I confess. I have a bias against Dodges. But every time I drive one, I can't figure out why.
I saw a beautiful Ram 1500 yesterday at a very attractive price. But it's an Ecodiesel, and I'm pretty sure I've heard bad things about them.
Longevity, reliability, and maintenance costs are my absolute highest priorities. I drive 1000 miles per week.
Don't actually care about fuel economy. My fuel is free.
Me and all my homies hate the Ram Ecodiesel. It's an Italian Fiat engine, which means when it fails you'll have a hard time finding dealerships with knowledgeable mechanics to fix it. Lots of horror stories also about back-ordered parts, because obsure Italian engine. It will get roughly the same mileage as your EB F150 but with a 40% more costly fuel. I would avoid. Disclaimer: I personally hate FCA/Stellantis.
In reply to maschinenbau :
Hmm... I've owned a Fiat. Back to looking at LS engines!
It's a VM Motori diesel. The V6s are a known pile of poop. A TON of them were replaced under warranty. They have a rod design that are weak near the pin, so they tend to put windows in the side of blocks.
It's a shame, because VM Motori makes some great diesels. The Jeep Liberty (before the MB diesel), Colorado/Canyon, Jeep Grand Cherokee, all of them have great VMM diesels
It's not that obscure. It's used all over the world, and VMM has plenty of parts distribution here. It's not really a parts issue, it's that it develops an extra vent hole in the crankcase
A local business bought two new and they had crank issues. Not sure if diesel is the way to go anymore unless you are pulling heavy and regularly. They did not take to emissions equipment as well as gas engines.
I've heard the later ones were better buuuuut who knows.
A local SCCA guy used to have one. He likes it. He says it tows well. But it spent months in the shop. After fighting it for a year that it spend 7 months in the shop, he decided to trade it in on a 3/4 ton Dodge diesel.
The Dodge dealer he bought his last 3 vehicles from would not take it in on trade. They don't want them. That tells me everything I need to know about them.
He's driving a Ford now.
In reply to bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) :
I pull regularly, but not heavy any more. Generally within the capabilities of a modern half ton truck. When I need to pull heavier, I rent a tow vehicle.
After years of driving diesels, I've come to appreciate the quiet operation of a gas burner. It's amazing how stress inducing the diesel roar can be when you are burning up 1000 miles of pavement every week.
Just didn't know if this one was worth a test drive.
Dodge trucks. If they aren't rusting by the first red light leaving the dealer, the electrical will never work properly. At least that's been my experience with everything under the dodge/fca/stellsntis/Chrysler/whatever they're trying to call themselves brands since I've been old enough to notice things like that.
In my previous life multiple customers on their 3rd engine by 60k. No thanks. Add in the fact that its wrapped in a dodge that's enough.
bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) said:A local business bought two new and they had crank issues. Not sure if diesel is the way to go anymore unless you are pulling heavy and regularly. They did not take to emissions equipment as well as gas engines.
I think a diesel would be fine for SV reX. Lots of miles should keep DPFs happy. Sadly, though, I agree. I'm a hardcore diesel fanboi, and some of the new stuff is just so laden with questionable reliability from all the EGR coolers, DPFs, Urea injectors, etc. The oft-maligned Powerstroke 6-point-oh-no is actually a fantastic engine, and its the go-to block for 1200+ hp builds. It's all the "stuff" on it that kills it... oil cooler, EGR cooler, etc.
I have a friend that was a Chrysler tech. He told me they fixed them, and they don't bust cranks anymore, but it was a tune fix, not a hardware fix. I also have a few friends that own them and they've been trouble free.
But I wouldn't even consider it.
Almost everybody I know with a truck is now driving a gas engine Dodge because they're so cheap compared to Ford or GM
I had an eco diesel Grand Cherokee and it spent around 45 days of its first year of ownership at the dealership for various cat/regen issues. Ultimately ended up going down the lemon law route.
