Ram Truck recall affects 1.2-million heavy duty vehicles; Toyota recalls some Tacoma trucks

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It’s always ugly when a manufacturer has to issue a recall, but the one issued Friday by Chrysler is both large and somewhat confusing.  Encompassing about 1.2-million vehicles, about 453,000 are actually affected, but the company is taking no chances that any will be overlooked when they are repaired.

A truck recall by any manufacturer is uniquely important because the on-road life of a truck, especially a heavy duty truck, is generally longer than that of a passenger car, so most of the 2008 trucks, for example, are still expected to be in use today, and are probably still owned by the original buyer.

The trucks are being recalled for tie-rod ends that may have been improperly installed so that they are out of alignment.  The cause is technicians misinterpreting assembly instructions.  Both the parts and the instructions have been updated to avoid the problem and 2013 and 2014 Ram trucks are not affected by the recall action.  Some of the vehicles in question were recalled previously while others have been added.

The trucks in question are:

2003 through 2008 – Ram 2500 and 3500

2008 through 2012 – Ram 2500 and 3500 (covered by previous recall for this problem)

2008 through 2012 Ram 4500 and 5500 four-wheel drive chassis cabs

The only light duty pickups affected by the recall are 2008 Ram 1500 Mega Cabs which were affected by the previous recall, also.

How to proceed

If you are the original owner you will be notified by letter in December and work will begin in January to realign the front end and replace any parts necessary. If you have one of the chassis cab models affected take the vehicle to your dealer for interim repairs.  Parts for the chassis cab permanent repair will not be available until later in 2014.

If you are NOT the original owner or have relocated and may not receive mail at the address you had when you purchased your vehicle, contact Chrysler at 800/853-1403.  They will be glad to answer any questions.

Even if you took action when the previous recall was initiated, I encourage you to call this time to assure that you have dealt with the problem completely.

2013-2014 Toyota Tacoma also being recalled

Four-cylinder Tacoma pickups for 2013-4 model years are being recalled for a problem with some damaged engines.  While few details were given, Toyota says that the issue is important enough that some engines could stop running entirely.  Contact your dealer to find out how to proceed with this recall issue.

 

 

 

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