Worst years for a RAM 1500

Owners have filed 16,726 complaints about the RAM 1500 with NHTSA across model years 2009 to 2026. More of them are about the engine & cooling than anything else.

Avoid

2019 RAM 1500

2,154 complaints — the highest FaultScore of any year, mostly electrical system.

Cleanest on record

2009 RAM 1500

47 complaints — the lowest FaultScore of the graded years.

Every RAM 1500 year, graded

The grade compares each year against the rest of this model's own run — never against another car. Click any bar or row to open that year's report.

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded
Year Grade Complaints Crashes Fires Median miles Most reported
2026 B 127 3 2 5,275 Electrical System
2025 B 635 14 7 5,000 Electrical System
2024 B 126 7 2 9,000 Electrical System
2023 B 340 20 1 17,000 Electrical System
2022 C 1,037 39 7 27,000 Engine & Cooling
2021 C 1,146 41 7 30,257 Engine & Cooling
2020 C 902 36 13 20,000 Engine & Cooling
2019 F 2,154 112 17 17,250 Electrical System
2018 C 915 34 12 29,275 Electrical System
2017 D 1,189 110 20 35,000 Steering
2016 D 2,110 124 60 50,000 Engine & Cooling
2015 D 1,977 113 88 63,000 Engine & Cooling
2014 D 2,413 151 38 60,000 Steering
2013 D 1,608 108 15 60,000 Steering
2009 A 47 0 0 79,300 Transmission & Drivetrain

What breaks on a RAM 1500

Across every model year on file. Follow a row for that part's complaints and the year it was worst.

Engine & Cooling 2,665 15.9%

Worst in 2015

Steering 2,637 15.8%

Worst in 2013

Electrical System 2,332 13.9%

Worst in 2019

Fuel & Propulsion 1,509 9.0%

Worst in 2016

Worst in 2015

Brakes 1,267 7.6%

Worst in 2016

Other & Unspecified 1,233 7.4%

Worst in 2019

Airbags 568 3.4%

Worst in 2014

Worst in 2025

Worst in 2016

Suspension 435 2.6%

Worst in 2014

Body & Structure 412 2.5%

Worst in 2019

Worst in 2019

Lights 288 1.7%

Worst in 2025

Exactly what failed on a RAM 1500

The named sub-assemblies behind those complaints, across every model year.

Body 347 38.6%
Automatic Emergency Braking 222 24.7%
Adaptive Cruise Control 80 8.9%
Warnings 59 6.6%
Blind Spot Detection 56 6.2%
Warnings 49 5.5%
Manifold/Header/Muffler/Tail Pipe 24 2.7%
Rearview System Braking 23 2.6%
Assist 20 2.2%
Instrument Cluster/Panel 19 2.1%

Complaints filed over time

Every complaint about every RAM 1500, by the month it reached NHTSA.

Feb 2013 peak 368 Sep 2026

RAM 1500 problems by state

Where owners filed from. Heavier states are usually just bigger markets, but a part that fails in heat or salt shows up here first.

Compare the RAM 1500

Side by side on complaint history. Remember that raw totals track how many were sold as much as how good they were.