Love/hate new truck

[Kirwin]

I pull bumper pull trailer. Although the 2013 is about 1.5" higher unloaded, when I drop the trailer on the ball, my receiver is within 1/4' of the receiver height of my 2003. The suspension is softer unloaded on the 2013 than the 2003 was when it was new. Both of these are DRW trucks. Ken Irwin

 

[Dutch & Di]

Update. Picked up the truck this afternoon. 3 trips and 2 different dealers to tell us it was the sensors---DUH, we could have told them that! After "extensive testing" they put the "tool" on that they picked up a few days ago and nothing showed up at all. Then they had to order 6 sensors expedited shipping which had them arrive on Tuesday at 4 pm---- some expedited shipping! Too late to fix it so it took til today to get that done. They changed some settings in the navigation settings so I have lost what I had but they said that would fix other issues. Time will tell.
No luck on the brakes. They put a diagnostic tool on it and are waiting for the results to come back but not sure when. Since they weren't going to do anything over the weekend & we have to pull out of here Monday we took our truck back as we were tired of climbing in and out of a Charger.
Kind of a wasted 9 days IMO. Will keep you updated on our progress is if/when we have any. Hugs, Di

That is what the manual says the "service tire pressure system" message means. A sensor has gone bad, or is not reporting to the EVIC.

Now, if the sensors are all good, and still getting message, something else is bad.

Since dutch and di have had theirs in a number of times, I would assume the sensors were all checked out, and OK. So, their problem must lie elsewhere. EVIC bad, receiver bad, etc.

Waiting to have the shop find out what is wrong, and have them let us know.

It is not a tire with low pressure, as the 3500 system is entirely different than the 2500 system.

 

[MelvinPierce]

"Stealers" can really get under one's skin!

The OWNERS MANUAL says that if that message comes up, the SENSOR is bad.

Yet, it takes several trips to a dealer, and repeated failed attempts to fix the problem, before they realize what the problem is!

The Three Stooges could do a better job!

Glad you got it FINALLY fixed!

 

[sag2]

"Stealers" can really get under one's skin!

The OWNERS MANUAL says that if that message comes up, the SENSOR is bad.

Yet, it takes several trips to a dealer, and repeated failed attempts to fix the problem, before they realize what the problem is!

The Three Stooges could do a better job!

Glad you got it FINALLY fixed!

Boy, if I only realized that if I read the owners manual I could fix a problem like this. It's too bad the dealers involved wasted all that money sending their technicians to school so they could understand how all the systems on today's vehicles work. The probability of all six (or four, as two seemed to report properly) sensors going bad is slim to none, and slim just left. Kind of proves that fact when I looked at the average weekly demand for the entire county for the sensors, two were 0, and the other four were 1. If these sensors failed frequently not only would they not have to be shipped in from across the country, the AWD would be much higher than 1. And from reading the link posted by the owner, they sell tire pressure monitoring systems so I assume they use them on their trailer and are very familiar with their operation. So my bet is there is plenty more to this story that we don't know.
But for now, I'm going to go back to reading all the owners manuals so I can fix the stuff that comes in Monday. Hey Bob, I'll save them up and send them to you when I'm done.

 

[DiamondDiver]

I tow a 40 ft 5er with a 4x4 megacab 2500. with my 16K reese at it's lowest the trailer trim is slightly aft. A Reese 5th airborne sidewinder pin/turret allows the short bed to work quite well with trailer, even with the ram box package. The sidewinder allows me to put the hitch at its lowest position, not having to slide the hitch was my primary concern, everything else was a bonus.

I may look into reversing the axles on the trailer, it just might level out the load completely. The trim now is only slightly aft, which I've had no trouble living with.

When I tow I have no concerns about uphill turns, tilted roads or gravel roads. The confidence I have in my rig makes traveling with it much more enjoyable. I'm glad I spent the money on the hitch upgrades.

 

[Dutch & Di]

Ok, I'm starting to feel the l-o-v-e.
So far tire pressure is showing correctly on the screen. Dutch and I were talking about the manager who kept repeatedly saying that at 6,000 miles the brakes were like they had never been touched. We even took a brand new 2014 out and the brakes were the same. Hmmm, sounds like the brakes have never been seated. That got Dutch to thinking and he decided to take her out and make sure the brakes had been touched. I opted not to go with him. When he returned, he said they was definitely an improvement. About 3 days later, he took her out again and we now both see a marked improvement. Dutch is now thinking that because he was using the exhaust brake all the time that the brakes were not getting the proper usage so they weren't seating as quickly which is plausible.
The biggest problem today is they are all "technicians" and if they put a computer on it they take the readout as gospel. We need MECHANICS again. Someone who uses his/her brain and can come to the conclusion we finally did but long before us.

