Complaint volume
657 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2021 Ram 1500 Complaints
657 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Ram 1500, grouped by component category.
657 Total complaints
26 Crash reports
4 Fire reports
17 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are engine, unknown or other, electrical system. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 26 crash reports, 4 fire reports, 17 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 105 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 37,057 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to engine, unknown or other, electrical system?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2021 Ram 1500?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2021 Ram 1500
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2021 Ram 1500 complaints?
26 Crash
4 Fire
17 Injury
0 Fatality
36 Towed
14 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Ram 1500 complaint categories?
ENGINE 83
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 47
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 44
POWER TRAIN 43
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 36
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 30
STEERING 24
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ENGINE 22
AIR BAGS 18
STRUCTURE 15
657 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | I have had two incidents where shortly after a cold start while driving the vehicle it would turn off and and the emergency brake would apply. In both instances I was approximately a mile from where the vehicle was started. I had slowed to make a right turn, upon completion of the turn driving under 20 MPH the vehicle's engine would turn off, I was able to coast to a stop and then the vehicle's emergency brake would engage. When this happens the operator is forced to come to a complete stop, shift to park (in order to restart) and disengage the emergency brake. 2021 Ram 1500 Laramie eTorque 12K miles | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Bed separated due to improper weld. Caused gap large enough that a ratchet strap was able to pass through due to air flow and melted to hot exhausts located directly below. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | The truck’s push button start system was turned on to start the car, the keys were removed from inside the vehicle cabin but the truck was still able to be driven without the keys being inside. I started the truck to warm it up, then went inside my home, when I had to leave I changed my coat and forgot the truck keys in my other coat. I got in the truck and was able to drive as if I had the keys on me. When I reached my destination 5 miles away, I turned the truck engine off, and then realized I did not have the keys with me. The truck should NOT be able to be driven if the keys are not sensed inside the truck cabin. This is a safety risk, trucks can be stolen easily in this way. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE | After intense rainstorms, we tried to start our Ram 1500. All key fobs won’t work but there was battery life in all of them. We could not get into our truck or start it with the key fobs. Only way inside the truck was with the emergency physical key inside key fob, but then the truck alarm kept going off with no way to turn it off. Our safety was put at risk since we couldn’t operate our truck. After talking to service department through our dealership, they suggested towing the truck to them for diagnostic testing since we couldn’t even start or place car into neutral. After diagnostic testing, the dealership confirmed our RF module located behind the rear seats was damaged by water damage and showed water was still in the module. The dealership confirmed this was their 6th case like this. Problem is they suspect the rear glass leaks to cause damage to the RF module. However, the antenna and brake light could also be the water leak issue. The dealership will confirm where water is leaking from and attempt to fix. No warning lights or messages were displayed before this problem occurred | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I was turning right at a stop sign leaving my development and the truck shut off and applied the emergency brake. Thankfully it was at a stop sign in the residential area and not entering the main throughway. From reading online this is a known Ram issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | POWER TRAIN | The truck stalled at a intersection and applied the emergency brake. This seems like a common problem with the torque engine. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I purchased a 2021 Ram TRX in Nov of 2021. The tailgate had opened on its own several times over 9 months until Nov 2022. I complained to dealer during oil changes and they said it was my fault and blamed me for not shutting it hard enough or hitting release button in my pocket. I had 8 instances of the tailgate coming open. One I had my cargo load calm out onto highway. Two I had my golf clubs fall out onto highway. Three I had my tailgate hit my boat trailer jack. I went to an independent shop to determine if they could help some dealer never even recorded my complaints or requests. On inspection we found the strikers severely out of alignment and adjusted them to fix issue. We recorded videos and photos of the alignment prior to adjustment and after. In Dec 2022, Ram issued a recall for this exact issue. They then inspected my vehicle and noted the adjustments we made and the facts it was out of alignment prior. Marks could be easily seen where it was factory installed and where we adjusted to remediate. Stellantis and Ram are now denying all liability for my losses and damages prior to the recall since I repaired outside of Ram despite their refusal to repair after several losses incurred. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES | Incident occurred two times. Driving in normal conditions at 30mph or less. The vehicle disabled the gas pedal/power, engaged the emergency brake, and turned on the emergency lights. Car had to be turned off and restarted. Vehicle resumed normal operations after restarting. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | Once again for the about 100th time our 2021 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel cuts off and when I means cuts off everything is off. No warning of any sort. Was going about 50mph and just completely shutdown on 880 Southbound in SF Bay Area. Truck has 52k miles is maintained and no codes no nothing. I had my children in the vehicle at the time of incident. We slowly pulled the shoulder with the help of rig driver slowing down to make sure no one hit us. It’s ridiculous that the current recalls aren’t as important and hazardous as trucks shutting off yet here we are cause it’s never duplicated while at the dealer. Is the FCA going to wait till someone or folks lives are taken cause of this very HAZARDOUS/SAFETY ISSUE?! | Crash: No Fire: No Injuries: 4 | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ENGINE | The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and the RPM failed to operate as needed. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V767000 (Fuel System, Gasoline, Engine) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 47,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | 47,000 |
| Feb 2023 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | My 2021 Ram 1500 eco diesel had roughly 20,500 miles on it. On January 17th I was driving in my neighborhood and the car completely stalled and all electrical systems shut down. I was able to drift to the side of the road, called roadside service and had it towed to the dealership. After inspecting the vehicle it was confirmed the problem stemmed from the unresolved recall issue. They repaired my vehicle at no cost but the recall parts are still not available and there is no timeline as to when they will be available. Therefore the parts they put back in my car can fail again. I received my vehicle back on January 25th. I feel this vehicle is completely unsafe. I expressed my concerns to Chrysler and they reviewed the situation for a possible buyback program but then denied it. After experiencing the complete shutdown of my vehicle and barely being able to get the vehicle to the side of a road in my neighborhood I cannot imagine if this happened while on a highway traveling at a higher speed with myself and my family in the vehicle. It scares me to think what could happen. When I expressed this concern at the dealership they understood but said "well it took 20,000 miles for it to happen so hopefully we get the recall taken care of before the next 20,000 miles". I thought that was a despicable response. Completely inconsiderate to my situation. I am scared to put my kids in our main family vehicle because of this. The recall was announced in October 2022 and as of now there is no timeline to when it will be fixed. I even told them if they did a buyback I would probably be perfectly happy with the same vehicle just with the engine that has not recall. They didn't budge. Please help!!! [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | When filling the vehicle gas pours out of the fuel fill tube and onto the pavement. It is almost to the point where I am unable to fill the vehicle with fuel. In order to put gas in you have to basically goes as slow as possible taking up to 20 plus minutes to fill. Dangerous to have gas spilled on the gas station cement that could catch fire and cause explosions'. Dealership informed me of several complaints with this issue. The vehicle has not been inspected by anyone as this vehicle is now out of warranty by 8k miles and could cost up to $1200.00 to fix. There are no warning signals for this issue | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | When driving at speeds above 45mph the truck loses acceleration out of no where. It will make grinding/shifting/stuck noises and rapidly going to unsafe speeds. I have been in HIGH traffic EVERY time this has occurred to me. This situation has put myself and my family in harms way too many times. I assume from my research this is a transmission/powertrain issue. This truck is a 2021,I am the first and only owner purchasing in 2021 early year. By three months in I had experienced the issue thinking it was a one off. It is not. I have taken the truck to Ram dealerships in TX as well as New Mexico and no one can seem to find the issue as according to them “nothing shows up”. I have a VERY detailed video of the issue happening as I was driving in 75mph. I have show it to the dealership with no solution from them. Latest service appointment was in October 2022-dealership could not find anything. The truck has been driven no more than 15 times from late October 2022-January 2023. The truck as of today January 31,2023 is currently at a collision shop, not related to this current issue but was caused by the Ram Dealership. I received an alert this morning (MOPAR) stating that the Powertrain malfunction indicator light has come on. Other attached information was ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL (ETC) WARNING LIGHT-If light is flashing when the engine is running immediate service is required and you may experience a steady RPM with no throttle control or engine stall and your vehicle may require towing. Transmission Temperature Warning Light,Charging System Warning Light also showed as concerns. I have contacted the current shop that has my truck in its possession to inquire what was done when the alerts wee received etc. Waiting on a call back from them. Bottom line, understanding that anything can happen with vehicles and not all can be replicated etc.,if Ram knows it’s a known issue fix it so your drivers/consumers don’t die. Can we enjoy our investment SAFELY Ram? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | AIR BAGS | The airbags failed to deploy with an offset front end collision going 42 mph. My husband was in an accident and now has a brain injury. The airbags did not go off. The vehicle has been inspected by the body shop but no one will tell me why the airbags did not go off. I have called the manufacturer, a dealership, the body shop, my insurance company everyone just passes the buck to each other and I’m going in circles. They are fixing the truck now and it needs a new frame along with thousands of dollars in damage. No one can tell me whether it is safe to drive my family in at this point We have been through a ton of trauma because of my husbands injury and this just adds to it. There were no warning lamps or symptoms prior to the accident. I first emailed Ram and they said the would need to inspect it. Then I heard nothing so I called and talked to a customer service representative who said my insurance company would contact them and I was told by my insurance co that I needed to contact the manufacturer. Then I was hung up on | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL | The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. No warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed as a high pressure fuel pump failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 22,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ENGINE | The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V767000 (Fuel System, Gasoline, Engine) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available. The contact stated that they experienced a failure but was luckily travelling at a low speed in a residential area. There was metal found in the fuel filter and the entire fuel system needs to be replaced but the parts are not available. The contact has deemed the vehicle not usable and the manufacturer has been unable to help. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 2021 Dodge Ram Hemi Etorque shuts down while driving. This has happened approximately a dozen times in the last year. On most occasions this has happened within the first 5 minutes of driving. On all but one occasion we were yielding and then pulling into an intersection and the truck shut off in the middle of the intersection. This caused vehicles that were driving at full speed to swerve from hitting us. The vehicle shut off, goes into park, and the emergency brake engages. A message appears on the dashboard indicating autopark engaged, In order to get moving again, we have to start the card, disengage the emergency brake, and put the car in drive. This is a DANGEROUS situation that will result in serious injury or worse. The very last incident the truck has been running a while. We stopped at a location and placed the truck in park. We never shut the motor off. A few minutes later, we put the car in drive and accelerated. Within the first 20 feet the vehicle shut off and came to a stop. Again, the vehicle automatically went into park and the E brake engaged. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | When fueling at the gas station the nozzle will not continuously flow. Even manually pressing the trigger to release the fuel from the hose it constantly clicks off after a few seconds. Adjusting the nozzle has no effect and fueling takes an extensive amount of time having to put small amounts over and over | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | After completing a left hand turn, the vehicle stalled while moving. The emergency brake activated. The car would restart but not immediately engage leaving me stuck in traffic. To get going again the emergency brake had to be deactivated and the vehicle restarted. Following the event an internet search brings up dozens of similar events with many being much worse as they happened at highway speeds. This is incredibly dangerous. I booked a service appointment and will have it looked at. However, even with this being a repeat failure with Ram 1500 eTorque as indicated through a simple internet search, that the dealership indicated they were not aware of this problem is surprising. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ENGINE | The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact stated that on multiple occasions while stopped at a red traffic light, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact then received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V767000 (Fuel System, Gasoline; Engine) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 6,700. VIN tool confirms parts not available. The consumer stated the truck was sold back to the dealer due to feeling unsafe in the vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | 6,700 |
| Jan 2023 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ENGINE | The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V767000 (Fuel System, Gasoline, Engine) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ENGINE | While driving down the road my vehicle randomly prompted me to engage the break, then shutdown and abruptly engaged the emergency brake. This could have easily been a life threatening situation for me and other nearby motorists. It is my understanding this is becoming a common occurrence and should be investigated immediately. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 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 totaled and I currently don’t know where it is this happened in September of 2022 and the dealership that sold me the truck are refusing to do anything as it was still under warranty. | Crash: No Fire: Yes | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Front piece of panoramic sunroof blew out. Going 70 mph on highway. No other vehicles near me. Temp was approx 62F out. Overcast. No overpasses. Blew out without warning and without previous issues. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact stated while attempting to use the windshield washer function, there was no washer fluid coming out as needed. The contact parked the vehicle in the garage and notice that due to 5-degree weather, the windshield washer fluid line had burst. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 40,500. | Crash: No Fire: No | 40,500 |