2021 Ram 2500

Problems, Recalls & Reliability Report

Below Average

Quick Summary

The 2021 Ram 2500 has 154 owner complaints filed with NHTSA — that's 1.9x the segment average of 80. The most common issue is electrical problems (23% of all complaints), specifically: at a stop light after 10 min of normal driving on country and city roads my truck started smoking from front passenger wheel well. smoke intensified and quickly turned black. immediately pulled over and found flames burning through front passenger wheel liner and from around passenger side battery a. ⚠️ 14 fire reports filed.

14 fire reports 4 crash reports 1 injury

154

Total Complaints

Recalls Issued

—/5

Safety Stars

1.9x

vs Segment Avg

Known Problems

ELECTRICAL

35 complaints

23%

• At a stop light after 10 min of normal driving on country and city roads my truck started smoking from front passenger wheel well. Smoke intensified and quickly turned black. Immediately pulled over and found flames burning through front passenger wheel liner and from around passenger side battery a
• The contact owned a 2021 Ram 2500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V798000 (Electrical System). The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle with a fob key from inside his residence, he did not hear the engine start. The contact looked outside when he n
• My vehicle has a 12" screen in the dash. While Operating the Vehicle, weather notifications keep popping up. I've looked for ways to disable this "feature", even gone as far as cancelling the Sirius connected feature(by calling Sirius).These Pop-ups still persist and are distracting me from paying a

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 5 fire reports

“At a stop light after 10 min of normal driving on country and city roads my truck started smoking from front passenger wheel well. Smoke intensified and quickly turned black. Immediately pulled over and found flames burning through front passenger wheel liner and from around passenger side battery a”

— NHTSA complaint filing

ENGINE

26 complaints

17%

• At a stop light after 10 min of normal driving on country and city roads my truck started smoking from front passenger wheel well. Smoke intensified and quickly turned black. Immediately pulled over and found flames burning through front passenger wheel liner and from around passenger side battery a
• Driving highway speed and truck shut off completely. Took to dealer, no issues found. 800 miles later driving highway speed truck shut off again. Took to dealer, no issues found so far. Complete loss of power, power steering, power brakes, etc. Display read, "Press brake and push button to start" wh
• The contact owns a 2021 Ram 2500. The contact stated while approaching a stop sign or stop light, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle had to be placed in park and restarted. While driving at an undetermined speed, the vehicle stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the rim cove

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 5 fire reports

— NHTSA complaint filing

TRANSMISSION

23 complaints

15%

• traveling at slow speeds the motor has abruptly died, loss of steering, acceleration, and brakes were a result. Message came up on dash to shift the truck to park. The parking bake automatically was applied when vehicle slowed to approximately 3 mph leaving the truck stranded in the middle of a int
• In June 2021, this vehicle literally drove away while in the park gear. It was running and accelerated across a state highway, down an embankment and 200 feet into a cornfield while pulling a trailer. I immediately called Ram and they did perform an investigation. They subsequently offered to buy
• The contact owns a 2021 Ram 2500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V835000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact notified the local dealer of the issue and was informed that the dealer only received one part per week t

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

“traveling at slow speeds the motor has abruptly died, loss of steering, acceleration, and brakes were a result. Message came up on dash to shift the truck to park. The parking bake automatically was applied when vehicle slowed to approximately 3 mph leaving the truck stranded in the middle of a int”

— NHTSA complaint filing

BODY/STRUCTURE

12 complaints

• Electronic tailgate has unlatched itself and fallen open while driving 5 times now twice now resulting in damage and things falling out of rear of truck onto highway
• The tailgate unlocked and dropped, hitting the trailer jack and damaging the tailgate. The tailgate was locked and shut, this was confirmed before we left the house. The tailgate dropped sometime while driving to another location. The truck is available for inspection. This put others at risk as
• This truck was sold with a snow plow prep pack but after installing a snow plow the frame of the truck bent due to the pressure. Ram has redesigned their frame as of this model year 2021 and it is not capable of handling a plow. I know of three trucks in my local area that this has happened to and r

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

“Electronic tailgate has unlatched itself and fallen open while driving 5 times now twice now resulting in damage and things falling out of rear of truck onto highway”

— NHTSA complaint filing

FUEL SYSTEM

11 complaints

• 2020 RAM 2500 DIESEL 1900 MILES BEGAN TO LOSE POWER WHILE TRAVELING 70MPH ON THE EXPRESSWAY. I ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE TO NO AVAIL. I WAS TRAVELING IN THE FAST LANE AND CAUSED SERVAL VEHICLES TO ABRUPTLY CHANGE LANES AS TO NOT MAKE CONTACT WITH THE TRUCK. I ATTEMPTED TO EXIT THE ROAD, CHANGING MU
• Lost control of pedal no acceleration this has happened multiple times taken to dealership on multiple occasions. They can’t find a code for issue. Uconect reports the issue when it happens. It is a intermittent problem that occurs in some heavy traffic at times.
• Driving highway speed and truck shut off completely. Took to dealer, no issues found. 800 miles later driving highway speed truck shut off again. Took to dealer, no issues found so far. Complete loss of power, power steering, power brakes, etc. Display read, "Press brake and push button to start" wh

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 2 fire reports

“2020 RAM 2500 DIESEL 1900 MILES BEGAN TO LOSE POWER WHILE TRAVELING 70MPH ON THE EXPRESSWAY. I ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE TO NO AVAIL. I WAS TRAVELING IN THE FAST LANE AND CAUSED SERVAL VEHICLES TO ABRUPTLY CHANGE LANES AS TO NOT MAKE CONTACT WITH THE TRUCK. I ATTEMPTED TO EXIT THE ROAD, CHANGING MU”

— NHTSA complaint filing

Estimated Repair Costs

ELECTRICAL(~50K mi)

$500

ENGINE(~50K mi)

$500

TRANSMISSION(~50K mi)

$500

BODY/STRUCTURE(~50K mi)

$500

FUEL SYSTEM(~50K mi)

$500

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

🔍 Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist

Based on 154 owner complaints for this specific year, here's what to check or ask about:

☐
ELECTRICAL: At a stop light after 10 min of normal driving on country and city roads my truck started smoking from front passenger wheel well. Smoke intensified and quickly turned black. Immediately pulled over and found flames burning through front passenger wheel liner and from around passenger side battery a
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
ENGINE: At a stop light after 10 min of normal driving on country and city roads my truck started smoking from front passenger wheel well. Smoke intensified and quickly turned black. Immediately pulled over and found flames burning through front passenger wheel liner and from around passenger side battery a
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
TRANSMISSION: traveling at slow speeds the motor has abruptly died, loss of steering, acceleration, and brakes were a result. Message came up on dash to shift the truck to park. The parking bake automatically was applied when vehicle slowed to approximately 3 mph leaving the truck stranded in the middle of a int
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
BODY/STRUCTURE: Electronic tailgate has unlatched itself and fallen open while driving 5 times now twice now resulting in damage and things falling out of rear of truck onto highway
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
General: Get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic ($100-$200)