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FCA Canada Inc. and FCA US LLC are facing a class action lawsuit that alleges certain Dodge Ram vehicles have an exhaust gas recirculation cooler (EGR) defect that causes it to crack internally and leak coolant, leading to a risk of engine compartment fire or sudden loss of power.
The vehicles named in the class action lawsuit include model year 2014-2019 Dodge Ram 1500 and 1500 Classic vehicles equipped with a 3.0 litre EcoDiesel engine containing EGR coolers.
Dodge Ram 1500 EGR Cooler Allegedly Susceptible to Thermal Fatigue
According to the Dodge Ram 1500 class action lawsuit, the exhaust gas recirculation coolers are vulnerable to thermal fatigue, which can cause them to crack internally over time and leak coolant. The coolant leak can reportedly cause combustion within the intake manifold, which can lead to an engine compartment fire and/or the sudden loss of power in the vehicle.
The Dodge Ram 1500 class action lawsuit says that, since 2002, diesel engines include cooled exhaust gas recirculation to meet nitrogen vehicle emission standards required under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
The EGR system in the affected Dodge Ram vehicles reportedly recirculates a portion of the engine’s exhaust gas back to the engine cylinders, diluting the oxygen in the incoming air stream and providing gases inert to absorb combustion heat to reduce temperatures within the cylinders.
The EGR cooler is a key component of the EGR system, the Dodge Ram 1500 class action lawsuit explains. The EGR cooler lowers the temperature of the exhaust gases circulated by the EGR system.
According to the Dodge Ram 1500 class action lawsuit, the EGR cooler is subjected to high heat. However, this component is allegedly “unreasonably fragile” because thermal fatigue leads it to crack.
“This cracking is catastrophic as it can introduce pre-heated vaporized coolant into the vehicle’s EGR system,” the Dodge Ram 1500 class action lawsuit says. “As such, this can result in combustion within the intake manifold leading to engine compartment fire and/or a sudden loss of power.”
Class Action Lawsuit: FCA Knew of Dodge Ram 1500 Defect Since 2014
Plaintiff Andrew Keith Jacquard, who purchased a new 2018 Dodge Ram 1500 3.0 litre EcoDiesel vehicle in 2019, says the FCA defendants knew since at least 2014 that the EGR coolers tended to crack due to thermal fatigue. However, they did not open an investigation into the issue until May 2019.
When an October 2019 recall was announced, FCA finally admitted that the EGR cooler was vulnerable to thermal fatigue and could pose a serious safety hazard. However, FCA informed owners and lessees of the affected vehicle that there was no available remedy for this dangerous defect, Jacquard says.
According to the Dodge Ram 1500 class action lawsuit, FCA informed customers that they would be notified when a remedy was available, and that they should immediately contact their dealer to schedule a service appointment for repairs when they receive this notification.
FCA reportedly sent notices to owners and lessees of the affected vehicles; however, the Dodge Ram 1500 class action lawsuit alleges that owners and lessees of the affected vehicles were routinely denied a repair due to the unavailability of the necessary parts.
According to the Dodge Ram 1500 class action lawsuit, authorized dealerships had been told by FCA that “part supply is extremely limited” and thus the EGR cooler should only be replaced “if the part has failed.”
Plaintiff Says Class Members Suffered Financial Loss
Jacquard claims that no reasonable customer would have purchased one of the affected Dodge Ram vehicles, or they would have paid less for the vehicle, if they had known about the EGR cooler defect.
Despite allegedly knowing about the EGR cooler defect since 2014, the FCA defendants allegedly continued to advertise the benefits of the 3.0 litre EcoDiesel engine in the affected Dodge Ram vehicles, while concealing the EGR cooler defect.
“The Defendants represented that the Affected Class Vehicles were free from defect and advertised that they were safe, durable and reliable, all of which was untrue,” Jacquard says in the Dodge Ram 1500 class action lawsuit.
