2011 3500 c&c will not pass emissions
 

I brought the truck in for a sticker. Failed emissions. drove truck for 1700 miles of mixed driving with some long highway excursions. Went back for retest. Machine spit out a paper saying inspection cannot proceed. So i go to the mass assistance center. they say the problem is known. and they are flagging these vehicles because the epa has an ongoing investigation into dodge. what they claim is that the computer is not correctly utilizing the sensors. for me the catalyst heater monitor, 02 sensor monitor, 02 sensor heater monitor are all not ready. I have an appt for monday at the dealership. my question is has anyone else had this problem, have you been able to correct it. I just cannot be driving around rejected pulling my equipment dot just love this situation. any advice or help will be greatly appreciated as i have to do my homework before going to dealership because they never have a clue.

Massachusetts?

If so I'm in Texas, so can't help 'ya... [laugh]

Can they not tell you EXACTLY what is out of range?

Yes the three sensors I listed are listed as NOT READY on the printout. That is all I have to work with. Catalyst het monitor, o2 sensor monitor, o2 sensor heater monitor. Yes massachusetts. Thanks

Yikes.. Does that include 2012 models as well (did they say if the 2012s were being investigated by the EPA as well?

Doesn't sound good, I only have 10k on mine so far, have I believe 5 years before inspection is required here in WA State. Maybe I will need trade it in for a 2014 or 15 before then. :O

Dealing with a govt agency here! They only said newer dodges with diesel. Our emissions testing here only consists of plugging into the obd port and reading the info. If no codes are present it passes. Unless you are me. I have no codes and it is not passing because the sensors are not ready. I believe it is just a programming issue. But it is a real inconvenience to me and others that have to deal with it. I am hoping that someone has some experience with this and can give me more insight. Because I am ready to rid myself of this truck as it is quite problematic. Thanks

Are they saying that Dodge isn't utilizing the sensors correctly? Or that the inspection station computers do not read their statuses correctly?

Either way, sounds like the end user gets the run around for something completely out of their control.

Yes runaround for sure. It seems like what they are saying is that dodge is not using the sensors correctly. And that they are working in the consumers best interest as they are doing their best to get dodge to fix their problem. That is as far as I got with them for information.

I have a 2012 and been getting 02 sensor issues. They replaced the 02 sensors a couple of times, the o2 computer once and just replaced my DPF.
(last round all at my cost).
They blamed my fuel quality on the problem. I sent a sample away and the results are in that the fuel although has sediment and water in it, the filter should have filtered out any contaminants.

My battle with dodge will ensue.

In my quest to find out what could have plugged up my dpf I was informed by a Master Mechanic that the "catalyst heater contoller" probably failed and causing incorrect 02 sensor readings hence why they have replaced them a few times. (plugged off)
This will plug a DPF up and not allow it to go into regen as it cannot build the heat required.

We need a investigation into this here in Canada.

Thanks for the reply. I too have had the 2 of the 02 sensors replaced. I hope I am not going down the road your on. I will say the truck will be gone before I start paying out of pocket on a truck still under warranty. The prob is what do I buy. I think I will stay away from diesel for awhile unless I find something pre 07. Thanks

When I get back to town I am going to sit down with the Service Manager and have a chat with him.

We are running the 2012 Ford Diesels at work. They pretty much idle all day every day with a light run for fuel every day.
So far I am really impressed with the lack of maintenance required and the amount of fuel and def they are using.

On the other hand I know my Dodge can't idle all day every day otherwise the dpf plugs up.

I think Dodge needs to step up and make right their dpf system. It is garbage.

If you get any usefully info please pass it along. I will do the same on Monday. How much did you have to pay to get your truck fixed?

I found it... I thought I had saved a copy...

Here's the procedures to get emissions sensors ready..

Emissions Monitor ready state - 2010-2012 Cummins 6.7

Thanks for that information. Is this something that I am supposed to do before emissions testing or is it for the dealer to do. Seems kinda crazy. Prob why the EPA is getting involved.

It's the procedure given to the dealers to use if/when someone comes in saying their emissions sensors aren't showing ready... In a case like this, if you take your truck in, they would use these procedures....

If I were you, I'd do the procedures and take it back to get the testing done. If it fails, then I would probably take it back to the dealer...

So I would attempt to do that but I am locked out of the ability to test the vehicle. Per this whole EPA nonsense. The best part is my dealer is in another state and can't do a sticker for the truck. So I will see what happens Monday. Thanks

So finally got a call back from from the mass inspection people. I cannot get a waver because the problem I am having is not the problem they are investigating. What I have is a warranty/repair issue. Funny no codes being thrown. ***!!!! Truck is at dealer now and can you guess what they said. We have never seen or heard of this problem in any Of these trucks. Guess I am always the first for everything. Ill update when I actually know what is up.

