- Lawsuit alleges Ram ProMaster never uses its highest two gear ratios.
- Plaintiffs claim buyers paid thousands extra for unusable hardware.
- Stellantis and Ram have yet to respond to the lawsuit’s allegations.
Most non-enthusiast drivers never think about how many gears their transmission has. But if you paid a premium for a nine-speed gearbox and later discovered your vehicle only ever used seven of those gears, you’d probably be annoyed and feel cheated.
That’s the situation that led Stellantis owners to file a class action lawsuit relating to 2022 and 2023 Ram ProMaster vans. The complaint claims the commercial van’s advertised nine-speed automatic transmission is, in practice, little more than a seven-speeder.
Related: Stellantis Just Teased A Self-Driving Box That Wants To Replace Your Delivery Van
According to the lawsuit, Stellantis’s Ram division promoted the updated ProMaster as featuring a new nine-speed automatic transmission, highlighting the kinds of benefits buyers generally associate with extra gears. Lower engine speeds, improved efficiency, smoother operation, and better overall performance were all part of the appeal.
The plaintiffs argue there’s just one problem. They claim the van never actually reaches eighth or ninth gear in normal operation. The complaint alleges the ProMaster‘s shape is largely to blame. Aerodynamics have never been the strong suit of a giant rolling cargo box, and the lawsuit claims the transmission software effectively recognizes that.
Too Much Drag
According to the filing, the van is too slow and creates too much drag for the transmission control system to find a situation where those upper gears are beneficial. As a result, the software allegedly keeps them on permanent vacation, though owners couldn’t have known this when they placed their orders, unless they took a very long test drive before buying, which many didn’t.
The lawsuit also claims the transmission’s real-world behavior is functionally similar to older ProMaster models equipped with six-speed automatics. Plaintiffs argue customers paid a premium believing they were getting meaningful new hardware when, in reality, the extra ratios delivered no practical benefit. Some estimates in the filing suggest the newer vans carried price increases of more than $6,000 compared with older versions.
It’s important to note that these are allegations at this stage, not proven facts. Stellantis will have an opportunity to challenge the claims in court. But if the plaintiffs ultimately prevail, the ProMaster could become the first vehicle officially built with decorative transmission gears.
H/t to Top Class Actions
