Ram Cummins (unreliable)

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MidOH

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Do not recommend. I didn't want to piss in the Ram thread.

Previous 2019 Ram:
-split injection pump in half
-months later 2 injectors fail
-stranded twice

New Ram
-shifts smooth as burlap. Recall for trans. Aisen still shifts stinky.
-intake heater recall: "Don't park by house, will burn it down"
- aaaaaaaand will be stranded soon by DEF fail

1000008036.jpg

That's just way too much in just 150,000 miles of Ram ownership. Arrgh.
 

OTH Overland

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That sucks, We have a 2012 and it's been a great truck for the most part, it is pre-def though. only problems we have had has been the turbo actuator (common failure) and replaced with a aftermarket one from City Diesel and now performs better than new. The other issue was a bricked ECM, but that may have been my own fault, believe the battery voltage was too low while reading the ECM. Glad I do not have DEF, seen lots of problems from a lot of different makes from that.
 
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K12

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I have a 2013 mega cab and love it. only problem was same ast OTH and replaced it with the exact same aftermarket actuator. Unfortunately i have the DEF system which does get annoying having to fill it, but has never cause actual problems. Other problems are very minor and general maint stuff, sensors going out over time etc. One link in the airbox broke as well... but I took out the gate and made a CAI out of it and it runs far better now. Just went over 150k miles on it a fee days ago as well, and lots of towing.
 
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OTH Overland

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[/QUOTE]
I have a 2013 mega cab and love it.
[/QUOTE]

Ours is the mega cab dually. I love the amount of space inside, the dually portion I can do without, use to haul heavy equipment frequently, but no longer, and now the dually just makes it huge .. lol Defiantly not our main overland vehicle, but it does find itself pretty far off the beaten path sometimes. I just wish it got better mileage than it does. Have thought about swapping the bed for a single and Alucabin, or maybe just building a habitat for our winter trips. Never going to replace the JK for most adventures though.
 

Influencer II

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Sorry you are having issues. I’m a diehard Cummins fan. Have had multiple of every generation except the 5th gen. 19-20’s hav e the dreaded cp4 pump. It’s garbage.. when they go the replacement is everything from the fuel system. It puts metal throug out. It is a recall from FCA but only when it dies. i have a ’16 now. Replaced the turbo actuator—takes an hour.. tune the transmission, it does wonders. Other than that I’ve put 50000 miles on it in the last two years without an issue. Its driven daily mostly pulling a heavy dump trailer or the wakeboat.
 
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UglyViking

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19-20’s hav e the dreaded cp4 pump. It’s garbage.. when they go the replacement is everything from the fuel system. It puts metal throug out. It is a recall from FCA but only when it dies.
Just a quick note, this is not true. FCA is currently actively replacing all CP4s with a new CP3. They started with a focus on 2020s (because their failure rate was slightly higher) and trucks with failed pumps. I have a '19 and replaced my CP4 with a CP4 from S&S and FCA sent me a check for the total with install. I'm not alone in this.

As a note to OP. It's pretty unfortunate whats happened with the number of recalls on recent rams. I know Ram isn't alone here, but it doesn't make it any less painful. Two quick notes.

I think the intake heater recall is as simple as a poorly manufactured relay during the covid time. I've got a '19 and am not part of said recall. I've heard they went with a different oem on the relay and a solid state design, but apparently there have been some issues there. I believe the new parts are available and it should be able to be replaced by the recall.

The Aisin trans is a medium duty transmission that Ram has stuffed in a light duty truck. It shifts like a medium duty trans. The downside is that it's shift pattern is a bit lazy and leaves much to be desired. The upside is that it's arguably the most stout trans available on any 2500/3500 diesel truck. Kory Willis (owner of tuning company PPEI) has recently unlocked the ability to tune the Aisin for the first time in history. His tuning is well known and respected, and all early reviews point to the tuning as a huge upgrade, so may be worth the look.
 
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Cypress

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I had a 92 with the 12 valve that went well over 400k miles. The truck was falling apart around the engine. My father has a 2004 that has been flawless for almost 200k miles. My motorhome has the 400 hp Cummins ISL9 that has been flawless for 90k miles.

That said, I don't think I would pay the price for a new one. The reliability just isn't there and repairs can be insanely expensive. Good luck with your repairs.
 

