Unfortunately, I need to come to you HDRAMs..
Back story:
I have owned two first gen Cummins, 1990s Dodge Ram W250 & W350 SRW. By far my favorite trucks ever. Continuing with the family and "downgrading" to a 2019 RAM 1500, I ended up having a horrible experience with the local dealership. Worst come to worst, Dodge agreed to a buyback through the lemon law (actual serious issues). After mustering up the courage, I decided to purchase a 2020 RAM 3500 since I understand lemons sometimes happen. Now here is my current story.
To start, I love my new RAM. It has little issues but that is the purpose of the new vehicle warranty. I understand stuff happens, things get missed, mistakes happen and it gets fixed. Right now, I am not getting that service. I have taken my truck to two dealerships. None have attempted to diagnose or repair the following issues. I have no idea what else to do so I decided to search for TSBs and any info on the internet as a solution.
Dealership #1:
First time that I took the truck was just for extreme bouncing in November 2020 and the guy said it's normal and called "cab hop". He said it takes about 15,000 miles (first oil change) to go away. I didn't believe him but I didn't really have a choice. After driving it for 1,000 miles, it got worse. I took it back and insisted that it gets inspected. After two days, they "thoroughly" inspected the truck and found no issues. I marked the lugs to see if they took off the wheels and found no signs. The mileage even reflected that they didn't drive the truck one mile. I decided to leave and try again at the first oil change. After 3,000 miles (February 2021), more minor issues arose so I figured that I might as well get everything documented. I have taken my truck due to extreme bouncing at highway speeds, intermittent bucking/surging at low speeds or sustained speeds, tire exploded, and a seat belt slider attachment point coming almost completely loose. There was more but they said the rest was "normal". I had no issues getting a loaner since he said it's under the 3 year/36,000 mile warranty so my truck was in repair for a few days. No updates after 2 days so I called and he said it's all ready. I head over to the dealership and he said the truck drives great with no issues then says the seat belt slider is on order and I need to bring it back next week. I wish I had known that because I live 40 minutes away from this dealership (purchasing dealership and better service). I am active duty military so it's hard for me to request time to drop off my NEW truck for service. Mind you, I work 45 minutes outside of Las Vegas at Creech AFB so the drive to this dealership is over an hour and a half away. I request the paperwork stating that the repairs were not duplicable but he said I had to wait for the work to be finished next week. Next week comes up and the paper says only about the seat belt slider. I ask about it and he said they don't type up non-duplicable issues (which isn't true). Same thing, no mileage put on the truck so nothing was probably checked. I gave up on this dealership.
Dealership #2:
Personally, I hate this dealership. Purchased the 2019 RAM here and got terrible & rude service during purchasing/servicing (If you meet me, I am a super calm guy and don't like complaining despite this long post haha). I decided to give the dealership another chance since I saw an ad that it's under new management. I called the service department, explained all my issues, explained previous experiences, told them about the need for loaner since I work on a military base 50 miles out of town, etc. To my amazement, she said that nothing was a problem, loaner was secured for me, and typed up everything beautifully. I was excited for my drop-off! Unfortunately, that experience was short lived and meant with defeat and disappointment. I got to the dealership and was meet with the same previous interactions. The guy told me that it's impossible for me to get a loaner since there's no confirmed issues so he needs a few days to do that then Dodge will cover the rental from that day forward. He had me explain what was wrong then stopped me after explaining my second issue, and said that his foreman needs to drive the car since it's "too many problems". I told him that I just wanted to get it checked out so I was willing to give it to them anyways but he said "my shop foreman is out until Friday so your car is going to sit and I have to charge you $40/day for the rental". After feeling defeated with no other options, HE HAD NO RENTALS ANYWAYS hahaha. He told me to come back on Friday but I can't get out of work. I honestly don't feel comfortable going back...
After getting no where with the dealerships, I decided to take matters into my own hands to find out if these are common issues and if anyone can help me on this forum. To my avail, HDRAM is the best! I found out what TSBs are and other common related issues that may happen with this truck that perfectly match my issues/complaints. Here they are!
Issues:
Truck built date JULY 2020
1) My steering wheel makes a grinding/scraping noise when turning left or right. It doesn't matter if I am driving or idling. It's constant and quite annoying.
Match: Customer Satisfaction Notification W51 Steering Gear
Dealership response: Normal for it to make some noise as long as it doesn't get louder. He didn't even turn the wheel to see. (Dealership didn't even write it down or put it in the appointment for service)
2) While making a steady acceleration at lower speeds going to highway speeds, engine may buck/surge intermittently. It's sort of annoying because it doesn't accelerate smoothly sometimes. My 1990 Dodge Ram 12V Cummins had a smoother acceleration. I thought it was the transmission shifts but now I am second guessing it.