Dealer has called me back and after road testing it they cannot find anything wrong with the truck. they say they will keep it another day to do more road testing and try to make the monitors ready. they say they do not trust the testing stations equipment or a government agency telling them that the truck is not working correctly. they feel that the equipment used in testing is not compatible with the "NEW DIESELS". but the funny thing is in the other breath they tell me this is a long process because their own scan tool is not compatible with the "new diesels". What gives. am i just in the middle of a giant pissing contest. i appreciate any advice, thanks.

I'm so glad I live in a hand-off state like Florida. Hang in there!

so after another day of the dealer driving truck around they were able to get one of the monitors to work but not the other. they clearly are sick of driving my truck around making no money so they want to give it back to me to drive around and then bring it back for them to see if the other monitor is ready. they say it needs 27 hours of driving to complete a regen. why is it that nobody else has this problem getting their truck inspected. i am totally confused as to why it is like this. looking for advice here, would you take the truck back or would you make them keep it until it can pass inspection. we have alot of overzealous dot cops around here and i really do not want to deal with them over a rejected sticker while towing my skid steere around. also so much for business link, i have a dodge caliber for a rental car. i thought they were supposed to provide a truck. ***

27 hours for a regen? Sounds like they're blowing smoke up your you know what because they don't have the proper equipment.

If they had the right equipment, they can force a regen. Regardless, I'm confused as to why the truck needs to do a regen. The only purpose for a regen is to clean out the soot, so why is it needed?

From what I am told it has to do a regen in order for the sensors to "be ready" status. I am with you about the not having the proper equipment. They also have said that it is a problem that dodge needs to address. It has to do with their way of programming. Which I believe is why the EPA/dep is investigating this. So in the end what I have is a truck that is running fine yet will not pass emissions. Due to a computer glitch. I will let you know how this turns out. Thanks for the replies.

i got my morning update from the dealer. emissions stuff aside. they will be replacing the front drive shaft and the rear driveshaft bushing. the not so funny thing is they already replaced the front driveshaft 5 months and 5,000 miles ago. because it takes forever to get parts for these trucks they are giving me the truck back with no front driveshaft and the precaution of take it easy cause the bushing is in bad shape. i do appreciate getting the truck back as i need to do some work with it. i thought these were supposed to be tough trucks. the only work this truck sees is i plow 25 driveways and pull a skid steere with attachments once maybe twice a week. i only have 29k on it. advice needed!!! would you keep this truck or would you dump it. it has been down a few different times but in total i have been without it for well over a month's worth of time. thanks for your ideas.

Sounds like you could impose the lemon law on the dealer and walk away with a new truck paying only the difference in model year and maybe some depreciation depending on the outcome. Sounds like that truck was a friday build before a holiday weekend.

Hope it works out no matter which way you go.

A caliber? Really? I would have been tempted to install a hitch and hook your trailer to it for grins and then take a picture for their reference. What a crock.

That's funny I thought about doing just that. Ill get another chance next week. Since they got 2 of the three monitors ready I took it back to get inspected but when I got there the three questionable monitors were once again not ready. So the flag has not been lifted on it. So sick of wasting time with this pos. looked into lemon law. In my state it has to be 3 attempts to fix the same problem with a limit of 15k on the ticker. Plus the atty general says since I am a small business I cannot get help from them. Guess I will have to get an atty. also have been assigned a ram case manager again. I feel like my truck was built on the 6 th of may after one hell Of a day partying. Lol

Have you tried a different testing station? Could the existing test station equipment be out of calibration? I know this may sound funny but if the dealer has switched out the sensors and you are not showing and CEL’s or codes on the truck it might be the testing station. I would try another one in the area.
Jim W.

Good advice jim. So what has happened is I failed at the local testing station. Then my truck was flagged this locking me out of ALL testing at the local level. I now have to go through a motorist assistance center. I have tested there 2 times with diff results. I have to pass there and then the flag gets removed and I can get sticker at local level. All in all I have wasted 4 half days going back and forth for testing and 2 mornings to the dealership. It's getting old for sure. Wish I could move to vt and be done with this for good :-)

so here it is the new tow van!! my overnighted parts have finally arrived about 6 days late. they didnt have the car ready for me so i had to take this. well this is great except there are no seats in it. I have two kids that need seats fastened. yay more fn running around. have to go back to get another vehicle. i am so sick of dealing with this. i wish we had 1 good dodge dealer around here. only good dealers are ford. they actually have work trucks to take when your work truck is down. this thing is weird its like a morgue vehicle. maybe i could moonlight for a week or two [laugh]

I would get rid of this truck!! Not sure what I would replace it with but NOT a DODGE!!!

