The Ram 2500 Failed in Critical Areas in 2017
Many Ram truck enthusiasts anticipated the release of the 2017 2500 model and what it offered. When the new Ram model finally came out, people rushed to get their hands on this heavy-duty workhorse.
As time went on, the 2017 Ram 2500 and 3500 models reared its ugly head, and Ram failed to impress its owners any longer. There were two major issues that cropped up with the 2500 truck, and neither was good to see with any vehicle. Consumer Reports shows us what brought the most complaints against it and what areas it actually got right.
The Ram 2500’s transmission and suspension problems
The Ram’s transmission for this model has seen its fair share of complaints from owners, as we see from CarComplaints.com. The most troubling issue is when it limits the truck to just one gear that has a max speed of 45 mph. Upon investigation, it turns out they built the solenoid incorrectly, causing interference in an electrical connection.
Since then, FCA sent out a recall for it. They now instruct dealerships to use a solenoid pack to repair the problem. However, the recall is for models that have the 65RFE and 66RFE transmissions on both the 2016 and 2017 Ram trucks.
The most serious issue for the 2017 Ram 2500 has to do with the suspension. Owners complained of vibration, or as some called it, a ‘death wobble’ while driving. In some cases, drivers would not only notice the wobbling, but they also felt the truck pulling to the right when this happened.
When they took it in to see what was wrong with it, they were told that their pickup was out of alignment. This surprised many drivers because the trucks had less than 75,000 miles on them. Other drivers, however, were told the issue was with either a caster or a ball joint in the suspension.
Other problems with the Ram 2500
Fuel economy was less than impressive when you see what other rival trucks were offering at the time. The Ram 2500 got only 19 mpg on the highway and a mere 9 mpg in the city.
Braking certainly wasn’t anything to write home about either. This truck had long braking distances for both wet surfaces and dry ones. Getting the pickup to stop took a lot of pressure on the pedal before you could feel any slowing down of the vehicle.
The handling was below par. Steering, in this truck, responds rather slowly and there’s very little feedback. The sheer size of it makes it hard to maneuver around town or to get around in traffic.
What did the Ram 2500 get right?
Despite these issues, the Ram 2500 was still a fairly decent pickup. It came with comfortable seats that made riding in it a pleasure. The interior finish isn’t too bad for a pickup that’s marketed to be a workhorse. There’s also plenty of space for storage, both inside the cabin and in the back.
Towing was easy because of the 6.7-liter V6 Cummins diesel motor under the hood. Paired with it was a six-speed transmission that took some getting used to, but overall, it was about average for the trucks in this class.
The dash has plenty of useful amenities like its navigational system. It was easy to use and wasn’t too complicated to access. All the gauges were large enough to read as quickly as you needed to while driving down the road.
The average price for this truck, brand-new, was around $33,000 for their standard package. The 2017 Ram 2500 was a decent heavy-duty pickup, but because of its major issues with the transmission and suspension, reliability ratings suffered, which didn’t fare well with this Ram.
