— A Ram 1500 EGR cooler class action lawsuit filed in Canada alleges the 3-liter EcoDiesel trucks are at risk of fires because the exhaust gas recirculation coolers may crack and leak coolant.
The coolant may leak into the intake manifolds and send the trucks up in flames.
The class action was filed on behalf of 2014-2019 Ram 1500 and 1500 Classic truck owners and lessees in Canada, excluding the province of Quebec, who claim to have suffered damage and/or loss as a result of an exhaust gas recirculation cooler defect.
The EGR cooler system recirculates a portion of the exhaust gas back to the engine cylinders which dilutes the oxygen in the incoming "air stream and provides gases inert to combustion to act as absorbents of combustion heat to reduce peak in-cylinder temperatures."
The plaintiff alleges the coolers are too fragile because internal cracks occur from thermal fatigue, sending pre-heated vaporized coolant into the EGR systems. This can cause combustion within the intake manifold leading to engine compartment fires.
The EGR cooler lawsuit was filed when the plaintiff learned about the problem in October 2020 and the alleged risk to his Ram 1500. The plaintiff says he sued because of the fire danger associated with the cooler, and he purchased a fire extinguisher for the truck.
According to the plaintiff, the EGR cooler problem caused the truck to lose its value.
Chrysler Allegedly Knew of EGR Cooler Problems
Chrysler was allegedly aware of smoke and fires caused by EGR coolers in 2016, and by 2017 dealerships were allegedly diagnosing Chrysler vehicles with faulty EGR coolers. Parts allegedly used at the time to replace the EGR coolers were on a national backorder.
The Ram 1500 lawsuit references an October 2019 EcoDiesel coolant leak recall in the U.S. for about 160,000 trucks. However, truck owners were told "the remedy for this condition is not currently available" but that the company was "making every effort to finalize the remedy as quickly as possible."
The Canadian Ram 1500 EGR cooler class action lawsuit was filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia: Jacquard v. FCA Canada Inc., et al.
The plaintiff is represented by Garcha & Company.