transmission Fluid Line Leak - Less Than 2200 Miles on New Truck!

[JLandry]

UPDATE No. 5 or More Bad News

I'm going to try keep this ever growing saga as short as possible...

Through some online research and a quick telephone call, I've figured out the correct part number for the leaking transmission oil cooler line on our truck (52014713AC). I gave that info to the dealership in Mineola, TX which has our truck, but got the feeling they we're going to act on it. The response seemed to be: If our parts department can't figure it out, how could you do any better. I was told by the dealership they have a call into Chrysler for assistance in figuring out the correct part number and were waiting to hear back. In other words, it's out of our hands and we're waiting on someone else.

The worst news is that my online parts contact told me there's only ONE of these cooling line assemblies in stock in the entire US (at a dealership) and he couldn't tell me if it was already allocated to another customer. There are 8 on national backorder, but there are 20 on order by Chrysler and it appeared they're about ready to enter the distribution system. He seemed to think it could take anywhere from one to two weeks to get one.

This prompted me to call Chrysler's Ram customer service where I calmly and politely explained how I'm not having a "positive ownership experience" right now with out-of-commission truck which is only a month old. I told them I'm not unhappy with the dealership, I just want t make sure they're getting all the support possible to help speed this up. They put me on hold, contacted the dealership's service manager to get his side of the story, then escalated my problem to a case manager who's supposed to investigate and have a Chrysler rep expedite and get this resolved as quickly as possible.

I'd be lying if I said I haven't had momentary thoughts of wanting my old truck back. At least I'd be in control and could quickly fix it myself.

Back to waiting, and being disappointed...

John L.

 

[Ram4Sam]

Ask the service manager to pull one off a new truck that might be sitting on the back lot gathering dust..........not likely but you never know.

Good luck

Sam

 

[JLandry]

Maybe we should just go ahead and trade our new truck in on a good 2nd Gen truck?

John L.

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[SnoKing]

Ask the service manager to pull one off a new truck that might be sitting on the back lot gathering dust..........not likely but you never know.

Good luck

Sam

John I second this! Ask them to start paying your RV lot daily rent until they get you on the road! Chris

Chris

 

[JLandry]

Ask them to start paying your RV lot daily rent until they get you on the road!

Chris,

Chrysler's new-vehicle-limited-warranty specifically excludes consequential type damages...

1. Your Legal Rights Under These Limited Warranties

1.1 Incidental and Consequential Damages Not Covered

Your warranties don’t cover any incidental or consequential damages connected with your vehicle’s failure, either while under warranty or afterward.

Examples of such damages include:

• lost time;
• inconvenience;
• the loss of the use of your vehicle;
• the cost of rental vehicles, gasoline, telephone, travel, or lodging;
• the loss of personal or commercial property; and
• the loss of revenue.​

At this point I'm grateful the repairing dealership immediately offered us a nice newer loaner car to use and I don't want to do anything to turn the relationship adversarial. I think the dealer and I are victims of Chrysler's limited part availability due to the newness of the model and lack of part failure history. I'm sure this'll get worked out reasonably fast and I hope someday I can laugh about it.

Now ask me if I still feel this way a week from now.

Also of interest is that our new truck apparently isn't covered under a state lemon law...

Just for fun I researched it last night, and even though we're WA state residents, it's not covered there because we didn't buy it in that state. Only military personal are covered under WA's lemon law when they bring in a new vehicle purchased in another state. On the other hand, it would normally be covered under AZ's lemon law since that's where we bought it, but AZ law excludes vehicles with a GVWR over 10,000 pounds. So we're on our own if things got really bad.

John L.

 

[Wingate]

John, does the loaner have a hitch on the back bumper? I'd take it back and tell them to give me something with a receiver hitch!
If you can get the ends of the line, take it to one of the hose shops in Tyler or Longview and have them build you a custom hose assembly.
Im getting a bad vibe about these new trucks, only 1 line in the US means a mass failure is coming along with a big wait time to get a "new and improved" replacement thats impossible to get.... kinda like the 8 year recall on the front end of my 06 model!

 

[Wingate]

Ask the service manager to pull one off a new truck that might be sitting on the back lot gathering dust..........not likely but you never know.

Good luck

Sam

we have had them do this on our Fords. random tubes/hoses... nothing major.

 

[JLandry]

John, does the loaner have a hitch on the back bumper? I'd take it back and tell them to give me something with a receiver hitch!

If we get desperate and need to move our travel trailer, then I'll definitely explore that. The dealership has a whole bunch of nice Ram trucks in stock.

John L.

 

[Sticks]

Sounds like they need to pull one off one of the trucks in the lot and get you on the road. Let them worry about getting their own truck put back together on their dime.

