The federal watchdog is aware of 82 complaints from 2022 Ram HD owners alleging K1 snap ring failure. 16 of them described a complete loss of motive power at speeds greater than 25 mph (40 kph), which increases the risk of a crash.
Owners who experience a complete loss of motive power also complained about the inability to resume normal operation. Considering that a snap ring failure means losing gears first through fourth, the inability to restart should come as no surprise.
According to FCA US LLC, fifth and reverse gears remain functional. In case of a failure, the driver will be displayed a warning message. Fiat Chrysler issued a technical service bulletin related to the defect condition back in January 2023, with said bulletin encompassing the 2022 to 2023 model year Ram 3500, heavier-duty 4500, and the 5500.
Technical service bulletin 21-002-23 involves replacing the K1 clutch drum snap ring and – if necessary – the K1 input shaft drum sub-assembly. Moreover, the bulletin applies to pickup trucks and cab chassis equipped with either the Aisin AS69RC or AS66RC transmissions (a.k.a. order codes DF2 and DF3).
The repair procedure requires dealer service technicians to remove the six-speed automatic transmission from the truck, as well as the removal of the torque converter and oil pump in order to reach the K1 and K2 clutch assemblies. Come August 2023, the automaker published a revision of the technical service bulletin, which lists 2019 through 2023 model year vehicles produced before December 1, 2022 as being potentially affected.
Photo: FCA
The question is, why did the federal agency open a preliminary investigation into this matter? According to the NHTSA, the Office of Defects Investigation evaluates the severity of the problem and assesses potential safety risks. We also have to remember that the agency couldn't ignore 82 complaints filed by angry owners.
Given time, said preliminary evaluation could morph into a safety recall. In this event, ODI estimates that FCA US LLC will call back an estimated 188,320 examples of the 2022 model year Ram 3500, 4500, and 5500. It's not clear how many were produced for 2023, 2021, 2020, and 2019.
At the moment of writing, the Ram brand advertises the 3500 series at $46,255 and the Chassis Cab at $48,990 for the most spartan of configurations. Although the HEMI was discontinued from the half-ton lineup, the HD soldiers on with the 6.4er.
When equipped with the high-output version of the 6.7-liter Cummins inline-six turbo diesel, the Ram 3500 is capable of towing up to 37,090 pounds (16,824 kilograms). The 3500 Chassis Cab, on the other hand, sports a maximum front gross axle weight rating of 6,000 pounds (2,722 kilograms). Similar to the 2025 Ram 1500, the heavy-duty line will be revised for MY25 as well.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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