What cracks me up most is people won't do scheduled maintenance on their daily driver, but will turn around and make extra sure that their canam atv gets every 500 to 1000 dollar maintenance
It’s a true fact, a study done actually just last year showed that more than 60% of car owners skip on or completely ignore important car service and maintenance. It’s really sad 😞
I have a 2011 Ram 1500 4X4 with the 4.7 V8 currently it has 185k on it and it still runs great. I switched it over to synthetic oil when I bought it. As for service, I change the oil every 3500 miles, Transmission fluid and filter every 40,000 miles, air filter every third oil change, spark plugs every 60,000 miles,transfer case and rear differential fluid every 40,000 miles. Yes it's a few extra bucks, but in 185,000 miles my Ram has never broken down or left me stranded on the side of the road.
4.7 rams are pretty solid tbh. Uncle has a 2005 with 220k miles. He just did oil change every 5k miles, diff fluid every 50k and trans fluid every 100k. It hasn’t stranded him once but in the last year or so it started burning oil.
You're the minority, mine was a piece of crap. Developed an engine tick due to premature cam lobe failure and rear main seal oil leak around 40K. Traded it for a Toyota and have never looked back.
I retired in 2010 and bought a new Dodge Ram 1500 (the last year for Dodge) Big Horn Crew Cab with the 5.7 Hemi. 130,000 miles and no problems at all. Oil and filter changed every 5,000 miles. At 60,000 miles, plugs, motor oil, transmission flush and transfer cases fluid change. Just did the same at 120,000 miles plus brake system flush and fill and cooling system flush and fill. Hope to pass it on when I pass on! Let the grandkids fight over it!
Maintenance is very important. I drive a 2014 FIAT panda. The previous owner did less maintenance on it. Even has a few cigarette burns inside. It was sputtering a bit when I bought it with 160,528. I had it immediately serviced. And since then, I get it serviced every 10,000. It now has 192,270 on the odometer. It's a very happy car now.
The air dam rotates down when above 45 MPH to reduce drag under the truck and increase fuel economy. There are also louvers behind the grill that do the same to increase aerodynamics.
Too many wait until there is a problem and by then it is too late completely or will cost you 10X more $ to fix. Easiest and cheapest thing to do to keep a car on the road. My son is 23 and had his own truck for awhile. I have to remind him constantly!
My 06 power wagon has grease zerks on the u joints on the drive shaft. Definitely change the tranny oil and filter every 40k if you tow regularly. My truck shifts fine. Change that engine oil too I change mine every 4k.
The device in the front is an air dam that deploys as a fuel economy aid. As for "lifetime" transmission fluid.... When the transmission fails, the fluid has lived it's "lifetime" I am also a firm believer that those fluids still need to be changed at regular intervals.
When manufacturers say "life time" they're talking about the end of the warranty period. They should be sued for not incorporating drain plugs and dipsticks to fill/check.
They're lifetime when the cars are driven under normal driving conditions. But most drivers fall under the "severe conditions" category and thats when the fluid needs to be changed
Companies like RAM don't help by claiming "lifetime fluid" on the transmission yet the manufacturer ZF says to change the fluid around 60k. The dealer wont even do the service for you and if they do agree to it the cost is ridiculous. Just did all my fluids myself for a few hundred.
Folks need to take their vehicles to a good, trusted independent shop and NOT the dealer for regular maintenance and for out of warranty repairs too. They will steer you straight on fluid change internals and more.
I think loads of folks skip on maintenance and repair because there are a lot of scam mechanics out there that want to sell you a new engine when in reality you just have a bad spark plug coil. So people go in and anything the mechanic recommends the customer views as possibly a scam and declines.
Over here in the UK, most people service their cars when taking them for their annual mandatory vehicle roadworthiness check. It just makes sense. I have a 14 year old Honda CR-Z with zero issues, partly because it has a full annual service history since new.
I had a ‘22 Ram 1500 Laramie with the 3rd gen EcoDiesel. I know the reputation on the engine ain’t great for the first two generations, but third gen was completely different. They basically went completely insane and fixed practically everything that was wrong with it knowing it’s the last hoorah for it. And I adore it. Insanely good gas mileage. Amazing towing. Feels amazing on the road. The only problem I had with it, was that my truck came out of the factory with the wrong head computer unit and would kill the battery trying to update overnight and couldn’t because it had a wrong module in it. After replaced under warranty and updated manually, it was perfect. Had it for about 30k miles till I got T-boned. I’d buy it again in a heartbeat. An amazing truck. And service on it was a breeze. Super easy oil changes, easy transmission service as well, everything is clear and easy to get to. Love it.
I agree with you on the Ecodiesel. I had a 2014. Absolutely loved the truck. Fuel mileage that was unbelievable and really decent power. Servicing was very easy, I also agree about the transmission I like to have died when the dealership told me you didn't service the fluid. They told me it was lifetime. Then I asked who determined what the lifetime of a vehicle was? My Ecodiesel went to 237k miles before I traded it in on a 2018 2500 Diesel last year. And a majority of that gen engine had already been replaced. Mine was still original. And other then recalled issues flawless.
@ no such thing as lifetime transmission. Just based on physics alone it’s a dumb concept. So yeah, any time a dealer tells you it’s lifetime, they’re just sitting there waiting for it to quit and charge you a small fortune to rebuild/replace it. I don’t care if it’s “bad” to replace the fluid, I’m still gonna do it. I know a single example of a “lifetime” transmission that I would believe, and it was a Mercedes 5 speed automatic from the S600, S500 and S430 W220 body. Like early 2000s. I bought a cheap one to play around with, had 177K miles on it and the transmission has never been serviced once. Guess what? It shifted perfectly and drove great.
My dad has a 2018 ecodiesel which I think is 2nd gen. He has 170k miles and the only failure was a fuel pump that the dealer knew was going to be recalled so they told him to sit tight for a couple weeks until the recall rolls out and they would get it covered by the recall for free. He did that and it has still been a decent truck. He gets a check engine light every winter for fuel due to winterized diesel but it still runs and drives fine.
@ I’ve had the same issue on my 22 3rd gen during winter it would say water in the fuel system. But ran perfectly fine. After 10 minutes of driving it would go away. And only show up during very low temperatures. Other than that it’s been super solid and I would buy one without hesitation if it was still available new.
My dad got a Ram 1500 new in 2018. He had zero issues with it as far as I know. After he passed during the pandemic I ended up with it and at 32k miles. It must’ve lost heart after he left because things have constantly been breaking and it has been very well cared for. Spontaneous gas leak from a crack in the plastic gas tank. Various electrical issues that I did have fixed under warranty, which has since timed out. The gas tank cost me $2500 out of pocket. A seal is bad somewhere in the cabin that I can’t track down without taking out the interior so it doesn’t get wet anymore. The cruise control still goes in and out even after two prior services at the dealer for that very issue. I just hardly use it anymore unless it feels like working. No engine issues and nothing drive train related so far. One of the rear shocks is already leaking. I’ve already replaced the tires once. It’s just a 1500 with the Pentastar V6 and it’s plenty fine for what my dad got it for which was light hauling for home remodeling and crap. I use it the same way and prefer to drive my car over using the truck unless I have to. I’m not going to crap all over Dodge but after 2 caravans, a Journey and an earlier Pacifica I’ve since switched to Toyota. The quality control, especially with electrical, is just a nightmare in my experience. After 70k or so miles I always had issues and sometimes way earlier than that.
Similar story for me. New 2018 F150 in late 2017. At about 70k. Did all the fluids already and do the oil every 5k. No drivetrain issues but random bs and warranty work. Out of warranty work has included the wiper linkage seizing, a very thin and cheap exhaust clamp rotting off (replaced myself), tailgate harness crapped out. Not overly impressed
@@JOHNJ0HN9111 our 14 Journey I got the wife after a nice rental experience was a bad one. I still have panic attacks about that car it was such a nightmare and we got it new. We actually still have it and my wife got a lifetime warranty and still takes it to the dealer to fix. Seems the one in the truck is solid I’ve driven across the state several times and no overheating issues we had on the journey. Isn’t the E torque variant either and I can’t imagine what complications that introduced.
One thing I might be able to help you with is if you’re talking about the cab leaking in the rear when it rains it can be the 3rd brake light gasket needs to be replaced.
@@He11Raiser4Life12015 1500 Ram; I had a bad seal (caulking) between panels behind the driver-side rear seat. They had to remove the box and reseal the seam. Chased it for awhile until they zeroed in on it.
