Another broken Dampener bolt on rear axel!

RR305 · Feb 17, 2021

Well today I dropped off the truck to get the new axel installed, since I have been seeing all the dampener issues I told them to check the bolt and sure enough is broken/missing! The tech is going to send pictures to my phone as soon as I get them I'll post it. This is crazy everyone needs to check that bolt!!

Also dealer quoted me $850 to just install and flash the unconnect. I thought it was high but I rather have them do it and be able to get it fixed of something happens to the steps than a local shop.

KnightMare · Feb 17, 2021

Really? Oh I got to see this.

What you getting done to the Uconnect system?

RR305 · Feb 17, 2021

KnightMare said:
Really? Oh I got to see this.

What you getting done to the Uconnect system?

I told them to check every bolt! Unbelievable
Also my b pillars are loose to me its missing clips or something. They are gonna check that aswell

Sorry, I was typing so fast .. that was to install the steps and flash the unconnect.

EhhSea · Feb 17, 2021

RR305 said:
I told them to check every bolt! Unbelievable
Also my b pillars are loose to me its missing clips or something. They are gonna check that aswell

Sorry, I was typing so fast .. that was to install the steps and flash the unconnect.

Oh no, you mean that blue and yellow shock thing on the rear axle bolt was completely broken off, or just shy to begin with?

Scary news

KnightMare · Feb 17, 2021

RR305 said:
I told them to check every bolt! Unbelievable
Also my b pillars are loose to me its missing clips or something. They are gonna check that aswell

Sorry, I was typing so fast .. that was to install the steps and flash the unconnect.

Oh ok. I was like what happened to your radio.

Was the bolt missing for the dampener? Or something wrong with it. I'm sure you would of heard it scraping on the driveshaft especially since you drove a long distance home from the dealership. I wonder if they have a defective bolt and need to recall them?

Distilled DesignWorks · Feb 17, 2021

Crazy that a missing bolt could get so far. Think how many eyes were on the chassis even before it gets married to the body. That bolt would be in long before then.

Johnny@JustBoltOns · Feb 18, 2021

Distilled DesignWorks said:
Crazy that a missing bolt could get so far. Think how many eyes were on the chassis even before it gets married to the body. That bolt would be in long before then.

Agreed, they need to put a PSA out: Face Masks on your mouth / nose, not over your eyes. Apparently they are either operating in the dark or just being absolutely careless with quality control. They have been luck so far, but if they keep this up, they may end up killing someone and facing a lawsuit.

Especially since the TRX is on the same line as the regular 1500s, so who knows how many of those are going out with missing bolts or other dangerous issues.

Cerino2000 · Feb 18, 2021

Yes picture please. My truck will be here soon and I want to know what I’m looking for.

tripleB · Feb 18, 2021

RR305 said:
Well today I dropped off the truck to get the new axel installed, since I have been seeing all the dampener issues I told them to check the bolt and sure enough is broken/missing! The tech is going to send pictures to my phone as soon as I get them I'll post it. This is crazy everyone needs to check that bolt!!

Also dealer quoted me $850 to just install and flash the unconnect. I thought it was high but I rather have them do it and be able to get it fixed of something happens to the steps than a local shop.

Just for comparison sake, I was quoted $100 just to do the flash (with me installing the steps) and $400 to do the install and flash at my local dealership. $850 seems kind of steep honestly for no more than what the install involves

The programming shouldn't take more than 10 mins so it was just their minimum charge. The complete process is documented in the installation instructions and looks like it shouldn't take more than 10 mins at a computer.

I was told that if I install them and they just flash then they would not choose "Dealer Installed Option" in step 2 and that "could" effect warranty in the future. I really enjoy working on my own vehicle and am debating whether a 7 year warranty on the steps is worth $300 to me.

Snake · Feb 18, 2021

Pics of bolt?

RR305 · Feb 18, 2021

just got the photos!

RR305 · Feb 18, 2021

So there was a missing bolt and a loose bolt. It's the base of the dampener, so a bit different from the other guys on here but still very serious.

KnightMare · Feb 18, 2021

Wow, loose and broken bolts. Either wrong bolts or someone doesn't know how to use a drill

Ramathorn · Feb 18, 2021

Come on FCA. You can do better than this!!!

RR305 · Feb 18, 2021

The just informed me that they forgot to take pictures of the torn axel boot

. Ram requested it back so I can't keep it. But new axel is in and they fixed the bolts already. They should finish up installing the steps today hopefully I get the truck back at end of day.

RR305 · Feb 18, 2021

Any other items I should have them double check? @KnightMare ?

Ramathorn · Feb 18, 2021

RR305 said:
The just informed me that they forgot to take pictures of the torn axel boot . Ram requested it back so I can't keep it. But new axel is in and they fixed the bolts already. They should finish up installing the steps today hopefully I get the truck back at end of day.

How many miles on it?

RR305 · Feb 18, 2021

I just forwarded your YouTube channel to the guys at the dealer

RR305 · Feb 18, 2021

Ramathorn said:
How many miles on it?

When I noticed the grease in the axel 1300 ( I had a 1100 mile trip home from the dealership)
Now I'm sitting at 1900

KnightMare · Feb 18, 2021

RR305 said:
Any other items I should have them double check? @KnightMare ?

The second defective video is a slide show of the issues and leaks but everyone with a leak happened within a few days. So I would say your safe but I would get the bolts on that chassis checked. Clear sign they didn't care about doing their job that day. And I just forwarded it up to people I know