Owners have filed 9,831 complaints on the RAM 1500, covering 2013–2021. The system named most often is Electrical System (738 reports). Worst years by volume: 2014, 2016, 2019; cleanest: 2020, 2018, 2021. 529 reports describe a crash, 162 a fire, 12 a death. On average the car was 5.2 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on RAM 1500
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 9,831 1500 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 738 Read
I was driving on the Interstate when a electronic short warning light come on, I pulled over on the shoulder of the road and my engine quit and smoke started to come from the engine. I opened the hood and the engine was on fire. I emptied my cooler, all the bottles of water I had and Cokes and managed to put the fire…
[XXX] Fire occurred while driving [XXX] my Ram 2021 and it was like a mini blast with a lot of sparks as I saw in a rear-view mirror. Everything went out on the dashboard and the car stopped at the Top of Wolf Creek Pass [XXX] . I got out of the car and saw a small fire burning under the car. The fire under the car…
I was driving my new 2021 dodge ram 1500 classic and smoke started to come out from under the hood so I pulled over bc I thought it was overheating and then it caught on fire whilst I was still in it I immediately dialed 911 and by the time they arrived my whole truck was on fire from front to back the truck got…
Steering 624 Read
My son was driving on the freeway and went to change lanes and all of a sudden the power steering system stopped working and he told me after the fact that it locked up and he could not turn the steering wheel so he hit a guard rail and flipped the truck on its side. It caught on fire instantly and he was lucky to be…
While driving, a deer entered the roadway. I applied the brakes to avoid hitting the deer and lost traction due to icy road conditions. The vehicle spun out and struck a utility pole. I later became aware of an open recall involving the ABS and/or electronic stability control (ESC) system for this vehicle. There were…
I had issues with the electrical systems on various occasions. There were times when the vehicle shut down in middle of driving while other times some functions such as keyless entry or auto braking didn't work. I took the vehicle to the dealership on 3 separate occasions and they said that they could not recreate the…
Power Train 493 Read
At 60mph the vehie suddenly did a 180 and went backwards down the road. Fortunately it was a straight stretch and no oncoming traffic. Rear axle sized up, drive shaft shrown, and rear shaft froze resulting in equivalent of rear brakes onky thus the 180. Rear axle lost all lubrication and this is very similar to…
The contact owns a 2020 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and idling, the vehicle inadvertently rolled forward without warning. The vehicle rolled forward and pinned his brother to the front driver’s side box located at the opening of the garage door. Medical attention was required. The…
On 06-06-2021 my wife, daughter and Me and our three dogs, was heading to are first destination on are 2 week vacation pulling are camper. In about 150 miles into the trip started smelling diesel, pulled over on a narrow 2 lane road couldn’t see anything. So my wife found a road we could pull off on to check…
Engine 394 Read
The contact owns a 2017 ram 1500 cargo van low. The contact stated that while parked at a parking lot with the vehicle turned off, without warning a couple of hours later the vehicle was up in flames. The contact at that time was inside the vehicle sleeping and was woken by the explosion of the windshield. Which made…
My vehicle has suffered both major safety recalls, once where I was with my son after picking him up from school on a highway the egr canister spontaneously combusted causing major damage that fca said was not a manufacturer issue but a after my insurance repaired my vehicle they made the recall for the fires. After 3…
The truck went on fire after 15 min parking on [XXX]. Dodge did an initial inspection and could find nothing. I am glad we moved out of the vehicle with my pregnant wife and a 2-year-old toddler. I seriously feel there is some issue with the 2021 RAM 1500 TRX. I lost the truck as it went into flames to ashes. Please…
Air Bags 259 Read
I was traveling on an interstate highway when I came upon an accident involving multiple vehicles. I took evasive action and was able to stop completely avoiding the vehicles involved, and just behind one vehicle that was partially blocking the right lane. I was struck from behind which caused the drivers seat to go…
Takata inflators : my fiance was in a terrible accident with a hit and run and his truck is totaled. It was front impact and the air bags did not inflate or go off- his head hit the windshield and he had to go to the er for head injuries
High impact vehicle accident, with major damage. Drivers airbag did not deploy
Fuel/propulsion System 179 Read
Change in acceleration since purchasing truck. Discovered recently the fuel pump was causing the problem. Also the air bag light comes on and warning of a safety issue
Vehicle throttle maximized when I pressed the brake to stop. After impact with another vehicle the throttle went back to the idle position. I was merging in traffic onto another street. The vehicle in front of me was stopped for the merger. *ln case number xxxxxxxx ('parts of this document have been redacted to…
On [XXX], at [XXX], my 2018 Dodge Ram Eco diesel engaged in fire. At this time, I called 911 and the Fire Department from which I obtained the fire report from respond and extinguish the fire. No police were ever dispatched. After exiting the vehicle, it seems like the vehicle was already on fire due to the…
Service Brakes 171 Read
Turned into driveway to park truck and brakes did not work the vehicle would not stop it hit my garage and the only way to get it to stop is when I threw it into reverse so it wouldn't keep going. The automatic brakes that kick in when too close to something also did not work or kick in
When attempting to stop the brake for upcoming traffic the brake pedal when to the floor. Tried pumping the brakes and that did no activate the braking system. Resulting in rear ended a stopped vehicle and pushing that vehicle into the one in front. There was ample room to stop if the braking system had not failed.…
I was driving on I-15 between cedar city, ut and st george, ut. Driving approx 75mph when suddenly traffic was stopped in front of me in both lanes. Applied brakes with absolutely no results. Drove off of paved portion of highway to avoid hitting stopped cars. Vehicle had less than 500 miles on it and I had owned it…
Structure 141 Read
While stopped in line at a fast food drive thru line the brakes released allowing truck to idle into car ahead slightly damaging both vehicles. No amount of pressure on the brake pedal had any affect on stopping. Dealer could not duplicate problem and scan shows no codes except the front park sensors most likely…
Front driver side motor mount loose; causes engine to shake
The contact owns a 2018 ram 1500. The contact stated that while hauling a trailer driving at 30 mph, the vehicle tail gate fractured causing the trailer to crash into the vehicle. No injuries were sustained. Damages where to the trailer left gate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer (chantz scott chrysler dodge jeep…
1500 years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Air Bags | 26 | 4 | |
| 2020 | Air Bags | 23 | 6 | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | 71 | 11 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 25 | 8 | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 74 | 14 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 88 | 35 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 71 | 52 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 85 | 22 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 66 | 10 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 3,259 |
| Average complaints per series | 3 |
| Worst single series | 30 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.2 years |
A model average of 3 hides a worst series at 30. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the 1500?
By complaint volume, 2014, 2016, 2019 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which 1500 years are the cleanest?
2020, 2018, 2021 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the RAM 1500 have?
9,831 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2013–2021. Of those, 529 describe a crash and 162 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.