2017 Ram 2500

Problems, Recalls & Reliability Report

Avoid This Year

Quick Summary

The 2017 Ram 2500 has 991 owner complaints filed with NHTSA — that's 12.4x the segment average of 80. The most common issue is brakes problems (50% of all complaints), specifically: my abs traction control light came on intermittently prior to 36,000 miles. took to dealer and they could not find problem. with 42,600 miles lights have come on and set a code. ram has said they will not fix the problem. a computer has failed. this is a safety issue and should be corrected by ram. . ⚠️ 7 fire reports filed.

7 fire reports 11 crash reports 10 injuries

991

Total Complaints

Recalls Issued

—/5

Safety Stars

12.4x

vs Segment Avg

Known Problems

BRAKES

491 complaints

50%

• MY ABS TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT CAME ON INTERMITTENTLY PRIOR TO 36,000 MILES. TOOK TO DEALER AND THEY COULD NOT FIND PROBLEM. WITH 42,600 MILES LIGHTS HAVE COME ON AND SET A CODE. RAM HAS SAID THEY WILL NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. A COMPUTER HAS FAILED. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD BE CORRECTED BY RAM.
• JUNE 26TH 2019 MY TRUCK FELT LIKE IT SHIFTED INTO 4WD ON ITS OWN, LATER THAT DAY I LOST ABS, TRACTION CONTROL AND CRUISE CONTROL. IT WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE IT TOOK 3 DAYS TO DIAGNOSE. WAS INFORMED THAT ABS PUMP AND ABS CONTROL MODULE NEED TO BE REPLACED AND THE PART IS NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABL
• INTERMITTENT MIL FOR ABS AND ELECTRONIC BRAKING SYSTEM, BECAME MORE FREQUENT OVER 1-2 WEEKS WHILE WAITING FOR APPOINTMENT AT DEALERSHIP (OUT OF TOWN). DAY OF THE APPOINTMENT, MIL CAME ON AND STAYED ON. DEALER READ CODES AND STATED 'INTERNAL CODES FOUND, REPLACE PUMP AND MODULE' THEN INFORMED ME PAR

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 1 fire reports💥 6 crashes

“MY ABS TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT CAME ON INTERMITTENTLY PRIOR TO 36,000 MILES. TOOK TO DEALER AND THEY COULD NOT FIND PROBLEM. WITH 42,600 MILES LIGHTS HAVE COME ON AND SET A CODE. RAM HAS SAID THEY WILL NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. A COMPUTER HAS FAILED. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD BE CORRECTED BY RAM. ”

— NHTSA complaint filing

ELECTRICAL

118 complaints

12%

• WHILE DRIVING DOWN HILL WITH LOAD, ENGINE DIED WITH NO WARNING LOST BRAKES AND STEERING.
• WIRE PINCHED BETWEEN SPARE TIRE AND BODY WAS SHORTED OUT AND CAUGHT THE SPARE TIRE ON FIRE. TRUCK HAD BEEN PARKED FOR OVER 7 HOURS. WAS TOLD ALL WIRES LEADING TO THE BACK ARE ON FUSES AND SHOULD HAVE BROKEN THE CIRCUIT BEFORE A FIRE BEGAN. *CW *TT CONSUMER STATED THAT THE OWNER REPORTED A FIRE AT R
• TAKATA RECALL. THE RADIO IN MY RAM 2500 IS NOT WORKING WITH MY CELL PHONE. THE RADIO FREEZES UNTIL THE TRUCK IS TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED. THIS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED

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

“WHILE DRIVING DOWN HILL WITH LOAD, ENGINE DIED WITH NO WARNING LOST BRAKES AND STEERING.”

— NHTSA complaint filing

SPEED CONTROL

89 complaints

• WITH CRUISE SET AT 75 MPH, SPEED WOULD DECREASE TO AROUND 71MPH, THEN UNEXPECTEDLY AND RAPIDLY INCREASE TO 75. THIS HAPPENED REPEATEDLY AND I STOPPED USING IT FOR ABOUT 3 WEEKS. I TRIED IT ON RETURN TRIP AND IT WORKED FINE. *TT *TR
• MY RAM 2500 DIESEL WAS IN CRUISE CONTROL ON A 4 LANE HIGHWAY WITH PERIODIC STOP LIGHTS WHEN I PUSHED HEAVILY ON THE GAS PEDAL TO ACCELERATE WHILE PULLING A 13,000 LB TRAILER. WHEN I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE GAS, THE ENGINE STAYED IN FULL ACCELERATION MODE. FULL BRAKING WAS NOT SLOWING THE VEHICLE MUCH
• JUNE 26TH 2019 MY TRUCK FELT LIKE IT SHIFTED INTO 4WD ON ITS OWN, LATER THAT DAY I LOST ABS, TRACTION CONTROL AND CRUISE CONTROL. IT WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE IT TOOK 3 DAYS TO DIAGNOSE. WAS INFORMED THAT ABS PUMP AND ABS CONTROL MODULE NEED TO BE REPLACED AND THE PART IS NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABL

