FCA’s Ram Trucks Can’t Even Make A Tailgate That Works Properly
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Despite GM trucks gaining 3 percent in retail market share during the second quarter of 2019, the clamoring from the FCA camp about the Ram Pickup outselling the Chevrolet Silverado seems to have no bounds. However, it appears that the increase in Ram Trucks sales volume, itself a thing of smoke and mirrors, is built on a shaky foundation as quality-related issues are continuing to surface.
In August of last year, FCA recalled 1.4 million Ram 1500, Ram 2500 and Ram 3500 pickup trucks due to registered customer complaints about tailgate failures. Initially, the brand claimed that trucks from the 2015-2017 model years were the only ones affected. But now, one year later, the recall has been expanded to cover trucks from 2013-2018, which includes another 690,000 vehicles. Tally all that up, and FCA is looking at a grand total of over 2 million Ram Pickups impacted by the action.
The issue arises from the power tailgate – an oft-advertised feature of Ram Trucks. As it stands, the power lock actuator control assembly, which acts similarly to a power window regulator, has a physical “limiter tab” installed within it that controls how far the tailgate is allowed to lower.
Over time, these tabs will fracture, due in part to the weight and leverage of the tailgate, and ultimately fail. When the assembly fails, the tailgate no longer latches securely and will fall, often while driving – not a desired or safe condition.
2019 GMC Sierra 1500 with MultiPro Tailgate
In fact, a falling tailgate could result in catastrophic damage, especially to other vehicles in traffic, if the Ram pickup in question is transporting anything in the bed and the tailgate failure occurred. For the time being, FCA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) say that no crashes or injuries have been reported as a result of this condition.
2019-2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
For prospective buyers and current owners of Ram trucks, there is an easy solution should one not wish to deal with the inconvenience or potential safety hazards associated with the recall. That solution is called the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. Both GM trucks feature a traditional tailgate, while the Sierra offers the optional MultiPro tailgate that features six positions for various use-cases.
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Source: CarComplaints.com
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Just wait for the problems and recalls on the GMC MultiPro tailgate in a couple years
I feel that the new GM tailgates will last longer than the older ones.
I love mine on my 2020 HD Denali !!
If I had a dollar for every plastic retainer I installed in the tailgate of the older GM trucks, I could ——-
OK I couldn’t even buy the floor liners for the new one.
But I feel the new electric release will be like electric windows and electric door locks, better in the long haul.
But like I always say ?
We will see, we always do !!!!
Ironic as the next day GM recalls 6x the number of trucks for brake issues…………..personally I’d much rather have my tailgate randomly open then my brakes randomly fail.
“For prospective buyers and current owners of Ram trucks, there is an easy solution should one not wish to deal with the inconvenience or potential safety hazards associated with the recall. That solution is called the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra.” ?
No lifelongRAMowner would ever consider betraying their own loyalty, would they?
I bet not many will fastyle,
Also remember what I say about recalls,
I like recalls when a vehicle manufacturer knows they have ” faulty parts ” !!!
I would prefer GM never used ” faulty parts in the first place, but.
Unlike GM, RAM realizes they have a faulty part and are replacing it, so ——
——- anyone ——– and ——– everyone —- ALL ——
The owners of the ” faulty parts ” get them replaced !!!!
Not like GM who picks and choses who gets parts replaced with extended coverage letters, etc !!
Of course until eventually the GOV finds out and forces them to, of course after many lawsuits or human loss !!
But that’s just my opinion !!!!
And I love this, but why do you start ?
Its fun right !!!
You got me fired up. Pun intended!
Do You mean like the Cherokee’s and Liberties that had fuel tanks that would rupture during an accident they refused to replace even under government pressure? Many burned many were hurt many were killed over a long period of time yet they kept fighting it.
The ended up putting a trailer hitch on only after a lot of fighting the NHTSA about it.
https://www.productliabilitylawyerblog.com/jeep-grand-cherokee-defective-fuel-tanks-owners-not-told-dangers/
Where do you want to start as the list is long at all MFG’s. We could next go to the Crown Vic and fuel tank fires they refused to recall. Many officers were burned as well families.
“During an Accident” is a vague and broad statement. Need to speak in specifics when you reference something. I think you are talking about an incident when a Stopped Cherokee was rear-ended by a Tractor trailer moving at 60 mph causing the fuel take to rupture. It wasn’t a defective fuel tank. ANY vehicle being hit with such force is going to have some sort of damage.
The issue you are referencing is the NHSTA trying to force a car company to update much older vehicles to NEW safety standards, standards that didn’t exist until long after that model ended production.
https://www.autonews.com/article/20130605/BLOG06/130609949/why-chrysler-decided-to-fight-nhtsa#axzz2VMIwoxwM
Food for Thought.
The problem was the location of the tank and it was plastic and rupturing upon being rear ended by any vehicle not just a Semi.
Ford has a similar issue with tank location and rupture.
While it met the test at the time a larger number of vehicles were having issues and fires and the govemrent wanted it addressed.
Like the GM brake issue today. It worked fined when it was tested and when it left the factory but now the oil is being blocked and it is making the vaccume assitst less. it is being fixed as there is a problem now.
it also did not help with the rust many of these Jeeps suffered.
GM is above the industry average when it comes to voluntary vs forced recalls. Ford is dead last when it comes to voluntary recalls.
10) GM
16) FCA
18) Ford
CobraNut,
I don’t get your numbers ?
If you say Ford is dead last on voluntary recalls why is the number you listed more than GM ?
And to me, I want the higher voluntary recalls over the forced ones !!
When a auto company does a voluntary recall, said company realizes they have a ” known faulty part ” and chooses to fix all of the ” known faulty parts “.
When this happens you don’t end up with all the vehicles on the road with ” known faulty parts ”
But in the world today, and for sure at GM, the large corporations only care about the money for the share holders, and squeeze every dime out of the customer !!!
They just want the customer to ” pay again ” you might say, for the same ” known faulty part “.
Any way I just don’t get how this is still allowed to go on !!!
When you purchase any other ” thing ” in the US, and say the remote quits working on most if not all of the X TV devices.
X knows this happens, just like GM knows of their ” faulty parts ” ( you receive a letter from GM in some cases )
When you call X you get a new remote yet GM says only if you are this, or that , and qualify for this or that, and most are just sitting around the country not working, or you , the customer, just pay for another after being treated like garbage by GMs horrible customer support !!!!
So just like Boeing, how is this allowed to continue to go on ?
I guess most customers just don’t have the time to voice their concern, and our government just can’t do anything worth while, so here we sit, bent over, just letting the auto industry sell us ” known faulty parts “, or junk.
We are sold junk, and are sitting here arguing over who sells the worst junk !!!!
Remember when you used to argue over whether a Ford was better than a Chevy, and a Dodge was a pile.
Now we are arguing over witch is the biggest pile !!!!
Most recalls are done if only safety is involved, although EPA reg. recalls are also done, I suppose do to loss of all human life on the planet !!
Just my opinion !!
Rank, not number of recalls.
lifelongGMowner must think the highest scorer in golf is the winner.
I don’t golf either but I know how to keep score !
Thanks for explaining the ranking numbers, and sorry I didn’t pick up they were rankings form the comment !!!
And we all know that GM has NEVER made a major Faux Pas in manufacturing a POS have they? Vega engines? Diesels V8’s? 4 speed automatics? The infamous V8-6-4-2 from Cadillac? Cheap steel in the trucks that rusted through within 2-3 years? The list is endless.
And they love to crack at Fiat besides~
The difference being in that GM learned from their mistakes and Fiat hasn’t. Even after the 1970’s, the Americans make more reliable cars than the present day Italian cars.
Bluntly, the Italians just don’t know how to make reliable cars, and when they do, it’s because the Germans bought them out and used their own parts (chiefly, Lamborghini and VWG).
Gm has never learned from thier mistakes. Lol
Well FCA’s brands have consistently lined the bottom of every quality or reliability survey….and many of the issues you cite are common issies affecting even recent Ram trucks. Hilariously you mention rust. You mean like the rotted out rockers, fenders, and hoods on 4th gen Rams? The infamous Hemi 5.7’s and 6.4’s with cam lobes groumd down to nothing. The 5.7’s Hemi’s with valve seats falling out. The 5.7 Hemis with exhaust bolts snapping off like clockwork. Junk 4 speeds, junk 5-speeds, junk 6-speeds, and now new issues with the 8HP thanks to them playing with the desogn for 2019.
Better a possible falling tailgate than gas tanks outside the frame rails guaranteed to incinerate the occupants installed on the 74-86 Chevy/GMC junk.
Bratkid you really dont know what you are talking about what you are talking about was proven false an then those trucks are still running while fords an pos dodges are in the junk yard where they belong
Most accidents are rear end accidents, This article is about that very subject, you might have missed it.
https://www.theexpertinstitute.com/chrysler-and-the-defective-design-of-jeeps-with-unsafe-fuel-tanks/
You are spot on.
We can cover the Crown Vic fires too.
I did not mean to copy you above but we were thinking the same thing before I read your post. This is like shooting fish in a barrel.
The same era as the Pinto? Classic!
Guaranteed to incinerate occupants? My my! What a selling point. I better call my buddy, he’s been driving his truck for 30 years and hasn’t been incinerated. I believe GM owes him his money back.
At least Ram’s tailgate doesnt hit the trailer hitch! GM couldn’t design a solution so they just added a sticker? Wow!
Bill,
GM could use the rear camera to fix this and just over the air update their module they just cant do anything fast it will take a couple years !!
The camera could just tell the first button not to activate, and you would have the same thing as the RAM only it won’t fall open !!
No camera needed, just a small switch in the receiver that tells the gate switch something is in the receiver, therefore don’t engage the release.
Yeah AZKev but then the wiring, and switch failures, but all the trucks with this tailgate already have the camera, and software unless GM was cheap again and the software is not capable of this.
When I did production automation the camera software was easily programed just for this kind of stuff.
But I guess we are talking GM so I would bet the system is so cheap it isn’t possible for even this one simple thing.
Just like Chevy (and Ford) you can get a traditional tailgate on a Ram too. I don’t want one, just trying to be fair.
Ram is the awesome truck to have. GM can goto hell with thier lies and bogus bs. Considering that GM never admits to thier own faults. This being a GM site, I will tell the real truth, GM has never learned from thier mistakes. GM has never paid back thier full debt to the U.S. tax payers. And GM is backed by China, prove me wrong GM. And GM have lots me recalls then any auto maker. Again, prove me wrong GM.
“GM has never paid back thier full debt to the U.S. tax payers. And GM is backed by China, prove me wrong GM. And GM have lots me recalls then any auto maker. Again, prove me wrong GM.”
What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
I have a 18 GMC and a buddy of mine has a 18 F-150, no recalls for me and up to 5 for Ford now . Toyota has more recalls than GM ,Ford or Dodge.
I just traded my 2017 Denali HD and it had 2 recalls and 2 customer satisfaction ” faulty parts ” replacements.
Just saying, it was at the dealership more in 3 years and 15,000 miles than my 2007 classic HD with 140,000 miles !!!
I wouldn’t brag up the GMs to high !!
Suggest you look-up “Debt for Equity”.
My daddy helped me pick out my first car. It was a Chevy. I have always appreciated his wisdom.
I learned how to work on cars…
I have since had them all, and there is about a 5% difference between them. I prefer the Ram.
Ram’s aren’t even worth fixing. They sell them dirt cheap to subprime borrowers, who then trade them off at a massive loss after the bumper to bumper warranty is up.
The multipro looks very desperate to me… Who would that sway to come to gm?!?
Reading these comments it’s a lot of pos ram people on a gm website what does that tell you??
It tells us that GM are whiny asses. Us Ram folks just like a good laugh once in awhile. So we come here and listen to you whine and lie.
I get a good laugh every time I see a guy try to use their Ram 1500 like its a real truck. Those mattress springs out back can’t handle real truck work. Sad when most Chevy Colorados have a higher payload than a “half-ton” Ram 1500.
Its an article about ram trucks, hence ram people responding. Dummy.
Kyle kay your a dumb ass just because it’s an article about a pos ram you come to a gm site you probably can’t even afford one ?
Sales do the talking, I own a silverado and just purchased a rebel. I bought a ram after a huge amount of research. I test drove both and dollar for dollar it was the ram that I went with. Loyalty is great and all but when it’s my hard earned money I decide what quality is. Things change. If more people test drove a ram instead of worrying about loyalty, we would see less ford and chevys on the roads.
FCA has huge turnover and a unhappy work force. Also the worst supplier relations of any automaker. Poor quality is the result.