Wow, never heard of a motor with two spark plugs per cylinder; learn something new every day. About a year ago I lucked out and found a used 2013 Acura RDX that looked to be in good shape. Test drove it, then pulled the Carfax and saw that the thing had been taken to the local Acura dealer its WHOLE life for maintenance. Every oil change was at the dealer, but what blew me away was that the 100K service had just been done 2K miles prior. The spark plugs, the timing belt, the trans fluid, the diff fluid, coolant flush, water pump replaced; all at the dealer. I bought it immediately.
I just rolled over 92K on my 22 Hemi. I have the unicorn if you read the forums. Im on the original cam, lifters, manifolds and waterpump, front diff and axles too. I tow frequently and change the oil every 3K , trans every 60K and wash the underside every month to make sure it stays clean.
That’s great, my 16 has second set of manifolds going bad and lifters starting to tick. Oil changes 3000 miles. 98 k on it. Been a great truck too. I fluid filmed it a few years ago and every year since I add to it. Clean frame. I’m not interested in a new engine for it to have the same issues.
I also have a 2019 Ram, and we absolutely love it. We have had it since it was new, and it now has a bit over 50k miles. I am OCD about maintenance, especially now that it is deligated to towing our Camper. I do all of the oil changes myself, and the one complaint I have is that the oil filter is right above the power assist steering... why... all of that room and the oil filter is there... any rate, the air dam that you were looking at is designed to close vents in front of the grill and drop that air dam down to reduce air drag based on vehicle speed and operating temperature. Love the content, Mr. Wizard! Please keep them coming!
I service my wife's 2020 CR-V . She got it new and I change the oil around 3000 miles. I change the transmission fluid every 25000 miles. At 100000 miles I'm going to change the antifreeze and belt. So far @ 89000 miles its still doing good
I think, here in America, it's often a trust issue. Or rather a lack of trust in mechanics in general. There's a sort of stigma surrounding mechanics recommending services. It's kind of engrained in consumer mentality that many mechanics are trying to take advantage of them by recommending things. Unfortunately, that stereotype is perpetuated by less than reputable shops. It also doesn't help that even the simplist services can be unexpectedly expensive.
Key drivers for car owners not wanting to do maintenance: 1. Manufacturers went away from oil changes every 3k miles and tire rotation every other oil change. If you don't need to do an oil change so often why do you need to do anything else? 2. Stealerships trying to get customers to do more than what is needed for a certain mileage; i.e., fuel system flushes, brake system flush and doing replacement of wear parts early. 3. Direct injection engines requiring much more care of the engine
Maintance so far has kept the CVT in my 2017 Corolla going for 145k miles +. I commute roughly 120 miles a day and the car routinely gets 40+ MPG. I’m in a Corolla forum and there’s tons of post of people with this transmission with over 200k on the original fluid. I’ve changed mine three times so far lol no it’s not cheap but the car is still butter smooth!
While there's some validity to the assertion that folks here in the USA generally are lax on vehicle maintenance, it's also a fact that dealerships are notorious for overselling unnecessary services whenever a vehicle goes in for routine maintenance. In other words, not every repair shop is as honest and competent as Omega and The Car Wizard are. In reality, what vehicle owners should do is educate themselves on the basics of their vehicles and what's best for them. For example, it never hurts to change out all fluids, other than the regularly scheduled oil changes that are an absolute must (and should be done at even shorter intervals if there's a turbo), every 4-5 years or 40-50K miles, excepting for CVTs, which should be done more frequently, regardless of what an owner's manual recommends.
Spot on Wizard, in the long run spending money on scheduled maintenance actually saves money. Over the years I've owned some pretty dodgy cars but I've managed to keep then going just by making sure fluid levels are kept at the correct levels and oils changed at the correct intervals. I've been driving for 54 yrs and in that time I've only had a couple of breakdowns simply because I maintain my cars, it's well worth it.
My 07 Silverado with 232,000 miles on it with no issues, the idle is as smooth as glass, shifts like butter will disagree with you about regular maintenance. I have always serviced my truck correctly. Oh, and I have always used Royal Purple oil and Royal Purple oil filter. I fully agree with the Wiz. Maintenance your vehicles people!!!
You nailed it. It’s an emotional action not necessarily a logical one. There is a good chance that a car will last a very long time without spending thousands every year on maintenance.
I just did a full service (I did all the work) on a ram I purchased, to do every thing and bring it up to service it was 1k in parts. I talk to people and they do not even know you need to do timing chain at around 100k, not to mention change all the fluids. And yet they wonder why they spend so much money on a auto and then it fails them.
I chuckled as an owner of multiple RAM trucks. There is always something amiss with these beasts. 😆 you just have to get used to a creak here, a leak there.
Own a '21 laramie with 72k miles. I maintain everything myself. Trans fluid at 60k, diff at 50k, oil, air, cabin at the right times. Still with that, both exh. manifolds cracked and replaced at 44k under warranty, steering rack groaning a little after that, replaced front center jumpseat seatbelt retract mechanism recently, and now fuel tank not venting when filling at the pump
Change diff fluid, transfer case fluid, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, and get a coolant flush. All of those fluids are well overdue. So are spark plugs, they are due at 100k on that car iirc. Those things are necessary to keep the respective components working well. Just doing oil tires and brakes is not sufficient maintenance.
The maintenance thing is a two-way street in the States. For example, not to call anyone out, the manufacturer says that my wife's CVT is a sealed transmission with no service interval in the States, but says to change the filter and fluid every 50k km in other countries even though there's no differencein the transmission or specified fluid.
I have a '17 with almost 100K. Will be doing the plugs, PCV valve and coolant for my 100K service. I did all gear boxes and the transmission fluid at 60K. Note on those ZF transmissions, the filter is integrated into the pan. You need a new pan, plus the fluid to do the job, and the fluid isn't cheap, but you're just doing a drain and fill so you will only be adding about 1/3 of the capacity. Also not a bad idea to check your brake fluid if you haven't had that flushed out. I keep telling people, these are not bad trucks, but you have to maintain them. No, it's not a Tundra in terms of longevity, but in my mind, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to get 150-200k relatively trouble free miles out of them. Start abusing them by stretching out oil change intervals, excessive idling, neglecting other maintenance, and you will have problems, guaranteed.
coming from a technician that works on mainly chrysler/ram/dodge/jeep vehicles. i can say if people would maintenance their vehicle as suggested by the manufacturers i wouldn't see so many vehicles come in to the dealer for failures caused by excessive wear and tear or prolonged maintenance.
My brother changed the oil every 5000 miles and transmission services every 40,000 on his 2015 E 250 diesel and he got it to 330,000 miles with no issues. The car got totaled by a reckless driver while it was parked. My brother wanted to take it to half million miles.
Cannot understand people that do not maintain their vehicles, but then bad mouth the brand when they eventually break. Had my 2018 Peugeot 508 Fastback since February 2020 and only put 35K miles on it. But I have religiously followed the manufacturer's recommended service intervals and then some. Often changing the oil a lot sooner. Past experience has taught me not to skimp on the oil, it prevents soooooo many potential problems down the road.
See from the perspective of an honest mechanic, you can't process why people have the attitude of "it works stop trying to tell me it needs xyz" but most mechanics are not honest. You bring it in for an oil change and they tell you it needs a new belt, a new water pump, new spark plugs and coils and new shocks. Car is at 106k miles, i did all but the shocks 5k miles ago at the 100k, but he's trying to pull a fast one because it's still close to 100k. Then the shocks get thrown in despite no visible or functional issues with the shocks, rides right and sits right/level and none are leaking. And of course he writes up an estimate for all this and it's 7000 dollars, when you had this service done 4 months ago and it was 2000
My '81 Chevy Deluxe Step Side had a air deflector underneath the radiator. I figure that it was either for radiator fan efficiency or for fuel economy. The truck had a 4.1 inline six and three on the tree and 4:11 rear differential and advertised on the window sticker as getting 27 mpg highway and it got that. With it's ten gallon fuel tank it surely needed it.
I remember one time I took my early 2000s Cadillac into a mechanic shop to replace the belts, fluids ect because I bought it used and didn't know when anything was done. The mechanics was telling me people usually just wait for belts and stuff to break and they get stranded before they fix things. 😅
2020 Ram 1500 Hemi LARAMIE SPORT with 99000 miles and the starter went to intermittent starting. Dealer said I cant find nothing wrong.. (tried to charge me but could not provide me with any diagnositcs performed. So took to recommended local shop.. ... left over night ... and the shop hooked up diagnostics in morning .. bad starter... 600 bucks later.... Nice truck ... besides a new battery after 3 years old.
