2018 RAM 2500 CTD Issues

[SlimJim]

Check your fuses and push all of them in. Just had my air suspension go out on my 2019 (and stuck in high). Was going to take it into the dealer but found someone online with a similar issue who fixed with just a fuse adjustment. Apparently they can jostle loose from road use. Just about every one of mine was in that condition, pushed them in with a little bit of force and they are all solid again. Who know what else was being affected... Apparently there is also a recall where they permanently fuse the air suspension, but this works for now.

[lesagel]

I have same year truck. RAM 2500 Turbo Diesel. I have had the 4 wheel drive error twice. They changed the actuator on the front axle. Well it's happened again on my latest trip and I heard noise (not grinding) but more like the front differential was engaged. I pulled over and put it in 4WD and rolled forward a bit and then put it back in 2WD. The warning light went out and everything seemed fine for about another 200 miles and then same thing. It went out and never came on again till I got to my next destination. I spoke with dealer back at home and he said that was all under 100k drive train warranty and he suggested unplugging the actuator on the front axle. It gives an error but but you can drive it just fine, The engaging of the front differential never happened again, so I am just going to leave it unplugged till I get back home which is a 700 mile trip.
I think the 4WD issue is sort of common.
My truck has 38k miles on it.
I also had the ABS system error and they changed the controller as well.
Neither of these problems kept me from driving the truck but sort of disappointing.
I am towing 8000 lb trailer and the Cummins sure tows it easy.

[RVoyager]

Sorry to hear your plight. We also have a 2018 2500 RAM Cummins Turbo Diesel but 4x2 (not 4x4). And tow a 5th wheel not a trailer. Our RAM has 25k miles (8915 miles towing) and NO issues so far. Very happy with it and 3 prior RAMs. If your gut says CTD not only means Cummins Turbo Diesel, but also Circling The Drain and Close To Death it is time to sell. Very high resale value. But, a new one is no deal.

[acidburn470]

Had a similar issue with my 2018 Ram (gasser) took it into the dealer and they had to replace the ABS Module. Haven’t had the issue repeat since.

[Scott'n'Wendy]

Since I posted this I've read a couple posts on different Cummins diesel forums where people complain their RAM CTD has issues towing while on a bumpy roads. Some even had their "service 4WD" come on, others had other issues. None of the posts that I read were for my model year, they were all different years, but all were older. I am wondering if anyone else has had issues towing over bumpy roads with their RAM 2500 and I'd love to know what they did about it.

I take my truck and trailer down bush roads so bumpy we can only go about 10mph. No issues.
If bumps are setting things off I'll bet it's electrical. ie poor/loose connection.

[Summit1]

Any brand of vehicle will have issues and may have problems as well. My 2017 Ram 2500 (Laramie w/ CTD) has been mostly excellent, although I had a problem last year with the ABS control module (which affects other stuff as well). The problem began as very rare and I tried every thing I could think of to isolate the cause... bumpy roads, speeds, wet weather, etc. None of those factors were related to the cause. One morning when the error message appeared, I called the dealer and they advised bringing it in right away and to leave it running when I arrive. Upon arrival, they connected their diagnostic tool and received four pages of error data that confirmed the ABS Control module was failing. The part is made by Continental (Germany), and is used in many other makes of vehicles as well. They replaced the failed part and it has been perfect ever since.

While claiming all dealerships are lazy/greedy is a simplistic way out, I have found there are good and poor dealerships. I have been fortunate to have found one of the very good ones... great in sales and service all the way. Their owners (one of whom covers Parts), Service Manager, and I have come to know each other well enough that when I call them with a problem, they know it is just that. If I call them with an issue, they (and I) know it is something that can wait a few days or a week to be resolved. The only bad news (sort of) is the three owners are retiring and have sold the business to another nearby (small) dealership group... we shall see how that works out.

FCA/Stellantis can occasionally be found in a few owners' forums (i.e., Ramforumz.com) under the user name "RamCares"... this is not common among most companies as most social media interactions can become very heated and less than productive. Kudos to those companies that maintain such a presence (Grand Design is excellent with this), not an easy task by any means.

[Malco1]

I'm the original owner and it is still under warranty. We've got a Lemon Law in this state but I don't think these issues are serious enough to qualify. Having said that I will look into our lemon law a bit more, just in case.

The lemon law in NY has to do with how much time your truck has spent at the dealer, not what was wrong with it.
I am originally from LI, NY and in 2006 I bought a new Chrysler 300M. Out of the 10 months I owned the car it spent 3 months at the dealer. Chrysler ended up taking the car back, giving me back my down payment and all my payments and NYS refunded my sales tax.
I used all of that money for a down payment on a Jaguar XJ8. That was the nicest car I ever owned.

[BeerBrewer]

Check your fuses and push all of them in. Just had my air suspension go out on my 2019 (and stuck in high). Was going to take it into the dealer but found someone online with a similar issue who fixed with just a fuse adjustment. Apparently they can jostle loose from road use. Just about every one of mine was in that condition, pushed them in with a little bit of force and they are all solid again. Who know what else was being affected... Apparently there is also a recall where they permanently fuse the air suspension, but this works for now.