Lmao, why did Lordstown plant shut down???? Why are GM sales going down?? Come on “Dude” explain.
Lordstown shut down (unallocated is the proper word) because there was greater business opportunity to make a different product at a different plant.
FCA did exactly the same thing with the Dodge Dart, Dodge Avenger, and Chrysler 300. Hey, you tried… here’s a participation trophy, champ.
FCA didn’t shut down any plants–it converted car production to truck to utilize the former 200/Dart production capacity better. 300 is still in production. GM shut down several assembly plants in the United States meanwhile shifting production to Mexico at the expense of American jobs.
FCA now has a larger American workforce than General Motors. And it even opened a new plant in Detroit.
Shame the Silverado didn’t win any trophies, not even a participation trophy. Meanwhile Ram is MT TOTY, North American Truck of the Year, Truck of Texas, Wards 10Best Interiors, and the list goes on…
“FCA didn’t shut down any plants–it converted car production to truck to utilize the former 200/Dart production capacity better. 300 is still in production.”
I was hoping I wouldn’t have to explain it to you, yet here we are.
GM sells and makes more product than FCA in North America. GM did not need nor want the additional capacity, and unallocating plants – like Lordstown – was the result. It’s business 101.
“GM shut down several assembly plants in the United States meanwhile shifting production to Mexico at the expense of American jobs.”
This is called capitalism. GM isn’t owned by the U.S. government and its direct responsibility is to itself (to stay in business) and to its shareholders (to generate a return on their investment).
“Shame the Silverado didn’t win any trophies, not even a participation trophy. Meanwhile Ram is MT TOTY, North American Truck of the Year, Truck of Texas, Wards 10Best Interiors, and the list goes on…”
Winning trophies is nice, but selling trucks is even better. GM still sells significantly more trucks than Ram. Those trophies sure went a long way, didn’t they?
Wait which company did the American tax payer bail out due to its inability to understand business 101? While i supported the governments decision and still own a 2018 GMC it will be my last GM purchase if they continue to outsource their production. Its really sad to see a company like Toyota have a more American made full size pickup than GM considering what the American public has done for the company.
Each of the Big Three took a bailout. Ford’s came from a bank, but they still took it. A bankruptcy for either company would have allowed them to shirk they’re responsibilities to their retirees and forego all the pension payments they had promised. Voters would pressure the government into picking up the tab, meanwhile shareholders, now alleviated of their burden, would post record profits. The bailout was the lesser of evils, and a resounding success in hindsight.
GM also paid they’re bailout back to Uncle Sam.
GM also was forced to restructure considerably, “trimming the proverbial fat” in terms of badge engineering. That’s why you can’t buy a Pontiac brand new anymore.
Also, the subprime lending crisis has MUCH more to do with the bailout(s) than quantity or quality of cars sold. Bring financing in-house via GM Financial, Ford Motor Credit, and whatever Chrysler calls their program meant that the companies shouldered the burden of uncollected debt, rather than getting paid in full and letting the (real) banks bear the burden of bad loans.
You don’t have to be a fan, but you should at least be impartial and evaluate some factual statements.
Actually the money Ford took from the goverment was from the Department of Energy. The loans came from them to keep them quiet when the other two got their money.
GM needed to trim much as that was how they got to where they are. Pontiac was a division with lots of potential but GM never knew what to do with them. They were a mear shadow of what they once were.
If you can not dominate with Chevy then you can not sominate with 6 divisions.
Note i am still a Pontiac owner and fan but I fully understand why they are gone. Rebadging Chevys and Holdens does not make a car a Pontiac.
The debt was only part of the automaker bailout package. As for Treasury’s equity stake, worth $40 billion-plus, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said the Treasury won’t fully recoup that money. The total automaker bailout, including TARP money given to Chrysler, CBO estimates, will cost taxpayers about $34 billion. US government owns 61% of GM and 9% of Chrysler so its fair to say GM was bulk of the TARP bailout.
All the other auto manufactures seemed to manage through the subprime crisis except GM & Chrysler. Its all opinion if it was the product or management at this point. (IMO i’d say both)
Ford had restructured years prior so it used no government money and there is nothing wrong with a company needing a loan but when a company is so pilled up in liabilities and debts no bank would provide a loan big enough to save you is a problem!
https://www.energy.gov/lpo/ford
2009 Ford got 5.9 billion from the department of energy to upgrade plants. It was money to shut them up after the GM and FCA bail out.
