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RAM Quality Concerns

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RAMMITDOWN

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Hey all. This is my first RAM. I still have my good old stand by 01 F-350 CCLB dually. I would have looked at another Ford but I was so disappointed how they treated 6.0 and 6.4 owners. Not to mention that Ford has had continuous problems with aluminum body panels and won't take care of those issues (not trucks). So I thought that I did my due diligence in research about the HD RAM products, now I'm a little nervous about my purchase.
Let me start by saying that I turned my attention to RAM after working on several nice 1500's. The craftsmanship was very good - my customers were proud of their trucks. Now I will tell you that I love my used 2021 RAM 3500 CCLB Laramie Sport. It drives nice, has plenty of pulling power for my needs and the most important, my wife likes it and enjoys pulling our toy hauler without the white knuckle stress. I bought the RAM about this time last year, drove it home and immediately addressed the heater grid problem, added a 68RFE pressure increase mod and felt good about the truck.
I joined this forum and think highly of the people here. BUT now my mind is running wild with the potential camshaft/crankshaft failure, heater rely fire, DEF issues, numerous electrical issues (steering wheel heater, UConnect) heater core problems, etc.,etc.
Now I know any and all manufacturers have there issue/problems but now there is discussion about Stellantis and their both financial and quality issues. I'm not paranoid just maybe a little disillusioned about the future of my truck.
Okay, enough whining - what say y'all.............................
 
Wow, a "steering wheel heater"!!!! We don't have any of those warm luxuries in our 2016 Ram 2500 Tradesman Power Wagon and 2024 3500 4x4 Tradesman HO Cummins. You probably have heated seats too? Driver and passenger climate controls? I can only dream.

Yesterday, I ordered a new thermostat assembly for our 2016 due to it's staying open, so the engine doesn't get hot providing only cold to very little warm coolant through the heater core into the cab ventilation. Was scraping the windshield inside and the side windows were frozen inside. Had to stop and scrape. At least that replacement part is still available. Got very lucky in getting a new replacement 66RFE last Fall. Purchased our 2024 due to our mechanic informed us that they were on back order and he couldn't get one. Found one in a month of looking. Everything can be fixed, but only if the parts are still available.

Our forecast low is down to minus 41F and still drive it due to it it's a Power Wagon which has better 4x4 capabilities than our newer truck. Got to plug the HO Cummins engine heater in though for awhile when it's below minus 15F before we start it. Screenshot_20250118_060701_Chrome.jpg
 
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I've owned all of the big 3's trucks (plus some of the others' cars and suvs). No surprise at all, they all have pros and cons. You get onto any forum and you're going to see a lot of threads about problems/concerns. That's why most people post a thread. It's either to complain about, or seek a solution for, a problem. You don't get many "I love _____ about my truck" threads, although they pop up from time to time. Don't worry about the "problems" you see online. You'll find issues with every make and every model.

The F250 was a close consideration when I was shopping for this truck too, but when it came down to it, I could get more "extras" for the same price on the Ram. Ford loves to say that their truck is cheaper, but I think that's purely on the base models. Which why it probably outsells the others because work truck are typically base models and the company will obviously buy the cheaper option. When I compared a XLT to a Big Horn/Lone Star and a Lariat to a Laramie, I would have been paying more for the Ford after adding packages to get the same options as the Ram. Not a dig on the Ford, just saying, I got more bang for the buck out of the Ram. If things were different, I would have bought a Ford or Chevy. All 3 make great trucks, that are comfortable and capable. Any truck can have issues, and a lot of times it's just pure chance, although sometimes it's how you use or maintain it that has some impact on issues.

TLDR;
Don't worry about "possible" problems that you aren't having. Every make/model has them if you start looking for issues.
 
Are there problems, oh for sure, including ones that they don't seem to care about addressing. However, many of the items on your list I do not feel are all that common beyond potential emissions issues and those damn transmissions. However, Ram seems to be slowly crawling the right direction on reliability. They have miles to go, but addressing emissions issues and going to all ZF across the board starts to make me feel a little better. Not convinced Ford is any more reliable these days, and clearly Chevy and GMC is not. But then again those are bling, bling trucks. Not really work trucks in my mind.
 
