NHTSA Looks Ready to Recall 500,000 Ram 1500 and Heavy-Duty Trucks
High-pressure fuel pump failures in diesel-powered Ram 1500 and heavy-duty HD trucks have been around for some time. And the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been investigating it. Today, it announced that it upgraded its probe of the problem, indicating it is close to issuing a recall. The high-pressure fuel pump in question is the CP4 Bosch pump for the 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel engine.
Which Ram trucks are part of the potential recall?
The potentially affected trucks go back years. They include 2014 to 2022 Ram 1500, 2500, 3500, 4500, and 5500 HD trucks. The investigation recently added Ram 1500 trucks built from 2014 to 2022. Its investigation began in late 2021.
Other models with the Bosch CP4 pump are also part of this investigation. They are the 2021 to 2022 Jeep Gladiator, the 2014 to 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and the 2020 to 2022 Jeep Wrangler SUVs. Even BMWs are part of the investigation. These models include the 2014 to 2018 BMW 328D, 2014 to 2016 BMW 535D, and 2015 to 2017 BMW X3 models.
What is an NHTSA “upgraded investigation?”
An upgrade in an NHTSA investigation means the agency is doing an engineering analysis, according to Automotive News. This is the last step before issuing a recall. For the BMW models, the NHTSA said that “Failed pumps on vehicles were caused by an interaction between pump internal components and U.S. market diesel fuel. This leads to increasing slip and eventual particle-generating wear surface.”
So the pump’s degradation from the different U.S. diesel fuel formulations creates loose particles wearing out components inside of it. Once this final phase of the investigation is done, the NHTSA sends out a “recall letter” to Stellantis.
Hasn’t Ram issued recalls for this before?
This is a somewhat confusing issue with diesel fuel pumps because there are several recalls for them. The most recent was at the end of 2022. Ram issued over 60,000 2020 to 2022 Ram 1500 recalls, and Jeep Gladiator and Wrangler recalls were issued for the same issue. But this one involved the 3.0-liter diesel engine, not the 6.7 Cummins.
Just a few months earlier, Ram recalled almost 140,000 2014 to 2020 Ram 1500s and Jeep Grand Cherokee models for issues with the high-pressure fuel pumps in the same 3.0-liter diesel engines.
Can owners replace the fuel pumps themselves?
At the end of 2021, Ram issued a recall of over 222,000 2019 to 2020 Ram HD trucks for Bosch CP4 failures. This recall also takes in other components in the fuel system damaged by the debris particles.
With issues around the Bosch CP4 fuel pumps well documented, many Ram truck owners have taken it upon themselves to convert over to the previous CP3 pumps. In fact, there are several kits available for the conversion. Prices vary from a few hundred dollars to over $2,000. This came in handy when replacement pumps were not available when an earlier recall was issued.
Once a formal recall comes from the NHTSA, MotorBiscuit will give you the details.
