2023 Ram 1500

Problems, Recalls & Reliability Report

Avoid This Year

Quick Summary

The 2023 Ram 1500 has 310 owner complaints filed with NHTSA — that's 3.9x the segment average of 80. The most common issue is electrical problems (19% of all complaints), specifically: accelerating from a stop, turning hard right, engine shut off without warning. vehicle steering seemed unaffected, emergency brake engaged without warning, dash read “apply brake and push start button”- the standard start up message upon entering when parked and engine off. no other indicator lights.

14 crash reports 2 injuries

310

Total Complaints

Recalls Issued

—/5

Safety Stars

3.9x

vs Segment Avg

Known Problems

ELECTRICAL

59 complaints

19%

• Accelerating from a stop, turning hard right, engine shut off without warning. Vehicle steering seemed unaffected, emergency brake engaged without warning, dash read “apply brake and push start button”- the standard start up message upon entering when parked and engine off. No other indicator lights
• Incident #1: July 29 2023 Truck was purchased at 16 miles on the odometer and approximately at 160 miles the check engine light came on. The truck was coming to a stop when in sputtered, and the check engine light came on a few seconds after. The truck was drivable and was driven a few miles to my h
• There is a loud humming/tumbling sound when decelerating at lower roms. It is very loud, obnoxious, and distracting. It was so loud that I couldn’t hear an emergency vehicle coming up behind me to get over. I have found 100’s of complaints on forums with the same issue with the 5th gen rams. Regiona

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500💥 2 crashes

“Accelerating from a stop, turning hard right, engine shut off without warning. Vehicle steering seemed unaffected, emergency brake engaged without warning, dash read “apply brake and push start button”- the standard start up message upon entering when parked and engine off. No other indicator lights”

— NHTSA complaint filing

ENGINE

46 complaints

15%

• Accelerating from a stop, turning hard right, engine shut off without warning. Vehicle steering seemed unaffected, emergency brake engaged without warning, dash read “apply brake and push start button”- the standard start up message upon entering when parked and engine off. No other indicator lights
• The contact owns a 2023 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving approximately 4 MPH and making a left turn, the vehicle stalled inadvertently, nearly causing a crash with incoming traffic. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to roll the vehicle to the side of the roadway.
• While making a slow left turn the truck stalled without warning almost causing an accident with oncoming traffic. Once the truck stalled, I wasn't able to accelerate, and the car slowly rolled across two lanes of oncoming traffic. Once the car came to a stop the emergency brake engaged. I was abl

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

— NHTSA complaint filing

OTHER

41 complaints

13%

• I was sitting stoped in a parking lot and the vehicles etorque shut the engine off. When I took my foot off the brake the vehicle accelerated on its own and hit a light pole. Also airbags didn’t deploy. I was roughly 10 feet from the pole .
• There is a loud humming/tumbling sound when decelerating at lower roms. It is very loud, obnoxious, and distracting. It was so loud that I couldn’t hear an emergency vehicle coming up behind me to get over. I have found 100’s of complaints on forums with the same issue with the 5th gen rams. Regiona
• This Ram 2023 seems to have slipped from Park to DRIVE. Purchased New Aug 13, 2023 November 3 2023 I placed the vehicle, while on/running, in Park ...........exited the vehicle driver and shut the door, went into the passager compartment (opened the passanger door to remove an item from back area),

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

“I was sitting stoped in a parking lot and the vehicles etorque shut the engine off. When I took my foot off the brake the vehicle accelerated on its own and hit a light pole. Also airbags didn’t deploy. I was roughly 10 feet from the pole .”

— NHTSA complaint filing

BRAKES

35 complaints

11%

• While driving approximately 45mph electronic emergency brakes engaged almost causing wreck. At approximately 20 mph they disengaged and I was able to continue driving. No traffic I'm front of me and no debris to trigger "near miss".
• Automatic Emergency Braking, Is available 2 different occasions, the emergency brakes were engaged at low speeds in traffic areas, the first time was merging into an empty center turn lane at 10 mph or less. The second was approaching a red stop light with vehicles already stopped, again was less t
• I was in downtown Atlanta traffic, moving around 10 miles per hour. The truck suddenly shut off and applied the parking brake. Once restarted the battery light was displayed on the dash. This has happened approximately 10-12 times in the last year. I was lucky this one did not result in an accid

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500💥 3 crashes

“While driving approximately 45mph electronic emergency brakes engaged almost causing wreck. At approximately 20 mph they disengaged and I was able to continue driving. No traffic I'm front of me and no debris to trigger "near miss".”

— NHTSA complaint filing

TRANSMISSION

24 complaints

• Incident #1: July 29 2023 Truck was purchased at 16 miles on the odometer and approximately at 160 miles the check engine light came on. The truck was coming to a stop when in sputtered, and the check engine light came on a few seconds after. The truck was drivable and was driven a few miles to my h
• 9/28/2023 - As I was slowing the vehicle down at a stop sign, the vehicle suddenly switched from drive to park, and the parking brake was activated. The motor stopped operating and the light indicating the engine was not operating was on. I was able to start the truck without further problem. The
• The contact owns a 2023 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving 5 MPH, the vehicle independently shifted into park(P) and the steering wheel became stiff. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The mechanic was not able to determine the cause of the

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500

“Incident #1: July 29 2023 Truck was purchased at 16 miles on the odometer and approximately at 160 miles the check engine light came on. The truck was coming to a stop when in sputtered, and the check engine light came on a few seconds after. The truck was drivable and was driven a few miles to my h”

— NHTSA complaint filing

Estimated Repair Costs

ELECTRICAL(~50K mi)

$500

ENGINE(~50K mi)

$500

OTHER(~50K mi)

$500

BRAKES(~50K mi)

$500

TRANSMISSION(~50K mi)

$500

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

🔍 Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist

Based on 310 owner complaints for this specific year, here's what to check or ask about:

☐
ELECTRICAL: Accelerating from a stop, turning hard right, engine shut off without warning. Vehicle steering seemed unaffected, emergency brake engaged without warning, dash read “apply brake and push start button”- the standard start up message upon entering when parked and engine off. No other indicator lights
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
ENGINE: Accelerating from a stop, turning hard right, engine shut off without warning. Vehicle steering seemed unaffected, emergency brake engaged without warning, dash read “apply brake and push start button”- the standard start up message upon entering when parked and engine off. No other indicator lights
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
OTHER: I was sitting stoped in a parking lot and the vehicles etorque shut the engine off. When I took my foot off the brake the vehicle accelerated on its own and hit a light pole. Also airbags didn’t deploy. I was roughly 10 feet from the pole .
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
BRAKES: While driving approximately 45mph electronic emergency brakes engaged almost causing wreck. At approximately 20 mph they disengaged and I was able to continue driving. No traffic I'm front of me and no debris to trigger "near miss".
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
General: Get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic ($100-$200)