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Lemon or "normal" dysfunction?

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stickshifter

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EDIT: Sorry, I wasn't really clear about the purpose of this post. I'm looking for either suggestions how to deal with the problem, or for folks who had similar issues and who successfully resolved them. Thanks in advance.

I have a 2024 Ram 2500 Tradesman with the Power Wagon package; its the 6.4 liter Hemi, ZF 8-speed, and manual lever for the transfer case. The truck is less than one month old.

I've been driving 4WD vehicles with manual transfer case for over 40 years (1978 Jeep CJ-7, 1975 Toyota FJ-40, 2008 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, and three Toyota pickups). I have never had a vehicle lose 4-Wheel drive in 41 years of wheeling and winter driving.

During the first week of ownership, while driving down the highway, the Axle Unlock light occasionally flashed (instead of holding steady to indicate that both axles are unlocked). I called the local dealer and scheduled a service appointment.

Before I went in for service, I used 4-High on a short snow-covered icy road. After shifting back into 2-High, I got a "Service 4WD" flashing light. The next day I had my service appointment, and they said it was the "Module - Transfer Case Control" (sometimes referred to as the "4WD actuator"). They ordered the part, and I got it replaced the next day. That was yesterday.

Today, we drove up to the local ski area on a 16-mile dirt road that was pretty icy, and covered in 2 inches of fresh snow; I used 4-High - no problems on the way up.

On the way back down, while in 4-High, I started getting a flashing light saying "Sway Bar Disconnect Unavailable", and then a light saying "4WD Shift in Progress" (even though I had been driving in 4-High for a few miles). Then another light saying "Service Electronic Stability Control". Then the "4WD" Light (which comes on to indicate that you are in 4WD) went out. I pulled over and shut-off the truck. Started it back up, but I continued to get the "4WD Shift in Progress" light, and the "4WD" light remained off. From what I could tell, 4WD was not engaged.

I shifted the transfer case back and forth between 2-High and 4-High, but the "4WD" light never came back on, and all I could get was "4WD Shift in Progress".

I'm guessing that the Sway Bar Disconnect module is bad, and that this is preventing the truck from going into 4WD, but I'm just guessing.

P.S. Here is the service report from yesterday's visit, prior to this morning's failure:
Warranty_2025-01-24.jpg
 
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We live close to a rural Colorado ski area with a 2016 Ram Power Wagon and a 2024 Ram 3500 4x4 SWB. No issues on either with the 4WD systems. Drive snow and ice covered gravel roads daily.

Our family had issues with their 4WD engagement on a 2014 Ram 2500 4x4 in Wyoming. Couldn't always keep the 4WD engaged in Wyoming due to the ABS brake wiring down by a wheel was damaged.
 
Not normal you just have had bad luck, my 2019 has not had any issues with 4wd once its not a PW but thats irrelevant on your issues
 
H3LZSN1P3R said:
Not normal you just have had bad luck
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Agreed.

OP, you just got unlucky. Mines not a PW either but mother nature decided to make me drive around for 2 days straight in 4WD, in south MS no less, not one issue. Dang global warming!!
You have a warranty, don’t sweat it, let the dealership fix it. Luck of the draw unfortunately.
 
H3LZSN1P3R said:
Not normal you just have had bad luck, my 2019 has not had any issues with 4wd once its not a PW but thats irrelevant on your issues
Click to expand...

Units said:
Agreed.

OP, you just got unlucky. Mines not a PW either but mother nature decided to make me drive around for 2 days straight in 4WD, in south MS no less, not one issue. Dang global warming!!
You have a warranty, don’t sweat it, let the dealership fix it. Luck of the draw unfortunately.
Click to expand...
Thanks!
 
Brutal_HO said:
Have you firmly seated all the fuses?

Don't know if Ram has finally resolved this, but it was very common in the past to cause all sorts of random electrical issues.
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No - thanks for that suggestion! I'll try that after a cup of coffee...

EDIT: Most of the fuses were not firmly seated, and I was able to push them down about 1/8 of an inch. Thanks again for the advice.
 
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I have found Rams 4wd to pretty reliable. Front locker on my 2018 had to be moded to work and sway bar disconnect never worked. But the core 4wd system has never been an issue. Its one thing that scares me about the other big 2, just too many failures. And sometimes you need 4wd!
 
SolidAxleorBust said:
I have found Rams 4wd to pretty reliable. Front locker on my 2018 had to be moded to work and sway bar disconnect never worked. But the core 4wd system has never been an issue. Its one thing that scares me about the other big 2, just too many failures. And sometimes you need 4wd!
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Good to hear - and thanks for that. You have a Grenadier as well - yeah? How has that been so far?
 
