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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2021 | STEERING | Driving 30-35mph in city streets the truck suddenly could not be steered. The steering wheel could be moved lock to lock with one finger with seemingly no connection to the steering mechanism. The truck pulled to the right, striking several parked cars with the right front end of the truck. The police officer who made the report felt the steering wheel problem was the likely cause of the accident. There was no warning ahead of time such as dashboard warning lights, noise, smoke or other symptoms. The truck remains in a local body shop where the owner noted that he had never seen a similar steering wheel symptom in impacts much more extreme than 30-35 mph. Further inspection once the truck was placed on a lift reveals the steering column was snapped in two at the level of the firewall. Again, the body shop owner and his staff have never seen that occur before in any vehicle. Obviously a vehicle that suddenly loses steering control while moving is a clear and present danger for any occupants of my vehicle as well as anyone in nearby vehicles, thus my concern. I did report this immediately to FCA (Dodge) and they assigned an incident report but at the time I notified NHTSA 4 weeks after the accident, they had not ever gotten back to me. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | ENGINE | While performing left hand turn, braked to make turn, truck slowed down and engine cut off and display indicated put in park, emergency brake engaged. Had to come to complete stop and put in park to start back up. Had to manually disengage parking brake. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | While making a right hand turn from a stop at low speed, my truck completely stalled all electrical systems and dash indicators turned off or failed and the vehicle coasted to a stop. I was able to restart the truck using the normal start procedure and there were no further issues. This could have resulted in a traffic accident with potentially fatal injuries. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | - Started the truck after sitting overnight. - Drove about .5 miles to a stop sign, started to accelerate and the truck stalled. It automatically applied the Peking break. - After turning knob to Park and manually engaging/disengaging parking break a few time, truck finally started back up. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact stated while making a left turn, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the parking brake applied independently. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and drive to his destination. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 1,915. | Crash: No Fire: No | 1,915 |
| Sep 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | Just purchased truck a few days ago. Only 350 miles on it now. On 9-27-21 at approximately 8:50am, I was taking my son to school. I stopped at a stop sign and then proceeded to make a right turn onto the roadway when all of a sudden the engine cut off. Everything else stayed on in the truck. It would not allow me to apply the brakes, start the engine, turn the steering wheel, etc. It traveled across the roadway, into oncoming traffic lane, and then came to a soft stop by itself halfway on the roadway. It activated the electronic brake therefore I had to deactivate the brake, apply brake, turn the shifter to park and then restart the engine, disengage the parking brake again, and shift back into drive in order to drive. All this while in the wrong travel lane. Dealer and FCA has been contacted and could not find the problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | 350 |
| Sep 2021 | ENGINE | Vehicle stalls while driving leaving occupants stranded in travel lane. Restart times vary, with the shortest time to restart being ten minutes. Dealer service could not replicate. Our code reader found that a fuel pump circuit code PO627 was present. Dealer cleaned ground connection and released vehicle in five days. Three days later problem repeated and vehicle would not start (all video recorded) and it was necessary to have it towed back to dealer with only 153 total miles on odometer. I did not have my code reader so I couldn’t check before it was towed. Vehicle has remained at dealer for last 15 days with the problem unresolved | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES | I was involved in an accident in North Carolina in bumper to bumper traffic. At one point I had to hit my brakes when the peddle went to the floor and did not stop which caused me to hit a tanker vehicle in the rear end. I crunched up the front grill, hood, 2 quarter panels, radiator and undetermined other damages.. Just an FYI, the air bags also did not deploy. Consumer contacted the dealer and the mechanic came out to inspect the vehicle and claimed it was due to braking failure and the not deployment of air bags. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | POWER TRAIN | After accelerating onto a 30 MPH road, from a dead spot, engine RPMS spiked while Ecodiesel engine/ ZF transmission dropped into 1st gear with no warning. AFTER taking foot of accelerator and turning on warning flashers I noticed (HUD)heads up display that I was in 1st gear. I advanced gear shifter on steering wheel to 8th gear ASAP. Problem went away, but WHY INSTEAD of advancing up in gears and speed, IT WAS UNEXPECTEDLY DROPPED INTO 1ST Gear is MY CONCERN. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | PEB AND FCW with BRAKING did not work when truck hit a 90 gallon empty trash can at less than 6 mph. There was no damage to the truck nor the can. These systems are supposed to brake when the truck is about to hit something. If the can were a person, damage would have been done. The dealer service man said he thought it should have braked and scheduled to be looked at September 27, 2021 at 8 AM. There was no known warnings at the time of this incident in August 2021. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Ram 1500 Eco Diesel remains on after it was turned off. Has happened several times over the week to where we are scared to park in our driveway and garage. We don't have another vehicle right now since that is in the shop so we have no voiced but to take the risk and used it. Sensors come on when there is no object in site and truck breaks automatically where its causing a safety issue. I have video but I can't upload it since the system only takes pictures. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | AIR BAGS | Car accident just occurred that yielded in the truck being totaled (with driver injury) and air bags did not deploy. It is currently at the tow yard awaiting the insurance company's visit. It has not yet been inspected. There were no messages on the dash regarding the air bags prior to this accident. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | My 2021 Dodge Ram 1500 has stalled 8 times since purchasing the vehicle. The first occurrence was the day after purchasing the vehicle. In each instance, the circumstances have been identical: The vehicle speed is reduced to a near stop. The accelerator is applied gently. The engine cuts out. The vehicle places itself in park. The vehicle activates the parking brake. In each instance, the vehicle has stalled when attempting to merge into traffic. This vehicle defect creates a significant safety concern as in each instance, I have been without power, and had to re-start the vehicle while sitting in an active lane of traffic. Online forums dedicated to the 2021 Dodge Ram 1500 would indicate that my experience(s) are not isolated. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Driving on a residential street (less than 25mph) I approached a stop sign, stopped and then accelerated through the intersection, as I applied the gas, the truck stalled, shut down the engine, engaged the parking break and displayed numerous warnings about autobraking / parking systems. I don't have the exact details as it caught me off guard. This was on an active road, during work rush hour. I had to turn the knob back to park, restart the truck (parking brake was still applied so truck wouldn't move) shut it down again, restart again, manually turn off the parking brake and then the truck drove normally. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Truck stalled during slow speed right hand turn. When I attempted to hit the gas coming out if the turn it stalled. Display says to put in park. Emergency auto brake engaged when moving transmission into neutral to restart. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While driving, 6+ warning lights (Auto Emergency Braking (AEB) Unavailable Service Required, Service Electronic Stability Control, Service Trailer Brake System, Forward Collison Detection, Automatic Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Warning, Service Engine, and a module failure) appeared and then the truck shut off in motion. Had to pull over to put the truck in park and attempt to restart, took several tries. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | ENGINE | Taking a low speed (10mph) right turn into traffic the truck cut off and the emergency brake came on. Took 15-20 second to get the truck moving again. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | STRUCTURE | While driving on interstate at approx 70 mph...I heard and felt what seemed like an explosion. At first I thought a tire blew out, but within seconds I could hear wind noise coming from my sunroof (the fabric shade was closed). I could then hear what sounded like pieces of glass blowing around on top of the fabric. Once I found a safe place to stop, I was shocked to see that the glass pane of my sunroof was shattered. There was no vehicle within 100 yds in front of me and I didn’t pass under any bridges, etc. The glass simply exploded. I am thankful that the shade was closed otherwise I would have been showered with glass. The noise was so startling that at first I thought someone had fired a shotgun...it was that loud...loud enough to be a deadly distraction at highway speeds. The dealer claims that they have never heard of this happening, but my research today is contrary to that claim (https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/exploding-sunroofs-danger-overhead). The vehicle is at the dealership now. The rep has told me that he has no idea how Chrysler/RAM will handle this situation. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | 2021 5.7L HEMI e-Torque While traveling at approximately 20mph I slowed down to stop at a stop sign and the truck start shifting down as it should. At around 5/7mph it stops, the truck shifts to P and applies the Parking brake. I’m able to start the engine back up every time this happens but there’s something wrong for sure. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION | Have had my truck for only two weeks. The backup camera did not work with message saying “backup camera not available” and at same time electronic throttle control showed “service electronic control”. I shut the vehicle off and waited @ 1 min and stil showed same. Did restart again, same results. Then drove to restaurant and when I returned to vehicle @ 1-1/2 hour later both messages were gone. Backup camera now working and throttle message is gone. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | LANE DEPARTURE | I received my ordered vehicle recently and almost hit a car changing lanes because my right side mirror blind side monitor didn't light up. It wasn't until I spoke with my dealer that I found out Stelantis has removed the blind side monitoring from 2021 vehicles while still advertising they are available on all 2021 models. This is now a normal safety feature in most all vehicles sold for obvious reasons. Many people cannot twist around and take their eyes off the road ahead of them. Stelantis needs to install these in a recall. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 2021 Long Horn 5.7L HEMI e-Torque with 8800 miles - stalled 3 times at low speeds All 3 times have been a really slow speeds, almost coasting at a turn or a light and then realizing that the engine stalled. The 2nd time was in middle of an intersection. I was able to get it through the intersection and put into neutral and restart. The 3rd stall was immediately after at a Red light. The auto park engaged at about 2-3 mph right when the light turned Green and I almost got hit from behind before I could restart and get off the road. I've had my kids in the truck for two of these stalls and its a matter of time before this causes an accident. I made an appt at my dealer today, they looked at me with a blank stare like they have never heard of this issue. Also showing no more concern than if I was asking for a tire rotation. I'm sure I'll have to start at the beginning like many of you have documented. Frustrating that there is still no guidance to the dealers on this. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | On May 18th, 2021 my 2021 Ram 1500 Limited shut itself off while pulling out of my neighborhood. The emergency brake activated itself, and there were no error codes. I took to the dealership, and they could not replicate the issue and stated they found no problems. Today, on 7/31/21, it did the exact same thing, except this time I almost got hit by another vehicle. I have filed a second complaint with FCA, but this is definitely a serious safety issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | AIR BAGS | The contact owns a 2021 RAM 1500. The contact stated that while his son-in-law was driving at 30 MPH, another vehicle had rear ended his vehicle. The force of the collision then propelled the vehicle into the vehicle in front of him. Due to the force of the collision, his son-in-law's head hit the steering wheel which caused him to black out.The vehicle was then hit by two other vehicles on both the passenger and the driver side as the vehicle was in the middle of an intersection. The air bags did not deploy at anytime during the collision. The contact's son- in-law was taken to hospital and treated for a fractured right side knee and ankle as well as several bruises to various parts of his body. The contact stated that an occupant in another vehicle was transported by ambulance however, injuries were unknown. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed from the scene and impounded by the police. An insurance agent inspected the vehicle to assess the damage and an agreement was made to repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was initially notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The contact was also informed that a case manager would contact him; however, he never received a call. Months later, the contact called back the manufacturer and was informed that since the vehicle had been repaired; no further action from the manufacturer would be taken. The dealer was also notified of the failure and they also offered no assistance. The vehicle had been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 1,500. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 2 Towed Medical attention | 1,500 |
| Jul 2021 | ENGINE | While driving about 10mph the engine stalled and i could not restart or put it into park for 2 minutes. If i had been on a road instead of parking lot i would have been hit. I Jane etorque 5.7L v8 engine. There are many other reports of this issue reported online. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |