Do I qualify for Lemon Law?

[RHO714]

Been worst headache with this truck even though I absolutely love it.

Truck went back in to dealership 4/15-4/23 for some initial repairs... "Warning Light Illumination" error and Flash update to correct the misalignment and hard pull to the right. I also had a compliant that dash was not had no handsfree/ada illumination lights. Which they said they couldn't replicate (because no one knows how to use the new features).

Truck went back into service after replicating the error on the drive home and they told me to bring it back in the morning on 4/24 when the Ram Engineer was in.... he confirmed a new cluster was needed but they would have to ground the vehicle as the cluster has to be order with the mileage that matches what's actually driven.

New cluster shows up open 5/21 but dealership tells me that it arrived scratched and he has to order a new one.... New date of deliver is next week (fingers crossed).

Owner the car 80 days but its been in shop for 54 days.

Dealership has offered absolutely zero help or any effort to keep me happy.... RAM Care has only offered to cover one of my payments and says they won't be able to offer anything else until repairs are completed.

What would you guys do if you were me or let alone be pushing for as a make good?

 

[RAM-Ranch-MT]

No solution for you but wanted to say I'm sorry thats happening. That's some serious BS. I pray my truck stays flawless. There is no way they have to "wait for the repair to be completed" in order to fix things, that could take forever knowing ram, literally. They need to make it right and get you a new truck asap. you definitely qualify for lemon law depending on state

 

[itsmekylep]

Been worst headache with this truck even though I absolutely love it.

Truck went back in to dealership 4/15-4/23 for some initial repairs... "Warning Light Illumination" error and Flash update to correct the misalignment and hard pull to the right. I also had a compliant that dash was not had no handsfree/ada illumination lights. Which they said they couldn't replicate (because no one knows how to use the new features).

Truck went back into service after replicating the error on the drive home and they told me to bring it back in the morning on 4/24 when the Ram Engineer was in.... he confirmed a new cluster was needed but they would have to ground the vehicle as the cluster has to be order with the mileage that matches what's actually driven.

New cluster shows up open 5/21 but dealership tells me that it arrived scratched and he has to order a new one.... New date of deliver is next week (fingers crossed).

Owner the car 80 days but its been in shop for 54 days.

Dealership has offered absolutely zero help or any effort to keep me happy.... RAM Care has only offered to cover one of my payments and says they won't be able to offer anything else until repairs are completed.

What would you guys do if you were me or let alone be pushing for as a make good?

My truck was in the shop for a little
Over 30 days. I called my case manager almost everyday because they never returned my calls. I politely demanded an extended warranty and some sort of compensation, which was hard for me because I used to be a service manager and I just hate complaining, but it was getting ridiculous.

You have to demand to speak with a retention manager specifically. My case is ongoing so I didn’t accept my compensation yet, but I did get a free extended warranty to start. Most states “qualify” for lemon after 30 days, but manufactures aren’t “required” if that makes sense.

 

[Turbineguru]

I have had a bunch of issues with my RHO, let me give you a piece of advice: reach out to a lemon law attorney in your state. They will typically give you a free consultation and discuss your options. You very likely will not pay out of pocket (the attorney fees are covered by mfg) they will get you a much larger settlement than you can get yourself and they know you’re serious when you reach out to an attorney. The ram doesn’t care hotline is a crapshoot and very likely you will sell yourself short while signing away your rights. You don’t have to dedicate yourself to using the lawfirm during a consultation. Weigh your options don’t sign your rights away for a few monthly payments in the case you have future problems as you will not be able to seek further compensation once you go down that path.

 

[MoMo]

Second Turbine guru’s response.
I didn’t catch the state your located in. Here in NC the lemon law is 20 days out of 30. Our RHO was in the shop for 47 days and we drove our low mile ‘24 TRX in its place. Ram cares did finally reimburse us for the payment we made while the truck was down. We felt that Ram should have broken our payment down into daily per diem X 47 days but they did not. It also didn’t make up for the use we put on the TRX so we decided to contact a lemon law attorney. The Attorney suggested that if we wanted to pursue a buy back to go through the NCDS process and I suggest this to you. We love the RHO and want to keep it so we decided to sue Chrysler. The process took about 4 months but we settled for 8.5k after attorneys fees. Lemon law attorneys help with the law not buy backs.

 

[Scottie2Hottie]

Forgive me but what does NCDS mean?