Potential Matches: TSB 18-048-20, Star Online Publication Case # S1918000003
Dealership response: Drives normal (no added mileage to prove testing)
3) Transmission shifts sometimes are gear hunting, shifts late, shifts multiple times and stutters. I figured there might be an update needed.
Potential Match: TSB# 21-003-21 Transmission update
Dealership response: Drives normal (no added mileage to prove testing)
4) A/C won't cool truck down sometimes. One side blows warmer than other sometimes. Here in LV it's low 30s at night and sometimes 70s during the day. 70s feels hot sometimes and it had trouble cooling that down one time....
Potential Match: TSB 24-001-20
Dealership response: The A/C in these newer trucks take a little longer to cool. (Dealership didn't even write it down or put it in the appointment for service)
5) Annoying intermittent metal squeaking and rattle. Happens usually around slower acceleration or neighborhood driving. It's definitely inside the dash on the driver side.
Match: TSB 08-088-20
Dealership response: He said he forgot to write it down for inspection but his tech didn't mention any noises.
6) Excessive bouncing at highway speeds (60-70 mph). The truck bounces so bad that my wife can't even read in the truck during long trips. Like I stated, I had a 1990 Dodge W350 with a Cummins (leaf springs ALL AROUND) that rode smoother. It definitely doesn't feel normal. I rode with a buddy that has the same truck but his doesn't have the bounce. I understand it's a heavy duty truck but it shouldn't be bouncing the way it does. It even has the bounce with my 24' enclosed trailer loaded. The bounce is so bad I have video for proof (I can't figure out how to upload it). It hasn't gotten better over the past few months until one tire exploded. When they replaced the tire under the warranty, it got a little better but it still bounces excessively.
Match: No TSB. I believe it to be a tire balancing issue. I have the added wheel/tire warranty purchased from Dealership
Dealership response: First response, bouncing was normal, also known as "Cab Hop". Second response, nothing abnormal on test drive (no added mileage to prove testing nor were lug nuts removed)
These are just the issues that I can remember at the moment...
Here is truck bouncing video:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/82777274@N05/shares/15uU40
Back story:
I have owned two first gen Cummins, 1990s Dodge Ram W250 & W350 SRW. By far my favorite trucks ever. Continuing with the family and "downgrading" to a 2019 RAM 1500, I ended up having a horrible experience with the local dealership. Worst come to worst, Dodge agreed to a buyback through the lemon law (actual serious issues). After mustering up the courage, I decided to purchase a 2020 RAM 3500 since I understand lemons sometimes happen. Now here is my current story.
To start, I love my new RAM. It has little issues but that is the purpose of the new vehicle warranty. I understand stuff happens, things get missed, mistakes happen and it gets fixed. Right now, I am not getting that service. I have taken my truck to two dealerships. None have attempted to diagnose or repair the following issues. I have no idea what else to do so I decided to search for TSBs and any info on the internet as a solution.
Dealership #1:
First time that I took the truck was just for extreme bouncing in November 2020 and the guy said it's normal and called "cab hop". He said it takes about 15,000 miles (first oil change) to go away. I didn't believe him but I didn't really have a choice. After driving it for 1,000 miles, it got worse. I took it back and insisted that it gets inspected. After two days, they "thoroughly" inspected the truck and found no issues. I marked the lugs to see if they took off the wheels and found no signs. The mileage even reflected that they didn't drive the truck one mile. I decided to leave and try again at the first oil change. After 3,000 miles (February 2021), more minor issues arose so I figured that I might as well get everything documented. I have taken my truck due to extreme bouncing at highway speeds, intermittent bucking/surging at low speeds or sustained speeds, tire exploded, and a seat belt slider attachment point coming almost completely loose. There was more but they said the rest was "normal". I had no issues getting a loaner since he said it's under the 3 year/36,000 mile warranty so my truck was in repair for a few days. No updates after 2 days so I called and he said it's all ready. I head over to the dealership and he said the truck drives great with no issues then says the seat belt slider is on order and I need to bring it back next week. I wish I had known that because I live 40 minutes away from this dealership (purchasing dealership and better service). I am active duty military so it's hard for me to request time to drop off my NEW truck for service. Mind you, I work 45 minutes outside of Las Vegas at Creech AFB so the drive to this dealership is over an hour and a half away. I request the paperwork stating that the repairs were not duplicable but he said I had to wait for the work to be finished next week. Next week comes up and the paper says only about the seat belt slider. I ask about it and he said they don't type up non-duplicable issues (which isn't true). Same thing, no mileage put on the truck so nothing was probably checked. I gave up on this dealership.