I would love to. It's real hard to trade a new truck with a rejected sticker on it. So far no buy back and I am waiting to hear what the dealer appraised it at. Biggest question is what to buy. Ford 6.2 gas, v10 the diesel. Do I go Chevy? Crappy front end for plowing. Maybe I will just get an older truck when I find the right one.

So finally got some truth as to what the problem is. In 29,000 my truck has never completed a regeneration, thus never resetting the monitors. The only fix that the engineers at Chrysler have is my heck has to drive my truck @45mph for 45 min and then 75mph for 45 min uninterrupted on the highway. That is like suicide on our highways. So he took my truck out this morning at 4 am. This if it works will only get the monitors to reset so I can get a sticker. They are not addressing why the truck will not regenerate fully. After this weekend I am pretty sure i will be pushing hard for a buy back. I know the service dept will be pushing for the same as they are not making money continually working On a truck with that has no definitive fix. They are trying to get me to buy a 2013 but it would have to be ordered. I just not sure about diesel right now.

bluesurf... I don't even think that's the complete truth. How does a DPF not get clogged and need an active regen in 29,000 miles of usage? I know SCR reduces the need, for an active regen, but 29K miles and still none? I don't buy it. If anything I think it's not actually logging the regens when they happen.

BTW, don't these guys have some kind of scan tool to see when the truck goes into an active regen? It seems crazy to just drive a specific way and hope a regens happens.

Agreed but this comes down from the top at Chrysler. I have a rep and have talked to them also. It will regen but it never completely rehens. Idk. I have always complained about the mileage, and it seems to regen a lot. Just sucks though. I need this truck for work badly as my business is crazy this time of year.

Delete

Do you know if the PCM has been updated to latest flash? Look under your hood and there will be a sticker with the PCM flash part number Usually located on fuse box cover or hood. Post that number and I can check if it is the most resent flash file. Several problems have been addressed with new flash. Federal law requires a sticker after any PCM flash is done.

As far as the flash question goes. The truck was flashes with several new flashes in sept/October. I know one addressed the terrible shift pattern. And no there is not a sticker from any of the flashes but I may be able to look it up in the paperwork. Talked to another service writer and he had a different story today. The long fast/slow ride they did this am did not work. They want to try and get an exception from the inspection to pass. I will not accept a truck back that will not pass readily. I am now convinced that I will be working toward a buy back.

Yup, it's buy back time for sure... Because if you keep it, you're just going to go through this BS every time it needs an emissions check, and it'll end up being on your dime. Not that it isn't already costing you $$$.

Big iron these are the flashes listed on the paperwork
18-19-04-9n
18-19-14-9b
18-19-14-9b
18-19-05-95
Thanks for looking to see if I have the current flashes. I did ask them to make sure I was up to date but you never know. These were done all on 10/18/12. Thanks

Any updates? Thanks!

The only update is that I have the truck back. It passed the emissions test once the dealer and my dodge rep talked to the right engineers. It needed a very specific drive cycle to reset the monitors. I spoke with the rep about buy back and he said no way. He also said I will have to live with the fact that I may not may not pass the emissions test. So I asked if this would be fixed for the my13. He could not answer that question. He said it depends on my driving habits. So I asked what specific driving habits do I need to do. Could not answer. I said that I pull a 10k trailer with attachments in the truck, I drive to vt and back highway, I do local, I pull a boat etc. still didn't work. He said that my truck runs too clean and told me about the sprinters and the problems that they are having. They are too clean so the monitors never reset thus failing mass emissions. I asked if they plan to write new software and he said they should but have no plans to as they don't feel anything Is wrong. I asked why doesn't th ford and Chevys experience this? He says they are completely diff systems. They have 8 cyl in v and cummins r straight six. No ****!!! After a long conversation I was offered no compensation and no answers about my truck and he instilled no confidence in this brand for me. I left the conversation stating " thank you, he said what for, I replied for talking me out of buying a new dodge as it would have cost me a lot of money and it would not have solved my problem. He had a loss for words. Now the dealer is working on my behalf to get me some compensation. Sorry for the long winded version. Ill update if anything comes of this.

On a side note I hauled a few 13k # loads with the truck just to make sure it was good. When empty I get 13 mpg and under. With a full Load It is getting 14.5. And it has a boatload of power. Why do these trucks come alive with a load on. Is it in the programming, is Itload based?
And lastly the vibration has changed from 72 mph to 65. I assume that the rear driveshaft is the culprit. And the steering has been over corrected now pulls to the left. I think the problem is there is slop in the steering box. So it will go back to the dealer when I get a chance.