40,000 Miles and Running Strong - 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel Long-Term Road Test
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40,000 Miles and Running Strong - 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel Long-Term Road Test
We've decided to keep our long-term 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel longer than the average test vehicle. As a result, we've hit the 40,000-mile mark.
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It seems overall the truck is a sweet vehicle and a real useful comfortable truck, but that issue was a huge red flag that depending on the prevalence and cost of repair could be an issue to watch out for.
There was a really thorough post-mortem in one of the earlier Ram posts. I believe they traced it to debris in the fuel line, but you can go back to the post and confirm it. The complete overhaul may not have been necessary to keep the engine running, but I think this truck made a nice guinea pig for RAM/FCA (and the rest of us).
I haven't seen much chatter about other EcoDiesel engine failures, but there is some paranoia about the Bosch HPFP (which wasn't the source of the problem in this case). In the end, it looks like the breakdown was something specific to this one truck.
http://www.edmunds.com/ram/1500/2014/long-term-road-test/2014-ram-1500-ecodiesel-back-in-service.html
And in this post, Dan clears up that it was a piece of plastic in the fuel tank:
http://www.edmunds.com/ram/1500/2014/long-term-road-test/2014-ram-1500-ecodiesel-oil-service-phantom-sounds-and-more-about-the-stall-problem.html
Nothing wrong with the engine.
Interesting read actually. When towing at max weights the engine needs a 2 minute cool down time after highway driving before shutdown for the turbo to cool down. Most interesting is that they don't recommend extended engine idling in cold weather because combustion temperature may not get high enough to completely burn fuel. This will cause carbon build up and fuel to mix with oil and cause engine damage. Also, the EcoDiesel uses glow plugs while the Cummins uses a intake grid heater. Both systems should be good enough to start the engine at temperatures as low as -20 degrees. Impressive.
It appears a large amount of owners are getting emissions system issues that ultimately make the car useless as the system will warn it's going to shut down the car in X miles. It's called a Cat issue online but it appears it's not the catalytic converter, but something after it called cat that clogs with def crystals if in the words of the dealer "you don't beat the hell out of the car".
I've had the issue, a friend had the issue. The part replaced under a tsb costs more than $2000 parts and labor and it appears the part is I. Short supply with many delays for many customers.
The outcome? The ecb/ecm computer update and the part replacement appears to really lower mpg. 23.5 avg to 19.9 mpg for me. And now I slurp def at breakneck speed.
If the fix really is required for many people and if you lose mpg in the process, this is more than a recall in the works, this is a settlement for increased TCO of 15% more fuel used over life of the truck.
Please investigate on behalf of consumers and let the world know what you find.
@rookhawk Diesels don't do well in stop and go city driving. They are long distance runners or should be pushed hard. VW TDI owners who don't drive their cars hard or drive mostly in the city have issues with the DPF clogging. They also say the replacing this part costs thousands of dollars. VW states that after 120,000 the DPF should be inspected for soot accumulation and replaced if it's too full. Ram doesn't have any replacement schedule if the system is allowed to run and complete the regeneration process when it gets 80% full and the regen warning comes on. If it's driven hard or long distances regularly like Edmunds' long termer you will rarely see this warning since it will naturally clean itself out during normal operation.