Fire

[Southold Joe]

THIS POST IS INTENDED TO PREVENT THE LOSS OF LIFE OR THE RISK OF SERIOUS INJURY!!!
I WOULD ALSO NOT RECOMMEND PURCHASING THE SAID RAM ECO DIESELS THAT WERE RECALLED!!!
CHECK U TUBE WATCH THE RECORDED INCIDENTS!!!

Okay I am/was the original owner of a 2014 eco Ram diesel 1500. I loved my truck always maintained like clock work with the dealership ( nothing but good things to say ) After a few months i noticed the mileage per tank decreasing to an average of 25/22. after a while I changed the fuel filter and the mileage seemed to improve again. Shortly after it was running the same again, okay no big deal for me. Over the time i noticed the smell of anti freeze .... on more then one occasion it was brought to the attention of the dealership service department .... I would drop off the truck for the day and given a loaner car . Great service! no complaints.
I always kept up with my recalls and the dealership would do some I hadn't known about.
Then the the big recall came ( the class action lawsuit ) ... In a timely manner I received all the things promised the truck parts were replaced by the dealership and being the original owner I received a check for $ 3075.00 everything was great including an extended warranty.
Feb 24th in the am I was driving my truck and while waiting for a light to change it happened,
The truck turned off and made an weird sound while the dash board panel lit up flashing like a christmas tree flashing lights. I looked over the hood of my truck and saw some light smoke. before i unlocked the latch to my hood I felt an intense amount of heat.so i did not touch the hood. I leaned over and saw fire in the back left corner. I then went to the passenger side and got my wife out of the truck which was already filling up with smoke.
After putting her safely on the curb i returned for my dogs the rear cab was filling up with smoke and then one more time for something very important in my truck.
Within 30 seconds the truck was completely on fire. We barely made it out of the truck in time.
The truck was completely engulfed in flames.

ITS MY OPINION THE RECALL DID NOT DO WHAT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO DO OR PREVENT!!!
PLEASE BE AWARE OF THIS AND HOW FAST MY TRUCK BURNED UP!!!
PEOPLES LIVES ARE IN DANGER!!!
DO NOT IGNORE THE DANGER INVOLVED IN OWNING THIS TRUCK EVEN AFTER A RECALL SERVICE.

RETIRED LAW ENFORCEMENT

 

[Tremper126]

Welcome to the forum! Sorry it’s under the given circumstances. Burning ecos are nothing new, but the fact that the new and improved egr still can lead to issues is deffinately a concern. Sorry to hear about your experience with your truck! Please keep us posted with the investigation findings!

 

[TC Diesel]

Joe, I myself Do crash and fire Investigations, Although ONLY on Commercial/Hazmat Crashes / incidents

I have 100s of 3.0VM Fires/ pictures, I also Public posted that the Update would NOT stop the ALL the fire's

Joe ,I will Share this with You, most 3.0VM owners Turn a blind eye to all of the fires and short comings of the 3.0VM , I'm done posting in Ecodiesel Forums, I'm only posting in your thread due to being a former Law Agent.

Their's a valid reason My 2015 Laramie 3.0VM costs $32.00 Per month More then My 2019 Limited 5.7. You are welcome to call Me.

I posted back in 2019 that eventually the 3.0VM fires are going kill someone, Every friend or Family member Has taken My Professional Opinion on the 3.0VM seriously and NO longer own their 3.0VMs , Glad to read you OK.

 

[Southold Joe]

I really do appreciate your post. I have since found out that in August of 2020 in Seattle a class Action Complaint has been filed Jury Trial Demanded Case Number 20-12341.
United States District COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN. THE ATTORNEYS NAME
STEVE W.BERMAN 1 206 623 7292
I will be contacting him tomorrow, hopefully we can learn more. If I am correct they did replace the EGR Cooler during a recall and yet the fire still happened. I have been reviewing TSB reports and its amazing how early the problem existed and was ignored or passed along.
Thanks again

 

[Southold Joe]

BE ADVISED EVEN IF YOUR LOOKING AT A NEW OR USED ECO DEISEL FROM 2014 through 2019 DO NOT PURCHASE THE TRUCK WITHOUT CONFIRMING THE EGR COOLER RECALL HAS TAKEN PLACE AND THEY GIVE YOU A FULL WARRANTY NOT FOR ANYTHING LESS THEN 200,000 miles from the date of the new service of said EGR cooler. I have had my truck serviced by the dealer for the entire maintenance history and still at 147000 miles with the EGR being replaced my truck went on fire.

