For just over a year, Ram has been investigating a problem with a number of 2021 model-year heavy-duty (HD) pickup trucks. The automaker is responding to reports of trucks experiencing fires in the engine compartment.
For a reason not yet identified, even when the engine is off, the solid-state intake heater relay in Ram trucks equipped with the Cummins 6.7L (turbo) diesel engine can short-circuit and catch fire. In March of this year, the company planned to recall about 20,000 vehicles in the U.S. and Canada because it believed the problem was limited to trucks with unprotected relays. In May, however, Ram discovered that the problem was occurring even in trucks with protected relays.
As a result, the company is preparing to recall 131,177 models from the 2021 and 2022 model-years.
Here are the models affected by the recall:
2021-2022 Ram 2500 (DJ) trucks built between August 3, 2020 and October 8, 2021 (67,597 units)
2021-2022 Ram 3500 (D2) trucks built between August 5, 2020 and October 8, 2021 (39,324 units)
2021-2022 Ram 3500 Chassis Cab (DD) trucks built between August 12, 2020 and October 7, 2021 (7,317 units)
2021-2022 Ram 4500/5500 Chassis Cab trucks built between November 13, 2020 and October 8, 2021 (16,939 units)
The truck brand says it knows of about 10 engine compartment fires, but that no accidents or injuries have resulted from these blazes that it is aware of.
The biggest problem at the moment is that engineers working with the component supplier have still not been able to find the primary cause of the fires. Until they can, Ram recommends parking the affected models outside, away from structures and other vehicles.
The pickup manufacturer plans to send letters to owners beginning Dec. 3, the same day it will notify dealers of the fix.