. Another told me they didn't work on the promaster vans. One wanted to sell me a newer one saying it was the 2014 with the most problems. I took it to a independent shop. They told me they just hired the dodge dealer mechanic who was their best promaster mechanic. Needed the van so I had them fix it.

 

[travelvanvan]

There are Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/RAM dealers who don't work on Promasters because they don't have lifts capable of lifting them (or maybe garages that aren't tall enough?). But at the end of the day, the engine is still a Pentastar that's the same as in any Caravan, Journey, Jeep, 1500 truck, Charger, etc. I'm surprised they didn't want to accept your money for what is a (sadly) common enough fix.

Re: dealer quality. Yes, it can be hit or miss. Even at a good dealer, not all the service advisors are equally good. And once you get past them, are all the mechanics equally good?

That's why I try to do most things myself. I'm not at a trained mechanic, but I find it fun, cost-effective, and sometimes importantly: I take my time and try hard not to screw things up. [Doesn't always work out...]

I hope your van will be trouble-free from now on. I would think they're fairly basic vehicles once you get down to it. And thus not much that will break down. That's my hope anyway as I plan to travel long distances with it and to places big and small, near and remote.

 

[ant01ne]

View attachment 58425
Heres the substitute for those super expensive($5.50? “each”) OEM Ram/Fiat panel retainers. From Autozone, $2.50 for a package of 6. Picture above, replacement on the right. Head a little smaller, shank the same diameter, and the grabbing power of the shank barbs are super tight!

Got a bag of like 100 retainers for less than 10$ on amazon.
Pretty much spot on like originals.
Started shopping when decided to keep factory panels for camper conversion.

 

[Roaddog]

There are Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/RAM dealers who don't work on Promasters because they don't have lifts capable of lifting them (or maybe garages that aren't tall enough?). But at the end of the day, the engine is still a Pentastar that's the same as in any Caravan, Journey, Jeep, 1500 truck, Charger, etc. I'm surprised they didn't want to accept your money for what is a (sadly) common enough fix.

Re: dealer quality. Yes, it can be hit or miss. Even at a good dealer, not all the service advisors are equally good. And once you get past them, are all the mechanics equally good?

That's why I try to do most things myself. I'm not at a trained mechanic, but I find it fun, cost-effective, and sometimes importantly: I take my time and try hard not to screw things up. [Doesn't always work out...]

I hope your van will be trouble-free from now on. I would think they're fairly basic vehicles once you get down to it. And thus not much that will break down. That's my hope anyway as I plan to travel long distances with it and to places big and small, near and remote.

That's all I use the van for is traveling. We are in Las Vegas this week and heading south then east along the Mexican border. So far running fine getting 21.7 mph.

 

[uralwrench]

Wow. 21.7 mph is even slower than I like to cruise! And I'm usually the old slow guy in the right lane. Is yours stuck in 1st gear? ;-)