2016 Ram Laramie owner is raising a stink over his truck's bad odor
The owner of the 2016 Ram Laramie crew cab says he has only 1400 miles on his new truck and it has a terrible odor. ColoradoRamming asks members of the Ram forum if they have ever witnessed anything like it and could they ever get the smell to go away. “For the last four or five weeks, there is a horrible dead animal smell that is apparent in the cab of the truck after the engine gets warm. The smell comes through the vents, and is less apparent with the recirculation on. It is currently at the dealer for the 2nd time for this problem. The smell is awful outside the truck too, and I've been able to isolate it to the front passenger corner near the coolant bottle. When I park the truck in the garage, it fills the whole garage with the smell. A search of this site revealed many other owners with similar problems. It seems the dealers were replacing the hoses, flushing the coolant system, and sending people on their way. My dealer acknowledges the smell exists, but reports the operation of the truck is completely normal and there is nothing wrong. Chrysler is involved at this point, but have not been any help yet.”
One driver said he had a similar problem. He said, “Have your dealer open a Star Case Inquiry and have them inspect your rubber coolant hoses by removal. It's rare nowadays but possible you got a set of hoses that may be reacting with the coolant. When this happens it smells something horrible. I had this with one of the trucks I drove.”
Another owner named Burla has heard of the issue on other trucks. “One cause of musty smells is the air conditioner condenser. I can't tell you how many vehicles I have treated for this in my last job. Sometimes the vents need to be taken apart, sometimes you can cure it by shooting a treatment up the condenser. This happen because of bad condenser designs. Chevy's are notorious for this, but all makes are susceptible. This would be Rams fault.”
Another driver named Chopper suggested that ColoradoRamming do a thorough check of the truck. “Check above the wheel well liners, maybe something crawled up there and bit it.”
ColoradoRamming assured the others that he had already checked it. “I put the truck on a rack and pulled the wheel liners down, air box out, front bumper off, blower motor out, and looked everywhere I could get a flashlight to. No insulation torn up, wires chewed, nesting material anywhere. No animal. Truck is garaged, and not a single sign of rodents in the garage.”
It appears ColoradoRamming may get some help soon. A Ram customer service person has joined the forum conversation. Kori posted “Yikes! I'm really sorry to hear about this. Can you PM your VIN so I can take a look at the case you have open?”
It will be interesting to see if they can solve ColoradoRamming’s problem. How frustrating to have a brand new truck that truly smells! Let me know if you have heard of a way to solve this.