Dealership #2:
Personally, I hate this dealership. Purchased the 2019 RAM here and got terrible & rude service during purchasing/servicing (If you meet me, I am a super calm guy and don't like complaining despite this long post haha). I decided to give the dealership another chance since I saw an ad that it's under new management. I called the service department, explained all my issues, explained previous experiences, told them about the need for loaner since I work on a military base 50 miles out of town, etc. To my amazement, she said that nothing was a problem, loaner was secured for me, and typed up everything beautifully. I was excited for my drop-off! Unfortunately, that experience was short lived and meant with defeat and disappointment. I got to the dealership and was meet with the same previous interactions. The guy told me that it's impossible for me to get a loaner since there's no confirmed issues so he needs a few days to do that then Dodge will cover the rental from that day forward. He had me explain what was wrong then stopped me after explaining my second issue, and said that his foreman needs to drive the car since it's "too many problems". I told him that I just wanted to get it checked out so I was willing to give it to them anyways but he said "my shop foreman is out until Friday so your car is going to sit and I have to charge you $40/day for the rental". After feeling defeated with no other options, HE HAD NO RENTALS ANYWAYS hahaha. He told me to come back on Friday but I can't get out of work. I honestly don't feel comfortable going back...
After getting no where with the dealerships, I decided to take matters into my own hands to find out if these are common issues and if anyone can help me on this forum. To my avail, HDRAM is the best! I found out what TSBs are and other common related issues that may happen with this truck that perfectly match my issues/complaints. Here they are!
Issues:
Truck built date JULY 2020
1) My steering wheel makes a grinding/scraping noise when turning left or right. It doesn't matter if I am driving or idling. It's constant and quite annoying.
Match: Customer Satisfaction Notification W51 Steering Gear
Dealership response: Normal for it to make some noise as long as it doesn't get louder. He didn't even turn the wheel to see. (Dealership didn't even write it down or put it in the appointment for service)
2) While making a steady acceleration at lower speeds going to highway speeds, engine may buck/surge intermittently. It's sort of annoying because it doesn't accelerate smoothly sometimes. My 1990 Dodge Ram 12V Cummins had a smoother acceleration. I thought it was the transmission shifts but now I am second guessing it.
Potential Matches: TSB 18-048-20, Star Online Publication Case # S1918000003
Dealership response: Drives normal (no added mileage to prove testing)
3) Transmission shifts sometimes are gear hunting, shifts late, shifts multiple times and stutters. I figured there might be an update needed.
Potential Match: TSB# 21-003-21 Transmission update
Dealership response: Drives normal (no added mileage to prove testing)
4) A/C won't cool truck down sometimes. One side blows warmer than other sometimes. Here in LV it's low 30s at night and sometimes 70s during the day. 70s feels hot sometimes and it had trouble cooling that down one time....
Potential Match: TSB 24-001-20
Dealership response: The A/C in these newer trucks take a little longer to cool. (Dealership didn't even write it down or put it in the appointment for service)
5) Annoying intermittent metal squeaking and rattle. Happens usually around slower acceleration or neighborhood driving. It's definitely inside the dash on the driver side.
Match: TSB 08-088-20
Dealership response: He said he forgot to write it down for inspection but his tech didn't mention any noises.
6) Excessive bouncing at highway speeds (60-70 mph). The truck bounces so bad that my wife can't even read in the truck during long trips. Like I stated, I had a 1990 Dodge W350 with a Cummins (leaf springs ALL AROUND) that rode smoother. It definitely doesn't feel normal. I rode with a buddy that has the same truck but his doesn't have the bounce. I understand it's a heavy duty truck but it shouldn't be bouncing the way it does. It even has the bounce with my 24' enclosed trailer loaded. The bounce is so bad I have video for proof (I can't figure out how to upload it). It hasn't gotten better over the past few months until one tire exploded. When they replaced the tire under the warranty, it got a little better but it still bounces excessively.
Match: No TSB. I believe it to be a tire balancing issue. I have the added wheel/tire warranty purchased from Dealership
Dealership response: First response, bouncing was normal, also known as "Cab Hop". Second response, nothing abnormal on test drive (no added mileage to prove testing nor were lug nuts removed)
These are just the issues that I can remember at the moment...
Here is truck bouncing video:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/82777274@N05/shares/15uU40
