Thanks: 
Likes: 
I hope this story is able to help someone else get their money back from RAM for the actuator issues/extended warranty they have on our trucks.
I have a deleted, 2015 6.7 with about 95,000 miles on it. A few months ago, the CEL light came on; P00AF- turbocharger boost control module performance. At first, I didn’t notice any real change in the performance of the truck. But soon enough, the exhaust brake slowly started to degrade in its performance, and I eventually started loosing boost.
I started looking around the internet for what might be the culprit, and lo and behold, it was the turbo actuator. Come to find out that there were tons of people having the same issues. These turbo actuators are kinda junk, and end up giving out somewhere around 100,000 miles or so. Some people have it happen earlier, others have it happen later. Either way, it happened to mine and so I needed to get it fixed.
As I was poking around the internet, I noticed that someone posted a picture of an extended warranty that RAM put out for certain year trucks with the actuators. I found a website where you can plug in your VIN to see if you have any recalls out, and or extended warranties (FCArecallreimbursement.com). Be sure to check the box that says extended warranties for this search as it wont pop up under the recall tab. Sure enough, my truck was covered under the warranty! Come to find out, RAM only extended the warranty under certain 2015 trucks. Why only 2015, I have no clue as I know of many other people with newer/older trucks that have all had the same issue. But regardless, mine was covered.
Shortly after all this went down, I finally got the extended warranty letter in the mail. The letter said to take the truck down to the dealer if you were having issues, OR if the work had already been done by an independent repair shop, to send in documentation to the reimbursement center. Well now this is where the fun began. I knew the dealer wasn’t going to work on my truck because it was deleted, but I decided to call them anyways. Of course, they said they don’t work on deleted rigs. So I started looking around for a trusted shop who could do the work, found one, and had them do the work.
All said and done, it cost me $3,300 for the parts and labor to get a new actuator put in. I definitely wanted to get reimbursed.
The next part I knew was going to be tricky; convincing RAM to reimburse me for the work. Through the reimbursement website I have listed above, you can walk through the process to submit a request. You must attach photos of the receipts and the work that was done. I submitted my form, and a few days later got an email from RAM. First email was a welcome email, were happy you’re here, and we hope we’ll be able to help. The second email came with the question that I was expecting from the start: “Why did you have the work done at an independent shop and not at the dealer?” The simple response that I gave was because the dealer did not have the parts readily on hand and was not going to be able to work on the truck for a little while, so I ended up finding a shop that had the part and could do the work right away. I couldn’t be stranded without my truck for any length of time. After that, I did not hear from RAM for about a week.
Turns out, they ended up calling the shop to verify the work and continued with the process. After they processed everything, I got an email saying my claim had been approved and that I would see the check in the mail within 30 days. Done. Frankly, I did not think I’d ever see that money again, but I’m happy the whole process worked out. Through the process though, there were a few things I learned:
TIP 1- Be sure the shop doing the work keeps good records of the work done. RAM needs to see the date, VIN, mileage, engine diagnostic codes, part numbers, work completed, and current address. Be sure that’s all on the receipt or work order.
TIP 2- When you start this process, be sure to call the shop and give them a heads up they will be getting a call from RAM. Be sure that what you submitted online matches what the shop will pass on to RAM. You don’t want any discrepancies between you and the shop. Be sure you’re coordinated with them.
TIP 3- The actuator was replaced with an upgraded factory actuator(Holset I believe). I don’t know if RAM will reimburse a non-factory, or upgraded actuator. Choose wisely.
TIP 4- Be sure to tell RAM that the reason you couldn’t take it to a dealer was because of unavailability of parts/time to complete the work and so you found a shop who could do it right away.
TIP 5- The whole process took some time. Be patient with the person helping you. You don’t want to make them mad as they could decide you aren’t worth helping and leave you high and dry.
Hopefully this is able to help someone else get a successful reimbursement. Best of luck!
Register To Reply
Bookmarks