H3LZSN1P3R said:
the forum fear mongering is not something to worry about since most people who have no issues will never visit a forum so you are only getting the bad side of things on forums.
Click to expand...
This is the truth. It's like asking an oncologist if you should worry about cancer. All of their patients have it, so obviously that means everyone does, right?

Happy people don't complain. If the problems talked about on here were indicative of the experience of most owners then you'd be hearing about it in the news and there'd be protests outside of your local dealer. The reality is that most people have little to no problems with their vehicles.
 
Other thing I would say is take real time to aggregate the complaints you see. There are some issues with out any question, such as GMC transmissions and PCM failures. Other times you see one or 2 posts and it "seems" like a lot, but may not really be. Just from this forum you can discern the 68RFE is not good. Or when I called a tow company last summer that my Radiator blew on my Ram they automatically knew from all they had replaced it was a 6.4 and the failure point, in a small town. But a heater core or Unconnect as you mentioned I have not seen on a wider scale, heck Unconnect is known to be possibly the best system out there. Research is good, but take it all with a grain of salt and do the math of how many reports you are really seeing. People still say Rams are notorious for things like electrical problems, but that is truly in the past, WAY IN THE PAST. And I could give you a list of things from the past that no longer are a major issue. Such as unit bearings, ball joints, steering boxes, ujoints.....
 
RAMMITDOWN said:
Hey all. This is my first RAM. I still have my good old stand by 01 F-350 CCLB dually. I would have looked at another Ford but I was so disappointed how they treated 6.0 and 6.4 owners. Not to mention that Ford has had continuous problems with aluminum body panels and won't take care of those issues (not trucks). So I thought that I did my due diligence in research about the HD RAM products, now I'm a little nervous about my purchase.
Let me start by saying that I turned my attention to RAM after working on several nice 1500's. The craftsmanship was very good - my customers were proud of their trucks. Now I will tell you that I love my used 2021 RAM 3500 CCLB Laramie Sport. It drives nice, has plenty of pulling power for my needs and the most important, my wife likes it and enjoys pulling our toy hauler without the white knuckle stress. I bought the RAM about this time last year, drove it home and immediately addressed the heater grid problem, added a 68RFE pressure increase mod and felt good about the truck.
I joined this forum and think highly of the people here. BUT now my mind is running wild with the potential camshaft/crankshaft failure, heater rely fire, DEF issues, numerous electrical issues (steering wheel heater, UConnect) heater core problems, etc.,etc.
Now I know any and all manufacturers have there issue/problems but now there is discussion about Stellantis and their both financial and quality issues. I'm not paranoid just maybe a little disillusioned about the future of my truck.
Okay, enough whining - what say y'all.............................
Click to expand...
You spend way too much time worrying about what IFs . I have a 2020 camped and towed a 15 k trailer everywhere as I did with my 14 . Breakdowns or problems with both trucks on the road ZERO !! JUST DRIVE IT !!
 
I owned a 2022 F350 DRW, truck was fine mechanically but the front doors rattle over bumps over bridge transitions, my wife even said hers flexed so bad she saw daylight. It also had a ton of interior rattles that the dealer gave up on after 4 visits.

I also owned 3 Chevy Silverado DRW last year - 2024 models. All had issues with steering intermediate shafts, front drive shaft, front hub extensions. There was also excessive front door flex out of the last one I had.

On my 2024 Ram, and some of the previous Rams, I have had some interior rattles here and there that have been easily fixed. On my 2024 i had a rattle from the radio bezel, after a few tries to fix that I hand tightened the bolts that hold the UCONNECT to the bezel and that rattle went away.

I also had a tap noise like metal on metal that would come and go from the drivers door panel up in the to right corner, if I would press my finger up against that area it would stop.

Yesterday I removed the door panel, there were two 10mm bolts that bolt what looked the mirror support to the body of the door, I hand tightened those up and about ten more 10mm bolts that hold a panel to the door body and that rattle seems to have gone away as well.

I will take a few rattles over mechanical issues anyday.
 
IFS is not so much of a bother if you are not going off road. Once you do its an instant liability. If its a street truck, probably less of a concern.
 
IFS has its limits with Rock Crawling....having owned both a Bronco and Jeep JL, the solid axle is the best for flexy time on rocks. With IFS you have to be a little more picky about the lines you choose.
 
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