2018 Ram 1500

Problems, Recalls & Reliability Report

Avoid This Year

Quick Summary

The 2018 Ram 1500 has 889 owner complaints filed with NHTSA — that's 11.1x the segment average of 80. The most common issue is electrical problems (18% of all complaints), specifically: after getting back in my vehicle parked on a city street i restarted it and put it into drive. it would not move. i revved the engine but it still did not move. i finally shifted into park and back into drive again and them it worked. this has happened manly times before and the selector switch has . ⚠️ 9 fire reports filed.

9 fire reports 19 crash reports 24 injuries

889

Total Complaints

Recalls Issued

—/5

Safety Stars

11.1x

vs Segment Avg

Known Problems

ELECTRICAL

156 complaints

18%

• AFTER GETTING BACK IN MY VEHICLE PARKED ON A CITY STREET I RESTARTED IT AND PUT IT INTO DRIVE. IT WOULD NOT MOVE. I REVVED THE ENGINE BUT IT STILL DID NOT MOVE. I FINALLY SHIFTED INTO PARK AND BACK INTO DRIVE AGAIN AND THEM IT WORKED. THIS HAS HAPPENED MANLY TIMES BEFORE AND THE SELECTOR SWITCH HAS
• STARTED CAR IN MORNING AND BACK UP CAMERA FLASHED ON AND WOULD NOT COME BACK ON. PUT CAR IN PARK AND REVERSE AND STILL NO PICTURE. TURNED CAR OFF AND STILL NO PICTURE. THE MANUAL CAMERA BUTTON WOULD NOT ACTIVATE CAMERA EITHER.
• PASSENGER SIDE HEATED SEAT PREMATURELY TURNS OFF. DEALER STATES IT IS TURNING OFF BECAUSE IT IS REACHING MAX TEMPERATURE SO THE SAFETY MECHANISM IS SHUTTING IT DOWN SO IT DOES NOT BURN UP WIRING. ONLY A HANDFUL OF OTHER TRUCKS HAVE THIS PROBLEM. OTHER TRUCK OWNERS WITH THE SAME MAKE AND MODEL OF TRU

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 3 fire reports💥 4 crashes

“AFTER GETTING BACK IN MY VEHICLE PARKED ON A CITY STREET I RESTARTED IT AND PUT IT INTO DRIVE. IT WOULD NOT MOVE. I REVVED THE ENGINE BUT IT STILL DID NOT MOVE. I FINALLY SHIFTED INTO PARK AND BACK INTO DRIVE AGAIN AND THEM IT WORKED. THIS HAS HAPPENED MANLY TIMES BEFORE AND THE SELECTOR SWITCH HAS ”

— NHTSA complaint filing

ENGINE

153 complaints

17%

• I WAS DRIVING OUT OF MY DRIVE WAY, AND MY VEHICLE WENT INTO PARK BY ITSELF. IT APPEARED A STRANGE MESSAGE ON THE SCREEN SAYING 'CAR NOT IN DRIVE, SHIFT TO PARK'. ALSO MY VEHICLE DISPLAYED AN ALERT MESSAGE SAYING 'ALERT: ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL SYSTEM MALFUNCTION, THE VEHICLE ONBOARD DIAGNOSTIC S
• SUDDEN, MOMENTARY (1-3 SEC) DECELERATION ACCOMPANIED BY PARTIAL (?) ELECTRICAL POWER LOSS (NOTED DASHBOARD DISPLAY BLANKED OUT DURING LATEST 2 EVENTS). EVENT OCCURRED APPROXIMATELY 6 TIMES FROM FEB 2018 PURCHASE DATE THROUGH AUG 2018. EACH TIME THE VEHICLE WAS MOVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS OF BETWEEN 70
• TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 RAM 1500. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AND DECELERATED WITHOUT WARNING. ADDITIONALLY, THERE WAS A STRONG EXHAUST ODOR IN THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT SEVERAL PEOPLE BECAME ILL TO THE POINT OF THROWING UP AND ALMOST PASSING O

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 4 fire reports

“I WAS DRIVING OUT OF MY DRIVE WAY, AND MY VEHICLE WENT INTO PARK BY ITSELF. IT APPEARED A STRANGE MESSAGE ON THE SCREEN SAYING 'CAR NOT IN DRIVE, SHIFT TO PARK'. ALSO MY VEHICLE DISPLAYED AN ALERT MESSAGE SAYING 'ALERT: ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL SYSTEM MALFUNCTION, THE VEHICLE ONBOARD DIAGNOSTIC S”