Stay far away from the eco diesel!
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
Man, I miss my 6.0 truck. My fav engine I've had in a truck so far, though the 3.5 ecoboost is a close second.
I can't speak to Ecodiesel, but my brand-new off the showroom floor 2012 spent more time in the service department than in my driveway for the first 3 months of ownership. Mostly electrical gremlins and first year rollout issues with uConnect. It soured me from the brand almost instantly, especially having to write a truck-sized car payment every month only to put 5k miles on a ratty dodge Dart loaner...
The third generation Ecodiesel supposedly addresses all of the issues that faced the earlier ones. I've been reading quite a bit about them because I have a serious hankerin' for a Gladiator, and I don't know that the gas V6 is going to cut it for my uses. I wouldn't be scared of one, personally. Green Diesel Engineering up in Michigan also does a tune that picks up some power and torque and changes a few parameters that reduce the emissions-related BS that seem to plague all new diesels.
What about the baby Cummins Nissan Titan? Are those just as doodoo?
Contractor who rents from my parents has an EcoDiesel. He drives a LOT including from NC to FL regularly. He had lots of issues when he was driving it only short trips as modern diesels do. Typical running hot, not starting, christmas treeing the dash. After he started the regular 1000 mile trips to FL the truck went back to being very happy. He kept it through all his issues because he liked it enough and the fuel economy, self reported as 25 highway.
DirtyBird222 said:What about the baby Cummins Nissan Titan? Are those just as doodoo?
Nissan is just the Mopar of Japan though
My brother in law has one. He's on his second motor, replaced on his dime and it cost big money - even more than your Ecoboost cost quote. And his truck is not very high miles, like 100k or so.
Wife's friend bought one. Plugged up the EGR and was down for ages waiting for parts.
DirtyBird222 said:What about the baby Cummins Nissan Titan? Are those just as doodoo?
That engine. Ugh. Lots of history with me.
the big issue with the diesel Titan is finding parts and certified mechanics at this point.
anyways. "Most" issues with these modern diesels can be solved with lots mileage. Keeping it loaded and hot will keep it in better shape than a short trip in town vehicle. EGR cooler issues are generally worse in trucks used lightly.
The engine in my 2016 eco diesel truck has been fine. 94k. I've had a couple issues unrelated but frustrating. It tows beautifully, gets 23 combined with 3.92 gears. There were a number of recalls. My only issues with the motor itself was that the dealer snapped the head off a glow plug and it spent an unholy amount of time in the shop getting fixed.
The truck itself has been mostly great as well, but I don't live in a rust belt.
They have HILARIOUSLY low payload capacities. The current ones are better and more typical to modern half tons but the early ones are very low. Like Crew Cab 4x4 (the most likely configuration) 1270lbs payload. Which is 330lbs LESS then a Ridgeline. I think this is mostly to do with the fact that the engine is Heavy and the GVWR was not changed to accommodate that fact so Payload is 200 or so lbs less then a HEMI or Gas V6.
I did drive a Laramie on an 8 hour each way trip and it was comfortable and returned 26 mpg.
I would go gas over the diesel. Co-worker has the gas 6 cyl. He reportedly averages 22 mpg doing inspections around Orlando. At 180k with minimal issues.
A guy on my softball team got a lower mileage eco diesel last year. I stayed out of the conversation but shortly thereafter he was complaining about a several thousand dollar repair. He was reporting mid 20s on the highway.
I bought a low mileage ('14 w/ 42k) Jeep GC EcoDiesel. No complaints with it in 6 months and 8k miles so far, but I did bundle it with a Mopar extended warranty for piece of mind. No issues with the engine, and I do a lot of short 8 mile round trips while I'm at school.
FCA is a mess with parts shortages though. There is a warranty extension on seat belts that don't retract, but parts are on a 2 month backorder. I've been driving around with a seat belt that won't snug up for a month now.
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