Hello! I'm new to these forums and I'm hoping to get some advice on a current situation with my husbands truck.
nov 2010 we purchased our first vehicle - a '07 dodge ram quad cab 4x4 slt. One year later, this thing is giving us problems.
Nov '11 - our truck gave out, and when we brought it to the dealership they said it was the transfer case shift motor, and ended up replacing it twice (the first time they replaced it, it died almost immediately). This was covered under warrenty as we purchased additional "bumper to bumper" warrenty

Feb'12 - The 4x4 Service light came on, we brought it in, and once again it was the transfer case shift motor. It was, again, replaced. Possibly the TIPM too...but I can't recall 100%, I know that came up (i dont even drive but I'm the one who has to handle this...sorry . This dealership was not the same one that fixed our truck in nov. they said that the first dealership forgot a piece to the shift motor and that was why it went out.
We missed one payment on our extra warrenty and they canceled our policy, so at this point it is no longer covered.

May'12 - our truck is currently in the shop after, once again, the service 4x4 light came on. And once again, its the transfer case shift motor. They let me know this, and proceeded to tell me that it will cost $500 to replace. I let her know that we just had this same problem in Feb, and it should be under warrenty. She said "oh, i didnt even check" (really?? geez...) but when she checked she said that because the shift motor was replaced under warrenty in Feb (from Nov), it could not be replaced again under warrenty...this does not make any sense to me. the way she worded was "we mopared it in feb so we cannot mopar it again" - what does this mean??

I told her no I shouldn't have to pay because the issue was not resolved in the first place. No one has found the under lying cause as to why the transfer case shift motor continues to fail every 3 months. If they had fixed it, then it wouldn't be breaking 3 months later. My mom also said that because in November the truck was under warranty, and they never fixed the problem then and the underlying problem would have been covered then it should still be covered because they failed notice it and it continued to break.
The service lady said that it was not her call and it would be up to her manager, so I'm going (up with my mom haha) to talk to the service manager face to face about this issue. I'm determined not to be had by the "stealership"

Oh, and i also told the service lady to leave the keys in the middle console, as my husband would be getting off work after closing time...he went to get the truck ..and the doors are locked. I'm really really hoping that the keys are not locked inside. We only have one set.

Hopefully all this makes sense...any suggestions, thoughts would be great, thank you.
- and we notice that this issue comes up after a snowstorm. i think my husband switches from auto to just 4x4, and then it won't go back again. We noticed over the past few weeks that when he shut off the truck, the service light would go away, but would come on a few hours later. (even in dry conditions)
im sorry if this post didn't make sense and hopefully my lack of knowledge on vehicles doesn't make me sound too silly

 

Any part that is replaced whether you paid for it or it was under warranty is generally covered for 1yr/12kmi which ever comes first.
That part should be covered regardless if your warranty ran out.
Try that route and it should be covered.

Good Luck


*I would also have your transfercase drained and filled with a couple qts of fresh ATF+4. It's a simple procedure and shouldn't cost much at all. Maybe your having binding issue's or dirt in there from old fluid and is causing issue's with the motor? Just a thought. T-case only take a few quarts. Shouldnt be more than $25 in fluid and $30 in labor.

 

Fuzzy,

If a part is replaced at the dealership using a Mopar part, the warranty on that part is 12 months 12,000 miles on the labor and 12 months unlimited mileage on the part. If the part is replaced under that Mopar part warranty, the time and mileage of the warranty does not start over. You get the 12/12 and 12/unlimited from the time and mileage of the original replacement only.

Having said all that, if you feel that the dealership did not fix the underlying cause of the problem in the first place or that you should not have to pay for a replacement part that has continuously failed, I suggest you contact the Chrysler Customer Assistance Center directly at one of the numbers listed below and see if they will provide any further assistance on the repair.

800-992-1997 United States
800-465-2001 Canada

 

Called the dealership this morning, they have to cut a door key as they locked my keys on the truck. Same service woman, she said she would speak to the service manager and said she would get to the underlying problem and may have to call someone? She said more details wpuld be available when i come up.

Dirtydog - thanks for the suggestion, I'm going up later today and will mention this to them.

Dodgecares - ok, that is good to know. Though even with it still being under warrenty from the time od the orginal replacement, it still has not been a year nor has my husband driven over 12,000km.
The service lady mentioned that it seemed odd that we would have to replace this piece 3x in less then a year and they would find the underlying cause. Hopefully it won't cost a fortune..
Its one thing to replace it once, thinking 'well maybe it just gave out' - but for it to repeat itself 3x before they think 'gee, maybe something else is wrong' is kind of...silly in my opinion. My husband always asked what caused it only to get a "we don't know" answer, which again upsets me as a owner and buyer of dodge.

Thank you for those #s, I will hang onto them in case this doesn't pan out today.

 

Fuzzy,

If it has been under 12 months since the original repair and the dealer gives you any trouble about "Moparing" the part, then call the assistance number and they will contact the dealer on your behalf.

 

My 07 4x4 has an NVG 246 transfer case with auto 4 wheel drive. It does not take ATF+4 but a different Mopar fluid. You can also use GM Auto Trak II fluid for these transfer cases.

 

Hello! I have a few questions about this...first I will explain...

Nov/10 - purchased a used 2007 Dodge Ram 1500...along with extended warrenty
Nov/11 - Truck won't start, can't be boosted. A tow to the dealership says that the Transfer Case Shift Motor needs to be replaced, along with the TIPM (total integrated power module) - pieces are replaced.
Feb/12 - Transfer Case Shift Motor is replaced yet again. Truck won't shift from 4w to 2w
May/12 - truck is back in the shop. Again, the transfer case shift motor needs to be replaced. Dealership fights me on replacing this piece under warrenty because when they replaced it in Feb/12 and it can't be "mopar'd" again. What does 'mopar'd' mean??
Woman looks at our old record and sees that this piece has failed 3 times now in a short period. Promises to get to the bottom of it (and i think the shift motor will be under warrenty)
She just called saying that the acuator and tipm need to be replaced as well. Said the acuator will be covered because it was replaced in Nov/11 but not sure on the tipm. Again because of this "it was mopared before and can't be mopar'd again"
In our time owning it we only replaced the tipm in Nov, but i guess the previous owner had it replaced too? which makes no sense to me :/
How much, roughly, do you think it will cost to repair this if i have to pay for it.

 

Oh and i should add, we still have no idea why this keeps happening. We dont drive off road much and definitely nothing extreme. The winter we had to use 4x4 alot but still on a paved road most of the time or a gravel road.

 

I think I recall someone posting not too long ago about paying $900 for TIPM and installation. Not a fan of TIPM, but ALL manufacturers are going to it. I guess because I fix my own sh*t and I can understand good old fuses and relays. Can't see paying $900 just because a head light won't work, but I guess that's just me being old-fashioned.

Dunno where you are, but in northern (salt) states, corrosion can eat away at both the transfer case actuator and any electronics under the truck and in the engine compartment. I know a LOT of guys who have had to replace their entire fuse boxes due to salt spraying up and causing corrosion...

 

I suppose that could be an option, we live in northern Canada. Sounds abit like a pain to have to replace this 2 or more times every winter...if it is the salt of course.
Each time we have this issue the 4w service light comes on and the truck won't switch back to 2w. We bring it in, its the transfer case shift motor. Finally they said they would get to the bottom of this and here we are today with the actuator and tipm