 

[gsbrockman]

Well I just got a call from the dealership, and guess what? They did get a part in... but as I'd feared, it turns out they'd ordered the WRONG ONE! Now they're scrambling trying to figure out what the correct part number is and how long it's going to take to get it. The service writer sounded frustrated, mentioning the problem is because it's a 2014 model truck and access to part information is still limited.

John.....just call BS on the "limited information because it's a 2014 MY truck". I just checked my copy of the body shop invoice for my 2013 RAM 3500, and the research YOU performed regarding 52014713AC is correct. As previously mentioned, there were ZERO in the parts depot in Cleveland, OH when I needed one. It was located at a dealership and UPS'ed in to the Cleveland Parts Depot a few days later. As vulnerable as these can be in even a light front end collision, I'm left scratching my head as to why there's not more available.
Best of luck on procuring your trans line......and in dealing with the buffoons at that particular dealership.

 

[JLandry]

52014713AC is correct.

Thanks for confirming that.

It was located at a dealership and UPS'ed in a few days later.

Hmm... I wonder if that might be the same stocking dealership my repairing dealership is trying to get it from.

buffoons at that particular dealership.

Buffoons might be a bit too strong. Semi-incompentant parts department employees might be better.

John L.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

John, I talked with our Chrysler contact who attends May Madness. In turn, he talked with the Chrysler guy in Texas and you should get a repair done very soon.

 

[sag2]

View attachment parts_graphics_itemlist1288954813725147683.pdf


Sounds like Joe has help on the way. Worst case there are three lines at dealers. One in KS, AZ, and WY.

On edit, here is the complete parts list. make sure it isn't the little jumper hose, item 3.
I used a 13 VIN, but should be the same as part fits 13-14.

 

[JLandry]

Thanks a million Joe! That's the best news I've heard yet.

I really appreciate that.

John L.

 

[sag2]

John, see the update above, I edited it just after you replied.

 

[JLandry]

John, see the update above, I edited it just after you replied.

sag2,

That's exactly it and we need item 7 in that illustration!

That's the first time I've seen an illustration with the correct depiction of the transmission cooling line assembly as it appears my Aisin equipped truck. The illustrations I've been able to get so far depict lines that don't look correct... like maybe they're for the 68RFE equipped truck.

At this point I'm not sure what part number the dealership has on order, but the service writer assured me it's the correct one. I'm going to ask them for the exact part number this morning to verify.

BTW, the last eight of my truck's VIN is: EG198953

Thank you,

John L.

 

[JLandry]

...make sure it isn't the little jumper hose, item 3.

Originally, I think the dealership repairing my truck did order item 3.

John L.

 

[JLandry]

UPDATE No. 6 or Some Great News!

About 9:00am local time morning I got a call from the service writer at the dealership telling me:

1. They definitely have the correct part number on order this time (52014713AC).
2. There are three in stock at other dealerships elsewhere in the country (exactly as sag2 said).
3. They've entered the order with the highest priority available.
4. All they're waiting on now is for one of those other dealerships to release the part.
5. They wouldn't know when the part would actually deliver until they got a tracking number from a releasing dealer.

Despite all the remaining uncertainty, this seemed like a positive development and made us and feel a little better... like it was the beginning of the end.

About an hour later I got another call from the dealership's service writer again, this time telling me someone from Chrysler had called and DIRECTED them to fabricate a local REPAIR of the leaking transmission cooler line on our truck and not to wait around any longer for a replacement part! The service writer said Chrysler would cover this local repair under warranty. I spoke to the mechanic just to be sure it sounded like he could make a lasting repair, and he seemed confident. He suggested it would still be a good idea to have the line replaced once we're back home in WA state to keep everything "factory."

It seems Joe's telephone call to his Chrysler contact made this new development happen, and I'm very grateful for his intervention.

Then mechanic called me back this afternoon to let me know he's still working on the truck, he hoped to have it finished by the end of today, and there's a possibility we could pick it up late this afternoon or tomorrow morning (depending on when he's finished).

To say we're excited about this latest information is an understatement!

Best regards,

John L.

 

[JLandry]

UPDATE No. 7 or Almost The End

Just got a call from the dealership... our truck is DONE!

We're headed out the door in a few minutes to go pick it up.

John L.

 

[Sticks]

It pays to know a guy, who knows a guy.

Glad a fire got lit under someone's arse, now if that were only the case for everyone who had to go in for this type of BS.

FWIW - my temperature gauge has been reading 30* since I got to work this morning. Worked fine on the way in. I know for a fact it's 70* outside. Guess what is going to continue to read 30* until the first service is due. Not dropping off my truck for one or two days for an incorrect outside temp reading, no way.