On 2/4/2019 my wife and I bought a like new Dodge Ram Limited, while visiting the New Orleans area. We got a great deal on this current model Ram, at a local Ford Dealer in Mandeville, La. At the end of our visit we drove the new Ram, back to our home in Bow, New Hampshire. All was well during our trip, and after we arrived home. We of course transferred the remaining warranty to our name, and address. We also chose Bob Mariano Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, and Jeep as our home dealership, in Concord, NH. On April 30, 2019 noticed water in the carpet under both front left side, and right rear side of the crew cab. I took the truck to Bob Marian Chrysler, Ram to find and repair the leak. I suspected the sun roof was leaking. When the repair was complete at Bob Mariano they called me to pick up the truck. I noted on the paperwork, Bob Mariano used a company called "Water Doctor" for the clearing of rear panoramic roof drains, and checked for proper adjustments. It says it tested good. Last weekend, my wife and I took the truck to a local grocery store in Concord. After turning the truck off in the parking lot, I noticed all the lights on the dash, and outside went off. I attempted to re-start the truck, and found the truck did nothing, no lights, no display, no radio, nothing. I tried re-starting by pressing the start button with the key fob, still nothing. We called AAA and they came and tested the battery, it tested fully charged. The mechanic tried to start the truck, nothing. AAA towed the truck to the local dealer, Bob Mariano Dodge/Ram. The dealer said they tested the truck, and found a bad module that controls the function of the key fob. But, said it will not be covered by warranty because of water damage due to flooding. My wife (retired attorney) and were floored, this truck has no history of being in a flood. Louisiana requires flooded cars and trucks to be followed by a Flooded Title. I would not have purchased it with any flooded title or history. Plus, we checked with National Weather Service for flood history in South Louisiana, during the dates of the sale. I told the dealer Bob Mariano, that I totally reject that the truck was flooded, causing this computer module failure. The dealers rep said he contacted Chrysler Customer Service, and they rejected the repair authorization. I called Chrysler Customer Service, they said they must back up their dealers. But, I could pay to have my truck taken to another dealer, and have them look at the truck and either confirm, or deny the finding of the original dealer (being set-up for conflict of interest) The truck has not left New Hampshire, and we live on a mountain, 3500 feet above sea level. Has any one heard of anything like this? How would you respond?

 

Hire a lawyer.

 

Ask 'em what makes 'em think it was flooded? You REALLY need to fight this, as if they decide it was flooded, and it sticks, you are screwed, and NOTHING will be covered by warranty from there on out. Think I would make arrangements to have it towed to another dealer, tell the second dealer NOTHING about what the first one "found", and see what they have to say.

 

Things with this truck have not changed. My wife, who is a retired attorney, licensed in Louisiana, has contacted Chrysler Customer Service, and have had a supervisory agent assigned to our claim. They have also provided a claim number to keep notes to. Since we bought the truck in Louisiana, and the local dealer does not want to honor the Chrysler nation wide warranty, and lawsuits will have to go to the Federal Court, in New Orleans. She practiced Law in New Orleans, for 40 years, so is well know in that area.

 

Should be interesting.

The dealer is going to have a REAL hard time convincing folks the truck was flooded, considering it's age, and the fact that there haven't really been any flooding events in its lifetime.... (that I am aware of.....)

Let us know how it goes.

 

Not sure how it works down there but I would be taking Chrysler and your local dealer to court to prove the truck wasn't flooded but I would also be going after large punitive damage for their abuse of you as a customer. Would be interesting to see if you can locate a bunch more customers that have been falsely denied warranty coverage for flooding that never happened. Might turn into a nice big class action suit.

 

It looks like the stance of the local dealer has changed. The dealer called yesterday morning and told us we needed to have the "topper" we installed after purchased removed. The dealer said they found the rear cab window leaking, and the topper needed to be taken off so they can do the repair, and remediate the damage from the leak. I agreed to pick-up the truck next Tuesday, take it to the Topper dealer and have it removed and stored until the repair is completed. This means the truck is now running, and road worthy. Seems there is another leak in one of the tail light assemblies, and now we're awaiting parts. The parts should be in next week. I'll comply with this plan of attack, and see how this saga ends.

 

Very glad to hear that. Hope it all works out, but sure not impressed with that dealer.

 

I'm back again for the final time, I hope. The dealer, the Service Manager, and tech, finally gave up the flooding claim. I got to inspect the damaged circuit card, and actually saw no damage due to water. Being a electronics engineer, who worked for the Army Corps of Engineers, in New Orleans, pre Katrina, and post Katrina, I have seen water damage on electronic systems. I saw none on the circuit card. The dealer claimed there was a lot of corrosion damage in the back of the cab. But, could not show the damage to my body shop manager when he came to estimate the corrosion damage repair. The dealer did find a leak in the cab rear window seal. I had to remove the topper for them to replace the window, and seal. I had the topper replaced, and now the truck is back to normal. It now starts fine, runs well, and does not seem to leak. I did open a case file with Chrysler, about all the problems. So, all is well now, with the Ram. Thanks for all the encouragement to resolve this problem.

 

Awesome.