[NumberCruncher]

I just ordered a new Laramie crew, my first Dodge having always been a
Ford guy. Yesterday I saw the new JD Powers dependability ratings and was a little surprised to see that Chrysler including Ram held four places at the bottom of the list. Now I am wondering if I am making a big mistake! Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Please provide a link. I am not doubting you but would like to read it.

BTW, Nissan Frontiers are rated highly, my 2005 was a lemon and I have the lawsuit paperwork to prove it. The 2006 Frontier I replaced it with was on it's third timing chain by 70,000 miles. After that I stopped putting much faith in ratings as you can get a bad vehicle regardless of ratings.

NC.

 

[DodgeRamMan71]

Chrysler responded to that yesterday and J.D. Power agreed. Those ratings were from 2009 model year. Chrysler going through bankruptcy and all, not very good. The quality has went way up since then. They are on par as are the other Big 3 with the imports, in quality. I hope this helps.

 

[lime1304]

I have some thoughts about reliabilty, because I read about the Ram in Consumer Reports. They project the Ram to be less reliable in their ratings. Of course, I have owned a Ford Ranger, built when Detroit's quality was poor, for 17 years without much in the way of problems. Some vehicles have defects, but I've noticed as often, people don't perform scheduled maintenance.

If I went strictly by ratings, I would probably have purchased a Tundra, and I'd probably be telling you how great it is because I'd have huge payments I have to somehow justify. For me, its more important to experience a vehicle and like it. After driving the Ram and trying it out in the city and highway, I knew it was going to be difficult to get out of buying one. Then I drove the Tundra and I was sold on the Ram. The Tundra was a different driving experience, and I don't mean that in a good way. It's a technically sound vehicle but it's no fun. It "vibrates" on the road. I can't describe it any other way. The Ram (for me) was a pleasure to drive. It was solid on the road. I just want to drive it forever.

Get the vehicle you like and take care of it like it's the second largest purchase you'll ever make. Most of the time, that should be sufficient to take care of most reliability problems.

 

[brad12kx]

Ever filled out a questionnaire on your truck/dealership experience?
On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy are you with the xxxxxxx.
If you answered all the questions with a '9', when JD Power is done with it....
You were 'NOT Completely Satisfied' right across the board and your ratings gave the truck/experience a '0'.

IMO JD Power is the worst rating system ever developed. It gives no actual representation of the product of service at all. It is also the reason the dealerships go out of their way to 'train' people to always select '10' or 'Completely Satisfied', as the rating system counts all '10's' as 1, and everything else as '0'.

I'll stop now while I'm in a good mood and saying nice things about this. :shakehead:

 

[huntergreen]

no, you are not making a mistake as long you are buying the right truck for the right job. this is my 3rd dodge and all three have been great.

 

[TNC]

I notice one of those complaints was about wind noise on the '09. Build quality from that time period or not over the financial turmoil during that period, aren't the bodies basically identical between the '09 and my '12? One thing I was highly impressed with on my '12 was the lack of wind noise. While the possible argument about build quality might or might not have merit, I don't see how that would really affect the wind noise issue. I find my pickup to be amazingly quiet overall and especially on the issue of wind noise. Mine is a standard cab/short bed...could that really be of any influence? After installing an ARE camper shell, I half expected to get some kind of nasty noise behind my cab, based on some past experiences with adding a camper shell. What I found was that these newer more modern shells are apparently more specifically designed to the trucks they fit now, so they fit a lot closer and are more streamlined. Even after the camper shell, this truck is almost nonexistent in terms of wind noise. What are those respondents referring to on this wind noise? Are any of you forum members experiencing high wind noise issues? I think Brad may have hit the issue on the head with the way these surveys are filled out. My Chrysler/Ram survey that I just filled out after 3 months of ownership was from some outfit named "Moritz". It was several pages long and almost mind-numbing to fill out. I did it anyway, but I can see issues with how the responses might be tabulated.

 

[65Arboc]

TNC

My 2012 Laramie is the most quiet vehicle I have ever owned. The 2006 I traded in had noticible wind noise. The new one has more door seals than the 2006. I think that has made some difference.

Jim in PA

 

[TenneSST]

I put very little faith in Consumer Reports and JD Power. Every Consumer Reports sweetheart my family has owned has been problematic at best and complete junk at worst. We've had better luck out of the ones they tell you not to buy, which happen to be Mopars 90% of the time.

