Ram recalls one single pickup truck for a bad instrument cluster
The loneliest number, indeed.
Some automakers only need to recall a tiny batch of vehicles after finding an issue. Rarely, though, does an automaker only recall a single vehicle. I'm hoping the lucky owner in Ram's case will get a personal phone call on top of the usual mailed recall notice.
Ram has issued a recall for a single example of the 2019 Ram 1500 . Yes, that's right, just one. The vehicle was built on Dec. 6, 2018.
The problem comes from the instrument cluster and its software. According to the recall documents Ram parent company Fiat Chrysler submitted to NHTSA, the instrument cluster in question may not illuminate specific parts of the cluster that are required by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 101. Not only is it thus in violation of the FMVSS, it might prevent the owner from knowing everything that's going on with the vehicle, which could potentially increase the chance of a crash.
Fiat Chrysler found this issue because it had the same problem pop up on three other models, which spurred a voluntary recall this past March. After initiating that recall, the automaker eventually learned that some Ram 1500 models might also have the troublesome instrument cluster. After combing through production records, it was determined that only a single vehicle in the US has this cluster, and thus a second recall was announced for this one pickup truck.
A simple parts swap is all that's needed to fix it. When the lucky owner takes their truck to the dealership, technicians will replace the instrument cluster with a model featuring updated software, which should remedy the issue. If the owner already paid for a fix out of pocket, FCA will reimburse them. The automaker said it will notify both dealers and the owner on or around Sept. 13, 2019.
