Car Defect Radar
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Built from NHTSA complaints and recalls collected for this model, generated October 26, 2026. Totals reflect what has been collected, not every complaint ever filed.
Urgent recall on this model.

At least one recall carries a do-not-drive or park-outside warning. Confirm by VIN that the repair was completed before driving or buying this car. The fix is free at a dealer.

Recalls

4 total · 4 to confirm

Safety issues the manufacturer must repair for free. A recall means confirm the fix was done, not walk away.

Electrical system recall

Park outsideRecall 23V060000 · Feb 2023

An electrical short in the relay can result in an engine compartment fire with the ignition on or off, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy
Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will replace the relay, free of charge. This will be a Phased campaign. Phase 1 will include 2023 model year vehicles. FCA US will notify dealers on or about 3/23/2023 and begin notifying owners on or about 4/5/2023. Phase 2 will include 2022 model year vehicles and Phase 3 will include 2021 model year vehicles. FCA US will notify dealers and owners on or about 4/27/2023 for Phase 2 and 5/11/2023 for Phase 3. Interim owner notification letters informing owners of the safety risk were mailed March 28, 2023. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed April 5, 2023. Owners may contact FCA US, LLC customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA US, LLC's number for this recall is 13A. This recall is an expansion of and supersedes recall number 21V-798.
Status
Park outside and away from buildings until repaired. Dealer fixes it free.
What to do
Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.

Electrical system recall

Park outsideRecall 21V798000 · Oct 2021

A vehicle fire increases the risk of injury.

Remedy
Owners are advised to park these vehicles outside of buildings or structures, and not near other vehicles, until the vehicle has been remedied. Dealers will inspect and, if needed, replace the Solid State Intake Heater Grid Relay ("Relay"); if FCA US Recall ID Y08 (NHTSA Recall ID 21V-163) is open, then insulating material will be applied to the Relay after inspection. Owner notification letters were mailed November 10, 2021. Owners may contact FCA US, LLC customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA US, LLC's number for this recall is Y76. This recall has been superseded by 23V060.
Status
Park outside and away from buildings until repaired. Dealer fixes it free.
What to do
Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.

Airbags recall

Confirm it was repairedRecall 25V765000 · Nov 2025

A driver's side air bag that does not deploy as intended increases the risk of injury in a crash.

Remedy
Dealers will replace the steering column control module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed beginning December 11, 2025. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is 14C. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning November 13, 2025.
Status
Remedy available. Confirm by VIN that this repair was completed.
What to do
Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.

Engine recall

Confirm it was repairedRecall 22V642000 · Aug 2022

An internal loss of communication can result in a loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy
Dealers will replace the ECM, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 20, 2022. Owners may contact FCA US, LLC customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA US, LLC's number for this recall is Z87.
Status
Remedy available. Confirm by VIN that this repair was completed.
What to do
Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.

Owner complaints by system

26 total

Unverified reports owners filed with NHTSA, grouped by the part of the car. Useful for spotting patterns. Open a group to read recent examples.

Engine & powertrain

Minor
22

Most reports here involve transmission slipping.

transmission slipping 13sudden stalling 7
A recent report: Dealership confirmed K1 and K2 snap ring failure on a 22 Dodge Ram under warranty with 15933 miles. Transmission was manufactured in August of the truck build. On [XXX] while driving my 22 Ram 5500…
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Dealership confirmed K1 and K2 snap ring failure on a 22 Dodge Ram under warranty with 15933 miles. Transmission was manufactured in August of the truck build. On [XXX] while driving my 22 Ram 5500 the truck lost all forward gears while coming down the mountain with a loaded truck camper and pulling a trailer with an ATV. Truck was below GVWR. This truck had 15933 miles and 24 months old. All servicing intervals were met and serviced at a certified Dodge dealership. The truck was traveling at 25 MPH down hill in steep terrain on a dirt road. The exhaust brake and tow haul mode was selected and operational. The vehicle shuddered and made a thump and had an associated check engine light with an Adaptive Cruise Control caution indication. The vehicle started to rapidly speed up downhill and I gently applied the brakes to regain control. I coasted approximately 2 miles to find a safe pull off point in the mountains with no forward gears. After the vehicle was safely stopped I was able to confirm the malfunction with no forward gears and reverse only. I was fortunate to be able to flag a ride after hiking out to the [XXX] to get my wife and I out of the National Forest and get cellular service. The nearest service provider was the Ram dealership in Lewiston Idaho. I made arrangements and the Truck was delivered the next day by a semi tow vehicle. We incurred a two night stay at the Hampton Inn to get repairs lined up and arrange travel home. After multiple conversations with the dealership and a trip down there to discuss the issue with the dealership they finally diagnosed and fixed the problem after 33 days sitting on the lot. The truck was delivered back to me on 9 October. The diagnosis of the K1 and K2 snap ring poses a serious safety issue for owners and operators of this vehicle. This malfunction caused some significant financial burden as well due to the truck being inoperative and away 140 miles from home. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11623278 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

Electrical & infotainment

Minor
1

Most reports here involve fire.

fire 1
A recent report: Received notice 8 months ago that the electrical relay that is used for grid heater when starting the vehicle may catch fire causing the entire vehicle to burn to the ground. I contacted RAM…
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Received notice 8 months ago that the electrical relay that is used for grid heater when starting the vehicle may catch fire causing the entire vehicle to burn to the ground. I contacted RAM immediately and they stated there is no fix available. 8 months later I contacted RAM again and they stated that a fix was in the works but not available to me. I later contacted a dealer to buy a new truck and found they had a stop sell on RAM trucks and the fix was made available to them so the trucks can be sold. RAM should be taking care of trucks already sold and are on the road first not trucks waiting to the sold on the lot. Those are the vehicles that risk public safety. There is no risk with unsold truck sitting idle in dealer parking lots other than profits. RAM is colluding with their dealerships to sell truck at the risk of public safety. NHTSA is warned by this complaint that they will be found lax in enforcement if they do not require RAM to correct sold truck first. I have contacted by Senator and notified him of the concern with NHTSA. I currently have to park my truck on the street as required by RAM in their recall notice and my insurance premiums increased as a result.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11518432 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

Steering, suspension & tires

Worth reading
3

Most reports here involve loss of steering. Of these, 1 mention a crash.

loss of steering 2
A recent report: Our driver told us that he lost steering. At 35 mph on a open highway (which is confirmed by our gps). He also has a clean driving record and has been driving box truck for decades with no incident…
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Our driver told us that he lost steering. At 35 mph on a open highway (which is confirmed by our gps). He also has a clean driving record and has been driving box truck for decades with no incident. Once steering was lost the box truck to slam in into the barrier twice , than roll onto its side. There where no other cars involved in the accident and the truck is now totaled. There is so much damage done to the truck it is hard to pinpoint the failure point. The center link is broken and the tie rod end is snapped off. The truck only has 38,000 miles on it. The air bags weren't deployed and the driver had to be pulled out of the truck. The police confirmed the steering failure point on the police report. There was no warning of the failure. Until the accident.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11642692 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

Is 26 complaints a lot? They were filed between 2022 and 2025, roughly 9 a year, which is about the same as the typical model in this dataset. We do not have sales figures for this model, so treat this as a rough volume, not a rate per car on the road. Popular, high-volume models naturally collect more complaints over time.

How does it compare with other years? The 2022 has 26 complaints on file, more than the 2019 (12). Of the 7 model years of the Ram 5500 we cover, the 2018 has the most (37). Older model years have had longer to collect complaints.