Owners filed 4,548 complaints about the 2015–2025 RAM 2500 with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the 18th-most of any vehicle in our Car Problem Index. The 2018 model year drew the most (2,576), and the single most-reported problem area is brakes, named in 52% of complaints.
Key findings
- Worst model year: 2018, with 2,576 complaints, led by brakes (1,829).
- Spike years: 2017 (3.9× the typical year), 2018 (14.4× the typical year).
- Earliest-failing area: engine complaints came at a median of 23k mi on the odometer.
- Fire and crash reports: 48 complaints mention a fire and 117 mention a crash; owners reported 70 injuries and 2 deaths.
RAM 2500 complaints by model year
| Model year | Complaints | Top problem areas | Median mileage | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 214 | Transmission / powertrain (44), Steering (43), Engine (34) | 35k mi | 13 | 3 |
| 2016 | 258 | Transmission / powertrain (64), Engine (53), Steering (43) | 24k mi | 15 | 3 |
| 2017 | 692 | Brakes (410), Electrical system (120), Service Brakes, Hydraulic (94) | 46k mi | 12 | 6 |
| 2018 | 2,576 | Brakes (1,829), Electrical system (473), Service Brakes, Hydraulic (449) | 52k mi | 38 | 5 |
| 2019 | 193 | Fuel system (40), Engine (32), Electrical system (29) | 9k mi | 8 | 9 |
| 2020 | 162 | Fuel system (40), Engine (33), Fuel System, Diesel (30) | 11k mi | 5 | 4 |
| 2021 | 107 | Electrical system (35), Engine (26), Transmission / powertrain (25) | 34k mi | 6 | 8 |
| 2022 | 179 | Electrical system (61), Transmission / powertrain (50), Engine (29) | 18k mi | 9 | 5 |
| 2023 | 48 | Engine (11), Electrical system (9), Exterior lights (8) | 35k mi | 4 | 1 |
| 2024 | 58 | Brakes (13), Electrical system (11), Engine (9) | 12k mi | 7 | 2 |
| 2025 | 61 | Electrical system (37), Exterior lights (14), Engine (8) | 2k mi | 0 | 2 |
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 2500 problems, and what they cost to fix
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median mileage | Repair estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 2,362 | 52% | 32k mi | Brake repair cost |
| Electrical system | 861 | 19% | 27k mi | Alternator / electrical repair cost |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 560 | 12% | 60k mi | Brake repair cost |
| Speed control / acceleration | 467 | 10% | 30k mi | — |
| Transmission / powertrain | 368 | 8% | 26k mi | Transmission repair cost |
| Engine | 311 | 7% | 23k mi | Engine repair cost |
| Automatic emergency braking / collision warning | 308 | 7% | 46k mi | — |
| Steering | 261 | 6% | 30k mi | Power steering repair cost |
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.