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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2021 | ENGINE | Have had truck 2 times stall while driving. Will completely shut down while driving 15-20 MPH after breaking then letting off the break pedal shuts down - the parking break will engage itself and the truck will go into park. To restart I have too disengage parking break manually. The incident happened June 23rd with 3500 miles then recently at 8k. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | While driving, the engine shuts off and a message displays that the vehicle needs a on/off power cycle to continue. I believe the failure was caused by a loose ground wire or controler that went offline and needs a power cycle to bring all controllers back online. Safety is a concern due to the engine shutting off and needing to coast the vehicle to a safe spot if it will reach one. The engine turning off and requiring a restart had happened 4 times in the 3 days of owning since new. The vehicle is still at the dealership awaiting parts needed to diagnose the problem. The only warning message was after the engine turned off and requires a power cycle to continue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | ENGINE | I got to a stop and the e-torque kicked in, as I departure from a complete stop the truck stalled as I entered the intersection to a complete stop, dash advised to put the vehicle in the park position before starting it, after a few minutes I was able to restart the truck and put it in drive to drive away. huge safety hazard and life threatening since I was on my way to take my daughter to school when this happened. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | Truck stalls while making hard turns, usually at slower speeds. Truck has also cut off while making a turn into traffic. I've read about a number of consumers having the same issue with the etorque Hemi engines. To answer the above questions: - Not sure what system failed but the vehicle is available for inspection upon request. - The safety of myself & family are put at risk anytime the stalling occurs, especially when turning on to a road with oncoming traffic as the truck could potentially shut off again automatically. - The issue has yet to be confirmed by a dealer. I take the vehicle in on 8/1/2021 to be diagnosed. - The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police or insurance representative as of yet. - No prior warning lamps, messages or other symptoms aside from stalling at different times. This issue has been ongoing for a few months now. The vehicle completely shut off once roughly last week sometime. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | While driving at any speed the engine will shut off an I will lose all communication to the 2 key fobs. After the vehicle stops it will engage the parking break and will not restart. I have had the vehicle towed 3 times for this issue and all three times were on a busy dangerous road. Local police had to come and stop traffic for a safe tow hook. Also makes it very difficult to exit heavy traffic on the highway with no ability to control the speed of the vehicle. Dealer has claimed to fix it 3 times, but all 3 times have failed. Dealer has test drove the vehicle and can reproduce the problem. What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Engine/Electrical system, yes it is available for inspection. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Engine stalls without warning at any speed. lose or power steering, breaks and engine power makes it extremely dangerous to merge at highway speeds or on narrow busy intersections. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes confirmed and reproduced by a dealer. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No, not yet. Only by a dealer Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No warnings prior to incidents | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | Rear camara does no show images | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Blurry back up camera image with surround view camera option | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | ENGINE | My vehicle's engine stalls (turns off) while driving at slow speeds. After stalling the transmission tries to put itself in park and the electronic E-brake is automatically applied causing the truck to grind and stop abruptly. This is a safety concern because the vehicle automatically and abruptly stops itself not providing an opportunity to safety move out of traffic. There is also high risk and concern of someone behind the vehicle colliding due to the abrupt stop. The vehicle has been brought to an authorized dealer with no codes or ability to duplicate the problem. No warming lights, messages, codes, or symptoms prior to or after it happening. The vehicle is brand new, happened twice with less than 4,000 miles on it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | Backup camera sometimes has blank screen and guide lines sometimes are not there and zoom function does not work when no guidelines. Truck has been to the dealership 5-7 times, in January they replaced the camera itself but did not fix the issue. I was to they cannot do anything at this point unless it fails at the dealer. It does not have the trailer backup camera. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Engine stalled at 10 to 15 MPH and the transmission shifted to park automatically. All games, cluster and dash controls were out, no power. This happened with a 8000 lb travel trailer attached. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | Was making a left had turn from a stop sign and my truck just shut off. I was going roughly 5 mph or less when this happened. I was able to coast for a second until the emergency brakes came on for some reason while the truck was still in drive. The only thing that came up on the dash was something along the lines of “put the vehicle in park and apply the brake to turn off parking brake and to start the vehicle”. The radio and all electrical related stuff seemed to have stayed on. This is the first time this has happened since I bought the truck and I only have roughly 700 miles on it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | ENGINE | Driving on city streets at low speed, the engine has stalled 3 times from April to July 2021. All 3 times occurred within 5-10 minutes of starting the vehicle. Approaching an intersection, then slowly making a turn (once turning left, twice turning right) and attempting to accelerate. As the accelerator is pressed, it’s as if no signal is sent to the engine, then the engine stalls. The info screen on the dash instantly says to press the engine start button, but when pressing, it then says to put the vehicle in park. The truck is brought to a stop in the street, then the truck automatically sets the parking brake (auto parking brake is deactivated in settings). The truck is then shifted into park, engine restarted and parking brake released. Each time this has happened has been at speeds less than 5mph. The vehicle has less than 5,000 miles. No warning lights prior to engine stalling, none showing after. All electronics in the vehicle continue to work properly as the engine stalls. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | POWER TRAIN | I turned left from the center lane into the driveway of my bank. After crossing the driveway apron, the truck engine died leaving me rolling through the parking lot. The vehicle sounded an alarm stating that it needed to be placed into Park to start the engine. The engine restarted after I came to a stop, placed the vehicle in park and pressed the ignition button. This failure could have happened at any time leaving me stranded in traffic, potentially at high speed where it could have caused a severe accident injuring myself or others around me. The vehicle has not been inspected yet by the dealer but will be when it's brought in for the pending recall related to the backup camera. I did inspect the Power Distribution module under the hood when I returned home and found that several of the relays were not fully seated in their sockets, with some of the relays physically tilted to the side. I then proceeded to properly seat all the relays. I also found that at least 75% of the fuses in the module were not fully seated in their sockets. There are numerous reports online of others that have experienced these same failures. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The truck previously shut off twice during a left and then a right turn. That was around 120 and 200 miles on the truck, respectively. Only other issue was during a turn the radio changed channel autonomously. Today with 1700 mile I backed it up and then put it in drive. The truck shut off and kicked every fault code on the truck. When trying to start it back it would not turnover and kept turning things on and off like the electrical system was possessed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | TIRES | Properly maintained factory installed tire had a no notice sidewall blowout at 50mph. There was no load in the bed. Noticed rough ride and tire pressure system went from properly inflated to 1. Kept the tire after replacing at a Firestone dealership. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | SERVICE BRAKES | Trailer brake controller failed while towing a new camper. I was getting a "trailer brake disconnected" and "Check Trailer Brake Wiring" message while towing. The issue was intermittent and unpredictable as to when the failure would occur. I almost wrecked, because of this issue. This is very dangerous, puts my safety and others at tremendous risk of the trailer and tow vehicle not being able to stop or cause sway. The trailer brake controller has been inspected before by Prestige Ram in Colorado. I had brought the vehicle in on 5/25/2021 to a the Ram dealership to service a different issue, the back up camera not working. They ordered a new trailer brake control module to fix that issue. The dealership service advisor said this is because the camera wiring runs through the trailer brake control module. On June 7th, I called the service advisor about the trailer brake malfunctioning and was told that it's related to the same issue as the back up camera not working. And, Replacing the brake controller when it arrives, will fix the trailer brake disconnect issue as well. As of today(6/18/2021) I am still awaiting for this part to be provided by the manufacturer and the repair to be completed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | AIR BAGS | Air bags sensor error light is on (red light) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | I started the truck and drove about a 1/4 mile in my neighborhood. I never got over 20 mph. I approached a red stop light to turn right. I stopped at the light to check for traffic. I then proceeded to turn right and 1/2 way through the turn the truck shut off without warning and it automatically applied the emergency brake. Luckily there were no cars coming in the right hand lane else we could have been hit. I am taking it to the dealership tomorrow for inspection. The info screen notified me that the emergency brake had been applied and that the transmission had been autoset to park. It said to apply the brake to start the truck (it has push button start). I did so and the truck started. I disengaged the emergency brake and the truck then drove normally the rest of the trip. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I was turning right, going less than 5 MPH when the truck stopped abruptly in the middle of the lane. A message came on the dash telling me to switch the shifter to park. The emergency brake was engaged automatically. I had only applied minimal accelerator and didn't have my foot on the brake. After a few seconds, I was able to disengage the parking brake and continue on my way. This was very dangerous as there were people behind me that may not have noticed my abrupt stop after turning. This puts the safety of myself and my children at risk. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | Pulled out into Traffic SEVERE lack of acceleration almost cause Me to get hit in the Driver side door. Got online and noticed a lot of People complaining about a Pedal Lag. This Is DANGEROUS and needs to be addressed. This is a 2021 Ram with 283 miles on it again this is a DANGEROUS issue | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Making a right hand turn into school parking lot at 7:11 am this morning the engine died, steering went stiff and emergence parking break set. Almost caused a very serious accident with injury's to multiple minors. Was moving 11 MPH with my foot on the brake into the right turn, when I let off the brake the engine died. The cluster screen told me to place the vehicle into park and release the emergency brake. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Backed out of garage, rolled down driveway and turned left onto my street. Drove about a tenth of a mile to the stop sign, pretty easy with light gas since truck was still warming up. Rolled slowly (2-3) mph to make a right turn lightly feathering the gas and 3/4 through the turn pressed a little more on the gas and truck died. Just before it came to a stop, the parking brake engaged and a message on screen said to place vehicle in park. Engine started back up after I came to a stop and put it in park. No codes or other messages displayed. If I was pulling on to a busy street there would have been a very high chance that I would have been hit. 2021 Ram 1500 hemi etorque with 800 miles on it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2021 | STEERING | At 10221 mileage totally lost the steering and at that time indicator displays "Power Steering Unavailable, Service Required". Lost control of vehicle. Stopped and re-started engine and indicator was off and steering returned for right hand turns.. Very difficult to turn left. At 10246 miles lost steering again and same display indicator came on. Dealer was very helpful. Steering returned after service and lost steering again at at 10,396 miles. Presently the vehicle will turn right easily and very difficult to turn left or to go straight it take extreme pressure on the steering wheel. Very uncomfortable to drive. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2021 | PARKING BRAKE,ENGINE | WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD WHEN THE TRUCK STALLED AND PROMPTED ME TO PUT IT INTO PARK TO START. IT THEN AUTOMATICALLY WENT TO PARK WITHOUT ME DOING ANYTHING AND APPLIED THE PARKING BRAKE ON ITS OWN. | Crash: No Fire: No | 3,292 |
| May 2021 | ENGINE | I WAS DRIVING DOWN A MOUNTAIN STREET WHICH GETS BUSY AROUND RUSH HOUR (5:30 PM) AND THE ENGINE SUDDENLY TURNED OFF. I HAD NO POWER. I WAS SCARED. I BARELY MADE IT TO USE THE BRAKES AND TURN ON A SMALL SHOULDER. I STARTED THE TRUCK AND MADE IT HOME. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |