2021 Ram 1500
The Verdict
The 2021 Ram 1500 has 654 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are engine (315 complaints) and body (136 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 17/100, it earns a "Total Klunk" rating. If you're shopping for a Ram 1500, consider the 2020 model year which has 7% fewer complaints.
Safe Bet
The 2020 has 7% fewer complaints
View the 2020 Ram 1500 dashboard →
Klunk Score: Total Klunk
Among the most complained-about vehicle years on record. Strongly consider alternatives.
How is this calculated?
The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.
Recalls 8
Active safety recalls from NHTSA for this vehicle year.
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2021 Ram 1500 vehicles equipped with 5.7L eTorque engines. The powertrain control module software may cause an incorrect fuel mixture condition in the e...
Risk
An engine stall can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will update the Powertrain Control Module calibration software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 27, 2023. Owners may contact FCA US, LLC customer service at 1...
Reported Apr 11, 2026
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Ram 2500, Ram 3500, and 2021 Ram 1500 Classic pickup trucks. The side air bag inflatable curtain (SABIC) assemblies may have been manufactured...
Risk
An air bag that deploys improperly can increase the risk of injury in a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the SABIC assemblies, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 17, 2022. Owners may contact FCA US, LLC customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA US, LLC...
Reported Apr 11, 2026
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2021 Ram 1500 pickup trucks. The Trailer Reverse Steering Control Module (TRSCM) may prevent the rearview image from displaying. As such, these vehicle...
Risk
A rearview camera that does not display an image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will update the TRSCM software. Interim owner notification letters were mailed on January 19, 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed on February 22, 2022. Owners may contact FCA US...
Reported Apr 11, 2026
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Ram 1500, Ram 2500, Ram 3500, Ram 4500, and Ram 5500 vehicles. The steering column control module may cause the driver's side air bag not to de...
Risk
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-...
Reported Jun 11, 2025
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Ram 1500 and 2023 Ram 2500 vehicles. The trailer reverse steering control module (TRSCM) may prevent the rearview image from displaying when t...
Risk
A rearview image that does not display while in reverse decreases the driver's visibility of the rear view, increasing the risk of injury or crash.
Remedy
Dealers will update the TRSCM software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 1, 2023. Owners may contact FCA US, LLC customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA US, LLC's num...
Reported Sep 2, 2023
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2021 Ram 1500 vehicles equipped with a trailer reverse steering module (TRSCM). The rearview camera image may not display. As such, these vehicles fail...
Risk
A rearview camera that does not display an image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
Remedy
Dealers will update the TRSCM software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 24, 2021. Owners may contact FCA US, LLC customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA, US, LLC's nu...
Reported Oct 6, 2021
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2021 Ram 1500 vehicles. The incorrect-size spare tire may have been installed, which does not match the tire size and inflation pressure information on ...
Risk
A driver that relies on the incorrect spare tire inflation pressure on the tire placard label may inflate the spare tire incorrectly, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the spare tire assembly, free of charge. The owner notification letter was mailed on September 9, 2021. Owners may contact FCA US LLC customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA ...
Reported Sep 9, 2021
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Ram 1500 Classic SLT trucks. Certain vehicles were built without the retaining clip that secures the master cylinder push rod to the brake ped...
Risk
A separated brake pedal can result in the driver being unable to apply the service brakes, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Owners are advised to not drive their vehicles until they receive instructions on the inspection and repair, as necessary. FCA US will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and install the push ...
Reported Jan 2, 2021
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Under the Hood
Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.
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Worst Problems
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See how the 2021 Ram 1500 stacks up against rivals.
