Owners filed 8,527 complaints about the 2015–2025 RAM 1500 with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the 4th-most of any vehicle in our Car Problem Index. The 2016 model year drew the most (1,539), and the single most-reported problem area is engine, named in 23% of complaints.
Key findings
- Worst model year: 2016, with 1,539 complaints, led by steering (309).
- Spike years: 2015 (2.2× the typical year), 2016 (2.3× the typical year), 2019 (2.2× the typical year).
- Earliest-failing area: brakes complaints came at a median of 10k mi on the odometer.
- Fire and crash reports: 151 complaints mention a fire and 448 mention a crash; owners reported 343 injuries and 14 deaths.
RAM 1500 complaints by model year
| Model year | Complaints | Top problem areas | Median mileage | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,447 | Steering (340), Engine (335), Transmission / powertrain (225) | 65k mi | 79 | 58 |
| 2016 | 1,539 | Steering (309), Engine (291), Brakes (243) | 51k mi | 90 | 36 |
| 2017 | 872 | Steering (222), Engine (156), Electrical system (109) | 37k mi | 80 | 16 |
| 2018 | 661 | Electrical system (159), Engine (110), Steering (86) | 33k mi | 25 | 8 |
| 2019 | 1,476 | Electrical system (379), Steering (337), Engine (228) | 18k mi | 76 | 11 |
| 2020 | 626 | Electrical system (161), Engine (155), Transmission / powertrain (62) | 23k mi | 24 | 6 |
| 2021 | 678 | Engine (276), Electrical system (197), Transmission / powertrain (98) | 35k mi | 27 | 4 |
| 2022 | 608 | Engine (244), Electrical system (188), Transmission / powertrain (101) | 22k mi | 23 | 6 |
| 2023 | 200 | Electrical system (67), Engine (46), Brakes (32) | 18k mi | 10 | 1 |
| 2024 | 72 | Electrical system (28), Engine (23), Transmission / powertrain (14) | 10k mi | 5 | 2 |
| 2025 | 348 | Electrical system (178), Engine (67), Exterior lights (57) | 5k mi | 9 | 3 |
Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower partly because owners have had fewer years to report problems.
Most-reported RAM 1500 problems, and what they cost to fix
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median mileage | Repair estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 1,931 | 23% | 52k mi | Engine repair cost |
| Electrical system | 1,816 | 21% | 26k mi | Alternator / electrical repair cost |
| Steering | 1,489 | 18% | 57k mi | Power steering repair cost |
| Transmission / powertrain | 1,136 | 13% | 30k mi | Transmission repair cost |
| Brakes | 854 | 10% | 10k mi | Brake repair cost |
| Fuel system | 811 | 10% | 46k mi | Fuel pump repair cost |
| Speed control / acceleration | 407 | 5% | 33k mi | — |
| Air bags | 345 | 4% | 35k mi | — |
One complaint can name several problem areas, so shares add up to more than 100%.
What this data can and can't tell you
These are unverified reports that owners submitted to NHTSA, counted by model year. They are not defect findings, and they aren't adjusted for sales: a best-selling vehicle collects more complaints simply because more of them are on the road. Use the counts to compare model years of the same vehicle and to see which systems owners complain about most, not to compare how reliable two different models are. See the full methodology.
Other RAM models in the index
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, consumer complaint files (nhtsa.gov), model years 2015–2025, retrieved 2026-09-23. Free to cite with a link to this page.