2026 Ram 1500 Rebel GT Lemon Law Case Study
A Brand-New 2026 Ram 1500 Rebel GT That Spent Its First 90 Days of Ownership in the Shop
Our client purchased a new 2026 Ram 1500 Rebel GT — a freshly redesigned, first-model-year trim of Ram’s flagship full-size truck — from Kernersville Chrysler D/J, LLC in North Carolina on September 5, 2025. The truck rolled off the lot with just 25 miles on the odometer. Within ten days, multiple warning lights illuminated across the digital instrument panel, and the truck was towed to the dealer for diagnosis on September 15, 2025.
It would not come back for 52 consecutive days. By the time the truck was returned to our client on November 5, 2025, it had spent more than half of its early ownership life sitting in a service bay — and the odometer had only moved to 316 miles. Stellantis dealers had identified an internal failure of the Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC), replaced the entire IPC assembly, performed a proxi alignment, and executed Stellantis-issued RRT 25-223 — a manufacturer-prescribed service action confirming a known nonconformity in the affected vehicle population.
What Went Wrong
- Multiple dashboard warning lights illuminated across the digital instrument cluster within roughly ten days of new-vehicle delivery, with the truck towed in to the selling dealer on September 15, 2025
- Internal failure of the Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) diagnosed by the Stellantis dealer’s technicians — the central digital display and warning-light controller for the entire vehicle
- IPC assembly replaced and a follow-on proxi alignment performed to re-pair the new cluster to the truck’s electronic vehicle architecture
- Stellantis RRT 25-223 performed during the same service event — a manufacturer-issued Rapid Response Transmittal documenting a known instrument-cluster issue and prescribing a specific remedy
- Rentals provided for the duration of the repair — the dealer’s own conduct confirming that the loss-of-use period was material and continuous
52 Consecutive Days in the Shop — Within the First 90 Days of Ownership
September 5, 2025 — Delivery
- 2026 Ram 1500 Rebel GT delivered new to our client at Kernersville Chrysler D/J, LLC in North Carolina
- Odometer at delivery: 25 miles
- Authorized Stellantis dealership; full new-vehicle limited warranty in effect
September 15 – November 5, 2025 (52 Consecutive Days Out of Service)
- Multiple warning lights illuminated across the digital instrument panel cluster, prompting our client to bring the truck to the dealer for diagnosis
- Technicians performed a full diagnostic and identified an internal failure within the Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) module — the central display and warning-light controller for the truck
- IPC assembly replacement ordered and installed; the original cluster was found to be internally defective from the factory
- Following IPC replacement, technicians performed a proxi alignment — the security re-pairing procedure that authenticates a new control module to the rest of the truck’s electronic architecture
- Stellantis RRT 25-223 performed during the same service event, applying the manufacturer’s prescribed remedy on top of the IPC replacement
- Rental vehicles were provided to our client for the duration of the repair, confirming that the truck was unavailable for use across the full 52-day window
- Truck released back to the client on November 5, 2025 with only 316 miles on the odometer — meaning more than half of the first 90 days of ownership were spent waiting for a warranty repair
Why a 52-Day IPC Failure Triggers North Carolina’s Lemon Law
Modern full-size trucks like the 2026 Ram 1500 are run by dozens of interconnected control modules. The Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) is the digital nerve center of the dashboard — it controls the speedometer, tachometer, warning lights, and gateway communications to safety-critical modules like the airbag controller, anti-lock brakes, transmission control unit, and powertrain control module. An internal failure of the IPC, diagnosed and confirmed by the Stellantis dealer’s own technicians within ten days of new-vehicle delivery, is a fundamental factory defect.