Complaints
I am experiencing a severe, life-threatening stalling issue with my 2021 Ram 1500 equipped with the 5.7L HEMI eTorque system. While driving at low speeds through a neighborhood (between 5 and 15 mph), the engine suddenly and cleanly shuts down without any prior warning, sputtering, or illumination of dashboard error lights.As soon as the engine stalls while the vehicle is in motion, the truck's transmission safety system triggers 'AutoPark' and instantly activates the electronic parking brake. This causes the truck to violently slam to a complete stop in the middle of the roadway, locking the rear wheels. After coming to a complete stop, the vehicle can be immediately restarted and will drive normally without storing any diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs).This exact failure mode matches the dangerous behavior outlined in NHTSA Recall 23V-265 (FCA Recall 37A). However, the manufacturer's database lists this recall as 'completed' on my specific VIN. The software update either failed to permanently resolve the issue, or a hardware defect within the eTorque electrical/grounding system is mimicking the safety defect. The sudden, uncommanded braking in active traffic poses an extreme risk of a rear-end collision or crash. This has happened a few times while the vehicle was under warranty
On 6/9/2010 I was accelerating up a ramp to merge with traffic on Rt146 north . I had reached the top of the ramp and as I viewed the oncoming traffic behind in the mirror I began to shift into the right lane. Suddenly the engine light started flashing, my truck immediately lost power and slowed to 40mph. The truck that had been well behind me was suddenly swerving to avoid my truck . I nearly got rear ended by a truck which would have probably killed my daughter and I.We both were in shock , I pulled over as soon as I could .Does someone need to be killed before action is taken. Safety should prevent incidents like this . Hindsight is no good. I think my kids are precious but Dodge must think their lives are cheap . That was something the engine manufacturer should be held accountable for. The rocker arms and lifters suddenly stopped working in two cylinders because of a fault in those engines known to Dodge. The dealership diagnosed the issue and gave me a quote of $4500-$6000 to repair the extensive damage from that incident. The lady in the service department said I was a victim of the well known Pentastar Tick .I can’t afford it. To add insult they offered me $6000 to buy it. No local independent mechanic wants to tear the engine apart . So my truck is sitting in our driveway. I am paying a loan and upside down in it. I can’t fix it and I can’t sell it. I have made every payment. I am certain there are other dodge customers who have been in close calls or worse over their vehicle suddenly losing power . Isn’t this the perfect example of dangerous . I think so.
Loud winning sounds in engine, louder during excelleration. Dealer service center found the eTorque to be bad and i was told not to drive it. And there is no fix or parts for it. Not sure when or if they will get the parts. No recall no part no fix!!
The leather-wrapped dashboard on my 2021 Ram 1500 is bubbling and delaminating on both the driver and passenger sides. The material is lifting and separating from the base, creating glare and reflections that impair forward visibility while driving. It also raises potential concerns with passenger airbag deployment due to the distorted/bubbling surface over the airbag module area. This is a widespread known defect on 2019–2021 RAM trucks with leather dashboards. I have an open case with Ram Customer Care (#96620269) where only partial coverage was offered. Attached are photos showing the bubbling/delamination on both sides. This defect affects safe vehicle operation. Please investigate.
In January I experienced a “backlite leak” that allowed water to enter the cab of my vehicle. As a direct result of this water intrusion, my RFH (Radio Frequency Hub) module failed due to electrical shorting caused by moisture exposure. This failure was sudden and completely outside of my control and was not the result of misuse, neglect, or normal wear and tear. Not to mention the risk it put my family in as I was driving with my wife and daughter when the module failed and caused total power failure. I was driving down the road with my family in the vehicle when without any warning the truck completely shut down and didn’t have any power. I brought it to the dealership I bought it from and they stated they fixed the leak and replaced the RFH. Fast forward to this past week, there was another leak in the rear window. The dealership then stated it was a faulty back window unit that needs to be completely replaced. Stellantis (formerly FCA) previously acknowledged this defect through extended warranty coverage. However, my vehicle’s model year was later excluded despite being affected by the same known issue. This exclusion is particularly concerning given that the defect ultimately caused collateral electrical damage beyond the window itself. Given the documented nature of this issue, its prior recognition under extended warranty, and the risk of safety it put my family in I wanted to document this issue
On 12-4-2025 I purchased a set of kumho mavis mountaineers apt tires at the Thomson GA. location. They didn't balance the tires when they were installed. So I had to go back for them to be balanced. After 5 months my truck was still riding really rough and the tires had worn considerably more than they should have so I called Mavis about this problem and was instructed to go to the Evans GA location on 5-22-2026 for a tire inspection. This location said all for tires were dry-rotted and I haven't had these tires for 7 full months and have put 22,000 miles on them. One tire has worn to the point of being slick and this is the only vehicle my family has right now. This has been on going since the date of purchase and there is a good chance these tires will cause an accident.