 

[wvcoolvinilla]

Sorry CP and JD power.. had to Dodge caravan's as company cars.. both went to 200K with out anything other than brakes, tires, struts. oil changes.. this is my 4th Ram and only the 87 was what I would even cinsider a problem child. Add in the three jeeps I have owned plus countless Chryslers and Dodge's I am not a good judge of other brands. The 87 Ford ranger pickup my wife had lost the linkage to the 5 spped and left her stuck in traffic in a complete state in panic during ruch hour traffic. last FORD product to darken the garage door.

 

[RAMTX]

I don't think JD Powers dependability ratings are accurate, I used to own Chevy in the past and they are nothing but trouble. I owned a F150 before my RAM and it was a good truck but ugly interior and really bad MPG.
My RAM is the most luxurious truck that I've own and the HEMI engine is reliable. I am happy with it.

This is the report I guess:

http://www.jdpower.com/news/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2012008

 

[HeyBrownDog]

I think what Brad mentioned about JD Powers is probably pretty accurate. I've often wondered why dealerships ask for 10's all across the board as if 9's weren't good enough.

Having taken years of statistical analysis in college, I also think reliability ratings are skewed by the 2009 model year Rams. This truck was built new from the ground up, and like anything in it's first model year there are gonna be problems. I don't care what brand you buy or how much money you spend. The best engineers can't predict what is going to happen with their design work until under real world use. This is why I NEVER buy a first model year vehicle, and if the 2009 were prone to some new design flaws this might explain skewed analysis. What looks like a good design on the ole AutoCAD drawing doesn't always translate into reality.

I drove all the big brands before buying my 2011 Ram Sport, and I kept coming back to the Ram. There were too many things about it I liked over the others. Time will only tell if JD Powers knows what they are talking about or if they sound like some blow hard movie critic. :4-looney:

Until then, enjoy that new Laramie and *#@% JD Powers. :nutkick:

 

[Triton189]

I put very little faith in Consumer Reports and JD Power. Every Consumer Reports sweetheart my family has owned has been problematic at best and complete junk at worst. We've had better luck out of the ones they tell you not to buy, which happen to be Mopars 90% of the time.

Amen on consumer reports....! They stink in my opinion. I purchased my last two vehicles based on their reporting and both vehicles had issues. I had an "08" Accord and a "07" Chevy Avalanche. The accord had a variable cyclinder engine that would "surge" down the highway between 65-70 MPH as it did not know what cyclinder to run in. The air leak on the drivers door sounded like the window was open and the rear brakes were worn out in 18,000 miles. Look on Edunds under customer reviews if you don't beleive me. My Avalanche... the highest rated pickup truck consumer reports has ever given. I will say it is nice vehicle except one major issue... it was using approx 2 qts of oil every 1,500 miles. Google Chevy Oil consumption issue for their 5.3 engine. This is a very common issue on the 5.3 engine and consumer reports rated the engine and drive train with perfect marks for the years affected. Bottom line I don't believe a lot of these rating agencies. I bet if you looked really hard you would find some financial perk somewhere

 

[jacobson.s]

I am sure these ratings are payed off. JD comes up and says give us a million dollars and we will show your vehicle has good quality. Chrysler says screw you, we need to pay off our debt, and are doing a fine job. I am proud to be a RAM owner
Just my opinion...

Heres a site http://online.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3022-autosales.html , look at the top 20 vehicle sales for January this year. Ram is up 46.8% from last year January. Ford F-series is up only 7.5% and Chevrolet Silverado is down 4.7%.

As a whole Chrysler is up 44.3%, Ford is up 7.3%, and GM is Down 6.1% from last year.

I like these numbers, actual sales don't lie.

 

[zabman]

I have an 09 for 3 years and 75,000km's.No problems and no wind noise.I also had a 97 Dakota which was also a new model year.10 years and 340,000km's and no major problems with it either.J.D. is a joke.

 

[badbilly62]

i have only 790 miles on my 2012 laramie and has the tightest cab and best ride of any previous truck ive had.the 2009 2500 ctd i traded in had some wind noise but was a good truck,the 2006 f-150 before that had some wind noise also a good truck but head and shoulders above those 2 stands the ram 1500.the shifts are super smooth all the gadgets inside work great,im a very satisfied ram owner.

 

[FireWire]

If I had done a JD Power survey just after I got my 11 Sport, I would have said it was a POS. I noticed the CHECK ENGINE light on while the the salesman was giving me the pre delivery show and tell. I had to leave without my new truck for a day while they figured it out.
When it had 100 kms on it, the trans locked in 4th. Had to leave it again.
Now truck is a year old and 22000 kms with no other issues.Hope it stays that way.