Skipped maintenance causing expensive repairs is the best way to get people to learn and remember to make sure it gets done next time. Nobody wants to go through expensive repairs like that again.
I have this same truck. Fully loaded Laramie, with 5.7. Best vehicle I’ve ever owned. The active air dam comes down when over 35 mph to help with fuel economy.
I know how much oil is in my front and rear diff. I know how much fluid is in my transmission and I know the mileage. I have 1,994 miles on my oil and filter. My antifreeze was flushed and refilled in September, and a new 4-core radiator. New shocks all around in October. My tires were replaced in June. My air filter gets cleaned or replaced every 3K oil change. I had a CE light for evap system, I replaced the valve on the intake. This is what is required to keep an old high mileage vehicle out of the salvage yard. Assuming that it was a good vehicle from the start. Because I drive one of the most common trucks on the market, parts is cheap. I probably spent a couple of grand$$ on maintenance this year, so about 2-3 car payments.
People don't understand how important spark maintenance actually is. If you change your spark plugs ON TIME, you will prolong the life of the ignition coils. What people don't understand is going past the change interval puts too much strain on the coil because the coil now has to charge and jump a much larger spark gap. This puts a tremendous amount of heat in the ignition coil and damages them. Also, change your plug boots as well when doing plugs and use plently of dielectric grease inside the boot.
Wizard!! Differentials and transfer case are recommended every 30k-50k. If they've never been done, they are due. Also check the muffler inlet flange. I hae had the bots break on at least 50% of the trucks in NY. If they broke, get the flange glowing hot and use a stud extractor on the bolt that is sticking out towards the rear.
Over here in the Nederlands the most people service there cars Because we have to pass the Dutch APK (car periodically inspection) every year so it's important to have a good service.
That undee the front bumper is called an Active Air Dam. At highway speeds, it lowers to deflect air more smoothly under the vehicle for improved MPGs. For an FYI, it's on the same Lin Bus as the Active Grill Shutter. I have replaced several air dams for shorting out the bus cause a check engine light for lost communication with AGS.
I do my own maintenance because I had never had good experiences with shop maintenance. I feel like most people do not keep up with scheduled maintenance.
You guys are wasting your time in replacing those warping manifolds. The new one is gonna do the exact same thing. What I do is remove the old one and used a large belt sander I got from Harbor Freight and resurface the manifold back flat. This is a longer term solution because once cast iron warps, it doesn't warp much further so the sanded flang stays FLAT after the repair.
@ They are covering mine so I’m just riding it out. If I was coming out of pocket I’d just do it myself and pray I don’t break studs in the process. The bbk headers are cheep and supposedly decent as long as you use oem gaskets. Bd’s look pretty beefy.
I do maintenance myself on my old ass 2014 Buick. Everyone hates the car and it has bad reputation, but the reason is that these cars rarely maintained properly because of a labour cost.
Excellent review, overview, and advice with conducting regular vehicle maintenance (MX) Wizard. Preventative maintenance is crucial not just for the longevity of your vehicle but for your home as well. Scheduled maintenance that is offered in your vehicle owner's manual is a wonderful way to keep up with schedule maintenance. I have a 2019 RAM 1500 5.7L that just turned over 80,000 MX-free miles except for having to replace two batteries. The one issue with the RAM product is their battery vendor and you can expect to get 1-3 yrs from the factory--go with an aftermarket brand for more longevity. Preventative MX clearly ensured/mitigated any break-down or issues. Now then, the one thing that I do is I change my synthetic 5w20w oil every 5000 miles--the manual says 10000 miles. I did it after break-in period for two oil changes but after learning of the camshaft/lifter (Hemi Tick) issues with previous models, I decided to cut that in half. In hindsight, I probably didn't need to do that, because the issue with the 19s is cracks in the exhaust manifolds are commonly associated with the "Hemi Tick". So, have no fear I changed both at 73K miles for about $1200. All is good, the lifters are good and working well and the Hemi Tick is gone, for at least another 72K miles or more. So. get into your owner's manual and follow the scheduled MX schedule and do it religiously like taking your daily vitamins or meds--I promise you, you will never need another vehicle or dealer for a very very long time...Hope this additional advice helps. Thanks Wizard!!!
I believe a lot of the declined "maintenance" is due to the fact that folks have learned that dealerships are not trustworthy....I was on the end of one of their bogus recommendations and thankfully declined. An honest mechanic is worth their weight in gold. I have learned a lot watching folks like yourself and will attempt any repair within reason.
It seems the 2019 was the best year for the 5th generation. With mine I dont beat it and drive the speed limit. I drive less then 7000 miles a year and use only full synthetic oil ( Castro or Valvoline ). I brought mine used with 12K on the odometer for 42K. The only options it came with was the E Torque and it's works good. I also have two other Chrysler products a 2012 Dodge Challenger and a 2014 Chrysler 300 AWD, and all still run great. Hopefully with Carlos gone the new CEO can save these brands.
that front air dam on the rod is called the "RAM Active Air", it flips down when the engine is under a heavier load than normal and scoops cool air up from under the front of the truck and directs it up into the engine compartment
My 1971 Ford F250 with the 390 C6 combo is still going at 740k miles. Yes, it IS time for the second engine rebuild, so I have given up on it, and only driving my 85 Toyota P/U. I have several people interested in the old Ford. Some just to use, some want it for parts (no rust, THAT gets taken care of REALLY quickly. A lot of trim pieces missing, but might just live through a restoration for someone. Hmmm.... MAINTENANCE keeps it going.
That air dam thing you saw under the front bumper folds down at highway speed and is used to get better fuel economy. This is similar to the flaps in front of the grill on GM and Ford trucks that close at highway speed to improve fuel economy and keep air going around the car.
Nice truck. I have a 2005 Jeep with nearly 230,000 miles, still going strong, but I am religious on maintenance, and my local shop is very honest and reliable.
Wizard excellent advice for everybody I've never replaced an engine or a transmission on all the vehicles I've owned over the last 50 years even the few English cars that I've owned ,,,,,,,,, 2 months ago I did a major service on my Ford Transit connect wagon it had reached 100,000 km and my mechanic said they wished everybody was a thorough as I am
My 2016 company provide provided Dodge 1500 4x4 just turned over 292,000 miles today. Still runs like a top just put the first set of brakes on it about 10,000 miles ago It has never been in the shop for any mechanical issue whatsoever, and I would happily drive that thing from Texas to Alaska tomorrow. With that being said I have a brand new Ford F350 flat bed with a diesel in it that has 9000 miles in the first four months of ownership and it's been in the shop five times, it even had a brand new motor put in it at 2600 miles, and not too sure this new motor is correct, I changed the oil last week and sending it off for analysis
The biggest reason people neglect maintenance on their vehicles here in the US is because they buy vehicles they can’t afford. People buy vehicles that they can barely afford to make the payment on. so there’s no money left for anything else.
Active Air Dam is the part the wizard was wondering about. Comes down at speed for aero. Looks like it's been replaced recently by the cleanliness of it. FYI they're troublesome and Ram extended the warranty on them for 7 years I think, for customer satisfaction.
It’s not for “customer satisfaction”, it’s because of emissions requirements. The engine light will come on if the air dam fails to operate. This will cause the vehicle to fail to limit emissions due to no longer operating the engine/vehicle in an efficient way as designed, which is why it’s tied to the engine light. This will fail inspections in all states that require emission checks.
@iggibars most likely that's the reason, however, it's still referred to as a customer satisfaction campaign. Same as the leaking cab around the third brake light, which doesn't affect efficiency, as written in the bulletin: "FCA US LLC is taking this action to demonstrate its commitment to your continued satisfaction."
My ,2019 Ram has 243,678 miles and still going ! I change oil , filters ever 5K. Did brakes twice,changed plugs twice.its a delivery truck. Gonna get a 2500 soon
Hey car wizard don't know if you are listening I have similar dodge ram with the 16 spark plug hemi. Noticed after replacing the plugs some corrosion on the coil packs. Cleaned them with emery cloth but didn't feel comfortable luckily I found new oem packs online for $300 for all 8 and having to replace the value cover gaskets. Did it all myself wasn't that hard.
