Ram 5500 hidden recall that may strand you

[DavidMort]

Heading down Route 81 to the Rally from upstate NY. Pushing the engine a bit to get up the hills:

Check engine light came on. Few miles later warning message came on saying in 85 miles speed would be in limp mode at 5mph due to def issue. (do not have exact words). Pulled into next rest area near Bristol TN. Tried adding DEF even though half full. Did not help. Looked up nearest Ram dealer, Friendship Automotive in Bristol TN. Drove there and the checked the codes. The SCR system --- emissions had to be replaced. Includes the catalytic converter and sensors.

The tech said that there was a service bulletin on this. We looked on line and there was a recall on the engines but not listed on our truck. Service guy said there were doing a few a week a one point. I am not sure what years are included.

The people at dealer some of the nicest people I have dealt with in a long time. Even though they are not set up to work on RVs (no lifts or pit) they said they would fix it. They ordered the parts, let us camp in their lot overnight, pulled the RV into their car service building because it had the highest door and used floor jacks to work on it. They also fixed the water pump recall and the shift recall while they had it. We were back on the road 24hrs after pulling in.

There was no charge for any of this as it was covered under warranty.

Notes:

In the spring I was pushing the engine going through some mountains and the check engine light came on. It was coincident with some very rough roads so I figured a sensor just hiccuped. I watched it and after a few starts when away. Since similar load on engine may have been a warning I should have checked out.

Not sure how long the emissions warranty is on the trucks but if you have to pay for this yourself the catalytic converter cost is around $2200.

I searched on line a bit and found discussion of this issue. This is a link to one of the recalls. https://www.chrysler.com/universal/w...ce/pdf/S87.pdf
Would like to find the service bulletin on this.

[RKBob]

Glad you found Bristol a friendly place, l lived there and owned a business for many years. I didn’t know they were servicing Ram now. They serviced my Ford 550 years ago. Over the years I found Mitch Walters to be a fine gentleman and pleasant aquaintance.

[Skyliner]

Originally Posted by RKBob

Glad you found Bristol a friendly place, l lived there and owned a business for many years. I didn’t know they were servicing Ram now. They serviced my Ford 550 years ago. Over the years I found Mitch Walters to be a fine gentleman and pleasant aquaintance.

Wow, you got your Ford serviced 550 years ago? Didn't know that Ford was around that long.

[RKBob]

Transposition error.... however I am old!😎

[bclemens]

That IS awesome. We have one right now where they don't have a lift. Cummis dealer said they would work on it if the Ram guys gave them the software. Now its a standoff.

[LandKKnight]

"The SCR system --- emissions had to be replaced. Includes the catalytic converter and sensors.

The tech said that there was a service bulletin on this. We looked on line and there was a recall on the engines but not listed on our truck. Service guy said there were doing a few a week a one point. I am not sure what years are included."


I looked at the link you posted and it didn't mention anything about Ram 5500 or your model year. I looked up our vin and the only recall is the transmission thing so its really scary that this is an issue and is not listed anywhere I can find. I see your rig is 2017, ours is 2018 but on a 2017 chassis. When you looked up the recalls on your chassis, were the water pump and the transmission thing there but not this emissions thing?

[DavidMort]

Only recalls on our rig. (dynamax 2017 but a 2015 ram 5500) are the water pump and the transmission.

link I posted is what the recall letter said for this issue if you got a recall notice

I could not find what years or models it covered. It appeared to be on the engine and did not matter what model.

[Bill Davis]

Originally Posted by DavidMort

Only recalls on our rig. (dynamax 2017 but a 2015 ram 5500) are the water pump and the transmission.

link I posted is what the recall letter said for this issue if you got a recall notice

I could not find what years or models it covered. It appeared to be on the engine and did not matter what model.

It looks like the recall is on the 2500 only. The other models were not recalled but a service bulletin was issued to help the technicians diagnose this issue if it occurred on other models with the same engine and emissions combination. Hundreds of service bulletins are often sent out to technicians on vehicles that could have a problem but that don’t justify a recall. As a vehicle owner you will never be made aware of these unless that problem pops up on your vehicle. That’s the way the system works.

[KFX450RXC]

I have a friend with a 2014 2500 and his did something very similar on their way to Disneyworld. They were almost there fortunately.

There stay was a week and by the time they were ready to go home, the Orlando dealer had replaced the catalytic converter under warranty. Its been fine since.

[DavidMort]

I think the only thing you can do is check the codes for the check engine light even if it goes away after a few restarts. I do not know what the original code was when I had the same symptom months earlier. Might have indicated the problem and perhaps Ram would have fixed it then.

[DouglasReid]

Very Good info to store in the grey matter filing cabinet and dredge up of this could possibly apply to your vehicle

[sseaner]

Can you use a reader and clear the code to keep moving?