Leaking Shock

[Will_T]

My truck, @4,000 miles has a leaking front driver's side shock. I noticed only because there was a drop of fluid under the truck which I happened to see the day after I had the dealer do the first oil and fuel filter change. Surprised they did not find the leaking shock at that time when they did their "inspection". At the time I thought it was related to that and that maybe they had spilled which was dripping off the frame or something. Now, a few weeks later, (about 150 miles), it was still dropping a drip or two after parking it so I crawled under to look. There is fluid on the outside of that shock and so that is where it is coming from. The other 3 shocks are dry and dusty. After sitting overnight, the amount that drips off wets a paper towel about the size of a quarter. So not a lot when parked, but who knows when the shock is being driven on.

Of course it is still under warranty, but the dealer's first service appointment, which I took, for anything except quick lube is 2+ months out. I sure don't want to pay another shop to replace it, but guess I would have to if I had a long trip, or lots of miles planned. I am waiting for a call from a dealer about 30 minutes away to see what their schedule is. I would estimate that I might only put 200 or 300 miles on the truck between now and the July appt., but would prefer to get it done before then.

I replaced the OEM shocks on my old truck after 16 years and 80K miles and they were not leaking. That was four years ago and it cost me $475.00 for Bilstein 5100s. I was happy with them and would get them again when it is time on this truck. But the idea of changing them all out, and at today's prices, with only 4K on the truck is not something I want to do.

Crazy to have a shock start leaking with only 3 or 4K miles but I guess it was just defective from the start. What is even crazier is that these service departments can't do anything anymore without a months long wait. I asked what if a customer had a problem that made their truck not useable. They said in that case, they would say get the truck in and leave it but still no guarantees that service would get to it sooner. But having a non-drivable truck sitting at the dealer lets them get to it if some service time frees up without notice. They told me the problem is that they cannot get service techs to fill several empty positions.

 

[Camper99]

Last December my 2021 3500 CTD with around 10k miles had a leaking front shock. The wait for me was getting the part. I was also reticent to replace the OEM shocks so soon and opted to wait for the RAM replacement - I guess from a principles point of view. Hopefully you will experience a shorter timeframe than the original estimate.

 

[Will_T]

Last December my 2021 3500 CTD with around 10k miles had a leaking front shock. The wait for me was getting the part. I was also reticent to replace the OEM shocks so soon and opted to wait for the RAM replacement - I guess from a principles point of view. Hopefully you will experience a shorter timeframe than the original estimate.

Yeah, that timeframe was for the service appt itself, not the part. Hopefully if I have to stick with the closest dealer and the July appt. they will have the part. I would not want to bring it in after a 2 month wait and have them say, "yes it is the shock, those are backordered for 2 more months".

 

[Will_T]

Well, it is a 2+ month wait for my appt. at the first dealer. I have left a couple of messages but cannot get the 2nd dealer to even call me back. In addition to possible employee shortages, it really seems like these dealers just have no interest in doing recall or warranty work. Maybe they have all they can handle with stuff customers are having to pay for so they don't want to fill in any spots with lower paying work covered by Ram?

 

[tchur1]

Can you have the initial dealer just order the shock and then replace it yourself?

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Can you have the initial dealer just order the shock and then replace it yourself?

Not if you want it covered under warranty

 

[tchur1]

Not if you want it covered under warranty

Duh, Im an idiot.

 

[Will_T]

Not if you want it covered under warranty

Yeah, this is what they told me.

Of course, I cannot be sure, but this is what I am starting to suspect... I have since called a several other dealers, not local but in the same ownership franchise. The next closest one won't even call me back after 3 messages. But at a couple of others, I was able to get through to service. What I have come to believe that is really going on is this: The dealers have a pretty full schedule of work from the general paying public, work that is not warranty or recall work. They must make more money on that work than they do on work reimbursed by Ram. However, I doubt they can flat out refuse to do warranty and recall work without getting their dealership in trouble with Ram. So, they make it as hard as possible to schedule warranty and recall work, hoping you will just go elsewhere. They filter out this work by the questions they ask up front. Every call I made; the first question was for the year of the vehicle. So, on the last call, I told them it was a 2016 and had 80,000 miles and I needed 4 new shocks. That call was this morning, Friday, and they wanted to schedule for next Thursday. So only a few days out. Now, I can't be sure that if I had told them I had one leaking shock on a 2021 with only 4K miles, that they would have said anything different knowing it was a warranty claim. Maybe this dealership was just not as busy as the first few I called. In any case I begged off the call since I was making it up and of course do not have a 2016 with 4 worn out shocks, and that dealership was a couple hundred miles away anyway, so I will never know for sure.