The nav system still doesn't work as it should but I haven't given up on it yet and have found ways to make a few things work better.

The only real downside is the fuel mileage unhooked and towing still sucks but is getting marginally better. Keep your fingers crossed so you see a smiling Di at MM. Hugs, Di

 

[Dutch & Di]

Update: Fuel mileage is up just a tad--nothing to go Woo Hoo about but better than going the other way. Have another appointment at a Dodge Dealer in the morning to have several flashes done for several issues as suggested by several people at the May Madness rally last week so will keep you posted there.
The big disappoint was while in Vegas today the "have TPMS serviced" light came on again. A quick check showed the passenger outer dually tire not registering. 60 miles later it was registering again. We have to get it checked out as we are leaving next week with our 5th wheel and will be on all back roads and major towns that would have a Dodge dealer will be far and few between. If this issue is not found and corrected, it will be very hard to start out feeling we have a potential problem. Will post when we have an answer. Hugs, Di

Ok, I'm starting to feel the l-o-v-e.
So far tire pressure is showing correctly on the screen. Dutch and I were talking about the manager who kept repeatedly saying that at 6,000 miles the brakes were like they had never been touched. We even took a brand new 2014 out and the brakes were the same. Hmmm, sounds like the brakes have never been seated. That got Dutch to thinking and he decided to take her out and make sure the brakes had been touched. I opted not to go with him. When he returned, he said they was definitely an improvement. About 3 days later, he took her out again and we now both see a marked improvement. Dutch is now thinking that because he was using the exhaust brake all the time that the brakes were not getting the proper usage so they weren't seating as quickly which is plausible.
The biggest problem today is they are all "technicians" and if they put a computer on it they take the readout as gospel. We need MECHANICS again. Someone who uses his/her brain and can come to the conclusion we finally did but long before us.

The nav system still doesn't work as it should but I haven't given up on it yet and have found ways to make a few things work better.

The only real downside is the fuel mileage unhooked and towing still sucks but is getting marginally better. Keep your fingers crossed so you see a smiling Di at MM. Hugs, Di

 

[Dutch & Di]

We were at the Dodge dealer at 8 am. Dominic the diagnostician said he would take care of everything. Even though we were only at a bit over 9,000 miles we decided to have the oil changed while there. Two hours later the oil was changed and Dominic said there had been "recalls" on the phone and tire pressure monitoring system. He said he also did a flash on the GPS navigation so "she" won't jump from the set volume of 12 to 16 all by herself and we should be good to go. He told Dutch to wait til the light comes on for the next oil change. He said that should be about 15, 000 miles. We reset the oil prompt back to zero as they hadn't done so. Now we will know that when change oil light does come on, it will be from todays mileage. We drove back the 8 miles to the RV park. At 4 went to visit friends about 5 miles away. The "Have Internal Phone serviced" came up on the screen. I tried to call but they had closed 12 minutes earlier. Will have to call Monday to find out what to do and keep our fingers crossed that the other work they did will be ok.
Not the outcome I had hoped for but unfortunately am coming to expect. Hugs, Di

 

[JLandry]

He told Dutch to wait til the light comes on for the next oil change. He said that should be about 15, 000 miles.

Hi Di,

According to owner's manual the oil must be changed when notified by the oil change reminder OR every six months, whichever comes first. I suspect you'll hit six months before reaching 15,000 miles... right?

Best regards,

John L.

 

[Dutch & Di]

I agree with you John but when Dodge tells you to go strictly by the oil change reminder just how long can you argue with them? That is why we changed it when we did. Two different Dodge dealers in 2 different states disagree with the manual even though we are telling them we have a large heavy 5th wheel that we are towing and that we are fulltime RV'ers. I believe we will always be in a "can't win" position no matter what we do.
See you soon in Oregon. Hugs, Di

 

[JLandry]

I agree with you John but when Dodge tells you to go strictly by the oil change reminder just how long can you argue with them?

A dealer's incorrect verbal instructions don't override the factory's written instructions via the owner's and service manual. In my experience, dealers give out wrong information a large percentage of the time.

The 2014 Ram Truck Diesel Suppliment owners manual gives the following oil change interval a full 24 times:

Replace the engine oil and oil filter every 15,000 miles (24 000 km) or six months, or sooner if prompted by the oil change indicator system. Under no circumstances should oil change intervals exceed 15,000 miles (24 000 km) or six months, whichever comes first.​

The 2014 Ram Truck Warranty booklet states:

9. Maintenance

9.1 General Information

It's your responsibility to properly maintain and operate your new truck. Follow the instructions contained in the General and Scheduled Maintenance Service guidelines in your Owner's Manual.​

Don't risk it... follow the required FACTORY oil change interval.