Influencer II

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Just a quick note, this is not true. FCA is currently actively replacing all CP4s with a new CP3. They started with a focus on 2020s (because their failure rate was slightly higher) and trucks with failed pumps. I have a '19 and replaced my CP4 with a CP4 from S&S and FCA sent me a check for the total with install. I'm not alone in this.




Well that’s great for you. FCA told us at our shop they were not gonna to replace the CP4 unless is died. Which is really stupid since it takes out the whole fuel system. They could have just given me a CP3 a whole lot cheaper.
 

UglyViking

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Well that’s great for you. FCA told us at our shop they were not gonna to replace the CP4 unless is died. Which is really stupid since it takes out the whole fuel system. They could have just given me a CP3 a whole lot cheaper.
I don't know where your shop is, but this isn't something they can deny. This is a recall, a federal safety recall. If your local dealer isn't honoring the recall, then it sounds like you need to go to a different dealer, press harder, or get your local gov involved. So long as parts are available they don't have the option to deny you the replacement.

Here is a link to the Y78 recall from FCA, and here is the same from the NHTSA.

Again, I must reiterate. This is a federal safety recall. The dealership can not deny the recall be done until the unit fails, full stop. (Note: this is not to say the dealer isn't doing so, but rather to say they legally have no grounds and could face major issues if pressed)
 

dirk

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A recall never goes away until it is perf. We have done recalls on 30 yr old motorcycles BMW paid the current flat rate. Go elsewhere if they will not do the work.
 

Enthusiast III

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Do not recommend. I didn't want to piss in the Ram thread.

Previous 2019 Ram:
-split injection pump in half
-months later 2 injectors fail
-stranded twice

New Ram
-shifts smooth as burlap. Recall for trans. Aisen still shifts stinky.
-intake heater recall: "Don't park by house, will burn it down"
- aaaaaaaand will be stranded soon by DEF fail

View attachment 272466

That's just way too much in just 150,000 miles of Ram ownership. Arrgh.
Welcome to owning a Jeep/Dodge product. in 150,000km of ownership of our Jeep, we have replaced everything in the suspension 2 times, throttle body, 3 sets of plugs, various electrical things, stereo pooped the bed, I could go on and on. The most reliable dodge/jeep product I owned was my 2011 Wrangler.....Once I removed all the dumb design features jeep put there, like freaking plastic in the ball joints.

Move to another brand and be MUCH happier. We have 179k on our Ford F150 5.0 and all that's been replaced is one set of plugs and one ball joint. The rest is just regular wear items and maintenance.
 
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MOAK

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Welcome to owning a Jeep/Dodge product. in 150,000km of ownership of our Jeep, we have replaced everything in the suspension 2 times, throttle body, 3 sets of plugs, various electrical things, stereo pooped the bed, I could go on and on. The most reliable dodge/jeep product I owned was my 2011 Wrangler.....Once I removed all the dumb design features jeep put there, like freaking plastic in the ball joints.

Move to another brand and be MUCH happier. We have 179k on our Ford F150 5.0 and all that's been replaced is one set of plugs and one ball joint. The rest is just regular wear items and maintenance.
Yup, I will not even consider any Jeep/Dodge product. I too could go on and on about the miserable failures of the Liberty/Motori diesel, so I'll just say that they cheaped out on the design and it cost me over 4k to have the fuel pump replaced just out of warranty, with all the problems documented at the dealership since the 10,000 mile mark. The 2004 Rubicon was a good vehicle, however, as you stated, be prepared to rebuild the suspension, the front axle u-joints, ball joints, etc, etc, about every 50,000 miles. As far as modern small diesels? No thanks. In most of the lower 48 diesel fuel is a dollar or more per gallon than gasoline, which negates any savings with higher mpgs. The maintenance necessary and the constant nightmarish failures of modern diesels are well documented. At the end of this summer, the 80, the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned, along with all the gear and trailer, is going on the market and will be replaced with an F-350 with the gasoline engine. The bed will be removed and replaced with a Norweld, atop that will be a Grandby 4WD camper. Total weight loaded will be a couple hundred over 2,000 lbs. I'm thinking the 6.8l with 3.73s will be more than enough power. @MidOH; As far as urinating on the Ram thread, I can get behind that. Overpriced junk.
 

MidOH

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Update. They fixed my Cummins.

Now the DEF guage drops quicker than my diesel fuel guage. And I leave a cool snail trail of DEF wherever I go.

Yay. i'M saVInG tEH enVRonmEnT. I aM.