Attention: TDR Forum Junkies Click below to watch: Cummins Explains RAM 6.7L Emissions Recall 67A
The following is an excerpt from the upcoming TDR Issue 127 on this topic, by Stan Gozzi.
RECALL 67A: A MISTAKE OR BAD TIMING?
I had been putting off getting the recall completed on my truck. In fact, I returned the post card to FCA (Stellantis) indicating the recall had already been performed shortly after receiving the first notice. A quick look on DealerConnect shows that attempt was in vain, the system still showed the recall was open. Once I received the letter indicating that if I completed the recall, I would receive a very generous extended warranty on many of the aftertreatment parts, so I was swayed to get it done. The final motivation was punitive. The state of California was not going to allow me to renew the registration until the emissions recall was completed.
When I received my registration renewal and, to my surprise, I was again required to obtain a smog inspection. This is the third inspection on my 2018 Turbo Diesel in a state where new vehicles purchased are exempt from emissions testing for a period of seven years. According to our smog instructor at the college, they are really trying to catch the smog cheats by randomly (yeah, sure) testing diesel vehicles before the seven-year grace period. Hopefully by reading this you might avoid a mistake I made by having the recall completed.
Mistake: Is the recall a mistake or was my timing bad? Short answer: my timing was bad. Here is the story. I set up the appointment to have the recall flash completed. It was completed with no fanfare, just as I had hoped.
The Rest of the Story:
TDR Members Please Note – Emissions Monitors
The following week I brought it into school to have the smog check completed. I had my CARB EO sticker for the Banks Intake manifold I installed (Issue 120, pages 102-104) and thought I would be in and out in half an hour. What I failed to consider was when the recall flash was completed it wiped out all the emissions monitors that were previously completed. It never even crossed my mind until the class instructor handed me the certificate indicating the truck had failed for incomplete monitors.
Now came the really bad news. It might take thousands of miles to get all seven monitors to run. Luckily, I had a trip planned to northern California to go fool around on the Polaris quad. That should help speed things up. The first five monitors completed within a few days of normal driving, but the remaining two, NMHC Catalyst (the catalyst ahead of the DPF) and Particulate Matter Filter Monitor (the DPF) were not complete.
I had several days and a few hundred miles on the truck. On the way to northern California with the trailer in tow I get the dreaded ding and CEL. A quick check showed a P0542 for the primary side of the grid heater relay. I cleared the code which unfortunately cleared all the monitors again. Starting over, during the remainder of the trip (830 miles) the same five monitors ran, but not the remaining two. I called my technician friend, and he said they had to drive one 2,000 miles plus to get the monitors to run. That was not the news I wanted to hear. I then was able to find a description of the monitors on DealerConnect and to my dismay it indicated that the truck may need to run up to three, 24 hour regens to complete the monitor. I thought about just letting the truck idle for a couple days in the driveway to accumulate the drive time, but I had a trip to Fresno scheduled. Also, I was driving it at every chance and the hours clicked by fairly quickly. I was just about to the second 24 hours of run time, so I hooked up wiTech again and drove around until the second 24 hour regen started. It completed the regen in about 15 minutes of driving and thankfully the remaining two monitors completed shortly thereafter.
The lesson learned, get the smog check before the recall. As far as how the truck runs, I have not noticed anything different since completing the 67A recall.
Stan Gozzi
TDR Writer
Stan has a unique situation with the 67A recall. He lives in California where the smog testing procedure is much more in-depth than that of the other 49 states. Here in Georgia, diesel vehicles aren’t subject to any emissions testing. Gasoline-powered vehicles in urban counties are checked to make sure the “check engine” light is not illuminated. My point: It looks like all 50 states have unique criteria and we’ve learned, again, that California’s is extensive.
Excerpted from the upcoming Turbo Diesel Register magazine, Issue #127.
The following is an excerpt from the upcoming TDR Issue 127 on this topic, by Stan Gozzi.
RECALL 67A: A MISTAKE OR BAD TIMING?
I had been putting off getting the recall completed on my truck. In fact, I returned the post card to FCA (Stellantis) indicating the recall had already been performed shortly after receiving the first notice. A quick look on DealerConnect shows that attempt was in vain, the system still showed the recall was open. Once I received the letter indicating that if I completed the recall, I would receive a very generous extended warranty on many of the aftertreatment parts, so I was swayed to get it done. The final motivation was punitive. The state of California was not going to allow me to renew the registration until the emissions recall was completed.
When I received my registration renewal and, to my surprise, I was again required to obtain a smog inspection. This is the third inspection on my 2018 Turbo Diesel in a state where new vehicles purchased are exempt from emissions testing for a period of seven years. According to our smog instructor at the college, they are really trying to catch the smog cheats by randomly (yeah, sure) testing diesel vehicles before the seven-year grace period. Hopefully by reading this you might avoid a mistake I made by having the recall completed.
Mistake: Is the recall a mistake or was my timing bad? Short answer: my timing was bad. Here is the story. I set up the appointment to have the recall flash completed. It was completed with no fanfare, just as I had hoped.
The Rest of the Story:
TDR Members Please Note – Emissions Monitors
The following week I brought it into school to have the smog check completed. I had my CARB EO sticker for the Banks Intake manifold I installed (Issue 120, pages 102-104) and thought I would be in and out in half an hour. What I failed to consider was when the recall flash was completed it wiped out all the emissions monitors that were previously completed. It never even crossed my mind until the class instructor handed me the certificate indicating the truck had failed for incomplete monitors.
Now came the really bad news. It might take thousands of miles to get all seven monitors to run. Luckily, I had a trip planned to northern California to go fool around on the Polaris quad. That should help speed things up. The first five monitors completed within a few days of normal driving, but the remaining two, NMHC Catalyst (the catalyst ahead of the DPF) and Particulate Matter Filter Monitor (the DPF) were not complete.
I had several days and a few hundred miles on the truck. On the way to northern California with the trailer in tow I get the dreaded ding and CEL. A quick check showed a P0542 for the primary side of the grid heater relay. I cleared the code which unfortunately cleared all the monitors again. Starting over, during the remainder of the trip (830 miles) the same five monitors ran, but not the remaining two. I called my technician friend, and he said they had to drive one 2,000 miles plus to get the monitors to run. That was not the news I wanted to hear. I then was able to find a description of the monitors on DealerConnect and to my dismay it indicated that the truck may need to run up to three, 24 hour regens to complete the monitor. I thought about just letting the truck idle for a couple days in the driveway to accumulate the drive time, but I had a trip to Fresno scheduled. Also, I was driving it at every chance and the hours clicked by fairly quickly. I was just about to the second 24 hours of run time, so I hooked up wiTech again and drove around until the second 24 hour regen started. It completed the regen in about 15 minutes of driving and thankfully the remaining two monitors completed shortly thereafter.
The lesson learned, get the smog check before the recall. As far as how the truck runs, I have not noticed anything different since completing the 67A recall.
Stan Gozzi
TDR Writer
Stan has a unique situation with the 67A recall. He lives in California where the smog testing procedure is much more in-depth than that of the other 49 states. Here in Georgia, diesel vehicles aren’t subject to any emissions testing. Gasoline-powered vehicles in urban counties are checked to make sure the “check engine” light is not illuminated. My point: It looks like all 50 states have unique criteria and we’ve learned, again, that California’s is extensive.
Excerpted from the upcoming Turbo Diesel Register magazine, Issue #127.
