Ram Recalled Hundreds of Thousands of Diesel Trucks for Fire Risk
Stellantis is recalling hundreds of thousands of Ram diesel trucks due to an elevated fire risk. The issue relates to an older electrical connector, which can overheat and ignite.
The recall impacts particular Ram 2500, 3500, 3500 Cab Chassis, 4500, and 5500 Cab Chassis trucks from 2021 through 2023. A total of more than 340,000 trucks equipped with the 6.7-liter Cummins diesel may experience an electrical short in the heater grid relay, which can start a fire. The issue can occur when the truck is on or off, so the recall urgently advises owners to park outside and away from structures.
It's unclear if there have been any fires related to the recalled component, but Ram said the risk is minimal. The advisement to park outside is a common one in these situations, as the NHTSA advised it during the massive Chevy Bolt recall a couple of years ago and during the first Ram diesel recall for a similar issue.
This is the second recall for fire risk relating to Ram’s HD trucks. In late 2021, the automaker recalled more than 131,000 trucks for a short in the electrical relay that could cause fires. Ram dealers will replace the relay for free and said that it has a policy of reimbursing owners for costs related to repairs of recalled components. Owners will be notified by the end of March.
[Image: Stellantis/Ram]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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The reason CHrysler and its offshoots went bankrupt REPEATEDLY was that they always were makers of unreliable, cheap JUNK. So who is surprised at this?
Hawt.
Can we make it so that the recall service also involves putting a stock exhaust system back on all the trucks that have been deleted?
We';ll see what they do with the Aisin transmission failures in the '22 and apparently '23 models. Even some of the "upgraded" replacements have failed.