I have a promaster 2500 with the diesel engine. Bought it used. It has 58k miles and under 3,0000 of those are mine. The hydraulic unit went out and also took the clutch and freewheel with it. Unfortunately the powertrain warranty will only cover the hydraulic unit and not the clutch and freewheel which I was quoted $2000 by the service shop after they take away the price of the hydraulic unit. Any ideas on how to get the FCA to pay for it. I've called them. Called the original dealer. They don't seem to budge. I'm quite pissed and frankly didn't budget $2000 for a van I just bought that is supposed to run like a top until 200k miles.

 

Unfortunately clutches are considered wear items (like brakes) and are not covered by warranties. Not much you can do.

 

Even though it wore prematurely by a good 50-100k miles due to their defective hydraulic?

 

I have a similar issue with my 2014 PM 2500 with ecodiesel. Bought at 57K miles, put only 5K more on so far. Experiencing onset of very rough shifting during longish drives. Suspecting the hydraulic (clutch) actuator, I finally found a dealer capable of servicing these vehicles. I requested the hydraulic fluid be changed, to the tune of $550 for five hours labor! The shop agreed the change might help the shifting, however, 2 months and 2K miles later, same problem recurs. I check the fluid again, and its full of black rubber particles in otherwise pristine DOT 4. I think the actuator is failing, and trying to take the clutch out with it. The dealer is pushing me out on the requested service date, as they know the power train warranty shall expire soon.

Update:
Then at 63K miles, it suddenly failed to shift at all. AAA needed two hours just to locate a flatbed tow of sufficient capacity for this unit.
The vehicle sat at the dealership for a week, until the only qualified technician on staff could get to it.
Having noticed black rubber particles in the clutch fluid, it was no surprise when failure of the clutch hydraulic was diagnosed at the dealership.
This apparently qualified for the powertrain warranty, as the required components were reportedly ordered from the factory.
More than two weeks later, this remains on indefinite backorder, and my vehicle downtime now exceeds 25 days.
I located the repair parts online with another dealer, and suggested my dealer source it accordingly. But they apparently could not cut a deal.
One can guess retail pricing more compelling than internal transfer pricing. So much for customer service.

 

Hi bmcclary,
We certainly understand your frustration. If you need any additional assistance while working with your dealer, please send our team a private message and we would be happy to get you connected with a case specialist to look into this further.
Alex
Dodge Social Care Specialist

 

Update on my PM2500 ecoAlbatross:

Finally got it back after ten (10) weeks downtime! At the six week mark, I finally contacted Ram customer assistance, and finally got a straight answer regarding the delay and ETA for parts. The dealer had cited at least 23 of these vehicles were all down, awaiting the same part - the hydraulic shifter, a $1600 item with notorious supply chain issues.

All it cost me was precious time, and Ram threw me a bone in the form of free oil changes for two years. That is, if it runs that long.

Purchase of an extended warranty would seem prudent at this point. However, the Ram terms are $5K for 2 years coverage; another aftermarket source quoted $4K for 3 years. The dealer refuted the aftermarket option, saying they don't cover the full dealer labor rate.

Synopsis:
Not only is the Promaster cargo van highly prone to needing repairs,and relatively few qualified dealerships to service them, but the factory supply chain is feeble as well.
While this unit is a great platform for a DIY RV, better stock it with an FCA technician, proprietary software interface, and every conceivable spare part.