It has yet to be paid back.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2016/09/21/trump-should-be-asking-will-ford-pay-off-its-government-loan-before-moving-small-cars-to-mexico/#3f3b6d765e37
Might also want to add to this Alex that FCM for years relied on other MFGs to make cars for them such as Renault and Mitsubishi. When they killed these cars they just stopped purchasing them from the other MFGs that closed plants.
FCA produces more vehicles and employs more people in the United States than General Motors, which has shifted product away to be built in Mexico (see: Blazer). General Motors doesn’t care about American workers, choosing to shut down a plant and leave people without jobs. FCA, meanwhile, has efficiently used all existing production capacity and is even building a new plant in Detroit and not another country. Fact: General Motors has even started importing cars from China instead of building them here (see: Envision, CT6 Plug-In). Trophies are nice yes, as the experts in the field chose the best new truck on the market. And so have consumers: Ram has for the first time ever outsold Silverado for the first two quarters of the year.
AND WOW, JUST ANNOUNCED TODAY! 3.4 MILLION GENERAL MOTORS TRUCKS RECALLED FOR FAILING BRAKES. SAME OLD GM BUILD QUALITY. No wonder the Silverado has fallen to a distant 3rd place in sales.
Fix It Again Tailgate?.
Defective On Delivery Gate Electronics?…..
Remain At Mechanics?…..
Hey GM….General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Crew Cab and GMC Sierra 1500 Crew Cab vehicles. The passenger-side frontal air bag module may have been damaged during assembly, possibly resulting in the air bag not inflating properly in the event of a crash.
You mean like the 2019 Rams recalled for loss of power steering and brake/accelerator pedals that fall off.
Have 2002 GMC since new with 200k miles…great truck.
Needed a beater, bought an old dakota 1998 dakota.
When that died, bought 05 ram laramie in 2010
Now have 2015 Laramie, looking forward to my 2020 laramie. The company i work for lets you pick your work truck. GM Ford loyalist always surprised when they ride in my truck.
Former GM loyalist
GM Authority: “Haha RAM can’t make a truck without having to recall it”
GM: *recalls 3.4 million trucks for faulty BRAKES*
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/11/gm-recalls-over-3point4-million-pickups-and-suvs-to-fix-brake-issues.html
???
This is a whole GM blog post dedicated to ripping Dodge to shreds over a malfunctioning tailgate recall although do we not remember that GM had a faulty ignition scandal that killed many people. And instead of issuing a recall they tried to cover up the issues because it cost them less to pay out the death settlements than replace the faulty part. Any company that takes dollars over their customers lives is one I will NEVER support ?
You may want to fact check almost everything in this article. And no, it’s not “almost like a window regulator” nor does it in any way control how far the tailgate goes down. Have you ever seen how a power locking latch works, besides sitting behind a computer googling pictures of car parts? Hilarious read though, thanks!
We can argue about whether or not it works in a similar fashion to a window regulator. Remove that piece, and the content of the article stands strong: over two million Ram trucks recalled due to issues with the tailgate. There are your facts and checks. 😉
Yeah, and GM recalled 3.4 Million trucks for Brakes. I would rather have a faulty tailgate than a brake failure, which would actually kill me https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/11/gm-recalls-over-3point4-million-pickups-and-suvs-to-fix-brake-issues.html
Too bad the Silverado 1500 looks like trash. And I’m a Chevy guy. Ram has by far the best looking truck on the market!
Recalls? Ram?? Subpar quality??? Haha, why am I not surprised. Let’s face it, the quality of Ram and friends has really gone down the drain. They’re garbage. The only thing they have going for them is the gimmicky iPad stuck on the dash and the broke back mountain cowboy leather interior ?. The rest of the truck, is just trash.
But then again, don’t mind me. I’m just here to read the comments of butthurt ram girls. I need a good laugh ?
U guys make of ram when GM just announced their own recall on bad break problems ?
Talk about click-bate. That photo is of the new tailgate that is just now coming out on the late 2019 and 2020 models. The recall is from 2018 and older vehicles. All manufactures have many recalls out and not all of them are serious. Most of the FCA recalls are software updates.