US lawsuit filed against Ram over unnecessary gears

American owners of Ram ProMaster vans filed claims against the Stellantis concern in court. In their class action lawsuit, they claim that the 9-speed automatic in their cars operates like a 7-speed—the top two gears simply never engage. Fiat Ducato vans are sold overseas under the name Ram ProMaster; the Italian brand is part of the same automaker.

Plaintiffs Victor Gonzalez and Stuart Glick represent owners of 2022 and 2023 ProMasters. Formally, these vans are equipped with a new 9-speed automatic transmission, which replaced the old 6-speed automatic transmission. Physically, all nine gears are present in the box – this is not in dispute.

The problem is that the eighth and ninth gears, according to the plaintiffs, are practically unavailable in real use. The van is so slow and heavy that the box simply cannot reach the higher steps. As a result, buyers paid for a technologically advanced 9-speed automatic transmission, but in fact only use seven gears.

Stellantis advertised that the extra top gears would lower engine speeds on the highway and improve economy. This is mathematically true, but only if those gears actually engage. The plaintiffs claim that the company knew or should have known about the problem, but ignored it and continued marketing the model. All ProMasters, regardless of size, on the American market are equipped with a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 petrol engine producing 280 hp.

Previously, a Nissan GT-R was put up for auction for 65 million rubles.