— NHTSA complaint filing

FUEL SYSTEM

136 complaints

15%

• TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 RAM 1500. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS AT A FUEL STATION BEING REFUELED, THE FUEL PUMP NOZZLE BECAME STUCK AND WAS DIFFICULT TO REMOVE. THE DEALER (BOB BAKER CHRYSLER JEEP DODGE RAM, 5555 CAR COUNTRY DR., CARLSBAD, CA 92008, (760) 814-9664) INFORMED THE CONTACT TO CALL THE MANUF
• I OBSERVED A OWNER TRYING TO REMOVE THE GAS STATION'S FILLER HOSE AFTER SHUT OFF WITHOUT SUCCESS. ONCE THE VAPOR RECOVERY HOSE NOZEL WAS INSERTED, THE COLLAR ON THE HOSE LOCKED ON THE FILLER TUBE. IT WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO REMOVE, SO AFTER JERKING ETC IT FINALLY CAME OUT. THE PROBLEM IS THE ANGL
• TRUCK HAS LESS THAN A 1,000 MILES ON IT. MADE FIRST ATTEMPT TO FILL TANK-NOZZLE DIFFICULT TO PUT IN TANK SPILLED GAS ALL OVER, DIFFICULT TO REMOVE. NEEDED GAS AGAIN, MY SON TRIED PUTTING GAS AND HAD SAME ISSUE, BUT MORE DIFFICULT TO REMOVE. 3 TIME I TRIED FILLING-EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO GET NOZZLE

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 1 fire reports

“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 RAM 1500. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS AT A FUEL STATION BEING REFUELED, THE FUEL PUMP NOZZLE BECAME STUCK AND WAS DIFFICULT TO REMOVE. THE DEALER (BOB BAKER CHRYSLER JEEP DODGE RAM, 5555 CAR COUNTRY DR., CARLSBAD, CA 92008, (760) 814-9664) INFORMED THE CONTACT TO CALL THE MANUF”

— NHTSA complaint filing

OTHER

97 complaints

11%

• THE NAVIGATION AND CONTROL SYSTEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE UCONNECT SYSTEM- SYSTEM IS IN REBOOT STATUS FOR THE LAST 3 DAYS - 1000'S OF 2018 VEHICLES AFFECTED - REBOOTING EVERY 60 SECONDS AND LOSS OF NAVIGATION, BACK UP CAMERA AND OTHER FUNCTIONS. NO FIX SO FAR FROM CHRYSLER - AFFECTING JEEP, DODGE, AND
• MY U-CONNECT SCREEN IS BEING TAKEN OVER WITH WEATHER ALERTS SO OFTEN THAT IT IS DANGEROUS! THESE ARE COMING FROM SIRIUS TRAVEL LINK AND CANNOT BE TURNED OFF. ONE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE THEM BY CLICKING THE "X" OR "OK" EACH TIME AS THEY DO NOT TIME OUT OR OTHERWISE DISAPPEAR ON THEIR OWN ACCORD. PLEASE FOR
• WHEN MY TRUCK RAN OUT OF GAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FREEWAY OFF RAMP WE WERE UNABLE TO PUSH IT TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD BECAUSE THE BRAKES WERE LOCKED. I HAD AT LEAST FIVE GENTLEMEN OFFER TO HELP ME PUSH IT OUT FROM BLOCKING THE OFF RAMP BUT WE COULD NOT BECAUSE OF THE LOCKED UP BRAKES. I SAT THERE FOR

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 1 fire reports💥 1 crashes

“THE NAVIGATION AND CONTROL SYSTEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE UCONNECT SYSTEM- SYSTEM IS IN REBOOT STATUS FOR THE LAST 3 DAYS - 1000'S OF 2018 VEHICLES AFFECTED - REBOOTING EVERY 60 SECONDS AND LOSS OF NAVIGATION, BACK UP CAMERA AND OTHER FUNCTIONS. NO FIX SO FAR FROM CHRYSLER - AFFECTING JEEP, DODGE, AND”

