Stellantis is facing a proposed class action lawsuit accusing the company of misleading buyers about the transmission fitted to certain Ram ProMaster vans. According to the complaint, 2022 and 2023 Ram ProMaster models advertised as having a “new nine-speed automatic transmission” allegedly function more like seven-speed vehicles in real-world driving conditions because the top two gears are effectively unusable.
The lawsuit claims the vans are physically incapable of regularly reaching eighth and ninth gear during normal operation due to their size, aerodynamics, and software calibration. Plaintiffs argue customers paid thousands extra for a transmission upgrade that delivers little or no actual benefit.
Unlike many automotive lawsuits involving broken components or outright mechanical failures, this case centers around whether Stellantis marketed the transmission in a misleading way rather than whether the transmission itself is defective.
Still, the allegations could become especially important in the commercial vehicle market, where fuel economy, drivability, and operating costs directly affect business owners’ bottom lines.
The Lawsuit Focuses on Real-World Gear Usage
The class action complaint alleges Stellantis heavily promoted the ProMaster’s upgraded nine-speed automatic transmission as a meaningful improvement over older six-speed versions.
Higher gear-count transmissions are generally associated with smoother acceleration, better highway efficiency, lower engine RPMs, and improved fuel economy. Modern automakers often market extra gears as major technological upgrades. The lawsuit argues the ProMaster never meaningfully delivers those benefits.
According to the filing, the van’s tall, boxy shape creates too much aerodynamic drag for the vehicle to consistently access eighth and ninth gear under ordinary driving conditions.
Headwinds, hills, payload weight, and normal traffic conditions allegedly prevent the transmission software from finding situations where the top gears are usable.
As a result, plaintiffs claim the transmission effectively behaves like a seven-speed setup despite being advertised as a nine-speed unit.
Plaintiffs Say Buyers Paid Thousands More
The complaint argues buyers specifically paid a premium, believing they were receiving a more advanced transmission with improved efficiency and drivability.
According to the lawsuit, newer ProMaster models equipped with the advertised nine-speed transmission cost as much as $6,070 more than older six-speed variants, depending on trim level and options.
Plaintiffs claim they would either have avoided purchasing the vans entirely or negotiated lower prices had they known the top two gears allegedly offered little practical use.
The lawsuit further contends that even when the newer vans reach seventh gear, their effective final drive ratio remains very close to older six-speed ProMaster models operating in sixth gear.
In other words, plaintiffs argue the real-world driving experience and efficiency improvements are far smaller than Stellantis suggested.
Commercial Buyers Pay Close Attention to Fuel Economy
The allegations could resonate strongly with fleet buyers and commercial customers because transmission performance directly affects operating costs.
Businesses purchasing delivery vans, cargo haulers, or work vehicles carefully monitor fuel consumption, highway efficiency, maintenance expenses, and drivability. Even relatively small improvements in fuel economy can become significant across large fleets operating daily. That is partly why automakers aggressively market advanced transmissions with eight, nine, or even ten speeds.
More gears theoretically allow engines to stay closer to their most efficient operating range while reducing RPM at highway speeds. In practice, however, the usefulness of those extra gears depends heavily on vehicle weight, engine power, aerodynamics, and software calibration.
The lawsuit essentially argues the ProMaster’s physical design limits the usefulness of its highest gears before they can provide meaningful benefits.
Stellantis May Argue the Gears Still Exist
One major legal question will likely involve how the court interprets the difference between technical capability and real-world practicality.
Stellantis could argue that the transmission physically contains nine forward gears and that the eighth and ninth gears remain mechanically accessible under certain ideal operating conditions. The company may also argue that the transmission functions exactly as engineered.
The plaintiffs, however, claim ordinary drivers almost never encounter those conditions in actual day-to-day operation. That distinction could become central to whether the case succeeds.
Automakers frequently advertise theoretical capabilities based on laboratory testing or ideal conditions, while consumers often interpret those claims as reflecting typical real-world use.
The ProMaster Is Already Facing Other Problems
This latest lawsuit adds to growing scrutiny surrounding the Ram ProMaster lineup. Earlier this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into certain ProMaster models over reported power steering failures. The van has also faced criticism over reliability concerns and various fleet-related complaints in recent years.
Unlike those issues, however, this lawsuit focuses almost entirely on alleged marketing and consumer deception rather than component failure.
The proposed class action seeks to represent all U.S. residents who purchased or leased affected 2022 and 2023 Ram ProMaster models. For now, the allegations remain unproven, and Stellantis has not yet publicly responded in detail to the claims outlined in the lawsuit.
From talking to owners of the Ram Promaster in class B house car conversions, perhaps the van is underpowered so maybe the gear ratios need to be changed in order to fully use what the engine/transmission combination is capable of.