10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 2
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 58,000 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
On 12/4/23, at 6:37 am PST, we initiated remote start via the key fob. At 6:40 am pst, a flash and fire erupted from under the hood of the truck. We immediately worked to control the fire using extinguishers and garden hoses until the fire department arrived a few minutes later. They worked to put the fire out that engulfed the engine compartment and then worked to get the hood open to finish putting the fire out. The fire didn-??t fully go out until the battery cables were cut.
- Winlock, WA, USA
While driving Down a paved roadway on 6/30/23 @ 5pm doing approximately 20 miles per hour the vehicle died and the dash lite up with every single message possible such as 4WD inactive, oil change due, fuel filter service required and etc. Attempted to restart the vehicle for about 25 minutes when another citizen noticed we were having issues with the vehicle so they stopped to assist us. The citizen towed my vehicle to location we were staying at for the weekend and upon arrival to the location I disconnected both battery terminals to allow the computer modules to drain/reset. After allowing the batteries to be disconnected for several hours I hooked them back up and tried starting the vehicle and was unsuccessful getting it to restart. I disconnected the batteries again for the night and returned the next morning to hook them up. after hooking the batteries back up, I was able to get the vehicle started and moved it around at the place we were staying at and allowed it remain running for about 20 minutes before I shut it off. Went and did other projects and about 5 hours later returned to the pickup to see to see if it would start since we were heading back the next morning and it started so I figured it would get us home on Sunday July 2nd. On July 2nd @ 11:30am started the pickup to leave and everything seemed normal. We drove about 5miles from the location we were staying at and were approaching an intersecting highway OR58. I proceeded out onto OR58 westbound and as we got about 1 mile down the road when the pickup died and every message was being displayed again. As we sat way off the shoulder of OR58 incident response pulled up behind us to make sure everything was ok. I told the incident responder that we were good and I was working on contacting RAM for a tow. About 15 minutes had passed and IR person walked away then the pickup started. I was able to drive the pickup about 2 more miles down the road when it died again and had to be towed.
- Jefferson, OR, USA
The contact owns a 2020 Ram 3500. The contact stated that after his son started the vehicle, there was a metal-on-metal sound coming from the engine. The contact stated that his son was not aware of any warning lights being illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V511000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System). The failure mileage was approximately 135,000.
- Bentonville, AR, USA
The contact owns a 2020 RAM 3500. The contact stated that while driving at 15 MPH, the oil warning light was illuminated, and the vehicle made abnormal sounds. Additionally, there was smoke coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The contact pulled over and refilled the oil reservoir; however, the failure recurred with oil leaking from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed with engine damage and connecting rod failure, which punctured the engine block. The engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. Upon investigation, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V511000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 213,000. The oil light did not come on until after the engine had started knocking rapidly. The engine oil also ran out quickly as well. Consumer immediately refilled the oil and drove for 5 minutes and the engine stopped knocking for a few seconds before there was louder knocking, smoke and spewing oil. Consumer had previously reported to the customer care FCA group 2 times last August about metal shavings on the fuel filter. The fuel pump continued to produce metal shavings in the filter every time the filter was change.
- Greenwood, AR, USA
This Laramie trim level truck has an electronic drop tailgate with a button to drop the tailgate on the overhead console and one on the key fob. The tailgate on my truck was closed during my pre-trip and entering the vehicle. I had a trailer hooked to the receiver hitch and drove ten miles before realizing the tailgate was now in the down position and caused significant damage to the tailgate because the tailgate made contact with the trailer. With the electronic release tailgate on this particular year truck there is not a warning message alerting the driver that the tailgate is ajar. There is such an alert on newer models (2021-2022) I went to a local dealership to check. I-??m sure the tailgate drop button somehow was pressed on the key fob while in my pocket entering the truck. But I did not receive any alert on the instrument cluster or even hear the tailgate open because the tailgate has a soft open feature. I see this being a serious safety concern to possibly lose cargo and cause a more serious accident.
- Collinsville , IL, USA
- Amarillo, TX, USA