As a BMW owner, it pains me when others or the vast majority dont take preventive maintenance on their cars. I haven't, and others I know that have BMW's don't have trouble with their vehicles. Because we put the money into it, doing the maintenance. There are others that don't do the cheaper maintenance work, end up having to fork out tons more money and then give BMW's a bad rap.
Scheduled maintenance is important- YEP,I just rotated the tyres on my EV. I have driven EVs for 04 years and the two top items were snow tyres and a 12 volt battery. I 'll use the money saved for better things, opera tickets, donations to charity and the like
I like doing all of the maintenance in the book, I have a 16 year old truck and 9 year old mini van. Only had to replace the radiator on the 9 year old other than the normal maintenance including changing all of the fluids on both by mileage.
Also, you need to change the filter on every ZF 8-speed fluid change as it’s built into the cheap plastic pan they use. Gotta replace the fluid, pan, filter. I do mine every 70,000 like ZF recommends. Best AT on the market today
I always do preventive maintenance on my vehicles. Especially since I live in Phoenix, your water pump or hoses will always burst at the most in opportune time your belt will snap at the most important time, and anything else. So I always like to replace the water pump even if it's good at 60,000 mi or so. And replace all the Belts and hoses with it. And usually do a electrical test on the alternator and check up on the AC system. Do a complete brake flush and put all new brake fluid in along with coolant with the water pump and battery keeping a lithium ion battery jump pack with me on all times. Because out here the heat kills batteries and you will be driving and then suddenly quick quick quick. And so my C7, when I noticed it starting to turn slow, I know the battery is on its way out or if battery's over 2 years old then I start getting worried. My GTO, 05, that one would go through a battery every 2 years as well. And since I have a commercial account with AutoZone, I yeah I'm able to just keep warranting them out lol. But I'm a firm believer in prevented maintenance so a lot easier to buy to $300 service pill now then getting stuck somewhere having a tow bill on it for a 40 mi tow and taking an entire day or two days to your vehicle back home versus doing it on my own terms and then I don't have to worry about those again for a long time
My company buys fleets of these and they are pretty good. They have draw backs and I do not see them lasting much past 200k if that many miles. I have seen many engines done at 130k miles. Other than a few things they are rock solid up until you start reaching the 130k mile mark then things start happening with them. They buy 2500 4x4's with the 6.4l. I really like the new 2024 they put me in has the 8 speed German made transmission and it is great. I love how Rams ride and handle leaps and bounds better than the competition.
I have a 2017 ram 1500 which has served me well! what does bother me is now a days certain parts have become more complexed and expensive i.e. the transmission pan is $450 every time you do the transmission service the filter is now built in to the pan and it is plastic. Right to the garbage, no exceptions! P.S Wizard "ZF Friedrichshafen AG" recommends servicing the transmission ever 60k miles or 100k kilometers!
The active air dam drops at 45mph to help improve aero. On the rams and ford it does about .0001 mpg better with it. The parts usually rust or go bad causing a cel. Most remove it. This coincides with the active grill shutters and on upper trims the air suspension that lowers at speed. On my 21 ram turning all of it off I got .5mpg better at 75mph running the same loop. Lots of tech to make a brick less brick like
In 1983 I purchased a 5 L GT Mustang. In 1985 through 87. I worked at a oil change facility.. I change the oil in that car every thousand miles. Unfortunately, it was stolen in 1993 never recovered at 90,000 miles.. so I will never know how long that 5.0 lasted.
On maintenance culture: I lived in Europe for a few years and can confirm that in some countries (e.g., the UK, Germany and the Netherlands), your vehicle must pass an annual safety/emissions test to be on the road. In the UK, this begins after the first 3yrs of a brand-new vehicle. And without your test certificate, your insurance is automatically void and your driver's licence is at risk. Don't even think of escaping enforcement because it's all detectable by a hand-held police device. Indeed, in the UK, if you're taking your vehicle off the road for a while (for whatever reason), you must submit a sworn declaration to that effect. The test itself is a dreaded experience. For example, a rust patch can result in s fail, not because it affects the structure, but because any sharp edges can cause injury. Which is why used cars are quite cheap in Europe compared to North America. This might be what The Wizard's German pal is referring to.
As a Dutchman I can confirm this. The MOT (UK), APK (NL) and TÜV (GER) inspection schedules are extremely rigorous and garages are very regularly tested on their correct performance of those inspections. Here in the Netherlands, even things as simple as having lights that are incorrectly aligned can cause a garage to be legally required to hold your vehicle until corrected! Let alone things like worn tires, blown shocks, overly rusty bodies and chassis... So people are required to take their vehicles to garages at least once a year anyway, might as well pay for a full annual service while they're there anyway.
Scheduled maintenance has to do a lot with local economics and labor quality. In Germany labor costs per hour are less. European parts are considered local and no import so savings there too. Cost of living rent etc are not nearly as high as in the us, this allows people to allot money to other necessities vs barely covering food and shelter as we do here in America.
for 100k miles that truck is very clean, it looks like it was serviced properly, the only thing i would do if i were him was get it rustproofed every 2 years, (you want an undercoating thats like oil not like tar it works better because it doesnt go crusty but it needs to be redone every 1-2 years)
Merco is right, it’s also illegal to breakdown on the Autobahn and many other roads. 186k on my Nissan Frontier, runs like a top, I meet or exceed scheduled maintenance, I plan to keep it for a long time.
taking proactive steps to prevent a problem is far more effective and efficient than trying to fix it after it's already occurred. Here's a breakdown of why prevention is so powerful: * Cost-Effectiveness: Prevention often requires less time, effort, and resources than dealing with the consequences of a problem. For example, regular car maintenance is cheaper than expensive repairs after a breakdown. * Reduced Stress and Anxiety: Knowing you've taken steps to prevent potential issues can significantly reduce stress and anxiety.
We've bought a few certified used cars and even quick change oil places report to an online database now. Meaning, dealers and potential buyers can ALL see if your vehicle was neglected. I personally wouldn't buy a used car at this point without seeing the report.
What cracks me up most is people won't do scheduled maintenance on their daily driver, but will turn around and make extra sure that their canam atv gets every 500 to 1000 dollar maintenance
Snowmobile people in a nutshell. 6000$ a year on the sled and the truck carrying it is barely making it to the trail
I get it but people like to spend money on hobbies.
Or the latest electronic gizmo, fancy trip, etc.
Can Ams are gay
It’s a true fact, a study done actually just last year showed that more than 60% of car owners skip on or completely ignore important car service and maintenance. It’s really sad 😞
The ram is probably so happy on the inside knowing it's owner takes care of him
Huh?
The Ram just looks mad all the time
Yes the ram gazes up lovingly at the owner's bedroom window at night
Haha!
Vehicles and boats are female 😂🎉
I have a 2011 Ram 1500 4X4 with the 4.7 V8 currently it has 185k on it and it still runs great. I switched it over to synthetic oil when I bought it. As for service, I change the oil every 3500 miles, Transmission fluid and filter every 40,000 miles, air filter every third oil change, spark plugs every 60,000 miles,transfer case and rear differential fluid every 40,000 miles. Yes it's a few extra bucks, but in 185,000 miles my Ram has never broken down or left me stranded on the side of the road.
4.7 rams are pretty solid tbh. Uncle has a 2005 with 220k miles. He just did oil change every 5k miles, diff fluid every 50k and trans fluid every 100k. It hasn’t stranded him once but in the last year or so it started burning oil.
You're the minority, mine was a piece of crap. Developed an engine tick due to premature cam lobe failure and rear main seal oil leak around 40K. Traded it for a Toyota and have never looked back.
My 4.7 Dakota beater gets no scheduled maintenance and is at 190 your ram will run forever if you keep that up
I retired in 2010 and bought a new Dodge Ram 1500 (the last year for Dodge) Big Horn Crew Cab with the 5.7 Hemi. 130,000 miles and no problems at all. Oil and filter changed every 5,000 miles. At 60,000 miles, plugs, motor oil, transmission flush and transfer cases fluid change. Just did the same at 120,000 miles plus brake system flush and fill and cooling system flush and fill. Hope to pass it on when I pass on! Let the grandkids fight over it!
Maintenance is very important. I drive a 2014 FIAT panda. The previous owner did less maintenance on it. Even has a few cigarette burns inside. It was sputtering a bit when I bought it with 160,528. I had it immediately serviced. And since then, I get it serviced every 10,000. It now has 192,270 on the odometer. It's a very happy car now.
No it’s not. Regular oil changes and drive it nicely . It will go 200k miles.
Is it black and white in colour. ..?
The air dam rotates down when above 45 MPH to reduce drag under the truck and increase fuel economy. There are also louvers behind the grill that do the same to increase aerodynamics.
my 2014 dodge fart had that feature 😂
The models with air suspension don’t have the air dam; instead the suspension drops to “aero” for improved fuel economy.
It's amazing how few people change coolant, transmission, power steering fluid or brake fluid at recommended intervals.
Too many wait until there is a problem and by then it is too late completely or will cost you 10X more $ to fix. Easiest and cheapest thing to do to keep a car on the road. My son is 23 and had his own truck for awhile. I have to remind him constantly!
Don’t forget the rear differential fluid
I change coolant like every 2 years on my vehicles being in the hot South an oil regularly. They never have any problems.
Part of the problem is the manufacturers telling people they only have to change major fluids after 150k or never
My 06 power wagon has grease zerks on the u joints on the drive shaft. Definitely change the tranny oil and filter every 40k if you tow regularly. My truck shifts fine. Change that engine oil too I change mine every 4k.
The device in the front is an air dam that deploys as a fuel economy aid. As for "lifetime" transmission fluid.... When the transmission fails, the fluid has lived it's "lifetime" I am also a firm believer that those fluids still need to be changed at regular intervals.
When manufacturers say "life time" they're talking about the end of the warranty period. They should be sued for not incorporating drain plugs and dipsticks to fill/check.
They're lifetime when the cars are driven under normal driving conditions. But most drivers fall under the "severe conditions" category and thats when the fluid needs to be changed
Companies like RAM don't help by claiming "lifetime fluid" on the transmission yet the manufacturer ZF says to change the fluid around 60k. The dealer wont even do the service for you and if they do agree to it the cost is ridiculous. Just did all my fluids myself for a few hundred.
Those claims help them sell cars. That’s all they care about anymore. The Layman is like “cool, less stuff to deal with!” 🤦🏼♂️
Facts!
Folks need to take their vehicles to a good, trusted independent shop and NOT the dealer for regular maintenance and for out of warranty repairs too. They will steer you straight on fluid change internals and more.
I think loads of folks skip on maintenance and repair because there are a lot of scam mechanics out there that want to sell you a new engine when in reality you just have a bad spark plug coil. So people go in and anything the mechanic recommends the customer views as possibly a scam and declines.
For the 8HP transmission, the manufacturer (ZF) says it should have fluid service at ~60k miles.
Over here in the UK, most people service their cars when taking them for their annual mandatory vehicle roadworthiness check. It just makes sense. I have a 14 year old Honda CR-Z with zero issues, partly because it has a full annual service history since new.
I had a ‘22 Ram 1500 Laramie with the 3rd gen EcoDiesel. I know the reputation on the engine ain’t great for the first two generations, but third gen was completely different. They basically went completely insane and fixed practically everything that was wrong with it knowing it’s the last hoorah for it. And I adore it. Insanely good gas mileage. Amazing towing. Feels amazing on the road. The only problem I had with it, was that my truck came out of the factory with the wrong head computer unit and would kill the battery trying to update overnight and couldn’t because it had a wrong module in it. After replaced under warranty and updated manually, it was perfect. Had it for about 30k miles till I got T-boned. I’d buy it again in a heartbeat. An amazing truck. And service on it was a breeze. Super easy oil changes, easy transmission service as well, everything is clear and easy to get to. Love it.
I agree with you on the Ecodiesel. I had a 2014. Absolutely loved the truck. Fuel mileage that was unbelievable and really decent power. Servicing was very easy, I also agree about the transmission I like to have died when the dealership told me you didn't service the fluid. They told me it was lifetime. Then I asked who determined what the lifetime of a vehicle was? My Ecodiesel went to 237k miles before I traded it in on a 2018 2500 Diesel last year. And a majority of that gen engine had already been replaced. Mine was still original. And other then recalled issues flawless.
@ no such thing as lifetime transmission. Just based on physics alone it’s a dumb concept. So yeah, any time a dealer tells you it’s lifetime, they’re just sitting there waiting for it to quit and charge you a small fortune to rebuild/replace it. I don’t care if it’s “bad” to replace the fluid, I’m still gonna do it. I know a single example of a “lifetime” transmission that I would believe, and it was a Mercedes 5 speed automatic from the S600, S500 and S430 W220 body. Like early 2000s. I bought a cheap one to play around with, had 177K miles on it and the transmission has never been serviced once. Guess what? It shifted perfectly and drove great.
My dad has a 2018 ecodiesel which I think is 2nd gen. He has 170k miles and the only failure was a fuel pump that the dealer knew was going to be recalled so they told him to sit tight for a couple weeks until the recall rolls out and they would get it covered by the recall for free. He did that and it has still been a decent truck. He gets a check engine light every winter for fuel due to winterized diesel but it still runs and drives fine.
@ I’ve had the same issue on my 22 3rd gen during winter it would say water in the fuel system. But ran perfectly fine. After 10 minutes of driving it would go away. And only show up during very low temperatures. Other than that it’s been super solid and I would buy one without hesitation if it was still available new.
@dillonh321 I think that's a 2018 thing. My new to me 2018 2500 Cummins has done something similar with the water in fuel light.
My dad got a Ram 1500 new in 2018. He had zero issues with it as far as I know. After he passed during the pandemic I ended up with it and at 32k miles. It must’ve lost heart after he left because things have constantly been breaking and it has been very well cared for. Spontaneous gas leak from a crack in the plastic gas tank. Various electrical issues that I did have fixed under warranty, which has since timed out. The gas tank cost me $2500 out of pocket. A seal is bad somewhere in the cabin that I can’t track down without taking out the interior so it doesn’t get wet anymore. The cruise control still goes in and out even after two prior services at the dealer for that very issue. I just hardly use it anymore unless it feels like working.
No engine issues and nothing drive train related so far. One of the rear shocks is already leaking. I’ve already replaced the tires once. It’s just a 1500 with the Pentastar V6 and it’s plenty fine for what my dad got it for which was light hauling for home remodeling and crap. I use it the same way and prefer to drive my car over using the truck unless I have to. I’m not going to crap all over Dodge but after 2 caravans, a Journey and an earlier Pacifica I’ve since switched to Toyota. The quality control, especially with electrical, is just a nightmare in my experience. After 70k or so miles I always had issues and sometimes way earlier than that.
pentastar v6 are not that.. some get lucky and have a good one... he wanted to save on gas i get why he got a v6..
Similar story for me. New 2018 F150 in late 2017. At about 70k. Did all the fluids already and do the oil every 5k. No drivetrain issues but random bs and warranty work. Out of warranty work has included the wiper linkage seizing, a very thin and cheap exhaust clamp rotting off (replaced myself), tailgate harness crapped out. Not overly impressed
@@JOHNJ0HN9111 our 14 Journey I got the wife after a nice rental experience was a bad one. I still have panic attacks about that car it was such a nightmare and we got it new. We actually still have it and my wife got a lifetime warranty and still takes it to the dealer to fix. Seems the one in the truck is solid I’ve driven across the state several times and no overheating issues we had on the journey. Isn’t the E torque variant either and I can’t imagine what complications that introduced.
One thing I might be able to help you with is if you’re talking about the cab leaking in the rear when it rains it can be the 3rd brake light gasket needs to be replaced.
@@He11Raiser4Life12015 1500 Ram; I had a bad seal (caulking) between panels behind the driver-side rear seat. They had to remove the box and reseal the seam. Chased it for awhile until they zeroed in on it.
Wow, never heard of a motor with two spark plugs per cylinder; learn something new every day. About a year ago I lucked out and found a used 2013 Acura RDX that looked to be in good shape. Test drove it, then pulled the Carfax and saw that the thing had been taken to the local Acura dealer its WHOLE life for maintenance. Every oil change was at the dealer, but what blew me away was that the 100K service had just been done 2K miles prior. The spark plugs, the timing belt, the trans fluid, the diff fluid, coolant flush, water pump replaced; all at the dealer. I bought it immediately.
That's awesome!
I just rolled over 92K on my 22 Hemi. I have the unicorn if you read the forums. Im on the original cam, lifters, manifolds and waterpump, front diff and axles too. I tow frequently and change the oil every 3K , trans every 60K and wash the underside every month to make sure it stays clean.
That’s great, my 16 has second set of manifolds going bad and lifters starting to tick. Oil changes 3000 miles. 98 k on it. Been a great truck too. I fluid filmed it a few years ago and every year since I add to it. Clean frame. I’m not interested in a new engine for it to have the same issues.
I also have a 2019 Ram, and we absolutely love it. We have had it since it was new, and it now has a bit over 50k miles. I am OCD about maintenance, especially now that it is deligated to towing our Camper. I do all of the oil changes myself, and the one complaint I have is that the oil filter is right above the power assist steering... why... all of that room and the oil filter is there... any rate, the air dam that you were looking at is designed to close vents in front of the grill and drop that air dam down to reduce air drag based on vehicle speed and operating temperature. Love the content, Mr. Wizard! Please keep them coming!
I service my wife's 2020 CR-V . She got it new and I change the oil around 3000 miles. I change the transmission fluid every 25000 miles. At 100000 miles I'm going to change the antifreeze and belt. So far @ 89000 miles its still doing good
Raising awareness about maintenance was very cool of you, always helping us folks out! Thank you.
I think, here in America, it's often a trust issue. Or rather a lack of trust in mechanics in general. There's a sort of stigma surrounding mechanics recommending services. It's kind of engrained in consumer mentality that many mechanics are trying to take advantage of them by recommending things. Unfortunately, that stereotype is perpetuated by less than reputable shops. It also doesn't help that even the simplist services can be unexpectedly expensive.
Key drivers for car owners not wanting to do maintenance:
1. Manufacturers went away from oil changes every 3k miles and tire rotation every other oil change. If you don't need to do an oil change so often why do you need to do anything else?
2. Stealerships trying to get customers to do more than what is needed for a certain mileage; i.e., fuel system flushes, brake system flush and doing replacement of wear parts early.
3. Direct injection engines requiring much more care of the engine
Maintance so far has kept the CVT in my 2017 Corolla going for 145k miles +. I commute roughly 120 miles a day and the car routinely gets 40+ MPG. I’m in a Corolla forum and there’s tons of post of people with this transmission with over 200k on the original fluid. I’ve changed mine three times so far lol no it’s not cheap but the car is still butter smooth!
2016 , getting 41.6 mpg . change oil every 3000 miles .
"Regular care, prevents costly repair".
I learned that, at a young age. I have 220K miles on my current car and it is in great shape
While there's some validity to the assertion that folks here in the USA generally are lax on vehicle maintenance, it's also a fact that dealerships are notorious for overselling unnecessary services whenever a vehicle goes in for routine maintenance. In other words, not every repair shop is as honest and competent as Omega and The Car Wizard are. In reality, what vehicle owners should do is educate themselves on the basics of their vehicles and what's best for them. For example, it never hurts to change out all fluids, other than the regularly scheduled oil changes that are an absolute must (and should be done at even shorter intervals if there's a turbo), every 4-5 years or 40-50K miles, excepting for CVTs, which should be done more frequently, regardless of what an owner's manual recommends.
Miss Wizard being in awe of the massive drive shaft made me chuckle.
Spot on Wizard, in the long run spending money on scheduled maintenance actually saves money. Over the years I've owned some pretty dodgy cars but I've managed to keep then going just by making sure fluid levels are kept at the correct levels and oils changed at the correct intervals. I've been driving for 54 yrs and in that time I've only had a couple of breakdowns simply because I maintain my cars, it's well worth it.
My 07 Silverado with 232,000 miles on it with no issues, the idle is as smooth as glass, shifts like butter will disagree with you about regular maintenance. I have always serviced my truck correctly. Oh, and I have always used Royal Purple oil and Royal Purple oil filter. I fully agree with the Wiz. Maintenance your vehicles people!!!
Also always always follow the extreme duty side of the rec maintenance!
Big time preventative measures guy here. I really enjoy it. It makes me feel good inside
You nailed it. It’s an emotional action not necessarily a logical one. There is a good chance that a car will last a very long time without spending thousands every year on maintenance.
I just did a full service (I did all the work) on a ram I purchased, to do every thing and bring it up to service it was 1k in parts. I talk to people and they do not even know you need to do timing chain at around 100k, not to mention change all the fluids. And yet they wonder why they spend so much money on a auto and then it fails them.
Are you changing out the timing chain or timing belt? If you have to change out the chain @100k miles that's garbage engineering.
I follow my scheduled maintenance very closely. Over the years that practice has saved me a great deal of money.
I chuckled as an owner of multiple RAM trucks. There is always something amiss with these beasts. 😆 you just have to get used to a creak here, a leak there.
Own a '21 laramie with 72k miles. I maintain everything myself. Trans fluid at 60k, diff at 50k, oil, air, cabin at the right times. Still with that, both exh. manifolds cracked and replaced at 44k under
warranty, steering rack groaning a little after that, replaced front center jumpseat seatbelt retract mechanism recently, and now fuel tank not venting when filling at the pump
I had a 2010 Highlander maintained it personally for a 145,000 miles, only changed oil, tires and brakes
Change diff fluid, transfer case fluid, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, and get a coolant flush. All of those fluids are well overdue. So are spark plugs, they are due at 100k on that car iirc. Those things are necessary to keep the respective components working well. Just doing oil tires and brakes is not sufficient maintenance.
The maintenance thing is a two-way street in the States. For example, not to call anyone out, the manufacturer says that my wife's CVT is a sealed transmission with no service interval in the States, but says to change the filter and fluid every 50k km in other countries even though there's no differencein the transmission or specified fluid.
I have a '17 with almost 100K. Will be doing the plugs, PCV valve and coolant for my 100K service. I did all gear boxes and the transmission fluid at 60K. Note on those ZF transmissions, the filter is integrated into the pan. You need a new pan, plus the fluid to do the job, and the fluid isn't cheap, but you're just doing a drain and fill so you will only be adding about 1/3 of the capacity. Also not a bad idea to check your brake fluid if you haven't had that flushed out.
I keep telling people, these are not bad trucks, but you have to maintain them. No, it's not a Tundra in terms of longevity, but in my mind, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to get 150-200k relatively trouble free miles out of them. Start abusing them by stretching out oil change intervals, excessive idling, neglecting other maintenance, and you will have problems, guaranteed.
coming from a technician that works on mainly chrysler/ram/dodge/jeep vehicles. i can say if people would maintenance their vehicle as suggested by the manufacturers i wouldn't see so many vehicles come in to the dealer for failures caused by excessive wear and tear or prolonged maintenance.
My brother changed the oil every 5000 miles and transmission services every 40,000 on his 2015 E 250 diesel and he got it to 330,000 miles with no issues. The car got totaled by a reckless driver while it was parked. My brother wanted to take it to half million miles.
I have a 2019 Ram 1500 quad cab. Same color as this one. 5.7 Hemi. Mine only has 30k miles. So far no issues. I only drive it on trips.
Manifolds at 50k, brakes little after then
Cannot understand people that do not maintain their vehicles, but then bad mouth the brand when they eventually break.
Had my 2018 Peugeot 508 Fastback since February 2020 and only put 35K miles on it. But I have religiously followed the manufacturer's recommended service intervals and then some. Often changing the oil a lot sooner. Past experience has taught me not to skimp on the oil, it prevents soooooo many potential problems down the road.
See from the perspective of an honest mechanic, you can't process why people have the attitude of "it works stop trying to tell me it needs xyz" but most mechanics are not honest. You bring it in for an oil change and they tell you it needs a new belt, a new water pump, new spark plugs and coils and new shocks. Car is at 106k miles, i did all but the shocks 5k miles ago at the 100k, but he's trying to pull a fast one because it's still close to 100k. Then the shocks get thrown in despite no visible or functional issues with the shocks, rides right and sits right/level and none are leaking. And of course he writes up an estimate for all this and it's 7000 dollars, when you had this service done 4 months ago and it was 2000
This.
My '81 Chevy Deluxe Step Side had a air deflector underneath the radiator. I figure that it was either for radiator fan efficiency or for fuel economy. The truck had a 4.1 inline six and three on the tree and 4:11 rear differential and advertised on the window sticker as getting 27 mpg highway and it got that. With it's ten gallon fuel tank it surely needed it.