I purchased a 2021 Ram 1500 North Edition (VIN: [XXX]) on XXX. As of last week, I noticed fluid leaking from under the engine compartment of the truck. I crawled under the truck and found that this five-year old truck has an oil pan that has rusted and rotted on the bottom and side leading to a leak of motor oil. I searched this online and found that this is a common issue amongst this model in this time frame and that it can cause a "catastrophic" loss of oil pressue while driving. I checked recalls and technical service bulletins and found no mention of this issue. Upon speaking with the service department of Hume's Chrysler, Jeep Dodge, and Ram of Waterford, PA, I was informed that they have seen this issue and that it is not covered by any warranty or recall because it's always caused by rust. This was only noticed because my wife's vehicle is in the shop and I parked in the garage causing me to notice it on the garage floor. My truck is normally parked in our gravel driveway and the oil leak went unnoticed. The truck was down approximately one-quart of oil when this was noticed. Had this not been noticed when it was, I fear that this issue could have caused an incident on the highway while the engine oil pressure was increased. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Both exhaust manifold cracked causing exhaust fumes to leak in to cab
The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there were abnormal sounds coming from the exhaust, the exhaust was leaking, and the contact discovered that there were cracks on the exhaust manifolds. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the exhaust manifolds and gasket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact did research and was made aware of an unknown NHTSA Campaign Number however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the manufacturer stated that NHTSA was responsible for adding each VIN to a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
My 2021 RAM 1500 ecodiesel was subject to an NHTSA recall (23V-263). The recall included a replacement High pressure fuel pump (HPFP) due to a mechanical defect in the Bosch CP4.2 high-pressure fuel pump (HPFP) that causes the pump to fail prematurely and destroy itself internally. The HPFP was replaced under the recall over two years ago, only for the new fuel pump to fail catastrophically and send parts through the fuel loop. The failure has been confirmed by a manufacturer dealership service center (Huntington Beach, CA). The failure lead to immediate engine shutoff while driving in traffic. The vehicle could not be moved out of a busy street under its own power. There were no warning signs prior to failure.
2021 Ram 1500, rear window leaked after it rained. (Common problem with these trucks, even a class action law suit because of this issue). Leak was bad enough to cause severe electrical damage, truck will not start. There is an extended warranty related to this issue BUT according to Ram my truck does not qualify…..
Vehicle serpentine belt is faulty and has required multiple replacements. The belt has cause multiple close calls with traffic accidents
Made several stops and on the last one when I went to start the vehicle it wouldn't start. Used jump pack and it started. Had a non-flashing check engine light and a service ESC light. Decided to drive across town to auto store and have them check battery and replace if bad, When I pulled into the auto store parking lot the truck died and wheels locked up. (Very sudden stop) All four gear selector lights (PRND) were lit. Thought to myself "I'm glad this didn't happen on the roadway." Turns out the battery was indeed bad, and a new battery got me running again.
[XXX] Fire occurred while driving [XXX] my Ram 2021 and it was like a mini blast with a lot of sparks as I saw in a rear-view mirror. Everything went out on the dashboard and the car stopped at the Top of Wolf Creek Pass [XXX] . I got out of the car and saw a small fire burning under the car. The fire under the car went out on its own. The very shape of the hole (perfectly round) in my muffler indicates an explosion that occurred simultaneously. Also, the fused edges of the round hole indicate a high temperature during this explosion and fire. I disagree that this fair damage [XXX] my Ram 2021 3.0 ecodiesel [XXX] is considered from Progressive insurance as simple "wear and tear." estimate only $1669,78. Garber Collision Pontiac repaired the Ram 2021 by 04.24.2026 and replaced the damaged wiring harness ($1161 self-pay) as required by Progressive. After this repair, the Ram 2021 was unable to move and was delivered to the Tucson Ram dealer on 05/04/2026. The dealer did not indicate the root cause of the damage in the estimate. The car was also returned to me by the dealer. When I asked the dealer on 05.12.2026 to indicate the root cause of the damage, the dealer replied that he was not aware of such a similar damage and indicated that the warranty on the car has expired and there are no open recalls. But The dealer's initial assessment from 05.13.2026 (estimates $9325.25) indicates the fire was caused by a failure of the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) cooler, which is a known issue (similar to recall VB1/19V-757) where the cooler cracks, leaks coolant, and causes a fire in the intake manifold. This is a component failure resulting in an explosion/fire, not typical wear. I need a diagnostic report that specifically mentions the EGR cooler failure as the source of the fire. I give my full consent for Ram Manufacturing to send an independent inspector to me for Ram 2021 3.0 Ecodisel INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I was driving at freeway speeds when the vehicle lost engine power and all the electronics in the vehicle stopped functioning. I was able to safely get the side of the road and stop the vehicle. Had vehicle towed to dealership. Tech inspected remote frequency hub (RFH) and observed corrosion on the circuit board. It looked as if water intrusion had occurred inside the vehicle, entered the RFH, causing corrosion and circuit failure. Believe intrusion occurred in the third brake light at the top of the cab. I am reporting this matter because a failure in the RFH caused the vehicle to stop functioning. I was lucky to be traveling on a straight, wide road and could safely get to a stop. I don't believe this would have been the case if I was on a curve or narrow road.