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

“WITH CRUISE SET AT 75 MPH, SPEED WOULD DECREASE TO AROUND 71MPH, THEN UNEXPECTEDLY AND RAPIDLY INCREASE TO 75. THIS HAPPENED REPEATEDLY AND I STOPPED USING IT FOR ABOUT 3 WEEKS. I TRIED IT ON RETURN TRIP AND IT WORKED FINE. *TT *TR”

— NHTSA complaint filing

STEERING

49 complaints

• TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 RAM 2500. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO PULL TO THE RIGHT WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL DEALER (SOUTH COUNTY RAM IN GILROY 455 AUTOMALL DRIVE, GILROY, CA 95020) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT AN ALIGNMENT WAS NEEDED. THE VEHICLE WAS R
• WHEN IN MOTION, THE TRUCK WILL SUDDENLY BREAK INTO A VIOLENT "DEATH WOBBLE". IT HAS OCCURRED AT SPEEDS ANYWHERE BETWEEN 40 AND 75 AND NOT ALWAYS WHEN A SLIGHT BUMP IN THE ROAD IT HIT.
• FRONT TRACK BAR BUSHINGS ARE WORE OUT AFTER LESS THAN 45000 MILES. THE FRONT END MAKES A NOISE AND SHAKES WHEN YOU TURN THE WHEEL. THIS HAPPENS BOTH STOPPED AND AT ANY SPEED.

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

“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 RAM 2500. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO PULL TO THE RIGHT WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL DEALER (SOUTH COUNTY RAM IN GILROY 455 AUTOMALL DRIVE, GILROY, CA 95020) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT AN ALIGNMENT WAS NEEDED. THE VEHICLE WAS R”

— NHTSA complaint filing

DRIVER ASSIST/CAMERAS

49 complaints

• Service Electronic Brake and ABS lights flash on with dash chime indicating failure while operating the vehicle. No code stored. Intermittent issue - after reading other complaints it appears that this is a serious issue across all Ram owners. Dealer indicated that numerous truck owners are having
• The ABS light constantly beeps and flashes. It is available for inspection. We are not sure if it is unsafe. We had it hooked up to the code machine from a dealership and they said it definitely needs to be fixed. Yes it has been confirmed. Not inspected from the Ram dealership yet because I was
• My 2017 Ram with less than 14000 miles has no a steady “service ABS system “light on:checking on internet this seems be to happening to ALL Ram models.

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

“Service Electronic Brake and ABS lights flash on with dash chime indicating failure while operating the vehicle. No code stored. Intermittent issue - after reading other complaints it appears that this is a serious issue across all Ram owners. Dealer indicated that numerous truck owners are having ”

— NHTSA complaint filing

Estimated Repair Costs

BRAKES(~50K mi)

$500

ELECTRICAL(~50K mi)

$500

SPEED CONTROL(~50K mi)

$500

STEERING(~50K mi)

$500

DRIVER ASSIST/CAMERAS(~50K mi)

$500

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

🔍 Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist

Based on 991 owner complaints for this specific year, here's what to check or ask about:

☐
BRAKES: MY ABS TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT CAME ON INTERMITTENTLY PRIOR TO 36,000 MILES. TOOK TO DEALER AND THEY COULD NOT FIND PROBLEM. WITH 42,600 MILES LIGHTS HAVE COME ON AND SET A CODE. RAM HAS SAID THEY WILL NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. A COMPUTER HAS FAILED. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD BE CORRECTED BY RAM.
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
ELECTRICAL: WHILE DRIVING DOWN HILL WITH LOAD, ENGINE DIED WITH NO WARNING LOST BRAKES AND STEERING.
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
SPEED CONTROL: WITH CRUISE SET AT 75 MPH, SPEED WOULD DECREASE TO AROUND 71MPH, THEN UNEXPECTEDLY AND RAPIDLY INCREASE TO 75. THIS HAPPENED REPEATEDLY AND I STOPPED USING IT FOR ABOUT 3 WEEKS. I TRIED IT ON RETURN TRIP AND IT WORKED FINE. *TT *TR
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
STEERING: TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 RAM 2500. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO PULL TO THE RIGHT WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL DEALER (SOUTH COUNTY RAM IN GILROY 455 AUTOMALL DRIVE, GILROY, CA 95020) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT AN ALIGNMENT WAS NEEDED. THE VEHICLE WAS R
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
General: Get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic ($100-$200)