I consider my car as a tool but I do need my tool sharpen when the time comes. Maintenance is important
I remember one time I took my early 2000s Cadillac into a mechanic shop to replace the belts, fluids ect because I bought it used and didn't know when anything was done. The mechanics was telling me people usually just wait for belts and stuff to break and they get stranded before they fix things. 😅
2020 Ram 1500 Hemi LARAMIE SPORT with 99000 miles and the starter went to intermittent starting. Dealer said I cant find nothing wrong.. (tried to charge me but could not provide me with any diagnositcs performed. So took to recommended local shop.. ... left over night ... and the shop hooked up diagnostics in morning .. bad starter... 600 bucks later.... Nice truck ... besides a new battery after 3 years old.
Skipped maintenance causing expensive repairs is the best way to get people to learn and remember to make sure it gets done next time. Nobody wants to go through expensive repairs like that again.
This is a well maintained, Ram 1500.
MDS delete hellcat oil pump and following the maintenance schedule has served me and my Ram well
I have this same truck. Fully loaded Laramie, with 5.7. Best vehicle I’ve ever owned. The active air dam comes down when over 35 mph to help with fuel economy.
I know how much oil is in my front and rear diff. I know how much fluid is in my transmission and I know the mileage. I have 1,994 miles on my oil and filter. My antifreeze was flushed and refilled in September, and a new 4-core radiator. New shocks all around in October. My tires were replaced in June. My air filter gets cleaned or replaced every 3K oil change. I had a CE light for evap system, I replaced the valve on the intake. This is what is required to keep an old high mileage vehicle out of the salvage yard. Assuming that it was a good vehicle from the start. Because I drive one of the most common trucks on the market, parts is cheap. I probably spent a couple of grand$$ on maintenance this year, so about 2-3 car payments.
2019 RAM Rebel , over 5 years zero issues, but I do my own services.
My motto is; keep the fluids new, keep the vehicle new.
People don't understand how important spark maintenance actually is. If you change your spark plugs ON TIME, you will prolong the life of the ignition coils. What people don't understand is going past the change interval puts too much strain on the coil because the coil now has to charge and jump a much larger spark gap. This puts a tremendous amount of heat in the ignition coil and damages them. Also, change your plug boots as well when doing plugs and use plently of dielectric grease inside the boot.
Yea I've put 3-400k on several Hondas never changing plugs... 😂
@omardevonlittle3817 Nice troll! And you really expect me to believe that you've driven multiple BRAND NEW hondas to 300-400k. Whatever dude! 🙄
Rotoryperfection
You sir are a very smart man
Wizard!! Differentials and transfer case are recommended every 30k-50k. If they've never been done, they are due. Also check the muffler inlet flange. I hae had the bots break on at least 50% of the trucks in NY. If they broke, get the flange glowing hot and use a stud extractor on the bolt that is sticking out towards the rear.
Over here in the
Nederlands the most people service there cars
Because we have to pass the Dutch APK (car periodically inspection) every year so it's important to have a good service.
That undee the front bumper is called an Active Air Dam. At highway speeds, it lowers to deflect air more smoothly under the vehicle for improved MPGs. For an FYI, it's on the same Lin Bus as the Active Grill Shutter. I have replaced several air dams for shorting out the bus cause a check engine light for lost communication with AGS.
I do my own maintenance because I had never had good experiences with shop maintenance. I feel like most people do not keep up with scheduled maintenance.
12:24 ford has leaf springs gm also.. only ram has coils. except the EV TRUCKS
2020 5.7 71k miles. Waiting on a manifold since august. Etorque replaced under warranty. Do maintenance. No other issues.
same but with 45k miles. and no etorque.. been waiting for months for parts for the manifold.
Holy Moly, only 4 years old and it's out of commission for 4 months. Hope it comes to you soon !
Same also waiting on a manifold since september, 39k miles... About to just go BD Diesel as that one appears to not crack like the OEM ones do.
You guys are wasting your time in replacing those warping manifolds. The new one is gonna do the exact same thing. What I do is remove the old one and used a large belt sander I got from Harbor Freight and resurface the manifold back flat. This is a longer term solution because once cast iron warps, it doesn't warp much further so the sanded flang stays FLAT after the repair.
@ They are covering mine so I’m just riding it out. If I was coming out of pocket I’d just do it myself and pray I don’t break studs in the process. The bbk headers are cheep and supposedly decent as long as you use oem gaskets. Bd’s look pretty beefy.
I do maintenance myself on my old ass 2014 Buick. Everyone hates the car and it has bad reputation, but the reason is that these cars rarely maintained properly because of a labour cost.
Excellent review, overview, and advice with conducting regular vehicle maintenance (MX) Wizard. Preventative maintenance is crucial not just for the longevity of your vehicle but for your home as well. Scheduled maintenance that is offered in your vehicle owner's manual is a wonderful way to keep up with schedule maintenance. I have a 2019 RAM 1500 5.7L that just turned over 80,000 MX-free miles except for having to replace two batteries. The one issue with the RAM product is their battery vendor and you can expect to get 1-3 yrs from the factory--go with an aftermarket brand for more longevity. Preventative MX clearly ensured/mitigated any break-down or issues.
Now then, the one thing that I do is I change my synthetic 5w20w oil every 5000 miles--the manual says 10000 miles. I did it after break-in period for two oil changes but after learning of the camshaft/lifter (Hemi Tick) issues with previous models, I decided to cut that in half. In hindsight, I probably didn't need to do that, because the issue with the 19s is cracks in the exhaust manifolds are commonly associated with the "Hemi Tick". So, have no fear I changed both at 73K miles for about $1200. All is good, the lifters are good and working well and the Hemi Tick is gone, for at least another 72K miles or more.
So. get into your owner's manual and follow the scheduled MX schedule and do it religiously like taking your daily vitamins or meds--I promise you, you will never need another vehicle or dealer for a very very long time...Hope this additional advice helps. Thanks Wizard!!!
I believe a lot of the declined "maintenance" is due to the fact that folks have learned that dealerships are not trustworthy....I was on the end of one of their bogus recommendations and thankfully declined. An honest mechanic is worth their weight in gold. I have learned a lot watching folks like yourself and will attempt any repair within reason.
It seems the 2019 was the best year for the 5th generation. With mine I dont beat it and drive the speed limit. I drive less then 7000 miles a year and use only full synthetic oil ( Castro or Valvoline ). I brought mine used with 12K on the odometer for 42K. The only options it came with was the E Torque and it's works good. I also have two other Chrysler products a 2012 Dodge Challenger and a 2014 Chrysler 300 AWD, and all still run great. Hopefully with Carlos gone the new CEO can save these brands.
that front air dam on the rod is called the "RAM Active Air", it flips down when the engine is under a heavier load than normal and scoops cool air up from under the front of the truck and directs it up into the engine compartment
My 1971 Ford F250 with the 390 C6 combo is still going at 740k miles. Yes, it IS time for the second engine rebuild, so I have given up on it, and only driving my 85 Toyota P/U. I have several people interested in the old Ford. Some just to use, some want it for parts (no rust, THAT gets taken care of REALLY quickly. A lot of trim pieces missing, but might just live through a restoration for someone. Hmmm.... MAINTENANCE keeps it going.
That air dam thing you saw under the front bumper folds down at highway speed and is used to get better fuel economy. This is similar to the flaps in front of the grill on GM and Ford trucks that close at highway speed to improve fuel economy and keep air going around the car.
Awesome to see a video of a newer RAM with the car wizard. I take care of mine and am religious with the maintenance.
Nice truck. I have a 2005 Jeep with nearly 230,000 miles, still going strong, but I am religious on maintenance, and my local shop is very honest and reliable.
Wizard excellent advice for everybody I've never replaced an engine or a transmission on all the vehicles I've owned over the last 50 years even the few English cars that I've owned ,,,,,,,,, 2 months ago I did a major service on my Ford Transit connect wagon it had reached 100,000 km and my mechanic said they wished everybody was a thorough as I am
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
Love my 2021 Ram Laramie 1500. Just turned 34K miles and I always do the scheduled maintenance. Runs great, does everything I need it to do.
It's a 2021. Update us in 10 years and at 350k miles.
My 2016 company provide provided Dodge 1500 4x4 just turned over 292,000 miles today.
Still runs like a top just put the first set of brakes on it about 10,000 miles ago
It has never been in the shop for any mechanical issue whatsoever, and I would happily drive that thing from Texas to Alaska tomorrow.