As a result, owners and lessees of the affected Dodge Ram vehicles have suffered financial losses because the vehicles are worth less than they paid for them, and because they may require expensive repairs, car rentals, towing charges, and other costs due to the Dodge Ram defect.
The defendants are also facing a class action lawsuit over allegations certain Dodge Ram and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles are equipped with a defective air suspension system as well.
What do you think about FCA’s efforts to address the Dodge Ram EGR cooler defect? Do you own any of the affected vehicles? Tell us in the comment section below!
Jacquard is represented by K.S. Garcha.
The Dodge Ram 1500 EGR Cooler Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Andrew Keith Jacquard v. FCA Canada Inc., et al., Case No. S2010558, in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada.
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16 thoughts onDodge Ram 1500 Class Action Lawsuit Alleges EGR Cooler Defect
I bought my truck in 2016 Ram with the Eco Diesel because at the time it had the best reviews and was the best fit for me and what I wanted from a truck with the intention that this would be the last truck that I would have to buy. This quickly changed when I received the devastating news that I would have to put in a new motor with only 74,666 km. **HARDLY BROKEN IN**
The only time I ever had to bring my truck into a dealership was for the numerous Recalls that the Dodge Ram Eco diesel started to get Including the VB1 safety recall where I could have easily lost my truck to an engine fire due to a faulty EGR cooler (common in this situation). I was driving on a busy hi-way when my truck suddenly stalled and came to a grinding halt in the middle of the road, there was this horrible burning smell that filled the cabin. I was able to start my truck and move it off the road, when I opened the hood there was smoke everywhere. This was the start of my EGR experience. I was able to get the EGR replaced as well as melted heat sensor and melted intake manifold at the dealership.
Ever since then the performance and mileage has Declined from 8.8 lit/100 to over 12 lit/100, also leading to a lack of throttle response making it very dangerous to merge into traffic. Yes, this is a huge safety factor. It only took two months and less than 500 km from that so called fix, to being told at the dealership that I will need a new motor. This would be a $20,000 out of pocket expense for me. No help or response from FCA.
For what its worth, Please add me to the list.
Had to replace entire engine with less than 100k km on the truck. Could have been very dangerous as truck stopped by itself. Please add me to the list
How can we sign up for the class action?
2017 Eco Diesel – please add to the list. Thx
Bought a used 2016 ecodiesel in April of 2020. Loved it until I was pulling my boat home and had fire in the engine compartment. Fortunately I had a fire extinguisher on my boat. I had never heard anything about the recall of the ERG cooler. Please add me.
Unpleasant owner of a 2018 ecodiesel.
Was on waiting list for over year and egr failed causing the engine to overheat on the highway. towed to dealer where they put a new egr on and said that the issue was unrelated. However they said engine needed to be replaced at a cost of 15 k. They did however replace the defective egr as it did cause the engine to suddenly overheat. We have two eco diesel 2016 longhorns . Not sure they came up with 2 egr parts same day . They replaced egr on second truck right away once complained that failure could cause other truck to overheat. Once the egr fails the engine will over heat or possibly catch fire very suddenly. This is extremely dangerous. Please add us to your class action case.
Please add us. We have a 2016 ram ecodiesel as well. I was told there was 1 recall per week available and had 50 customers ahead if ne so it would be almost a year.
You can sign up on Garcha & Company’s website.
Owner of a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Ecodiesel. With 50,1119 miles on it and as of March 15th of this year 2021 I lost the vehicle due to a fire that started in the manifold because of the egr cooler that ended up consuming the whole vehicle before the fire dept. arrived. Of course after they took the vehicle away and I went home, in my mail for that day was a letter from FCA saying that the EGR cooler recall parts are now in to please bring it in as soon as possible to my nearest dealer for them to do the recall…
Add me please
Add me please
Dealer told me they only get parts for 1 truck a week because of limited suppy,and iam on the list . should be fixed in 6 weeks. Told truck could catch fire because of cracking EGR.I think is just a stall tactic!!