I am surprised this isn't bigger news! BUY A REALLY BIG FIRE EXTINGUISHER!!!

 

[TC Diesel]

Joe, You need a fire Truck, One owner had two EXTINUISHERS and garden hose, He was lucky it did NOT burn down his House. He had just enough Time to back it out of the Garage before the electronic shifter lock up in Park. Once The Fire burns up the wiring it defaults to Lock/Park.

 

[Southold Joe]

Update: I contacted a law firm in seattle which has filed a class action lawsuit against Chrysler Fiat Ram in August of 2020. They (CHRYSLER/FIAT /RAM) are responding by denying any wrong doing Bla Bla Bla ........
.
Call chrysler at 1 800 247 9753 and be interviewed re your incident. Give all pertinant details as
to what happened to your ECO Diesel. If you own the truck and you did not do the recall to replace the EGR cooler please do so ASAP your life may depend on it. Even if you purchased a used truck
RAM 1500 ECO DIESEL 2014 through 2019.

NHTSA RECALL NUMBER 19V-757
Manufacturer Recall number VB1

For more information visit RECALLS.MOPAR.com or call 1 800 853 1403 Have your Vin number ready its important
OR Call NHTSA @ 1 888 327 4236 if the manufacturer can not remedy or fix your truck in a timely manner.

THIS APPLYS TO ALL 3.OV ECO DIESEL ENGINES IN THE DURANGO OR THE GRAN CHEROKEE
THE PURPOSE OF THIS MESSAGE IS TO MAKE OWNERS WARE OF THE RISK OF FIRE AND TO PREVENT THE LOSS OF LIFE.

AGAIN I WOULD ADVISE EVERYONE TO NOT DRIVE YOUR TRUCK UNTIL YOU FOLLOW UP WITH YOUR DEALER MECHANIC.
LOOK UP 2014 RAM ECO DIESEL GOES ON FIRE follow the link to class action lawsuit filed
August 8, 2020 in eastern Michigan. All for your reading !!!

 

[Southold Joe]

I WOULD LIKE TO AD THAT I DID NOT HAVE THE RECALL DONE TO MY VEHICLE I WAS UNAWRE OF ANY SAID RECALL UNTIL I DID MY RESEARCH/HOMEWORK. AND LEARNED ABOUT THE RECALL. I NEVER RECEIVED ANY NOTIFICATION NOR DID THE DEALER MENTION IT.

 

[TC Diesel]

The EGR is is only 1 of 4 causes of the fires , They are Turbo, Plenum, electrical, EGR, the majority of fires in My investigation are Plenum related due to soot accumulations and Valve warping, this causes the Flame to enter the intake after the combustion Stroke. Melt the plenum and ignite.

 

[Southold Joe]

With that being said is that my responsibility to maintain or is that a manufacturer default?
Understanding re valve warping leads me to believe its the manufacturer

 

[TC Diesel]

Some owners I've talk too related that the the engine develop a surge or pulsating at start, would diminish as you drove, This leads Me in believing the valve(s) were warped just prior to the Fire. The turbo and leaking oil is another common fire starter.

There has been decommissioned AECD on engines that have burned. Its amazing how fast a fire can spread in any engine compartment.

IMO, as engine(s) ages increases the fire risk.

 

[jcj1576]

@TC Diesel, I had the intake replaced on my ED at around 40k and have been running GDE ever since. Barring the turbo and electrical fire risks, in your experience should this provide significant enough risk reduction to keep the truck?

 

[TC Diesel]

Yes...... And remove that worthless sound foam and the CP4 cover. Practice good engine hygiene also.

 

[jcj1576]

As you recommend a couple years ago, I removed the foam and fuel pump cover from passenger side as well as the CP4 cover. Next step is to remove foam from driver's side and pay attention for oil leaks.

I popped the hood today to check for leaks and noticed my coolant appears to be pretty low. It is way below the "cold fill" range, but I don't see any leaks on the alternator or other surfaces below the EGR. Thoughts?

 

[TC Diesel]

Fill cold and mark the level then drive until warmed up and mark the Hot level and keep an eye on it, Do You have OAs? if the sodium is high or getting higher, or .01 or higher Antifreeze % , Trade it in.