Dodge 1500 Hemi Ram most likely has a camshaft lifter problem. I just put new tires on bout 6 months ago, new starter in and tune up 2 weeks ago. So $850 trying to fix the problem already. I am 5000 miles out of my warranty. Chrysler said they may extend a goodwill repair to fix or help with the cost. However it has to be diagnosed at the dealer and it’s not a guarantee that they’ll help or pay for the repair. This repair can be costly and with the uncertainty do I 1. Take it do the dealer hoping for help? 2. Trade it in? 3. Take it to my mechanic and have the work done for less? I am moving out of state in the next month and need reliable transportation. Please help…
Take it to the dealer. Pay for the diagnostic, if they won’t comp you on the repair, you can take it to your regular mechanic and hand him the diagnostic results from the dealer. If you trade it, they will knock off whatever the fix costs.
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Mustangman has good advice.
For the life of me, I cannot understand how tires or a starter could ever be considered part of diagnosis/repair for what symptoms must have existed that turned out to be camshaft lifter problem? Who was doing the diagnosis and repair?
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I agree with @Mustangman . A tune up is regular maintenance, as are tires, I wouldn’t count them as repair attempts/costs. Also, how many miles are on this truck? If it’s just 5000 miles outside of warranty coverage, then why would it need a tune up this early? Anyway have the dealer diagnose it, if they cut you a break on the repair then you’re good, if they don’t, then just have the repair done elsewhere. If you trade it in, they’ll deduct the repair cost from their offer, so that’s probably not a great solution.
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You still have engine warranty coverage or just barely out on a 5 year old truck? Dodge must provide a pretty good warranty on their 5.7 engine. I scanned through the tsb’s , nothing I can see that indicates any systematic lifter problems. You might want to look at tsb 9-7-15 which list some stuff about oil usage and oil dilution, pcv system, improper reading of the dipstick., towing, aggressive driving, engine coolant temperature, etc. Oil problems are often related to lifter malfunctions. As far as what to do, no harm done to ask the dealership for some consideration. Tell them you want to be able to consider purchasing another Dodge in the future.