With that being said I have a brand new Ford F350 flat bed with a diesel in it that has 9000 miles in the first four months of ownership and it's been in the shop five times, it even had a brand new motor put in it at 2600 miles, and not too sure this new motor is correct, I changed the oil last week and sending it off for analysis
The biggest reason people neglect maintenance on their vehicles here in the US is because they buy vehicles they can’t afford. People buy vehicles
that they can barely afford to make the payment on. so there’s no money left for anything else.
Active Air Dam is the part the wizard was wondering about. Comes down at speed for aero.
Looks like it's been replaced recently by the cleanliness of it. FYI they're troublesome and Ram extended the warranty on them for 7 years I think, for customer satisfaction.
It’s not for “customer satisfaction”, it’s because of emissions requirements. The engine light will come on if the air dam fails to operate. This will cause the vehicle to fail to limit emissions due to no longer operating the engine/vehicle in an efficient way as designed, which is why it’s tied to the engine light. This will fail inspections in all states that require emission checks.
@iggibars most likely that's the reason, however, it's still referred to as a customer satisfaction campaign. Same as the leaking cab around the third brake light, which doesn't affect efficiency, as written in the bulletin:
"FCA US LLC is taking this action to demonstrate its commitment to your continued satisfaction."
My ,2019 Ram has 243,678 miles and still going ! I change oil , filters ever 5K. Did brakes twice,changed plugs twice.its a delivery truck. Gonna get a 2500 soon
Mopar stuff needs maintenance like everything else, people hate on them bc most owners are not good people and dont care
Yup, thats the common denominator
@ I’ve had every car brand known to man lol, I have nothing BUT mopar stuff as of now and they are all super high mileage
Hey car wizard don't know if you are listening I have similar dodge ram with the 16 spark plug hemi. Noticed after replacing the plugs some corrosion on the coil packs. Cleaned them with emery cloth but didn't feel comfortable luckily I found new oem packs online for $300 for all 8 and having to replace the value cover gaskets. Did it all myself wasn't that hard.
As a BMW owner, it pains me when others or the vast majority dont take preventive maintenance on their cars. I haven't, and others I know that have BMW's don't have trouble with their vehicles. Because we put the money into it, doing the maintenance. There are others that don't do the cheaper maintenance work, end up having to fork out tons more money and then give BMW's a bad rap.
Scheduled maintenance is important- YEP,I just rotated the tyres on my EV. I have driven EVs for 04 years and the two top items were snow tyres and a 12 volt battery. I 'll use the money saved for better things, opera tickets, donations to charity and the like
I like doing all of the maintenance in the book, I have a 16 year old truck and 9 year old mini van. Only had to replace the radiator on the 9 year old other than the normal maintenance including changing all of the fluids on both by mileage.
Also, you need to change the filter on every ZF 8-speed fluid change as it’s built into the cheap plastic pan they use. Gotta replace the fluid, pan, filter. I do mine every 70,000 like ZF recommends. Best AT on the market today
The air dam helps with cooling air flow through the radiator by creating a low pressure area in back of the radiator.
I always do preventive maintenance on my vehicles. Especially since I live in Phoenix, your water pump or hoses will always burst at the most in opportune time your belt will snap at the most important time, and anything else. So I always like to replace the water pump even if it's good at 60,000 mi or so. And replace all the Belts and hoses with it. And usually do a electrical test on the alternator and check up on the AC system. Do a complete brake flush and put all new brake fluid in along with coolant with the water pump and battery keeping a lithium ion battery jump pack with me on all times. Because out here the heat kills batteries and you will be driving and then suddenly quick quick quick. And so my C7, when I noticed it starting to turn slow, I know the battery is on its way out or if battery's over 2 years old then I start getting worried. My GTO, 05, that one would go through a battery every 2 years as well. And since I have a commercial account with AutoZone, I yeah I'm able to just keep warranting them out lol. But I'm a firm believer in prevented maintenance so a lot easier to buy to $300 service pill now then getting stuck somewhere having a tow bill on it for a 40 mi tow and taking an entire day or two days to your vehicle back home versus doing it on my own terms and then I don't have to worry about those again for a long time
This video made me excited internally
9:37 the doohickey I. The front there was the active shutters…opens and closes them on the grill to limit or maximize airflow….great for cold weather.
My company buys fleets of these and they are pretty good. They have draw backs and I do not see them lasting much past 200k if that many miles. I have seen many engines done at 130k miles. Other than a few things they are rock solid up until you start reaching the 130k mile mark then things start happening with them. They buy 2500 4x4's with the 6.4l. I really like the new 2024 they put me in has the 8 speed German made transmission and it is great. I love how Rams ride and handle leaps and bounds better than the competition.
I have a 2017 ram 1500 which has served me well! what does bother me is now a days certain parts have become more complexed and expensive i.e. the transmission pan is $450 every time you do the transmission service the filter is now built in to the pan and it is plastic. Right to the garbage, no exceptions!
P.S Wizard "ZF Friedrichshafen AG" recommends servicing the transmission ever 60k miles or 100k kilometers!
The active air dam drops at 45mph to help improve aero.
On the rams and ford it does about .0001 mpg better with it. The parts usually rust or go bad causing a cel. Most remove it.
This coincides with the active grill shutters and on upper trims the air suspension that lowers at speed.
On my 21 ram turning all of it off I got .5mpg better at 75mph running the same loop.
Lots of tech to make a brick less brick like
In 1983 I purchased a 5 L GT Mustang. In 1985 through 87. I worked at a oil change facility.. I change the oil in that car every thousand miles. Unfortunately, it was stolen in 1993 never recovered at 90,000 miles.. so I will never know how long that 5.0 lasted.
On maintenance culture: I lived in Europe for a few years and can confirm that in some countries (e.g., the UK, Germany and the Netherlands), your vehicle must pass an annual safety/emissions test to be on the road. In the UK, this begins after the first 3yrs of a brand-new vehicle. And without your test certificate, your insurance is automatically void and your driver's licence is at risk. Don't even think of escaping enforcement because it's all detectable by a hand-held police device. Indeed, in the UK, if you're taking your vehicle off the road for a while (for whatever reason), you must submit a sworn declaration to that effect.
The test itself is a dreaded experience. For example, a rust patch can result in s fail, not because it affects the structure, but because any sharp edges can cause injury. Which is why used cars are quite cheap in Europe compared to North America.
This might be what The Wizard's German pal is referring to.
As a Dutchman I can confirm this. The MOT (UK), APK (NL) and TÜV (GER) inspection schedules are extremely rigorous and garages are very regularly tested on their correct performance of those inspections. Here in the Netherlands, even things as simple as having lights that are incorrectly aligned can cause a garage to be legally required to hold your vehicle until corrected! Let alone things like worn tires, blown shocks, overly rusty bodies and chassis... So people are required to take their vehicles to garages at least once a year anyway, might as well pay for a full annual service while they're there anyway.
@@MrBlueBurd0451 I thought I'd exaggerated matters a bit:)
Great channel! Car Wizard!
Scheduled maintenance has to do a lot with local economics and labor quality. In Germany labor costs per hour are less. European parts are considered local and no import so savings there too. Cost of living rent etc are not nearly as high as in the us, this allows people to allot money to other necessities vs barely covering food and shelter as we do here in America.
9:15 Electronic air dam that raises and lowers at speed.
for 100k miles that truck is very clean, it looks like it was serviced properly,
the only thing i would do if i were him was get it rustproofed every 2 years, (you want an undercoating thats like oil not like tar it works better because it doesnt go crusty but it needs to be redone every 1-2 years)
I've been selling part for almost 20 years, about a year in I relaized part of the reason imports last longer is their owners do better maintenance.
Merco is right, it’s also illegal to breakdown on the Autobahn and many other roads.
186k on my Nissan Frontier, runs like a top, I meet or exceed scheduled maintenance, I plan to keep it for a long time.
taking proactive steps to prevent a problem is far more effective and efficient than trying to fix it after it's already occurred. Here's a breakdown of why prevention is so powerful:
* Cost-Effectiveness: Prevention often requires less time, effort, and resources than dealing with the consequences of a problem. For example, regular car maintenance is cheaper than expensive repairs after a breakdown.
* Reduced Stress and Anxiety: Knowing you've taken steps to prevent potential issues can significantly reduce stress and anxiety.
We've bought a few certified used cars and even quick change oil places report to an online database now. Meaning, dealers and potential buyers can ALL see if your vehicle was neglected. I personally wouldn't buy a used car at this point without seeing the report.
Have a 2021 Cherokee Trailhawk. Followed the rule per my mechanics advice and it’s like new to this day.