Complaint volume
644 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
644 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Ram 1500, grouped by component category.
644 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 104 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 36,644 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 80
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 47
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 44
POWER TRAIN 41
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 36
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 29
STEERING 24
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ENGINE 22
AIR BAGS 17
STRUCTURE 15
644 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| May 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | The vehicle shut off while in motion, slammed itself into park also while in motion, and applied the emergency brake in the middle of a busy intersection. It is currently at the dealership where they can find nothing wrong It | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | In July-2021 soon after purchasing Ram truck with EcoTec V8, I was slowing down to enter a driveway, at very slow speed of 2-3 mph and turning right and the truck stopped and shut the engine off. There was a car behind me that had to stop to avoid me. Then in April-2022 when slowing down in a residential neighborhood to make a left turn the truck abruptly stopped again, and shut off the engine. Some sort of error message flashed about Auto Braking disabled. This was in the middle of a roadway and both times could have caused significant accidents. It has not been confirmed by a dealer. There are Ram owner forums that talk about this issue at length and most end with the dealers dismissing the issue because they can't reproduce it but it is a very serious safety issue that appears to be affecting at least the 2020-2021 EcoTec mild hybrid V8 engine. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | The parking brake started displaying not available on the heads up display. It did this several times within 5 minutes. When I was coming to a stop at around 5 mph the vehicle shifted into Park and set the parking brake and stopped. The engine stopped as well. I had to restart the vehicle to get it going and the check engine light was on after that. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | ENGINE | On at least 12 occasions since purchasing the vehicle new, when driving at low speed (below 20 mph) the vehicle stalls. The engine turns off, leaving the vehicle undrivable in the middle of a road. This presents a significant safety issue as it leaves the driver stranded and vulnerable of an accident. The hazard lights are automatically triggered. The following information presents on the screen: “park brake auto engaged. Press brake plus push switch to release. Safe hold temporarily disabled.” In order to re-start the vehicle, the ignition must be turned completely off and then restarted again. The check engine light is illuminated (sometimes) and other times it is not. When illuminated, the following codes are present: P1C64, Hybrid Perf. Engine Speed Below Target During Autostart. Dealership refuses to acknowledge the issue (says cannot reproduce problem). The problem is intermittent, but is a significant safety hazard for the driver, passengers, and others on the road. Most recently (today) the failure happened in the middle of a busy intersection with cars coming at me. The first failure happened with only 1,200 miles on the vehicle. Vehicle now has 27,441 miles and problem continues with no resolution from Dealer. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | ENGINE | I was coasting to a stoplight to make a right turn. Just as I am starting the turn the truck's engine shuts off. I have enough energy to make the turn and coast to a stop. I put the truck in park and started it back up. It was a busy intersection so luckily I had enough time to get out of the way, otherwise, this could have caused an accident. There were not any mechanical issues or warning lamps/indications before the truck shut off. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | April 12, 2022 multiple warning lights ( check engine, electronic throttle, etc. ) appeared, screen warning to get to dealer to service. April 13, 2022 visited local dealer, earliest to service April 20, 2022. April 16, 2022 limp mode, restarted vehicle, restored normal operation with warning lights still showing. April 18, 2022, dealer serviced and stated fixed. April 19, 2022, warning lights and limp mode while driving on highway at 70 MPH. Managed to get to side of road in traffic, waited for break, turned around home. April 20, 2022 vehicle to dealer to repair. Still there as of April 28, 2022. "Star Case" opened. All diagnostics failed to locate problem, now trying various inspections / repairs per FCA technical. Dealer advises they have another similar vehicle ( 2021 Jeep Gladiator Eco Diesel ) with exact same situation so this is not one odd vehicle. Further extent of affected vehicles unknown. Safety issue due to vehicle going into limp mode with no warning, causing difficulty driving in traffic, especially at highway speeds, and risk of accident. Dealer and this owner note that all of this happened right after dealer completed recall for exhaust fluid software system. It appears likely that something done with this recall triggered these problems. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | ENGINE | Was making left turn in neighborhood truck shot off . Came to stop automatically went in to park , emergency brake came on restarted truck turned off brake drove away. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | ENGINE | Slowed down on residential street to make a right turn and after turn was completed the engine was off. There were no warning lights or chimes and engine stall was so smooth I didn't know it had happened. Auto start/stop was already disengaged as I do this every time I start the vehicle. Center cluster told me to shift to part and that auto braking (parking brake) had been engaged. The engine did restart as normal and was able to drive. All other accessories functioned as normal throughout the whole incident. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | ENGINE | The truck just stalls randomly and all lights come on. Then it puts the emergency brake on. You have to put it in park release the the brake and restart it and hope no one hits you. I brought it to the dealer twice so far. I also called Chrysler customer care. I have a case# 82559049. They did nothing for me and I requested to speak to a esupervisor. I haven't heard back. Both times they say no fault codes, they never heard of the problem and cant duplicate. The second time they stated they updated the PCM software and said it happened in the morning with right turns... They now also put electrical and body systems and successfully flashed ECU from old part number to current part number. I never told them anything with right turns. I'm bringing it to the dealer today. They left a part hanging under the seat. The engine also sometimes tics when first started then goes away. I'm very concerned for my safety and if I have any passengers. First time under a 1k miles in May 2021 then randomly since then .Last time March 2022 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | AIR BAGS | AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH, she drove over a speed bump and the vehicle stopped. The automatic emergency braking engaged. The warning message "Place Vehicle in Park and Restart” was displayed. The contact stated that the failure had reoccurred while driving. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 34,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 34,000 |
| Apr 2022 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2021 RAM 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 17- 20 MPH, the vehicle stalled with the parking brake warning light illuminated. The contact would shift to park and restart the vehicle and the vehicle would operate as intended. The vehicle was taken to be diagnosed but was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 56,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 56,000 |
| Apr 2022 | POWER TRAIN | Purchased truck with 4WD last November. Live in a snowy ice region. Truck randomly displays 4WD serv light and error message. Until the error clears itself, truck will not go into 4WD (four wheel drive), making it an unreliable vehicle during snow and ice storms, when traveling over the mountains, or when on dirt or sand roads. Additionally, this error can impact ABS functionality in some cases. Dealership has seen the truck four times, but has not fixed the issue. Now that the weather is warmer, the error is happening near daily. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |