2015 EGR Cooler to be replaced

[David W Palmer]

Hello all,

I've got a 2015 with 141k miles with a leaking EGR Cooler, had the AEM completed and just recently read about the EGR Cooler Recall (NHTSA Recall # 19V-757 - Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) cooler on your truck [1] may be susceptible to thermal fatigue....) where the parts are currently unavailable.

Truck has been leaking coolant from the EGR (Passenger side) and burning it. Triage was tricky, found coolant on the driveway when the truck was pointed on a downward slant...refilled the reservoir but didn't seem to leak after driving when parked on the flat. Coolant was still disappearing and had to refill the reservoir after 2-3 days. CEL on and gave me two codes P20EE( SCR NOx Catalyst Efficiency Below Threshold Bank 1) and P04DB (Crankcase breather system disconnected).

Brought it to the Dealership today and the diagnosis is that it needs a new EGR Cooler and Crankcase Sensor, all covered under the FCA Extended Warranty from the AEM and class action law suit. EGR Coolers are on a ship coming from Italy, due in sometime in January, and some EGR bushings are on back order...well that's the story they gave me.

Even though the FCA Extended Emissions(EEW) Warranty 3.0L doesn't explicitly say that a rental is covered, my dealership in Cumming, GA has provided me with a rental while mine sits on their lot...waiting for the ship from Italy to come in. Even if the ship from Italy story isn't true, they provided a decent truck for me in the interim at no cost to myself.

Question
1. EGR replaced under Warranty vs EGR replaced under recall, is there a difference? Will the new EGR come with the same post installation warranty separate from the EEW that came from the AEM computer flash?
2. Is it possible that EGR Coolers replaced under recall, once they figure out what to do with this recall, could have a separate extended warranty?

I'll ask the forum but will ask the dealership too, I just thought that I would post to see if anyone is going through a similar situation.

Additionally, I'll post updates as I go forward but for a Monday...EGR covered under warranty was really good news. Since the EGR Cooler is $4000 and wouldn't have been covered had I not done the AEM with the class action law suit, I was lamenting the loss of power but not any longer. If this all turns out positively, I have a new EGR Cooler and $3075 in settlement money.

Please keep your fingers crossed.

 

[carlhenry]

welcome 2 the group as u know the egr is backordered but that is not the only problem its the antifreeze going through the motor it tears the internals apart especially the rod a d main brgs so u will have have more than your fingers crossed

 

[David W Palmer]

welcome 2 the group as u know the egr is backordered but that is not the only problem its the antifreeze going through the motor it tears the internals apart especially the rod a d main brgs so u will have have more than your fingers crossed

carlhenry, thank you very much for responding. I did share my concern about coolant being burned in the engine with the rep at the dealership handling my truck. I told him I could smell burning coolant from the tailpipe, well when I was standing behind the truck...I didn't put my nose in the tailpipe and take a big whiff. Anyone that has had coolant burn off on the engine knows what that smell is.

So the truck is going to be with the dealership for a month, in all likelihood, do you or anyone else have any advice for me in on what all the internals could and would be damaged from driving with coolant being burned along with the air intake?

Yon have noted the Rod and Main bearings, is there any additional parts in the engine that the dealership should consider being damaged as a result of the defective EGR?
Do I have any leverage for them to dig deeper to check and fix impacted parts from this?

thx

 

[carlhenry]

the dealer does not want 2 do any thing but 2 get it back on the road they r not 2 friendly to their customer sacrifice

 

[ramraiders]

Hello all,

I've got a 2015 with 141k miles with a leaking EGR Cooler, had the AEM completed and just recently read about the EGR Cooler Recall (NHTSA Recall # 19V-757 - Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) cooler on your truck [1] may be susceptible to thermal fatigue....) where the parts are currently unavailable.

Truck has been leaking coolant from the EGR (Passenger side) and burning it. Triage was tricky, found coolant on the driveway when the truck was pointed on a downward slant...refilled the reservoir but didn't seem to leak after driving when parked on the flat. Coolant was still disappearing and had to refill the reservoir after 2-3 days. CEL on and gave me two codes P20EE( SCR NOx Catalyst Efficiency Below Threshold Bank 1) and P04DB (Crankcase breather system disconnected).

Brought it to the Dealership today and the diagnosis is that it needs a new EGR Cooler and Crankcase Sensor, all covered under the FCA Extended Warranty from the AEM and class action law suit. EGR Coolers are on a ship coming from Italy, due in sometime in January, and some EGR bushings are on back order...well that's the story they gave me.

Even though the FCA Extended Emissions(EEW) Warranty 3.0L doesn't explicitly say that a rental is covered, my dealership in Cumming, GA has provided me with a rental while mine sits on their lot...waiting for the ship from Italy to come in. Even if the ship from Italy story isn't true, they provided a decent truck for me in the interim at no cost to myself.

Question
1. EGR replaced under Warranty vs EGR replaced under recall, is there a difference? Will the new EGR come with the same post installation warranty separate from the EEW that came from the AEM computer flash?
2. Is it possible that EGR Coolers replaced under recall, once they figure out what to do with this recall, could have a separate extended warranty?

I'll ask the forum but will ask the dealership too, I just thought that I would post to see if anyone is going through a similar situation.

Additionally, I'll post updates as I go forward but for a Monday...EGR covered under warranty was really good news. Since the EGR Cooler is $4000 and wouldn't have been covered had I not done the AEM with the class action law suit, I was lamenting the loss of power but not any longer. If this all turns out positively, I have a new EGR Cooler and $3075 in settlement money.

Please keep your fingers crossed.

It is my understanding that even if they replace your current EGR cooler now with the orginal bad one you will have to go back into the dealership and get the updated one if you choose to do so. I am in the same boat you are in. p20ee code and truck is currently in the shop getting new EGr cooler and catalyst. They gave me a 2020 1500 to use while mine is getting fixed. you can also send a note to thie counsel working on this case. [email protected]

 

[David W Palmer]

Update, ERG replaced under the AEM extended warranty. 19 days at the dealership and they did provide a vehicle free of charge. I have the truck back now and there is no change in the dead gas pedal...AEM castrated the truck...not that I thought there would be a change. According to the EGR recall notice FCA will be making a decision on what to do on Dec. 13th.

Net is that I have a new EGR and likely a recall on the new one that was just installed...I hope. Have to wait and see but I'll likely keep the recall EGR in my pocket until the AEM extended warranty ends and/or the new EGR fails. Question is, what kid of damage to the engine did I incur with the faulty original EGR.

I will definitely send a not to the counsel, [email protected]...thanks very much @ramraider.

Also, I received the settlement check for $3075.

 

[ramraiders]

Update, ERG replaced under the AEM extended warranty. 19 days at the dealership and they did provide a vehicle free of charge. I have the truck back now and there is no change in the dead gas pedal...AEM castrated the truck...not that I thought there would be a change. According to the EGR recall notice FCA will be making a decision on what to do on Dec. 13th.

Net is that I have a new EGR and likely a recall on the new one that was just installed...I hope. Have to wait and see but I'll likely keep the recall EGR in my pocket until the AEM extended warranty ends and/or the new EGR fails. Question is, what kid of damage to the engine did I incur with the faulty original EGR.

I will definitely send a not to the counsel, [email protected]...thanks very much @ramraider.

Also, I received the settlement check for $3075.

Hey i talked to the attorneys today if you have more issues with your truck and you are out of pocket cumulative of 30 days or more without your truck call the fca hotline and tell then you wan to start warrantee buy back process. you already have 19 days. Yiu just need 11 more.

 

[David W Palmer]

Hey i talked to the attorneys today if you have more issues with your truck and you are out of pocket cumulative of 30 days or more without your truck call the fca hotline and tell then you wan to start warrantee buy back process. you already have 19 days. Yiu just need 11 more.

I did some digging around after posting on Ram1500diesel.com forum on this...

I looked it up on https://www.ecodieselsettlement.com/ and dug through the Consent Decree, Paragraph 45 and Appendix e.
Paraphrased, it states that if they can't fix the truck in 30 days then the buyback option is to pay you back a value or higher based on the "Clean Retail" value from the NADA and I looked it up on NADA.com and it comes out $24,000-$25,500 based on options, mileage and zip code.

I've never hoped for a check engine light before but I'm hoping for one related to an EGR failure now.

 

[Midnight32]

It is my understanding that even if they replace your current EGR cooler now with the orginal bad one you will have to go back into the dealership and get the updated one if you choose to do so. I am in the same boat you are in. p20ee code and truck is currently in the shop getting new EGr cooler and catalyst. They gave me a 2020 1500 to use while mine is getting fixed. you can also send a note to thie counsel working on this case. [email protected]

I was told this today as well. They’d replace the egr, and then replace it again with the updated one.

 

[ramraiders]

I did some digging around after posting on Ram1500diesel.com forum on this...

I looked it up on https://www.ecodieselsettlement.com/ and dug through the Consent Decree, Paragraph 45 and Appendix e.
Paraphrased, it states that if they can't fix the truck in 30 days then the buyback option is to pay you back a value or higher based on the "Clean Retail" value from the NADA and I looked it up on NADA.com and it comes out $24,000-$25,500 based on options, mileage and zip code.

I've never hoped for a check engine light before but I'm hoping for one related to an EGR failure now.

One other thing to note is if you have had it in for the same issue for at least 4 times then you can also start the warrantee process.

 

[Mcgrathfx]

carlhenry, thank you very much for responding. I did share my concern about coolant being burned in the engine with the rep at the dealership handling my truck. I told him I could smell burning coolant from the tailpipe, well when I was standing behind the truck...I didn't put my nose in the tailpipe and take a big whiff. Anyone that has had coolant burn off on the engine knows what that smell is.

So the truck is going to be with the dealership for a month, in all likelihood, do you or anyone else have any advice for me in on what all the internals could and would be damaged from driving with coolant being burned along with the air intake?

Yon have noted the Rod and Main bearings, is there any additional parts in the engine that the dealership should consider being damaged as a result of the defective EGR?
Do I have any leverage for them to dig deeper to check and fix impacted parts from this?

thx

Hi David W Palmer,
My 2015 Ecodiesel is throwing CEL P20EE. Can you describe the odor of burning coolant you experienced?
Thanks, Michael

 

[David W Palmer]

Hi Michael,

So if the EGR cooler is leaking then it is allowing coolant to mix with the Exhaust Gas being fed into the engine and burning with engine combustion. This intern continues out the exhaust and into the DEF system where and it does what it has been designed to do. If there was no DEF system, like there was back in my 05 Passat TDI then you would see more exhaust vapor than normal (it happened to me back then)

I digress, now when I stood behind the truck I could smell something a bit different...a hint of burning coolant, it is rather subtle. Now I didn't bend down and smell the tail pipe or anything but the DEF system does a great job at making these trucks not smell like a pre-DEF diesel engine did. So if you've ever had a coolant leak, say from a Water pump that went bad and the coolant has leaked on to the engine you would know what evaporating coolant smells like.

With my truck, the fact that I could smell something when the truck was running that had a hint of vaporized or burnt coolant smell lead me to believe the EGR Cooler was leaking coolant into the air intake of the truck. j

My truck also leaked coolant out, intermittently, on the ground. It was on the passenger side and would show on the ground in a bit and behind the right front tire. When I say intermittently I would park the truck at the top of the driveway where it was level...no leak. Closer to the garage with a slant and nose pointing down...coolant would show up on the ground...sometimes. The coolant is pink in these trucks or possibly purple, well it's purple now after the dealership fixed it.

Hope this helps

Dave

 

[Mcgrathfx]

Hi Dave,
Thanks for the quick reply - my wife on a few occasions recently said she smells something akin to Chlorox or Chlorine when exiting the truck on the passenger side after we park the truck in the garage. I haven't seen anything leaking around the right front wheel area however I noticed tonight my coolant (pink) level is down about 1/4 to 1/3 from full and I'm recently showing the P20EE CEL code. Guess I'll have to have the dealer check it out. Thanks again.
Michael

 

[Cobraram]

I am angry. I have to drive across country now so i don't have time to monkey around with the error code p20ee engine light. They killed my 2015 eco, but i got my check and it was slower and dropped a couple MPG, but i loved the sound, 500+ miles on a tank, had 64k miles. So i had to get a hemi, a 2020 Laramie, i can watch the gas needle go down, i get 18mpg on highway, there is road noise from the back right, engine turns off at a red light; hybrid, weird, i will take a while on that. . I GOT JUST $17,000 in trade which should have been $24,000. i just dont feel real good about that deal. I ADULT drove that engine, it was a AZ. truck... $17,000. Highway robbery. i will copy and post this to the attny.

 

[Upsidedowncowboy]

Update, ERG replaced under the AEM extended warranty. 19 days at the dealership and they did provide a vehicle free of charge. I have the truck back now and there is no change in the dead gas pedal...AEM castrated the truck...not that I thought there would be a change. According to the EGR recall notice FCA will be making a decision on what to do on Dec. 13th.

Net is that I have a new EGR and likely a recall on the new one that was just installed...I hope. Have to wait and see but I'll likely keep the recall EGR in my pocket until the AEM extended warranty ends and/or the new EGR fails. Question is, what kid of damage to the engine did I incur with the faulty original EGR.

I will definitely send a not to the counsel, [email protected]...thanks very much @ramraider.

Also, I received the settlement check for $3075.

David, you are so lucky to have gotten the EGR cooler before they went on backorder. I have a check engine light on for the past 4 months. The dealer replaced a hose at a cost of $1000 to me and I wonder if it was a completely unnecessary expense. I"ve read on this forum that if you accept the $3075 settlement that you can't initiate a buyback. The dealer finally leveled with me and said that the engine could catch fire because of this problem. I called the FCA consumer hotline and they said the EGR coolers won't be in until April, and in that case dealers will be fighting for a limited supply. I"m heading to the dealer I bought the truck from to see what they'll give me on a trade-in before my truck self-immolates and risks the lives of me and my family!!

 

[carlhenry]

has any one ever seen antifreeze burn????? I put a quart in a pot put it on my camp stove brought it to a rolling boil lit my torch and tried 2 light it no success

 

[John]

Despite its name, coolant fluid is a flammable substance. Even though it may seem strange, since it is a water based product, it has a high glycol base to it, and if you expose it to a temperature that is high enough, then the glycol will catch fire and burn, despite the water in it. In testing done by forensic scientists, pure coolant was mixed with 50 percent water, and it was found that it would erupt in flames, if exposed to a spark or flame source, or if the area around it had a high enough temperature, which was determined to be about 650 to 750 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

[Mark Lee]

carlhenry, thank you very much for responding. I did share my concern about coolant being burned in the engine with the rep at the dealership handling my truck. I told him I could smell burning coolant from the tailpipe, well when I was standing behind the truck...I didn't put my nose in the tailpipe and take a big whiff. Anyone that has had coolant burn off on the engine knows what that smell is.

So the truck is going to be with the dealership for a month, in all likelihood, do you or anyone else have any advice for me in on what all the internals could and would be damaged from driving with coolant being burned along with the air intake?

Yon have noted the Rod and Main bearings, is there any additional parts in the engine that the dealership should consider being damaged as a result of the defective EGR?
Do I have any leverage for them to dig deeper to check and fix impacted parts from this?

thx

My dealership agreed when the EGR failed the engine got pretty hot and could have internal engine damage. Their response back to FCA was that unless they took the engine apart, they could not determine IF there is internal damage. FCA wont pay for it. I went to mediation and wanted a buyback. No luck at all.