I gave up on this Truck

[Fredster4]

I was a very happy owner of a 2016 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel. I bought it new. It was beautiful with the leather seats, the alpine sound system and Cool Vanilla paint which was only available at the Laramie trim level. I still think it was one of the most beautiful trucks ever made. It had 125K miles on it and I just couldn't take the constant check engine light and associated emissions systems problems.

I know there is a lot of discussion about deleting the emissions systems on these trucks in this forum but I just couldn't, in good conscience, bring myself to consider that.

So what did I do? I traded it in for a 2024 Toyota Tundra 1794 edition. Studies show that if you buy a Toyota Tundra today, there is a 49% chance it will make it to 250K miles. Even though I am not enamored of the way they look, I figure, that's the truck for me. I hunted down the best deal I could find and negotiated $10K off MSRP of $73K for the new truck, and $15,125 trade in value for the Ram. I am offering this as information to others on this forum as a viable alternative to continuously dealing with the Ram's unreliability and choosing not to contribute more to a dirty planet by deleting your emissions system.

 

[1shadowsabre]

Good luck with that Toyota! I hope you are one of the 49% that makes it to 250000! Check back and tell us how you like it periodically!

 

[TC Diesel]

Ram was NOT the problem, Fiat/VM Motori... is were to place the blame, I have mentioned this numerous times....Ram/FCA America opposed that engine on Americas soil...., I traded My 2015 Fiat/VM Laramie 1500 in 2019 , for 2019 Limited.. 5.5 Years later 1 stay for warranty electronic steering Module/Assembly replaced. Tundra a nice truck, but it's not a Ram 1500. I crawl underneath the vehicles I buy and compare Iron, than I go to engine compartment. the 5.7L hemi (RIP) is gone but it was one the greatest Gas Motors ever..The tick and Exhaust bolt failure were rare and generally related to abuse...Wrong lube and spirited dart driving and shutdown . I don't own the hurricane Motor (Yet ) but a close friend does, its powerful and get's good MPG...Time will tell of its longevity and durability.

 

[Manyespinosa]

I wish you luck with your new purchase, the Laramie diesel is the dream of many, as I am also happy to have a 2014 Jeep Grand Cheroke Limited Ecodiesel. I try to do preventative maintenance by changing the oil every 5,000 miles and diesel filters every 10,000. I also clean the EGR and the DEF injector. It already has 170,000 miles and I am also afraid of one day having to battle with breakdowns, but I am working on changing the Jeep for the Dodge Ram 2500 Laramie in the future. I hope I can get it. Greetings and blessings to all.

 

[Ricerocket27]

I wish you luck with your new purchase, the Laramie diesel is the dream of many, as I am also happy to have a 2014 Jeep Grand Cheroke Limited Ecodiesel. I try to do preventative maintenance by changing the oil every 5,000 miles and diesel filters every 10,000. I also clean the EGR and the DEF injector. It already has 170,000 miles and I am also afraid of one day having to battle with breakdowns, but I am working on changing the Jeep for the Dodge Ram 2500 Laramie in the future. I hope I can get it. Greetings and blessings to all.

170k miles is pretty decent. My 2014 RAM EcoD failed at 103k miles, but only becasue I overheated it (my fault), but perhaps it was on the way out anyway. Currently rebuilding my engine. I am gonna get a stage 1 EoC engine/trans tune, but before I even start the new engine, I will be blocking off the EGR pipe that feedfs chracoal into the inlet manifold (Carbon and plain bearings dont mix). Keeping the engine oil clean is key IMO. I was new to diesels in Dec 2021, when I bought my truck. Before the failure, my oil was black immediately after a change! I learnt about a thing called an engine flush, which cleaned the oil up to mint condition, after 300 miles the oil was still brand new clear, but after 1000 miles it was black black black again. I blame EGR for that. I will be sure to let you know how things go!