But more evidence for this might be: When I scheduled the grid heater recall at our local dealer, I was told the soonest they could "Squeeze" it in was an appointment for well over 2 months out. But the next day I took the truck into that same dealer's quick lube for oil and fuel filter service. They brought up the needed recall and I told them I knew and had just scheduled it the day before and was surprised at the 2-1/2 month wait. The service writer rolled his eyes and said: "We will send the truck over to the main service dept. after the quick lube service. We have technicians waiting for something to do". So, no 2-1/2 month wait at all. I suspect the service schedulers are just told to put off warranty and recall work as much as possible in the hope that they won't have to actually do it. Of course, I could be wrong, but maybe not?

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Yeah, this is what they told me.

Of course, I cannot be sure, but this is what I am starting to suspect... I have since called a several other dealers, not local but in the same ownership franchise. The next closest one won't even call me back after 3 messages. But at a couple of others, I was able to get through to service. What I have come to believe that is really going on is this: The dealers have a pretty full schedule of work from the general paying public, work that is not warrantee or recall work. They must make more money on that work than they do on work reimbursed by Ram. However, I doubt they can flat out refuse to do warrantee and recall work without getting their dealership in trouble with Ram. So, they make it as hard as possible to schedule warrantee and recall work, hoping you will just go elsewhere. They filter out this work by the questions they ask up front. Every call I made; the first question was for the year of the vehicle. So, on the last call, I told them it was a 2016 and had 80,000 miles and I needed 4 new shocks. That call was this morning, Friday, and they wanted to schedule for next Thursday. So only a few days out. Now, I can't be sure that if I had told them I had one leaking shock on a 2021 with only 4K miles, that they would have said anything different knowing it was a warrantee claim. Maybe this dealership was just not as busy as the first few I called. In any case I begged off the call since I was making it up and of course do not have a 2016 with 4 worn out shocks, and that dealership was a couple hundred miles away anyway, so I will never know for sure.

But more evidence for this might be: When I scheduled the grid heater recall at our local dealer, I was told the soonest they could "Squeeze" it in was an appointment for well over 2 months out. But the next day I took the truck into that same dealer's quick lube for oil and fuel filter service. They brought up the needed recall and I told them I knew and had just scheduled it the day before and was surprised at the 2-1/2 month wait. The service writer rolled his eyes and said: "We will send the truck over to the main service dept. after the quick lube service. We have technicians waiting for something to do". So, no 2-1/2 month wait at all. I suspect the service schedulers are just told to put off warrantee and recall work as much as possible in the hope that they won't have to actually do it. Of course, I could be wrong, but maybe not?

Pretty much when i had DEF issues with a count down i was in the next day but any other issues its always 2-3 weeks unless its a paying job, i remember at the dealershit i worked at was always keeping spots for urgent repairs/ paid repairs and then only allowed for A few warrenty appointments a week, it was to keep profit flowing through the dealership as warrenty pays the bare minimum (sometimes pays less than what the job takes)

 

[Will_T]

i remember at the dealershit i worked at was always keeping spots for urgent repairs/ paid repairs and then only allowed for A few warrenty appointments a week, it was to keep profit flowing through the dealership as warrenty pays the bare minimum (sometimes pays less than what the job takes)

This is what I was suspecting from the runaround I am getting but it sure is frustrating as a new truck owner with a warranty. Makes me realize I probably wasted $1,300.00 getting the extended warranty to 7 or 8 years. I guess if I have a big issue like an emissions or engine/drivetrain failure, I will be glad to have it. But sure is frustrating on the little stuff. If I had any experience and felt I could change a shock myself, and I had a long towing trip coming up, I would probably just buy a shock and do it as I am sure a lot of you would. Or might even just get the independent shop we use for our older cars to do it. And I guess that would be good for the dealer. But I am not any kind of mechanic and will only put on a few hundred miles at most until the appt. so I will just put it out of mind and wait.

Once I get a year or two more into ownership, maybe I will start thinking of the warranty being only for the real big things and just bite the bullet on smaller stuff if I need to.

Warranty coverage is not something to pass over lightly with even just the cost of parts going up so much, so July it will be. My wife's 2-1/2 year old Subaru just today took a rock to the windshield on the freeway. Shattered about 1/3rd of it. Just the windshield itself is over 800.00 before installation because of the Subaru Eyesight technology built into it. I had the whole windshield replaced on my 20 year old truck before I sold it last year. Only cost about $300.00 installed.

 

[Will_T]

warrenty pays the bare minimum (sometimes pays less than what the job takes)

That should never be!

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

That should never be!

