NHTSA Complaint #10679372 — 2014 RAM 1500

INITIALLY, THE VEHICLE HAD AN ABNORMALLY STRONG NEW CAR SMELL. (THE SMELL HAS NOW BEEN WIDELY REPORTED ON INTERNET FORUMS BY OTHER OWNERS.) I THOUGHT THIS WOULD DISSIPATE OVER TIME. THE SMELL WAS SO STRONG THAT I HAD TO LEAVE THE WINDOWS OPEN WHILE DRIVING DUE TO A NAUSEATING ODOR. AFTER SITTING IN THE VEHICLE, OCCUPANTS COULD ACTUALLY TASTE SOME TYPE OF RESIDUE. IN ADDITION, A FOUL ODOR CAME FROM THE HEATING SYSTEM, ESPECIALLY AT IDLE. AFTER TWO MONTHS OF OWNERSHIP, AND FRUSTRATION, I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP (ALTHOUGH I HAD MENTIONED THE STRONG ODOR BEFORE DURING A FOLLOW-UP CALL). THE DEALERSHIP FLUSHED THE COOLING SYSTEM AND REPLACED THE HOSES BECAUSE OF A TECHNICAL SERVICE DOCUMENT. THE DOCUMENT STATED THERE WAS A CHEMICAL REACTION BETWEEN A NEW TYPE OF COOLANT AND THE INTERIOR LINING OF COOLANT HOSES. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS PROCEDURE DID NOT ELIMINATE THE FOUL SMELL EXPERIENCED WHILE DRIVING. I NOTICED THE ODOR WAS STRONGEST ONCE THE ENGINE WARMED, SO IT TOOK LONGER TO SURFACE DURING COLD TEMPERATURES. I TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID I SHOULD CALL THE MANUFACTURER. MY INITIAL CALL WAS PLACED OVER A MONTH AGO. AN ADDITIONAL COOLANT SYSTEM FLUSH WAS PERFORMED, BUT YIELDED NO RESULTS. I HAVE BEEN SENT TO DIFFERENT DIVISIONS WITHIN CHRYSLER, AND HAVE MOSTLY EXPERIENCED FRUSTRATING DELAYS AND INACCURATE DATA ENTRY. I'VE VISITED THE DEALERSHIP A TOTAL OF FOUR TIMES, AND SPENT HOURS ON THE PHONE WITH THE MANUFACTURER REGARDING THIS PROBLEM. IT SEEMS THE ODOR IS BEING PULLED IN FROM THE ENGINE BAY. THE BEST WAY TO DESCRIBE THE ODOR IS AS SOME TYPE OF CHEMICAL FINISH OR RESIDUE ENTERING THE CABIN. MY VEHICLE IS FOR FAMILY USE. I FEEL EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE IN THE VEHICLE BECAUSE OF THE ACTUAL ODOR AND POTENTIAL HEALTH RISKS. *TR