Have safe travels,

John L.

 

[JR]

OK, I gotta ask, why is oil all the sudden only good for 6 Months? I believe the majority of people will probably hit the 6 month window before 15k, surely the additives aren't going to be depleted in such a short time frame? The oil in my truck sits MUCH longer than 6 months. Shoot, my Mustang sits on blocks 6-7 months out of the year, often with used oil.

 

[Ram4Sam]

OK, I gotta ask, why is oil all the sudden only good for 6 Months? I believe the majority of people will probably hit the 6 month window before 15k, surely the additives aren't going to be depleted in such a short time frame? The oil in my truck sits MUCH longer than 6 months. Shoot, my Mustang sits on blocks 6-7 months out of the year, often with used oil.

I am curious to see how this plays out......I got free lifetime changes when I bought, and as stated several different times/pages in the owners manual, in Jlandry's copy above, six months max. That will be 4 to 6 thousand miles for me, and I can hear the service writer now saying "come back in 15,000 miles or when the evic says to change......."

We shall see.

Sam

 

[JR]

My thoughts exactly Sam. Kind of takes away from Rams marketing hype of extended service intervals if you gotta pull the plug on oil thats only got 5k on it because it has "expired"

 

[sag2]

The six months is to keep acids and moisture from building up in the oil. The best thing for oil (and engines for that matter) is to run it all the time without shutting it off. When you warm up and cool down all the time the engine builds condensation (water and combustion by products = acids) and you may not be able to "burn" it off by driving. As JLandry said, you can never go wrong by following the owners manual, regardless what anyone else tells you.
As far as the "Have Internal Phone serviced" looked at, if you do not use any of the APPS on the radio, this is kind of a moot point. To run the APPS, especially the ones you have to pay for, there is a Sprint phone built into the radio. If the message appears it may just be a poor service area, but as far as operation of the radio it is just an annoyance. They probably could have worded the message a little better, as the majority of customers do not use the APPS.

 

[Ram4Sam]

My thoughts exactly Sam. Kind of takes away from Rams marketing hype of extended service intervals if you gotta pull the plug on oil thats only got 5k on it because it has "expired"

I don't really have a problem with that, on my previous truck, I did oil changes every 5000 miles, which was usually 8 to 10 months for me. For warranty sake, it will be done every six months, if it becomes a hassle at the dealer, I will just do it myself, which I always have anyway. I am still of mixed feeling on the free oil changes anyway, been doing my own work for 45 years.............

Sam

 

[JR]

The six months is to keep acids and moisture from building up in the oil. The best thing for oil (and engines for that matter) is to run it all the time without shutting it off. When you warm up and cool down all the time the engine builds condensation (water and combustion by products = acids) and you may not be able to "burn" it off by driving. As JLandry said, you can never go wrong by following the owners manual, regardless what anyone else tells you.

Is this recomendation the result of the EGR and other emmissions equipment on the 6.7 or are there other factors involved? I realize my ol dinosaur is nothing like these new hotrods, but I've sent in UOA samples with oil that was pushing 12 months old and my TBN has always been good. My truck never gets short runs though either, as you made mention.

I'm sorry for getting off topic Di, I'm just trying to get my head wrapped around this 6 month interval as it is new to me.

 

[sag2]

The factory is on the hook for a very expensive engine. They also have no idea what operating conditions each vehicle is used in. So they have no choice than error on the conservative side. If your confident that the way you care for it is better than the OEM guide, go for it. If it breaks and they ask you for all your records and you can't produce them, you better have plenty of money to back up your choice. The chance of failure is small because the Cummins is a very tough engine, but my wallet has learned the hard way that for every decision there are possible and potentially expensive consequences.

 

[AH64ID]

A lot of the time interval depends on the oil used, even good synthetics like Amsoil don't allow you to go more than a year without sampling or changing.

At least we are past the days of 3K or 3 months.

Oil in every internal combustion engine starts to degrade the day you pour it in, gas engine, non-EGR diesel, EGR....

 

[CBari]

Here is my big argument on the 6 months thing. I bought my truck in the end of November, but it was built in September. Then I wonder when was the engine really built and the Oil put in. So in theory the dealers could have trucks sitting on their lot that need an oil change and have never been sold or used according to the 6 months wording of the manual.

I also believe that the fancy algorithm used for the evic oil change monitor should have a 6 month timer figured in it if it is all that critical.