This case presented several powerful legal strengths under both North Carolina’s lemon law and federal warranty law:
- North Carolina lemon law eligibility: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-351 et seq. (the New Motor Vehicles Warranties Act) deems a vehicle nonconforming when it has been out of service by reason of repair for a cumulative total of 20 or more business days during any 12-month period of the warranty. Our client’s truck was out of service for 52 consecutive calendar days — multiples beyond the statutory threshold
- Internal module failure documented by the manufacturer’s own dealer: The dealer’s technicians independently diagnosed and confirmed an internal IPC failure on a vehicle with 25 miles at delivery — this is the strongest possible evidentiary posture, since the diagnosis comes from the manufacturer’s authorized service network
- Stellantis RRT 25-223 is a manufacturer-level admission: Rapid Response Transmittals are issued by Stellantis to direct dealers to perform a specific repair on a known population of affected vehicles. RRT 25-223 being applicable and performed on this truck is itself documentary proof that Stellantis recognized a nonconformity
- Defect arose entirely within the express warranty period: First-day-of-ownership delivery on September 5, 2025; first failure logged by September 15, 2025; full repair window from September 15 to November 5, 2025 — every event sits squarely inside the 36-month / 36,000-mile basic limited warranty and well within the lemon law’s 24-month / 24,000-mile rights window
- Federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act: 15 U.S.C. § 2301 et seq. provides an independent federal cause of action whenever a written warranty is breached — and a manufacturer-confirmed internal IPC failure that consumes 52 days of warranty repair on a truck under 320 miles is a textbook breach. The fee-shifting provision means our client paid nothing out of pocket while keeping the full settlement
- Substantial impairment of use, value, and safety: The IPC controls every warning light on the dashboard. A vehicle whose IPC fails internally on day-ten cannot reliably warn the driver of brake-system, airbag, or stability-control faults — a clear safety impairment that satisfies the “substantial impairment” element under both state and federal law
How Easy Lemon Built This Case Against Stellantis
Free Case Evaluation
We reviewed the full repair order from Kernersville Chrysler D/J, documenting the September 15 to November 5, 2025 service window, the IPC internal-failure diagnosis, the IPC replacement, the proxi alignment, and the Stellantis RRT 25-223 service action performed during the same visit.
Documentation & Case Building
Our team preserved every line item from the dealer repair order, the rental-vehicle log proving continuous 52-day loss of use, the original purchase contract dated September 5, 2025, and the odometer-verified delta from 25 miles at purchase to 316 miles at the time of claim — a documentary record showing the truck had effectively no operational mileage during ownership.
Demand to FCA US LLC (Stellantis)
We filed a formal demand against FCA US LLC citing both N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-351 et seq. and the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act — documenting the 52 consecutive days out of service, the manufacturer-confirmed internal IPC failure, the IPC assembly replacement, the proxi alignment, and the RRT 25-223 service action all sitting inside the warranty period on a truck with under 320 miles.
Cash and Keep Settlement
Easy Lemon successfully negotiated a Cash and Keep settlement with Stellantis — compensating our client for the diminished value, lost use, and inconvenience of a 52-day early-ownership repair, while allowing them to keep the truck they had just purchased. Stellantis paid all attorney fees separately under federal fee-shifting law.
Cash and Keep Settlement Secured
Key Case Facts
- Vehicle: 2026 Ram 1500 Rebel GT
- Purchased: September 5, 2025, from Kernersville Chrysler D/J, LLC, North Carolina
- Status at purchase: Brand new, authorized Stellantis dealership
- Mileage at purchase: 25 miles
- Mileage at claim: 316 miles
- Primary defect: Internal failure of the Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC); recurring dashboard warning-light illumination
- Repair visit: September 15 – November 5, 2025
- Days out of service: 52 consecutive days — more than 3x N.C.’s 15-day threshold and well above the 20-day standard in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-351.5
- Repairs performed: IPC assembly replacement, proxi alignment, Stellantis RRT 25-223
- Manufacturer: FCA US LLC (Stellantis)
- Settlement type: Cash and Keep
- Applicable law: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-351 et seq. (New Motor Vehicles Warranties Act); federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2301 et seq.
Results may vary. Prior outcomes do not guarantee a similar result. Each case is unique and depends on its specific facts and applicable law. Attorney advertising. Easy Lemon® by RockPoint Law P.C.
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Attorney on Record
Steven Nassi, Esq.
Managing Partner — Easy Lemon by RockPoint Law P.C.
Licensed attorney specializing exclusively in lemon law across all 50 states. Steven leads the Easy Lemon legal team and has overseen thousands of successful lemon law claims against major manufacturers including Stellantis, General Motors, Ford, and more.
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