Photo: Ram / edited
FCA US LLC has announced an 80,000-vehicle recall involving trucks and sport utilities equipped with the second-generation 3.0L EcoDiesel V6. Designed by Stellantis-owned Italian outfit VM Motori, said engine features a crankshaft position sensor tone wheel that may delaminate prematurely.
The six-cylinder turbo diesel, therefore, loses its ability to synchronize camshaft timing with fuel injector pulses, leading to engine stall. A grand total of 80,629 vehicles are called back, split between the previous-generation Ram 1500 from the 2019 through 2019 model years and previous-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee produced for the 2014 through 2020 model years.
Chrysler started investigating this problem last month, on May 9, following multiple reports of insufficient bond between the tone wheel body and magnetic coating. Mere weeks later, the Auburn Hills-based automaker concluded that second-gen EcoDiesel engines do feature subpar crankshaft tone wheels.
FCA US LLC is aware of 611 warranty claims, 10 customer assistance records, three field reports, and zero accidents related to said problem. The reluctor wheel in question bears part number 68493358AA, and the company that supplied this iffy component to VM Motori is France-based Hutchinson.
The magnetic coating applied to the reluctor wheel isn't there just for show. It's designed to provide a signal to the crankshaft position sensor. In case of engine stall, the vehicle may also lose the ability to restart due to the delaminated material.
Care to guess what Fiat Chrysler's remedy is? Rather than a replacement multi-toothed timing ring, the American manufacturer will instruct dealers nationwide to perform a software flash. The software is reportedly designed to trigger a malfunction indicator light to illuminate in case of tone wheel failure, preventing engine stall. Fiat Chrysler stopped making the second-gen EcoDiesel a few years ago, and all suspect vehicles are out of warranty as of June 2023. Given this information, does it come as a surprise the fix is rubbish?
Even after it joined Groupe PSA, this company soldiers on with a very bad after-sales reputation. It's made worse by the automaker's quality woes, which are significantly worse than the quality-related challenges of FoMoCo and GM.
Affected Ram 1500 pickups total 58,393 units built in the period between June 12, 2013 and December 13, 2019. As for the Jeep Grand Cherokee, make that 22,236 units from December 19, 2012 through October 13, 2019. Owners will be informed of recall 23V-411 by first-class mail on July 28.
Fiat Chrysler gave the EcoDiesel one last shot in June 2019 with the introduction of the third generation. Even though availability extended to the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator, the take-up rate for the six-cylinder turbo diesel was abysmal. As a result, Fiat Chrysler will stop offering the 3.0L EcoDiesel in the Ram 1500, Jeep Wrangler, and Gladiator after MY23.
Chrysler started investigating this problem last month, on May 9, following multiple reports of insufficient bond between the tone wheel body and magnetic coating. Mere weeks later, the Auburn Hills-based automaker concluded that second-gen EcoDiesel engines do feature subpar crankshaft tone wheels.
FCA US LLC is aware of 611 warranty claims, 10 customer assistance records, three field reports, and zero accidents related to said problem. The reluctor wheel in question bears part number 68493358AA, and the company that supplied this iffy component to VM Motori is France-based Hutchinson.
The magnetic coating applied to the reluctor wheel isn't there just for show. It's designed to provide a signal to the crankshaft position sensor. In case of engine stall, the vehicle may also lose the ability to restart due to the delaminated material.
Care to guess what Fiat Chrysler's remedy is? Rather than a replacement multi-toothed timing ring, the American manufacturer will instruct dealers nationwide to perform a software flash. The software is reportedly designed to trigger a malfunction indicator light to illuminate in case of tone wheel failure, preventing engine stall. Fiat Chrysler stopped making the second-gen EcoDiesel a few years ago, and all suspect vehicles are out of warranty as of June 2023. Given this information, does it come as a surprise the fix is rubbish?
Even after it joined Groupe PSA, this company soldiers on with a very bad after-sales reputation. It's made worse by the automaker's quality woes, which are significantly worse than the quality-related challenges of FoMoCo and GM.
Affected Ram 1500 pickups total 58,393 units built in the period between June 12, 2013 and December 13, 2019. As for the Jeep Grand Cherokee, make that 22,236 units from December 19, 2012 through October 13, 2019. Owners will be informed of recall 23V-411 by first-class mail on July 28.
Fiat Chrysler gave the EcoDiesel one last shot in June 2019 with the introduction of the third generation. Even though availability extended to the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator, the take-up rate for the six-cylinder turbo diesel was abysmal. As a result, Fiat Chrysler will stop offering the 3.0L EcoDiesel in the Ram 1500, Jeep Wrangler, and Gladiator after MY23.
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