— NHTSA complaint filing

STEERING

78 complaints

• I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 35-45 MPH WAS ATTEMPTING TO MOVE INTO THE RIGHT LANE AND I FELT MY STEERING WHEEL LOCK UP. IT WOULDN'T LET ME TURN MY WHEEL. SO THEN AS I ATTEMPTED TO SLAM ON MY BRAKES SO I DID T HIT A TREE THE BRAKES WENT TO THE FLOOR AND I SMASHED INTO THE TREE AND THE. I TO THE WOODS. I WAS T
• POWER STEERING FAILURE. POWER STEERING LOCKS UP INTERMITTENTLY, MORE SO WHEN MAKING A LEFT TURN. SERVICE POWER STEERING MESSAGE COMES UP IN DASH AND THEN DISAPPEARS AFTER A COUPLE SECONDS. THIS INCIDENT HAPPENED BOTH WHEN VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION MAKING A LEFT TURN IN AN INTERSECTION ALMOST CAUSING A C
• DIESEL ECODIESEL ENGINE CATASTROPHIC FAILURE WHILE DRIVING IN MOUNTAINOUS AREA. LOST ALL POWER IMMEDIATELY AND RESULTED IN INTERFERENCE WITH STEERING, BRAKES, AND NEED TO MOVE OFF OF THE ROADWAY TO AVOID OTHER TRAFFIC. VEHICLE ONLY HAS 11,300 MILES, FAILURE OCCURRED WITHOUT WARNING.

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500💥 4 crashes

“I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 35-45 MPH WAS ATTEMPTING TO MOVE INTO THE RIGHT LANE AND I FELT MY STEERING WHEEL LOCK UP. IT WOULDN'T LET ME TURN MY WHEEL. SO THEN AS I ATTEMPTED TO SLAM ON MY BRAKES SO I DID T HIT A TREE THE BRAKES WENT TO THE FLOOR AND I SMASHED INTO THE TREE AND THE. I TO THE WOODS. I WAS T”

— NHTSA complaint filing

Estimated Repair Costs

ELECTRICAL(~50K mi)

$500

ENGINE(~50K mi)

$500

FUEL SYSTEM(~50K mi)

$500

OTHER(~50K mi)

$500

STEERING(~50K mi)

$500

Estimates based on average reported repair costs. Actual costs vary by location, shop, and severity.

🔍 Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist

Based on 889 owner complaints for this specific year, here's what to check or ask about:

☐
ELECTRICAL: AFTER GETTING BACK IN MY VEHICLE PARKED ON A CITY STREET I RESTARTED IT AND PUT IT INTO DRIVE. IT WOULD NOT MOVE. I REVVED THE ENGINE BUT IT STILL DID NOT MOVE. I FINALLY SHIFTED INTO PARK AND BACK INTO DRIVE AGAIN AND THEM IT WORKED. THIS HAS HAPPENED MANLY TIMES BEFORE AND THE SELECTOR SWITCH HAS
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
ENGINE: I WAS DRIVING OUT OF MY DRIVE WAY, AND MY VEHICLE WENT INTO PARK BY ITSELF. IT APPEARED A STRANGE MESSAGE ON THE SCREEN SAYING 'CAR NOT IN DRIVE, SHIFT TO PARK'. ALSO MY VEHICLE DISPLAYED AN ALERT MESSAGE SAYING 'ALERT: ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL SYSTEM MALFUNCTION, THE VEHICLE ONBOARD DIAGNOSTIC S
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
FUEL SYSTEM: TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 RAM 1500. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS AT A FUEL STATION BEING REFUELED, THE FUEL PUMP NOZZLE BECAME STUCK AND WAS DIFFICULT TO REMOVE. THE DEALER (BOB BAKER CHRYSLER JEEP DODGE RAM, 5555 CAR COUNTRY DR., CARLSBAD, CA 92008, (760) 814-9664) INFORMED THE CONTACT TO CALL THE MANUF
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
OTHER: THE NAVIGATION AND CONTROL SYSTEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE UCONNECT SYSTEM- SYSTEM IS IN REBOOT STATUS FOR THE LAST 3 DAYS - 1000'S OF 2018 VEHICLES AFFECTED - REBOOTING EVERY 60 SECONDS AND LOSS OF NAVIGATION, BACK UP CAMERA AND OTHER FUNCTIONS. NO FIX SO FAR FROM CHRYSLER - AFFECTING JEEP, DODGE, AND
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
General: Get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic ($100-$200)