Whelp, Kolor me K-ring Kaput, but I'm glad it happened when and where it happened.
A little back story: On April 21st I hitched the 12k 5th wheel to the '22 3500 and headed out across the country, K-ring be damned. I went from cost to coast and back again without a single problem. In fact, the truck performed superbly and exceeded my expectations.
Last Friday I slid the truck camper into the bed and headed over to the left coast for a long Father's Day weekend with friends, about a 5 hour drive. The last 40 miles or so before my destination is a steep and winding northern California coastal mountain road named Hwy 20. Things were great until about 2 miles from the town of Fort Bragg, CA when all of a sudden my dash lit up like a Christmas tree, which to me indicated that the snap ring went, or was about to go, "SPROING!" It happened on a flat straight stretch and I immediately whipped it over to a nice, safe wide stop. Before I got the truck all settled in and put in Park I heard a big "CLANG" from about where the transmission sits and felt the truck shudder. Based on everything I've read here it fit with the K-ring failure and, not wanting to potentially further damage the transmission, I did not try to engage any forward or reverse gears.
Fortunately, there is a very reputable Chrysler dealership in Fort Bragg (Sport Chrysler Jeep) and AAA had me hooked up and towed to the lot in about 45 minutes. As of yesterday afternoon they had it partially torn down and so far it looks like it's just the snap ring with no other damage. No word yet on parts availability, but they just did a K-ring repair a couple of weeks ago and the parts were readily available then. They hooked me up with a rental car and I'm just waiting for good news at home. I'll let you know when I'm back on the road after I give it a good workout returning over that same grade under the same circumstances.
1. Date you ordered the truck: May '22
2. Date of manufacture: September '22
3. Date you purchased the truck: November '22
4. Mileage on odometer at the time of failure: 13,290
5. Serial Number of failed transmission: 2G--3920
6. Serial Number of replacement transmission: N/A
7. Were you towing at the time of failure: Hauling a slide-in truck camper
8. Did 1st through 4th gear work: Did not attempt
9. Did reverse work: Did not attempt
10. What date did the transmission fail: 06/16/2023
11. When was the truck returned to you after repair: Pending
12. Did your dealer replace the transmission with a new unit or was the failed transmission repaired with parts: Repair pending.