 

[MoMo]

Forgive me but what does NCDS mean?

NATIONAL CENTER FOR DISPUTE SETTLEMENT​

National Center for Dispute Settlement | NCDS

National Center for Dispute Settlement is an administrator of mediation & arbitration programs serving the automotive, financial, and real estate industries.

www.ncdsusa.org

 

[RDRHINO]

I actually have a Lemon Law case going right now with GM regarding the 2024 Sierra AT4X I traded in on the RHO after the engine failed at 21k miles. Sat in the dealership parking lot for nearly 7 weeks waiting on a replacement engine (there's now a recall on that motor). I was originally shooting for buy back but after finding the RHO, I just want something to help cover the difference I'm out for having to buy a new vehicle because my faith in GM was destroyed.

Pretty sure the law differs by state but here in Texas I believe it's 30 days (non-consecutive) in a 12-month period without a comparable loaner vehicle. COMPARABLE is subjective, though, according to my attorney, because judges will consider ANY vehicle offered comparable unless you actually use it for work. His example was is you have a 3/4 ton flatbed with a welder on the back....so a vehicle that prevents you from doing your job wouldn't be comparable.

As has already been suggested, though, if you're not comfortable with what's going on and feeling slighted, definitely reach out to an attorney and discuss options. No harm in that. They can advise you from there and you won't pay anything if you file a claim

 

[RHOfan]

Just know that Ram’s legal department is seriously backed up due to these 1500s with Fiat electrical systems. Don’t expect a quick resolution.

 

[toast411]

here is a site that has the intel by state: https://www.dmv.org/automotive-law/lemon-law.php

Buddy of mine has had 3 lemon law vehicles, 2 different manufacturers (he has horrible luck). He went through the process on his own without a lawyer. All 3 were bought back, after watching him go through these I'm not sure why a lawyer is necessary, but some states might be different (this was ND).

Step 1, figure out if you qualify for lemon law.
Step 2, start the process (this part doesn't have to mean a buy back, can also end up with added warranties, etc).

 

[FrankNSteinPC]

1. Lemon Laws depend on the state - I had to look into the Lemon Laws in Texas when my RHO took 60 days to fix, 5 days after I bought it.
2. I would HIGHLY suggest you get a case opened up with Stellantis and demand that the Customer Retention Team focus on your issue.
3. Let Stellantis deal with the dealership - I had a non-responsive service team who only communicated in cryptic messages from unknown numbers, etc - weird stuff TBH. RAM intervention was necessary.
4. Ram WILL take care of you if you communicate regularly and provide the information they need from you - let the Customer Retention Team be your advocate.

When all was said and done and my issues resolved - I LOVE MY RHO! Don't get too anxious and try to get out of it - I promise this truck is worth the up front gremlins.

 

[HudsoTodd]

Been worst headache with this truck even though I absolutely love it.

Truck went back in to dealership 4/15-4/23 for some initial repairs... "Warning Light Illumination" error and Flash update to correct the misalignment and hard pull to the right. I also had a compliant that dash was not had no handsfree/ada illumination lights. Which they said they couldn't replicate (because no one knows how to use the new features).

Truck went back into service after replicating the error on the drive home and they told me to bring it back in the morning on 4/24 when the Ram Engineer was in.... he confirmed a new cluster was needed but they would have to ground the vehicle as the cluster has to be order with the mileage that matches what's actually driven.

New cluster shows up open 5/21 but dealership tells me that it arrived scratched and he has to order a new one.... New date of deliver is next week (fingers crossed).

Owner the car 80 days but its been in shop for 54 days.

Dealership has offered absolutely zero help or any effort to keep me happy.... RAM Care has only offered to cover one of my payments and says they won't be able to offer anything else until repairs are completed.

What would you guys do if you were me or let alone be pushing for as a make good?

Very similar situation on my end. However no problems with the lights. The dealer told me the screen couldn’t be ordered until middle of July. Truly disappointing

 

[HudsoTodd]

Very similar situation on my end. However no problems with the lights. The dealer told me the screen couldn’t be ordered until middle of July. Truly disappointing

Also, the dealership told me I should just keep driving the truck like normal. The illumination light comes on at least 2-3 times a week. I also make sure to take a picture of it everything so I have proof.

 

[RADA]

As others have stated, you need to look up the Lemon Laws for your state, first.

 

[RADA]

Also, the dealership told me I should just keep driving the truck like normal. The illumination light comes on at least 2-3 times a week. I also make sure to take a picture of it everything so I have proof.

I would NOT do this...

1. The dealer can claim that you were okay with the issue because you knew about it and chose to drive in that condition.
2. Driving it reduces the number of days the vehicle is in the dealer's possession, therefore decreasing the number of days you are without your truck. This can affect your lemon law case.

If it's any mechanical issue, my theory is that it's 100% theirs, until it's 100% fixed.

Case in point: The tech scratched the shit out of a couple trim pieces the last time my truck was in the shop. RAM is replacing them under a warrant claim. For this, I will drive the truck while I wait.

If this were a mechanical or technical issue of any kind, the truck would be at the shop until it was fixed.

Always remember, a dealer is out to make money. You can be friendly with them, but they are not "your friends". Don't let your desire to be a "good guy" shoot you in the foot later.

 

[JVRacer04]

Seems silly to me to think that just because the dealer has your vehicle for X-amount of days that it would qualify for a lemon law. This usually takes multiple, repeated trips to the dealer for the same issue, with extended downtime.

Each state is different, but parts also go on backorder and a lot of that wait time for parts, is even for diagnosis. Trouble step 1 could be replace this Sensor, and if that didn't work then its replace this BCM, and so on.

The real question would be is if the dealer has offered a loaner, they aren't required to, but most will. And if not, then Stellantis should have some type of rental reimbursement up to $XX per day for XX amount of days

My previous Ram was in the shop for almost 90 days with the Hemi tick - lifters were on backorder. They gave me a loaner the whole time
Maybe I'm a bit more understanding, but I also worked at a Dealership for 5+ years

 

[RHO714]

Second Turbine guru’s response.
I didn’t catch the state your located in. Here in NC the lemon law is 20 days out of 30. Our RHO was in the shop for 47 days and we drove our low mile ‘24 TRX in its place. Ram cares did finally reimburse us for the payment we made while the truck was down. We felt that Ram should have broken our payment down into daily per diem X 47 days but they did not. It also didn’t make up for the use we put on the TRX so we decided to contact a lemon law attorney. The Attorney suggested that if we wanted to pursue a buy back to go through the NCDS process and I suggest this to you. We love the RHO and want to keep it so we decided to sue Chrysler. The process took about 4 months but we settled for 8.5k after attorneys fees. Lemon law attorneys help with the law not buy backs.

When you accepted the 8.5k settlement... I assume you forego any other rights to claim lemon if there is another issue?

 

[RHO714]

To all those asking... I am in California.

I did actually speak to 2 different Lemon Law attorneys: One of which basically said it might be in my favor to wait for the vehicle and if I experience any additional problems I have a SOLID case for a buyback which would basically mean I'd net out on having the truck and then getting my money back lol. The other basically said that I probably have a good case as is.

I was already transferred to a retention manager after the first week... but other than offering "Possible reimbursement" for a same class vehicle (truck) besides the dealer loaner, I got them to currently process one month's loan payment.

Def want to push more for that extended warranty and any other suitable options that others have received.

I know this will def not be the last of the problems based on what I have seen.

 

[HudsoTodd]

I would NOT do this...

1. The dealer can claim that you were okay with the issue because you knew about it and chose to drive in that condition.
2. Driving it reduces the number of days the vehicle is in the dealer's possession, therefore decreasing the number of days you are without your truck. This can affect your lemon law case.

If it's any mechanical issue, my theory is that it's 100% theirs, until it's 100% fixed.

Case in point: The tech scratched the shit out of a couple trim pieces the last time my truck was in the shop. RAM is replacing them under a warrant claim. For this, I will drive the truck while I wait.

If this were a mechanical or technical issue of any kind, the truck would be at the shop until it was fixed.

Always remember, a dealer is out to make money. You can be friendly with them, but they are not "your friends". Don't let your desire to be a "good guy" shoot you in the foot later.

Couldn’t agree more. The thing is I love the truck so much. Plus the screen functions completely fine. Now is there something internally wrong I do not know.

 

[MoMo]

When you accepted the 8.5k settlement... I assume you forego any other rights to claim lemon if there is another issue?

Nope. The LL attorney added open ended language. He stated that occasionally he’s had more than one settlement on the same vehicle.