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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2022 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving or making a turn, the vehicle stalled. The contact had to shift into neutral(N) or park(P) and restart the vehicle. Additionally, while driving, the parking brake engaged without warning. The contact had to manually release the parking brake. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 1,000 |
| Jul 2022 | ENGINE | Have a exhaust leak during start up ticking really bad... exhaust is coming inside cab with ac on. This truck only has 36000 miles and has already had several issues with this trucks electrical system and now this exhaust issue | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Fuel is pouring out of the lines onto the engine. Not just a leak, but flowing out. This could cause my engine to catch fire. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | On three separate occasions within two months, the truck completely shut down without any warning. The first time I was at a stop light, when light turned green, I stepped on gas and truck died. Nothing worked on the vehicle, there were no messages or warnings. The truck was towed to dealership, tried to replace RF hub but "unable to be performed"-swapped star connector cavity to C12 and communication achieved-RF replace procedures passed. Five weeks later, went to start truck in driveway and wouldn't start, truck was completely dead, had mechanic come to home ,test the battery ,and it was fine. He thought the remotes were not communicating; had to be towed to dealership again, truck sat there for a few days, dealership said it started up, they did diagnostics, found nothing wrong and handed truck back to me. One week later, started the truck with remote and as I was walking to the truck, it died, completely shut down and had to be towed again. Truck has been at dealership for 17 days, diagnosed that the RF hub needs to be replaced. This truck is unsafe and unpredictable as it could just shut down at any time, cause an accident where people could get injured or killed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | STEERING,SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN | While starting to drive forward or backward turning, there is a shutter vibration felt slightly heard. It also has grinding shutter vibration at turn in intersection during the turn. The dealer on the 3 complaint visit replaced a front passenger CV Joint and bearing, upon picking the truck up it did it immediately again. Could not return as it was the service department closing time. There is also vibration grinding around 50 mph and up. Dealer states they can not duplicate issue. This is abnormal and concerns me as in a turn or higher speed, something breaks will put my family's lives and other motorist in danger. Also when using AC defrost vent stays open and will cause dew on the windshield. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | STEERING | While driving my vehicle a message came up stating (service Power steering) at which point I completely lost power steering. This almost caused an accident as I was towing 6500lb boat/trailer and had little to no control with my steering. The power steering lost function twice and after letting truck set for couple of hours the power steering functioned again. Note this is a Electric Power Steering (EPS) I am 2nd owner and vehicle is under mfg warranty but when I dropped it off at Dodge Dealership I found out that the truck was in at 5000 miles due to same issue and the rack and pinion was replaced. This issue has reoccurred at 8885 miles and poses a definite safety issue. . I am waiting for follow up from the service department to advise what the issue is, however after researching on line found this has been a common issue and I have not seen any recalls on the rack and pinon and EPS Power steering. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The Map installed by the factory in my new 2021 Ram truck displays incorrect speed limits at times. This is dangerous as it always shows 55mph even in a 25mph zone when it is malfunctioning. If you are in an unfamiliar area, and have not passed a physical speed limit sign, this incorrect information could cause a wreck if there are sudden curves or other dangers on that road. Ram refuses to fix under warranty saying it is third party software. I contacted the software company and was told that they have no warranty on their defective software and I would have to buy a new map for $149 and see if that fixes the issue. I questioned her further as she had said "see" if it fixes it and she said the speed limits that their software shows are not always correct and should not be relied on. She could not guarantee the new download would be correct. I am not sure how many accidents may have been caused by this defect but I would like this investigated and at the least make them add a prominent warning message that comes up anytime you activate the Navigation screen. At least that way the consumer would know not to rely on the info being presented to them as they drive. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | ENGINE | My truck just stalls while driving. It's happened several times but yesterday was the scariest. I turned left onto a fairly busy road only to notice I had a message on the screen to turn on the truck. Since we were rolling at 3-4mph, I switch into neutral and hit the start button which started the engine. At the next red light, the engine turned off and the emergency brake applied itself. The car behind me almost hit us because we were parked at a green light now. I quickly got it started and pulled over. There were no warning lights or messages. The dealer doesn't know what the issue is. Truthfully I'm a little concerned with my families safety while driving this truck. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | For my 2021 Ram Laramie 1500 the Auto Park engages on its on at random times. This has happened to me twice in the last 2 moths. No doors have been open and any passenger in the car has the seat belt engaged. Once it happened when no one but me was in the vehicle, the second time was with my family in the car. Fortunately it has only happened while leaving the neighbor hood and going less than 25 MPH. Each time, this happens, the AutoPark has been engaged and the light above D is flashing. While this is a neat safety feature it shouldn't happen while I'm driving and belted in. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Engine shuts off while driving 30-35 mph and automatically applies emergency brake | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | I made a right hand turn from a stop sign onto an active roadway when my truck’s engine shut off. The truck rolled to a stop and the dial shifter automatically changed to park and engaged the e-brake. No warning lights were triggered in the dash. Research suggests this is an apparent problem with the 5.7l e-torque engine, however, no information is available from FCA/Ram | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | I was driving to work and made a right turn (I did not come to a complete stop). As I finished the turn, maybe going 5-7 MPH, I pressed on the gas pedal to accelerate and the truck did not respond. A second later the truck turned off and the parking brake automatically engaged, so I came to a complete stop in the middle of a road with other vehicles around me. I had to put the truck back into park, start the truck, and disengage the parking brake, and then was able to continue my trip to work. There were no Check Engine Lights on before or after it happened. I spoke to the local Ram and multiple other dealerships further away and they said they haven't heard of this happening to any other Rams, and just to watch it and if it continues to happen call them back. A quick google search will show that it happens frequently to other people over the last year or so, some of which are at highway speeds, which is very dangerous. I am fortunate this was at low speed, because your parking brake engaging at highway speeds could obviously be catastrophic. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | This has happened 3 times at low speed 2-4 mph. I was making a right hand turn and the truck stalled & shut off. Information on the dash told me to put it into park. I stopped & put it into park. The emergency brake automatically engaged. After disengaging the emergency brake, I started my truck up. No issues once I started it back up & resumed driving. It happened twice at a traffic circle in my neighborhood & once as I was turning right at a light. Thank goodness no one was behind me or it would have possibly caused a rear end collision. This issue has not been reproduced by a dealer or independent service center. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact stated while making a right turn the vehicle shut off and independently shifted into park(P). The vehicle was restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The key fob was replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and the contact filed a complaint. The failure mileage was 15,319. | Crash: No Fire: No | 15,319 |
| Jun 2022 | ENGINE | The truck Shut down while driving 5 different times asking to be placed in Park. This creates a hazard as it stops in traffic. The truck restarts and resumes normal operation after these incidents. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | The contact owns a 2021 RAM 1500. The contact stated that while driving his vehicle at approximately 2 to 3 MPH, and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle started to accelerate. The contact stated that the harder he would depress the brake pedal, the more aggressively the vehicle would accelerate. The contact stated that while he was in the drive-thru, the vehicle accelerated into a vehicle in front causing him to crash. The failure occurred on several occasions while in drive or in reverse. A police report was not filed. The contact sustained back injuries and was pending medical attention for an examination related to the impact. The contact stated that he then had his vehicle towed to the dealer, where it remained in their possession. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 8,600. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed | 86,090 |
| Jun 2022 | POWER TRAIN | MY RAM TRANSMISSION FAILED TO SHIFT GEARS OUT OF FIRST GEAR. THE RPMS WENT TO 3000 TO REACH ONLY 16 MPH. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME ON PREVIOUS OCCASIONS. I HAVE 18,641 MILES ON THE TRUCK PRESENTLY. THE SAME EXACT THING HAPPENED TO ME AND RAM WOUND UP REPLACING MY TRANSMISSION AROUND 12,000 MILES. In addition, while making a right hand turn the parking brake automatically engaged and stopped the vehicle in mid traffic. I could not get the parking brake released. Eventually I had to hold down the parking brake button to restart the engine and to move forward to safety. The dealership was able to re-create this problem. The car was starting fine each and every day, however the dealership said that I needed a new battery which caused the problem. There are no red lights or warning signs of a low battery of my dashboard. This incident of almost got me T-boned at an intersection after making a right hand turn. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | While driving at slower speeds, the truck unexpectedly stalled and emergency brake engaged. The car behind us had to slam on their brakes due to the unexpected stop. There were no prior warning lights, messages, or symptoms prior to the failure. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | On two separate occasions while backing out of my driveway, my truck automatically jumped from 2WD, to 4WD Low/High both simultaneously and also locked the park brake. In both of these cases, I was able to place the vehicle in park, turn the vehicle off, let it set a minute or two and once restarted, the vehicle was in 2WD again and performed as it should. It was just concerning as to why it would do this. But on May 5th, I left home and was traveling down the road at approximately 20 mph, when the vehicle jumped into 4WD Low/High once again and the park brake engaged automatically. I always wear a seatbelt, but had I not had it fastened yet, I would have immediately been slammed into the steering wheel. It was towed to the dealership as it would never release from 4WD or the park break would not release either. They have had it since May 6th and cannot find anything wrong as it has since went back to "normal" as they said. But this is a major safety concern if it will automatically jump into 4WD at 20 mph......what will keep it from doing this at 70 mph on the interstate? That will cause all sorts of issues and probably fatalities if this happens. I do not feel safe being told that nothing is wrong with the vehicle and that I can pick it back up, and drive it until it happens again and they will see what they can find then. It might be too late at that point. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 2021 Dodge Ram Big Horn purchased at Golling Chrysler in Michigan, you know the auto capital of America. It has been in the shop four or five times in the past year (well over 30 days in shop) for the identical problem, slams on brakes for no reason - I named my truck, “death trap”! This problem has occurred on at least seven occasions and my dealer representative admonishes me for being annoyed with them that they can’t find the problem, since in their words, “it only happened seven times“. You might wonder why it’s been named death trap? Well, when your truck is driving normally, and then it stops, slams on the brakes, practically gives you whiplash, your chest is squeezed by the seat belt, and you’re stranded in the middle of an intersection or an entrance on a multi lane highway, or out of a parking lot, and you have no way to make it go until you have to sit for two or three minutes pushing buttons resetting restarting, its earned the name “death trap”. I am one of many many owners with this identical problem. Golling Chrysler seems to think it’s OK to keep sending me home in a death trap. Workers have mocked me, insulted me, and endangered me. I had to resort to calling Chrysler Corporation and now I have a case!!?. Didn’t take long, within five minutes of telling my story to the Chrysler representative my case was put into escalation mode and they actually used the word “buyback”. What are they going to do after they buy it back from me, sell it to some poor other victim that won’t know the difference? Chrysler time to admit, uncover, and rectify this problem before my death trap and those others out there actually cause a fatal accident. Listen to your customers and read all the complaints on this site that are exactly the same as mine. Better yet, take my truck, give it to your spouse, child or someone you love and then see how you feel about a truck that slams on the brakes for no known reason! I’m tired of being a sitting duck in this death trap! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Truck randomly shuts down and the engine light goes on and a warning about a throttle body issue, | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Vehicle randomly stalls while driving. Occasionally will also deploy emergency brake when it stalls | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds and making a turn, the vehicle stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 31,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 31,000 |
| May 2022 | ENGINE | At the time of accelerating the engine of the RAM truck, a fault occurs which does not allow the vehicle to work at the capacity it should. the engine begins to make some vibrations which are felt throughout the vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | My truck has stalled multiple times upon the first 5 minutes of driving. It has always been at low speeds of less than 15mph. Once the emergency braking system came on which required me to put vehicle in park to restart while in the middle of the road in traffic. Sometimes the engine dies after turning but sometime when going straight. Seems to always be associated with a slow down / stop via braking. This is a very hazardous situation that needs to be recalled an fix by the manufacturer. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |