Our company has a 2011 Dodge Ram with just over 22,000km and in Nov we had a major mechanical breakdown involving the drive train. We lost front differential assembly, front drive shaft, transmission case was severely cracked, and steering gear. We are looking at $10K in parts and labour. Chrysler engineers told us it was not a mechanical defect and is blaming driving on a highway at a speed of 110km on 4WHi. Hence they will not apply these repairs under warranty. The road was snowy and straight. We live in the NWT and it is fully winter here now. They will not tell us what actually took place. So we are at a loss. Owner's manual does not give a speed limitation to 4WHi and this setting is common to all up here in the north. Do the engineers have a strong case here? Does anyone have any support information that 4WHi can maintain these speeds?

 

I live in northern BC I put it into 4WD Auto at the first snow fall and turn it off in the spring. When the roads get bat I switch it to 4WD Hi no issues so far. 110km in 4WD shouldn't be an issue on winter roads in my opinion. Don't know how to go about arguing with Chrystler about that tho.

 

Thanks for the reply. Our dealer is standing up for us as they knew the conditions as well. We are now nearly 3 weeks into discussions back and forth. Looking now for stories, or something to support the idea that 4WHi can be used at highways speeds under non-dry conditions.

 

Every 4wd vehicle I've ever owned has had no problems doing highway speeds in 4wdHi and 110km isn't very fast at all, that's like 55 mph-60 mph. I know I've run my ram in 4wdHi at those speeds many many times with no issue. Good luck up there.

 

110 kph is equivalent to 70 mph.

 

Interesting. I've been under the impression that as long as you're driving mostly straight and the road is somewhat slippery that it doesn't matter what speed you're driving or for how long. I've used 4Hi on interstate driving before when pulling a trailer in a winter storm where the road was icy, at 'highway speeds'.

Rob

 

If you can't find where in the owners manual Chrysler has put a limit on top speed for 4Wh, ask Chrysler to point out what part of their warranty was violated. If they can't or refuse, threaten legal action. Per the law, Magnuson-Moss Act, The warrantors (Chrysler) must clearly state the conditions of the warranty, if the warranty is not clear, then they are liable since it was them that wrote it.

Here is a quote fromt he act;

The Act provides that any warrantor warranting a consumer product to a consumer by means of a written warranty must disclose, fully and conspicuously, in simple and readily understood language, the terms and conditions of the warranty to the extent required by rules of the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC has enacted regulations governing the disclosure of written consumer product warranty terms and conditions on consumer products actually costing the consumer more than $15. The Rules can be found at 16 C.F.R. Part 700.
Under the terms of the Act, ambiguous statements in a warranty are construed against the drafter of the warranty

EDIT:

Just realized you are not in the USA as you use kph versus mph. So I don't know if where your are has similar protections or even small claims courts. For $10k though, if Chrysler doesn't play nice, I would consider consulting a lawyer.

 

Thanks for the replies. Our dealer has contacted Chrysler again to support us and some southern dept is reviewing photos once again to determine what went wrong. The dealer feels that the front pinion bearing failed. Now, that is the dealer talking but the final decision comes from the south. We are to know in a day or two. I will let this site know. Another issue we had was with roadside assistance. We were told the max we will be reimbursed for towing the truck back was $100. Well our bill to bring a truck 240km was just under $700 up here. So we are hoping our request for full reimbursement will come through. I will let everyone know how this turns out. Thanks

 

I guess I'll be the one to ask. How fast were you going when the thing basically exploded? Ram is saying 70mph, and you are saying it was snowy. Were you in fact doing 70mph on a snowy road?LOL.....

BTW what did Ram use to determine you were doing any speed at all? Hmmm......

 

craigb1,

Sorry to hear about your concerns. Is the dealer still reviewing this for you? If you are looking for additional assistance please feel free to PM me your VIN# and the name of your servicing dealer. I'd be happy to help.