 

[autoX]

Someone else will likely delete the truck, so that notion of not contributing to a dirty planet, is misguided.
It's best to use what is already in global inventory, and offset if need be. For example, use a bike, EV for daily, and the truck for truck tasks. That's what I do. My truck has just 70K on it almost 10 yrs in. Better than deleting a 6.0 liter !

 

[Martin Camarena]

I heard that DEF is actually harming more than the smoke that it suppresses.

 

[Mar]

I to had a 2016 ram eco diesel with only 150 kilometers on it. After 2 years of non-stop check engine light, I got totally fed up. There are very few mechanics that know how to fix them.
Dealers are too reliant on computers telling them to replace parts and have it through a new code within days. Local mechanics cannot diagnose problems as they don't have software. I finally got fed up and traded it in for a Toyota Tacoma.
Now I can drive with confidence.

 

[Fredster4]

I to had a 2016 ram eco diesel with only 150 kilometers on it. After 2 years of non-stop check engine light, I got totally fed up. There are very few mechanics that know how to fix them.
Dealers are too reliant on computers telling them to replace parts and have it through a new code within days. Local mechanics cannot diagnose problems as they don't have software. I finally got fed up and traded it in for a Toyota Tacoma.
Now I can drive with confidence.

An almost exact same experience as mine. Other than those problems, I loved the truck and wanted to keep it until the end of it's useful life. Great truck in every other way.

That being said, the new Tundra 1794 edition is a dream truck.

 

[brushpoppers]

I was a very happy owner of a 2016 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel. I bought it new. It was beautiful with the leather seats, the alpine sound system and Cool Vanilla paint which was only available at the Laramie trim level. I still think it was one of the most beautiful trucks ever made. It had 125K miles on it and I just couldn't take the constant check engine light and associated emissions systems problems.

I know there is a lot of discussion about deleting the emissions systems on these trucks in this forum but I just couldn't, in good conscience, bring myself to consider that.

So what did I do? I traded it in for a 2024 Toyota Tundra 1794 edition. Studies show that if you buy a Toyota Tundra today, there is a 49% chance it will make it to 250K miles. Even though I am not enamored of the way they look, I figure, that's the truck for me. I hunted down the best deal I could find and negotiated $10K off MSRP of $73K for the new truck, and $15,125 trade in value for the Ram. I am offering this as information to others on this forum as a viable alternative to continuously dealing with the Ram's unreliability and choosing not to contribute more to a dirty planet by deleting your emissions system.

View attachment 4416
View attachment 4417

I too lost on my 2014 ecodiesel. Could not be fixed, could not afford a lawyer. Dealer gave me 6k and I ended up with a hemi. Not a happy camper. 2 truck payments now.

 

[lebellini]

I was Cummins before and I regret every minute after selling my 99 2500 - it was a peace of mind.
I see posts like this one all the time, and probably mine (2017 with 100k now) will fail on time. If this happens, I will suit up for an old-school 4-cylinder Cummins with no emission system.

What I notice on most of the engine fail are:
- Oil changes have not been done every 5k (prevent too much carbon from egr)
- driving style and/or city driving and/or short distance
- switching engine oil as add saying
Not saying every case is like this, but it is what I noticed.

Also, we have people here with the same engine on 650k and running strong.

I reliable mechanical shop that I know well always says.
Use a can of Seafoam every oil change to prevent carbon build-up and always change the engine oil + oil filter every 5k.
I start to use the Seafoam and I notice my engine is cleaner, sounds like healthy diesel and the old oil comes down way dark.

AMS Oil looks like a good engine oil - never tried it - but is ticker and I like an oil that can flow better and faster. - I'm in Canada.
HotShot Secret looks like a great engine oil, but is too hard to find it.
In this case, I'm stay using the Rotella T6. Now I will ad Lucas stabilizer just to see if I notice some change.

Again, I know nothing about this engine. My decades of knowledge is from Cummins.

Thank you all for all the information that has been shared here.
Cheers.