This is true it also causes guys to rush and find “shortcuts” to get the job done under or even to the book time the warranty pays

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

One of my rear shocks was leaking. I Discovered it at about 5k miles or so when I put the fox shocks on. The stock shocks are straight junk

 

[Will_T]

I talked to the dealer again this morning because I realized that maybe they had never taken my appt this Thursday for the heater grid recall off their schedule. That recall was scheduled 3 months ago but done the next day at a quick lube appointment and they never took it off their schedule, so I asked if I could just bring the truck in for the shock at that time instead. They said no because that was a different type of service appt with a different level of technician. I asked about the procedure for the appointment in July for the shock and they said that appt was just to look at the shock and determine if it was indeed bad and that it is a valid warranty claim with no road damage etc. Then if valid, and if the shock is in stock, they will change it then. If not in stock, they will order it then and schedule another appointment once it comes in. So, if shocks are not in stock, the initial July appt could just be step one in a longer wait.

Pretty frustrating.

 

[Greenhills]

My time and sanity is worth FAR more than a set of shocks. I would have just bought my own, and if i couldn't have sourced one.... i'd have bought a set of 4.

Too bad you're not closer. i have a brand new set of 4 sitting in the corner.

 

[Will_T]

My time and sanity is worth FAR more than a set of shocks. I would have just bought my own, and if i couldn't have sourced one.... i'd have bought a set of 4.

Too bad you're not closer. i have a brand new set of 4 sitting in the corner.

Yeah. The problem is that unlike almost everything else including homes and RVs, I do not have the experience, confidence or tools to do vehicle repair myself. I could buy an OEM shock if I could find one, but would have no idea how best to change it. I considered just getting a set of 4 shocks put on and I called the shop that put Bilstein 5100s, that I was happy with, my old V10. He said the rear shocks are backordered, showing 3 weeks before he can even order them in with no guarantee that won't move out more as it gets closer.

Insane times we live in now. The manager of that shop told me he has a buddy who bought a new Ram 3500 last August. At 6,000 miles, in early October, something electronic in the fuel or emissions system went out and it had to be towed to our local dealer. Seven months later, the truck is still sitting there waiting for the backordered part.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

I talked to the dealer again this morning because I realized that maybe they had never taken my appt this Thursday for the heater grid recall off their schedule. That recall was scheduled 3 months ago but done the next day at a quick lube appointment and they never took it off their schedule, so I asked if I could just bring the truck in for the shock at that time instead. They said no because that was a different type of service appt with a different level of technician. I asked about the procedure for the appointment in July for the shock and they said that appt was just to look at the shock and determine if it was indeed bad and that it is a valid warranty claim with no road damage etc. Then if valid, and if the shock is in stock, they will change it then. If not in stock, they will order it then and schedule another appointment once it comes in. So, if shocks are not in stock, the initial July appt could just be step one in a longer wait.

Pretty frustrating.

Thats a load of crap because literally anyone including an apprentice could do both jobs thats just aggravating to hear

 

[Will_T]

Thats a load of crap because literally anyone including an apprentice could do both jobs thats just aggravating to hear

Yeah, like I said, frustrating. Not sure if you saw my earlier post about the grid heater recall. But when I called to get that done, they said the first appt was 3 months out. I scheduled that and then took the truck into their quick lube the next day. They did the oil and filters change and then did the grid heater test right then. When I asked why the day before it was months before the recall could get done, he just rolled his eyes and told me he did not understand the dealership scheduling but they had numerous techs with the time to do it so they did.

 

[1996dram]

My right rear shock started leaking at 12k... checked with parts guy and he couldn't find any, or tell me when he could get one.... so I never made an appointment... Ordered Bilsteins from Geno's..... I'm to old to waste time with a dealer to get an obviously inferior part...

 

[Will_T]

My right rear shock started leaking at 12k... checked with parts guy and he couldn't find any, or tell me when he could get one.... so I never made an appointment... Ordered Bilsteins from Geno's..... I'm to old to waste time with a dealer to get an obviously inferior part...

Yeah, this seems par for the course with what I have learned about Ram dealer service departments. I love the truck itself, but when I researched what to buy, I did not think to look at owner experience at our local dealers service departments. I was considering both Ram and GMC and went with the Ram based on the truck itself. But after the fact I discovered that our local Ram service has a terrible reputation. Our local GMC service is stellar. That may have changed my decision, I don't know.

Someone this morning said their brother was at our local Ram dealer recently looking for a truck. They had nothing but he asked about a long line of dusty but newer looking HD trucks parked along a fence in the back. He was told those were customer trucks waiting for service. Probably one of them was the truck I was told about yesterday that died when brand new and has been sitting there for 7 months with nothing being done. It makes you a bit nervous to be driving a Ram even with the warranty. I am the sort that understands stuff goes wrong. But when it does, I want it taken care of as agreed up front. I am not sure what I would do or could do if my truck broke down and I was told for months and months, "sorry just bad luck, nothing we can do". I am glad that so far I only have the grid heater recall and a bad shock. I mean, what if that guy whose truck has been out of commission for 7 months had needed it for work? Or was a family who towed a camper several times a year. What can they do, try to buy another truck. Good luck with that right now also. Just crazy!