Owners of recalled 2014-2016 Ram and Jeep EcoDiesels are claiming that the performance of their trucks degraded after coming out of the shop, so we contacted an owner directly to see exactly how the truck drives now.
Hundreds of EcoDiesel owners have contacted TFLTruck via e-mail, claiming that the acceleration and fuel economy of their vehicles both degraded after the recall was performed.
ALSO SEE: Read the E-Mails from Upset Ram Owners About the EcoDiesel AEM
One such owner was Dan Breitkruz from St. Catherines, On, who reached out with claims of poor performance. We met up with Dan at his home to take his truck for a test drive.
The recall, known as the AEM (Approved Emissions Modification), was implemented after FCA settled an investigation with the EPA and US Justice Department. As part of the settlement terms in the USA, FCA must perform the recall, an extended warranty must be issued and a cash settlement must be paid out.
Thus far, FCA Canada has said little about the issue, so it is not clear at this time if Canadians will be eligible for the cash or warranty. We have reached out to FCA Canada for clarification and will publish an update here when we receive it.
So what did we find on the test drive? The acceleration is obviously worse, with about 3-4 seconds of waiting with the pedal pressed before any significant power arrives. As we drove the truck further and the temperature gauge began to climb, the engine characteristics began to shift back to the way they were.
The lag is significant at cold temperatures, though as soon as the truck reached operating temperature, performance felt back to normal.
Diesel vehicles in general are usually slower off the line, so some of this lag is expected and used to exist. But the heart of the issue here is that FCA claimed that nothing would change after the AEM, and after driving the truck that is certainly not the case.
We can’t comment on the fuel economy in Dan’s truck as he had only recently bought it, and did not own it pre-recall, so we have no numbers to compare to.
You can watch our test drive in the video embedded above to see the truck yourself.