Wow....... what an excellent suggestion!!! This morning I hobbled out to my truck, popped the hood, opened the fuse box and found lots of fuses that were not seated properly. Most, but not all of the smaller fuses seemed to be seated just fine, but the same can't be said for the larger "squarish" 20 and 30 amp fuses. Most of these were popped up a tad. I can see how these could come loose or intermittent on rough roads. So I pushed them all in and I'll be routinely checking them from now on.

When I'm feelin better I'm going to crawl underneath the truck to make sure that all of the electrical connections are tight and/or inserted properly as well. My feeling is that the front end of the truck takes too much pounding and vibration and that it is only acerbated when towing. The front end is already carrying the weight of the front end and diesel engine. When towing the weight distribution hitch adds insult to injury by moving some of the trailer weight onto the front wheels. Is there anyway to improve the front suspension, so its less jarring? Like replacing the shocks or something? I've thought about replacing wheels and tires since I'm not a fan of the Firestone Transforce AT tires. I always thought that these were a stiff riding tire. If I did have work done to the front end and/or changed the tires, I would not want to make the truck sit any higher than it is now. I'm thinking that it would be a lot cheaper to do some front end work and maybe replace the wheels tires that replacing the entire truck.

A code reader from the auto parts store is a great tool to have on these new diesels.

You can pull and read codes and many times clear them. They cost less than $100

I think obtaining a code reader is good idea, but I'm not sure what to buy. I looked on Amazon and they ranged from $29 on up. Do you have a favorite brand or model?

As for the dealer, I don't find them at fault at all. They've been very cooperative and have legitimately tried to fix the issues. I'll be taking it in to them this week so they can have a look at look at it.

Thanks

Bob

[GeoTas]

We own a 2018 RAM 2500 CTD Laramie since January of 2019 and have used it to tow our 26RLS. The first two seasons we were very happy with the truck, unfortunately the same can't be said about this year. The Truck has about 18,000 miles on it of which 9,500 miles while towing. Its also been well maintained, nothing has been neglected.

We've had some sort an issue with the truck on every single trip taken this year and we've about had it.

On our first trip to Virginia while sight seeing, we started getting all sorts of crazy warning lights and bells going off. So we took it to the local RAM dealer and they took us right in. They said that they needed to reprogram the computer in the truck. They did it and we haven't this issue since.

Then on the same trip heading home in West Virginia we had issues starting the truck. This happened multiple times. I'd turn the key and the truck would make a "clunk" sound and it wouldn't start. I'd wait 5 minutes and it would start up as normal. This even happened while hitching up, we were all hitched and ready to pull out and it wouldn't start. That time we had to wait 20 minutes for it to kick over. When home we took it to the dealer and they could not find anything wrong.

Then on the next trip while heading home to Long Island on I95 (heading south) in the Bronx my "service 4WD" light came on and we heard a grinding noise. This is about the worst section of I95, the pavement is basically a collection of pot hole repairs, with no shoulder or place to pull over. Since we were in heavy bumper to bumper traffic, we crossed our fingers and kept going. The grinding noise stopped after a few minutes and truck seemed fine. I took the truck to the dealer and they said that me 4WD servo motor needed to be replaced. They had the truck for a few days. We also experienced the starting issues a few times on this trip.

On the next trip to the Berkshires the check "anti lock" brakes light came on and stayed on the whole trip. We called the local dealers and none could see us for a week or so. When we got home the local dealer had to replace the Anti-Lock Brake controller.

Then while coming home from our last trip to New Hampshire, the "Service 4WD" came on again! Oddly enough we were headed south on I95 in Bronx at almost the exact same place where it came on the first time! Unfortunately, the day after we returned home I had knee replacement surgery and I have not had time to take it back to the dealer. So I don't know what the issue is now, but I suspect that the new 4WD servo motor went bad.

This truck only has 18,000 miles on it and it has already been in the repair shop more that ALL of my other trucks (1992 Dakota, 2000 F150, 2006 Tundra) combined! I no longer trust the truck and am thinking of selling it. I'm not sure what to do about all this.

Your thoughts and comments would be appreciated.



Thanks,

Bob

Hi, Mr. Boyer. I suggest you may qualify for a "Lemon" recall/take back on your truck. Might want to check your state Lemon law for vehicles.

[Summit1]

...I've thought about replacing wheels and tires since I'm not a fan of the Firestone Transforce AT tires. I always thought that these were a stiff riding tire. If I did have work done to the front end and/or changed the tires, I would not want to make the truck sit any higher than it is now. I'm thinking that it would be a lot cheaper to do some front end work and maybe replace the wheels tires that replacing the entire truck.

If those Transforce AT's are the original tires, they are likely due for replacement anyway. My 2017 came with those, and after ~25,000 miles, they became squirrely in the rain. From new, the ride was not all that great either. I replaced them with a set of Cooper Discoverer AT3 XLT's and everything improved markedly. Since then, I have heard the newest Transforce AT's are better than those of five years ago, but I will likely not be a guinea pig for those.

I think obtaining a code reader is good idea, but I'm not sure what to buy. I looked on Amazon and they ranged from $29 on up. Do you have a favorite brand or model?

Be careful with this... the cheaper (and some intermediate priced) code readers are that way for a reason, and are limited to what they will actually display codes for. Compare the manufacturers' list of features and compatibility to be certain.