The exhaust manifold on both sides of the motor have cracked and have broken bolts. The Ram dealer confirmed it and says it is a known issue that the manufacturer will not fix. With the crack and broken bolts, exhaust fumes are leaking out. It gets nauseating in the cab of the truck if the windows are up for too long. My independent mechanic is set to replace the manifolds with aftermarket ones due to literature saying the OEM will end up the same way. No dash lights have illuminated.
air bags, warning lamps on, it could be dangerous. don't know if it's been checked no accidents yet.
The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start and was unable to be jump-started. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed, and it was determined that fuel was not reaching the fuel housing. The contact was informed that the CP4 high-pressure fuel pump was previously replaced under an undisclosed recall in 2024. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer, who had previously completed the recall repair. The contact was informed that the secondary fuel pump located in the engine compartment needed to be replaced; however, the repair would be an out-of-pocket expense. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.
I was only allowed 3 components to choose from, but I want to make certain that Im including the these additional components that has been failing:Forward Collision Warning, Engine,Fuel/Propulsion System,Engine,Lane assistance/ Departure, and Lighting. There could be more to include but heres the dangerous issue I encounter everyday I utilize my vehicle,that has yet to be fixed nor addressed appropriately when I articulate EXACTLY what I feel,& see occur.My safety & everyone esle has been put at risk everyday which caused my 1st accident which I predicted was potentially likely since May 1,2025. It occurs exactly the same everytime just like the 1st terrifying experience: Id be stopped at a red light,intersection waiting for green light. With foot on brake between 5 to 10 seconds later I can feel the brake disenaging with my foot fully and physically on the brake simultaneously my vehicle screens will light up indicators erractically,(ghost touch,touch screen digitizer failure), while LUNGING FORWARD 5-7 ft on it OWNS,simultaneously screen blackout,& vehicle screen system reset followed by vehicle putting itself in emergency brake.This puts everyone around at RISKS AS MY VEHICLE OPERATES ON ITS OWN, which caused an accident at a red light where my truck plowed into the vehicle in front of me.Ive waited for an independent service contractor to evalute on 4 different occasions which they failed to appear or make contact on THEIR desired scheduled dates.The dealership has failed to reproduce due to unsatisfactory failed service repair attempts, discrepancies in verbal & documention.Absolute lack of concern for my safety or interest in issue, as at least 2 comeback services were met with breach of contract by dealer.The DEALERSHIP has been the only ones servicing my vehicle & according to their top tier diagnosis components successfully checked out in contrast to my many reoccurring service request for same issue.Prior to failure no warning lamps or messages appeared.
The vehicle experienced an overheating condition immediately after being picked up from dealership service on April 11, 2026. Within a short distance of driving, a warning appeared and the vehicle became unsafe to operate, requiring it to be pulled over and towed. The dealership later stated that coolant was low but also reported no leaks. This condition should have been identified and corrected while the vehicle was in their custody prior to release. The failure created a safety risk because the vehicle could not be operated safely on the roadway and required immediate removal from traffic. The issue occurred without prior warning before the failure following service.
654 total