The Grenadier is quite an interesting truck. The similarities to the Power Wagon are interesting. ZF transmission, 4:10 gears, over built to the very extreme, in some cases MORE overbuilt. Frame, solid tractor axles, triple locked, all gear driven tcase, winch and so on. Essentially one ton gear on a factory suv. The tie rods are bigger then the Power Wagons! So its good pairing. We got ours in late July. We drove it straight to the hardest trails we could find, did some extreme lines, pushed on after the built Broncos turned around to preserve drivetrain, forded a river....It was amazing. We added a 2" lift and 35s and went to Moab in October, and these things are just stone cold killers off road. Not even a Rubicon comes close with factory capability and livability off road. On road, its not as easy to handle as an IFS vehicle, but if you are used to HD trucks, solid axles, Jeeps, ect, you wont care. Tech is not what you get in a Ram by design. Its designed to be somewhat less complex, and its really easy to work on. Just like the Power Wagon, it should be considered a "1% vehicle". Reliability wise at 10k, its a new brand with new teething issues. We have a short list with mostly needed software updates that are needed as we get un-needed check engine lights. We have a couple of other small things on our list when we take it in next week, but its been pretty close to as reliable as the PW in the same mileage despite being a new car maker, and 0 recalls so far. Ram was at 6 or more by now, up to 13 and just got #14 in the mail. Its an awesome machine for the right user, with outstanding looks, character and off road performance. But its not a luxury mall crawler, and that is a turn off for most. A Bronco or Land Cruiser might be more comfortable on highway, but the Grenadier will be the trail leader and the one to tow the broken rigs out. Only done a few recoveries so far with a mild winter. The PW is slightly better for that, but not by much. Other thing I will say, is the Grenadier community is very authentic, and less fan boi then other brands.
 
SolidAxleorBust said:
The Grenadier is quite an interesting truck. The similarities to the Power Wagon are interesting. ZF transmission, 4:10 gears, over built to the very extreme, in some cases MORE overbuilt. Frame, solid tractor axles, triple locked, all gear driven tcase, winch and so on. Essentially one ton gear on a factory suv. The tie rods are bigger then the Power Wagons! So its good pairing. We got ours in late July. We drove it straight to the hardest trails we could find, did some extreme lines, pushed on after the built Broncos turned around to preserve drivetrain, forded a river....It was amazing. We added a 2" lift and 35s and went to Moab in October, and these things are just stone cold killers off road. Not even a Rubicon comes close with factory capability and livability off road. On road, its not as easy to handle as an IFS vehicle, but if you are used to HD trucks, solid axles, Jeeps, ect, you wont care. Tech is not what you get in a Ram by design. Its designed to be somewhat less complex, and its really easy to work on. Just like the Power Wagon, it should be considered a "1% vehicle". Reliability wise at 10k, its a new brand with new teething issues. We have a short list with mostly needed software updates that are needed as we get un-needed check engine lights. We have a couple of other small things on our list when we take it in next week, but its been pretty close to as reliable as the PW in the same mileage despite being a new car maker, and 0 recalls so far. Ram was at 6 or more by now, up to 13 and just got #14 in the mail. Its an awesome machine for the right user, with outstanding looks, character and off road performance. But its not a luxury mall crawler, and that is a turn off for most. A Bronco or Land Cruiser might be more comfortable on highway, but the Grenadier will be the trail leader and the one to tow the broken rigs out. Only done a few recoveries so far with a mild winter. The PW is slightly better for that, but not by much. Other thing I will say, is the Grenadier community is very authentic, and less fan boi then other brands.
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Great to hear you've been so happy with the Grenadier! It was the only other vehicle I was looking at besides the PW - for all the reasons you mention - despite the obvious difference in size (my ideal size would be something like a Gladiator, but I wasn't too keen on the 3.6 or the 3.0 diesel). I'm about five hours from the nearest Ineos dealer, and that was the final tipping point. I chatted with some folk who have had to be back and forth to the Ineos dealer, and that possibility seemed like it would be too disruptive given my location. Unfortunately, I am now back and forth to the Ram dealer, but it is only 30 minutes away. Hope the Grenadier continues to run well for you!
 
The 3.6 is a great engine. But, not having local dealers is a pain for sure. I was considering a Quartermaster for retirement, but might just get a second Grenadier one day as its so good overlanding. The Power Wagon is a bit large for some trails. I have done it...but still, smaller can be more fun.
 
Strange. The manual T case trucks never used to have a T-case module. Just a plunger type switch. I had a 2016 that used to throw random 4wd shift in progress messages on the EVIC while driving down the freeway @ 70 mph. I eventually talked them into changing it. They didn't want to because it never stored a code and they couldn't duplicate the issue. But I had some pics of it showing the message and the speedo. Cured it in my case.

As for the wheel speed sensors. Yes it can and will disable the ability of the CAD to shift if there is a bad one. But a bad one should set a DTC. They are easy enough to check if you have a decent scan tool that you can graph the sensor PIDs with. I kind of doubt this is causing your issue without a WSS DTC.
Allowing the ABS system to disable the CAD shift is a poor idea in a 4X4 off road truck, IMHO. Especially when you think a manual T-case gets you at least normal 4X4 even if the elockers don't work.
 
This is the kind of live data you want to be looking at. You'll have to go into a few different modules.

Just for the record, I can't find any transfer case control module listed on my 23 with a manual T-case. FDCM, sure.

Screenshot_20250207-163709.png
 
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