Used 2014 Ram Promaster Cargo Van 1500 Low Roof 3dr Van w/136" Wheelbase (3.6L 6cyl 6A) Consumer Reviews
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What a nightmare
Jordan B., Dillwyn, VA, 01/30/2018
Ram Promaster Cargo Van 1500 Low Roof 3dr Van w/136" Wheelbase (3.6L 6cyl 6A)
21 of 22 people found this review helpful
Bought this new, didn't drive it very much initially, which we greatly regret, as we could have used our state lemon law. The rear door latch was broken when we bought the van. It was repaired five times by the dealer. We started driving the van more in 2017 and hit some major problems: van started going into limp mode at around 15k miles. The check engine light went on, van wouldn't go over 40 mph, and engine would rev to 1500 RPMs. The dealer said they might have to charge us to diagnose problem. My husband did a quick internet search, saw this is a common problem with Promaster vans. Shut down car and restart once, this takes it out of limp mode. Restart it a second time and the check engine light went off. We hoped this was a one time thing, but it kept happening. The Service Department at the dealer is worthless. They pretend that we are the only Promaster owners having problems, treat us like we are unreasonable for being upset that our van is so unreliable. For each repair they keep the van for a minimum of 2-3 weeks. We have to call frequently to get status updates. For limp mode, the dealer replaced the throttle position sensor, but this did not work. When we took it back a second time, they replaced the main computer/PCM. When we picked up the van after this repair, some of the lights (seat belt, battery) stayed on on the dashboard. The dealer thinks this is the instrument cluster. They want to charge us for this. At around 16k miles we heard a loud sound in the engine. The dealer said they might have to charge us to diagnose and repair this, but it was a broken fly wheel, covered under the 5 year powertrain warranty. The service advisor told us not to take this on long trips, but to "stay local". So we have a $30k van with 16k miles on it that we can't use. When we picked it up after the fly wheel repair, it started making a different engine noise. We dropped the van off again at the dealer to replace the instrument cluster and diagnose this new noise. After 2 weeks they hadn't even attempted to diagnose the noise, just called us and told us the van was ready to pick up. We refused to take possession of it until they determined what the noise was. The service advisor yelled at us, said, "You'll never be happy", and "What am I supposed to do, it's not pulling any codes". We finally got the service manager to agree to diagnose the new noise - it is a broken idler pulley (which they'll charge us for). Or is it? The dealer really doesn't seem to know what to do with these vans, just keeps replacing parts hoping that something will work. So now we are out of our 3 year warranty, and we're too late for our state lemon law. I have contacted a lemon law firm that thinks we may have a case. There is the federal lemon law, breach of warranty, and basic consumer safety laws that may cover us. If we had just driven the van more when we first got it, we would have had a very clean cut case with the lemon law and not had to go through an attorney. We have also called Fiat Chrysler, but all they do is recommend arbitration. It's non-binding to the consumer, but if you agree to terms from arbitration, you have to sign away your right to a future class action suit against FCA, and no way would I do that. These Promasters are a nightmare and there may very well be some sort of class action litigation in the future.
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So far so good.
Joseph DeLacruz, Richmond, CA, 07/09/2016
Ram Promaster Cargo Van 1500 Low Roof 3dr Van w/136" Wheelbase (3.6L 6cyl 6A)
6 of 8 people found this review helpful
I've had this van since December of 2013 and have only racked up 34K miles on it. I don't use it commercially, it was just a better replacement for my full size pickup. It's basically used as a REAL sport utility vehicle for my dirt bikes, kayak, snowboarding, camping and hauling things once in a while. I'm 5'8" and find the seating position very comfy, longest drive I've done in one day was 550 miles. I love the cavernous interior, it was the widest and tallest of all the low roof contemporary euro style vans, with the lowest step up height. It's performed well in snow due to the front wheel drive (which was a selling point for me, I only wish there was a 4WD version). So far the only problem I had was front parking lights contacts corroding, but it was fixed during a recall, it had a bunch of other various recalls that were fixed at the same time (so I hope). The other HUGE gripe I have was when filling up with gas I have to hold the trigger the whole time because the gas trigger lock unlocks probably due to the gas filler hose angle (?), but it only happens in California with the vapor recovery boot. Ive averged 20mpg, which was alot better than my pickup. Time will tell if I get any of the problems mentioned in the other review, but my experience have been positive so far. I do all of my maintenance on all of my vehicles because I'm a mechanic by trade and don't trust dealerships. I think if you read into specific vehicle forums, you'll get a better perspective of how owners think of their vehicles, because many people that give reviews on automotive sites are just the mad ones with that have had problems.
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- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value