Buyer's checklist · EcoDiesel gen3 (Ram 1500 / Wrangler / Gladiator)
Used EcoDiesel gen3 (Ram 1500 / Wrangler / Gladiator): what to check before you buy
The 5 documented failures of this engine, laid out in the order you inspect a truck: paperwork and VIN, a cold start, a code scan, under the hood, the test drive and a look after it. Each line is the sign as our record describes it, linked to the full failure page. At the end: what each repair costs.
1Before you go
Run the VIN and ask for the paperwork on the campaigns below: a done recall or program is a solved problem, an open one is a free repair the seller has not had done.
- Run the VIN
It confirms the engine and lists the campaigns for that model year. Whether a recall is still open on this VIN: nhtsa.gov/recalls.
- Safety recalls on this engine
3Scan for codes
A basic OBD-II reader shows stored and pending codes; on a diesel ask a shop for a full scan if you can. These are the codes our records tie to known failures on this engine.
What a code means on each engine: trouble codes by engine.
5Test drive
At least 20 minutes, including a highway run and a hill or a load if you can.
- Bosch CP4.2 high-pressure pump failure (recalls 22V-767 and 23V-263)
- engine stall or fuel starvation in motion, crank-no-start, rough running, low rail pressure (P0087 family)
- DEF system faults (tank message, heater/quality faults, countdown warnings)
- 'SEE DEALER' DEF tank messages and escalating countdown warnings ('DEF system issue - N mi to empty')
- speed-limited / derate behavior as the SCR countdown runs out
- EGR carbon and DPF regeneration faults (dual-loop EGR maintenance burden)
- incomplete or frequent DPF regenerations, soot-load warnings, fuel dilution of the oil over many short regens
- Stall / no-start reports (mixed causes: crank sensor codes, HPFP recall parts shortages, electrical)
- engine stalls or shuts off in motion (often at low speed), then no-start or long-crank
- stalls landing during the HPFP recall parts shortage: truck parked for months waiting for the pump
- Turbo boost-control and throttle-body faults (P00AF, 'service throttle body' messages)
- P00AF (VGT boost-control performance) and limp-mode events under load
Everything on the EcoDiesel gen3 (Ram 1500 / Wrangler / Gladiator)Symptoms on this engineRecalls and bulletins
Built from the failure-mode records, recalls registry and repair recipes on this site; every line links to its source page with tiers and sources. This is a list of documented failures to check, not an inspection: a pre-purchase inspection by a diesel shop sees what we cannot. Years show where a failure covers only part of the engine's run. How we tier and source facts.