My new work vehicle

[ChargerX3]

Back in March I left my old job and joined on with another company. Perks to my old job was a company truck with their banner all down the side. My new company allows you to do the same, or else choose your own, not hassle with stickers and get a monthly stipend. Well, I chose the latter and purchased my first new vehicle.

I had a couple cars in mind, including a Durango R/T, but during Memorial Day weekend there were some crazy discounts on trucks, so I weighed my options and decided to pick up a 2017 Ram 1500 5.7 Hemi Laramie. I ended up getting it with all the options minus center console (I like the fold down seat), and airbag suspension. I had read that in cold climates it gets finicky and can leave you stuck, so i was more than happy to opt out.

Other than that It is fully loaded, 8.4" nav screen, heated/ventalated leather seats, heated steering wheel, towing package, 3.23 gears with LSD, sun roof, tinted windows, and much more. My favorite of all the options are the RAM Boxes. They have so much room and work great for all the crap i used to stick under my back seats. That is now impossible as half of it is filled with the factory sub. Its been great being able to put my tools and safety gear back there, for easy access. Heck, pick N pull trips are much nicer now.

Anyways here she is

[Hans_GZP]

Looks good!

[Duck Vader]

Never been a Ram fan, but I will admit, that is a nice truck!

[mjannusch]

Nice looking truck!

They stole the "RamBox" idea from my Avalanche...

[ChargerX3]

Thanks guys. I've always liked the upper trim rams. Matt didn't realize the ram box idea come from the avalanche.

[mjannusch]

Avalanche introduced boxes in the sides of the cargo box back in 2002. Though I'd say that Dodge made the design significantly better by allowing larger items to fit. The Avalanche version has drain holes in the bottom so you can pack it with ice and put beverage cans or whatever in there, too.

It's one of those things where you see it and then wonder why every truck doesn't have it. Along with a hard tonneau cover and locking tailgate.

[Duck Vader]

[quote=""mjannusch""]Avalanche introduced boxes in the sides of the cargo box back in 2002. Though I'd say that Dodge made the design significantly better by allowing larger items to fit. The Avalanche version has drain holes in the bottom so you can pack it with ice and put beverage cans or whatever in there, too.

It's one of those things where you see it and then wonder why every truck doesn't have it. Along with a hard tonneau cover and locking tailgate. [/quote]

Time for a thread derail....

Any big problems with the Avalanche? What year? My dad had a first gen. Tranny sucked on it. I think it went out a couple times. Other than that he liked it. Been tossing around the idea of getting a truck again and a used 2009+ Avalanche is on the list. Seem like it would fit my needs better than Crew Cab Silverado.

[DCIV]

A vehicle that was on my radar was the avalanche 2500, 8.1L gas engine! Talk about cool!


Coop

[mjannusch]

[quote=""Duck Vader""]Any big problems with the Avalanche? What year? My dad had a first gen. Tranny sucked on it. I think it went out a couple times. Other than that he liked it. Been tossing around the idea of getting a truck again and a used 2009+ Avalanche is on the list. Seem like it would fit my needs better than Crew Cab Silverado.[/quote]
We had an original 2002 Avalanche Z71 and never had a problem with it. I think we traded it in with around 150,000 miles on it. Just did the usual maintenance items on it and that's all.

We now have a 2010 Avalanche LTZ that we bought new. It now has something like 56,000 miles on it. There was a bad interior light dimmer module that went bad at maybe 5,000 miles. It has the auto-adjust ride height rear suspension, and the electrical connectors to the rear shocks are corroded (my wife doesn't take good care of it in winter - not enough car washes). Other than that, it has been solid as well.

[Duck Vader]

Good to hear.

[ChargerX3]

Update. Truck has been great but had a couple issues early on. Apparently the thermatic clutch is known to be faulty from the factory. Somehow it stays engaged all the time, killing fuel economy, power, and sounding like a wind tunnel when ever you accelerate. Had it fixed under warranty, so no problems now.

Second issue was my Homelink garage door opener. Had them look at that too as it will only work about 50% of the time. I sync, resync and it acts the same. They couldnt find anything wrong with it and told me to do the process all over again. Oh well.

My last issue is one that just irritates me the most and is why I am coming to you all. Most rams came with the standard 26 gallon fuel tank since 2009 (last major body restyle). There was however the option to order the larger capacity tank (32 gallon) on some upper trim models. Mine came with that larger tank. Im told both tanks are very similar in design and even use the same internal pump, sending units. What irks everyone with the larger fuel tank is that the fuel gauge and "Miles until Empty" reading are incorrect. Apparently when Dodge started putting these larger tanks in (circa 2009) they didnt bother upgrading the software to adjust for the added capacity of the tank and reprogram the computer to give an accurate fuel reading.

So how does mine act. Well when by MTE light comes and I hit 0 I still have 5-6 gallons in the tank rendering the whole gauge and MTE useless. I know its not a crucial item that affects my performance, but it does irritate me on several levels. First, I hate that they skipped such an easy step. 2nd, they have known about this issue since 2009 and have been promising to fix it for the past several years, but with no fix yet in sight. 3rd, still no fix! 4th, I live in a very large desert with limited fuel stops. I need this to work properly.

My question is this: If Ram cannot facilitate a fix, how hard would it be to fix this issue myself. Should I bother trying to figure out how to access code and reprogram myself? Would it be easier to bypass with a resistor harness inline with the tank? Im coming to you smart people.

Thoughts?

[aaronatstate]

Take your average MPG times the 32 gallons and watch the trip computer after the fuel light comes on :d ontknow:

[DCIV]

Fill up when it says too. Know you have a buffer. Out work vehicles we arnt allowed to go below 3/4 of a tank. Now all the floats don’t work right and really 3/4 is about 1/2 a tank.


Coop

[ChargerX3]

I want a fix, not a work around guys.

[ChargerX3]

Jeff and Greg are silent. Cant blame them.

While im thinking I know Diablo tune as well as a few other aftermarket devices can access code such as fuel, timing, and even dome light delay. Wondering if that would be a starting point for accessing code?

[Jeff V.]

If the 'distance to empty' display is in the gauge cluster, it's unlikely we'll be able to do anything about it. Those are usually locked down to prevent odometer tampering.

[ChargerX3]

It does read out in the main cluster but im not looking to access that. I want to access the code before it gets to that point. Ideally access whatever sensor/computer that reads the tanks level.

[Jeff V.]

http://www.ramrebel.org/threads/32-gallon-tsb.15297/

[ChargerX3]

Yup, TSB from 2016, for 2017. Now we are into 2018 and a whole new remodeled truck that is likely going to take up their time with quirks that need ironing out.

[aaronatstate]

Honestly, I doubt Chrysler ever fixes the issue. Why would they spend money on reprogramming it when it is not causing issues for people? If it was the other way around, they'd fix it, but the fact you still have gas left when the light comes on and it says you need to refill means it's working properly.