I guess on an Internet forum you get a lot of reports of issues and maybe it skews the perception of reliability--that these vehicles are full of problems. I just don't see it. In my circle of friends and business associates I know 7 people with Ram trucks. My wife's brother in law hauls large trailers (park models) for a living and is on his 3rd Ram. All of them have served over 600,000 km in very hard use. After his first Ram, he went with a Ford F550 dually which was the worst truck he ever owned. He had Chev's prior to the Ram. Since getting rid of the Ford he's had two more Rams (all Cummins diesels) and swears by them (not at them...).

The work truck in my business is a 1996 Ram Cummins with 730,000 km and still gets used every day.

I have a 2009 Ram Hemi with 80,000 km, and after driving mine a buddy bought one as well. He's at 70,000 km. Neither of us has had any major issues.

My closest friend bought a used Ram 4.7 L with 130,000 km on it. It now has 210,000 km on it. No major issues.

Another buddy, a contractor, has a 2005 Ram with the 4.7L. Don't know the mileage, but he's been happy with the truck.

And finally, our gas technician is on his second Ram...a 2008 2500 with Hemi. Truck is always carrying a heavy load. Again not sure of the mileage, and the only complaint he's had is front suspension...tie rod ends I believe.

I talked to most of these guys before I bought my Ram, and basically what I heard was "great truck". I'm very happy with mine.

Not saying some serious issues don't happen, and for sure some dealerships are crap, but based on my own circle of friends/associates the Ram seems to be providing good service.

 

BullyT-

The 09 Ram was my first truck. So I can't make no comparisons to the other manufacturers. When I compared to the others Dodge won hands down. But as manufacturer of automobliles, and going through almost non-existence 3 years ago I would think that Chrysler would try to improve their relationship with its customers especially if you are backing your product with a Lifetime Powertrain warranty. If our American automobiles companies would treat their customers with loyalty and respect, The imports would have never gained on the American Market Share!!!

 

I can't disagree with a word you said. My post was about the quality of the truck, but the "after sale attitude" of the manufacturers and dealers needs to improve. In my own business, we go to extraordinary lengths to keep our customers happy and a large percentage of our business comes from existing customers. We treat out customers with loyalty and respect and as you correctly noted if the Big Three did this consistently they would be much better off.

 

I just dont know buddy, i just dont know. Ther is just to much greed in the world today, everyone has lost site of what quality meens, quantity is what they want today and they`ll do everything they can to get it, BUT, at what price. (broken driveshafts, junk rear diff`s, someone possibly getting killed in an accident because of it just to save a penny...?) Nobody is building anything today that is worth even 1/2 the money they`re getting for it, and its not just automobile`s, its EVERYTHING..! And guess who`s in the middle of it... WE are, the consumer. We are forced to buy 2nd rate garbage with no choices, so we try to learn to live with it, or just go without. Everybody says we should buy and support american made cars an trucks... how can we even do that when they cant build quality products without costing 10 times what it should. Its no wonder the jobs have left us, USA made products cost way to much because of unions... and the union auto workers cant build us anything with any quality into it. This country has become the country of greed, and no sign of it ever getting better.

 

X2 gator al
i sooooooo totally agree...! If the quality isnt there for what you`re paying, then why spend twice as much money for the same thing you can get for half the money. Funny how these american car company`s just dont get that. I`ll tell you why...UNIONS...!

 

In the Netherlands multiple 2009/2010 Ram trucks owners had their differential locked up. It's a lack of lubrication of the rear axle pinion bearing....

Strange thing is that there is a Safety Recall K36 for 2011 (DS) Ram Trucks but nothing for the 2009/2010 Rams...

Recall information for the 2011 models. k36-recall.pdf

 

Since the diff oil is supposed to be checked/replaced at 18,000 miles it seems odd that people would still be having issues with the 09/10 unless they are not doing the recommended maintenance.

 

Awesome, looks like I get to join this conversation now as well. I have an 09' Ram 1500 SLT that I've been in love with & just paid off last month (lucky me). 42,000 miles & not a single problem; I swore this was the best truck ever. Well, last night after I fortunately exited a highway where I was doing 65 mph, I heard a strange noise. Thought it was nothing cause' the truck has never had an issue, but 2 blocks later I stopped in the middle of the road to inspect. To my surprise, the rear of my driveshaft was dragging on the road. It's was a busy road & dangerous to stay where I was, so I decided to put it in 4WD so the front wheels could literally drag the back wheels (since they locked up) to a parking lot located about 50' away. Upon doing this the front end of the driveshaft fell off in the middle of the road & I had to go pick it up, where it now sits in the bed of my truck. I had it towed to the dealership & should hear back from them later today.
I don't buy new trucks & the only reason I did this time is because they offered me a "Lifetime Warranty" on the drivetrain & electrical. I am also extremely diligent with my scheduled service & maintenance; and have a binder full of records organized by date. At 30K miles & back on 4/20/11 I had a scheduled service done that clearly states "TRANSFER CASE SERVICE". I'll follow up to let you know how it goes, but if I get any grief from the dealership on this I'd like phone numbers or contacts I can call to help with my case. I have a good lawyer at my disposal, but damn if they don't step up & take responsibility I'm going in all-guns-blazing with my resources. Unfreakinbelievable!! And, of course, the dealer has "Never heard of this happening before".

 

Well I'm happy to report that the dealer (Pro Chrysler Dodge in Northglenn, CO) is going to stand by their warranty & fix it. No questions asked & didn't give me any problem. Nice to hear they're stepping up to the plate & standing behind their product. I've been very diligent with keeping up on scheduled service & have a Lifetime Warranty, so really shouldn't be a surprise; but you never know. There is a replacement part that is backordered & might be a delay of 2 weeks until I get it back. Tells me this is definitely not an isolated issue if they can't keep up with the demand. If all goes as planned, I'll remain a happy customer of Dodge. Still a bit concerned & need reassurance this won't happen again. Supposedly a couple of the replacement part numbers have changed & they've beefed up the pinion. We'll see, but satisfied for now.

 

gator-al and mountaineddie, any eplaniation as to WHY this happened on your trucks? i understand that both cases were covered under waranty and thats great, but what actually caused the diff to seize up? was it a lack of lubrication to the pinion bearing like the '11s or did something grenade in the lsd? I'd like to know what actually caused the failure.
Personally i dont think it can be attributed to lack of maintenance. I think waranty could be denied if the proper services hadnt been done, but imo an overdue oil change wouldnt cause this type of catastrophic failure. premature wear on internals, yes but with anything under 100k miles and filled to the proper level sould run just fine.