Dodge RAM Reliability by YearBest & worst years, problems & recalls — NHTSA data
Comparing used Dodge RAM options? We analyzed 10 model years (2003–2012) using real NHTSA complaint and recall data so you can spot stronger years, avoid riskier ones, and know what to inspect before buying.
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Model-year trends show patterns — they can't tell you whether this car was crashed, flooded, or rolled back. A VIN check can.
- Accident & damage history
- Odometer rollback records
- Open recalls & title brands
Based on NHTSA complaint data, the Dodge RAM has 10,128 owner complaints and 46 safety recalls across model years 2003–2012. The most reported issue area is AIR BAGS. 2005 drew the most complaints; 2011 drew the fewest.
- Make
- Dodge
- Model
- RAM
- Model years analyzed
- 2003–2012 (10 years)
- Total NHTSA complaints
- 10,128
- Safety recall campaigns
- 46
- Crash-related complaints
- 690
- Fire-related complaints
- 188
- Worst model year (by complaints)
- 2005 (1,826 complaints)
- Best model year (fewest complaints)
- 2011 (0 complaints)
- Top reported issue area
- AIR BAGS
- Reliability signal
- Poor
By model year
Dodge RAM: which years to avoid & which to buy
Based on total NHTSA owner complaints per model year. Higher complaint counts indicate a riskier year to buy used — lower counts suggest a cleaner reliability record.
These years have the most owner complaints. Inspect carefully and always run a VIN check.
These years have the fewest owner complaints on record — lower risk starting points.
Crash test ratings
NHTSA NCAP crash test ratings
New Car Assessment ProgramNCAP crash tests measure how well a vehicle protects occupants in controlled frontal crash, side crash, and rollover scenarios. Stars are awarded per category (5 = safest). These laboratory results are independent of owner complaints and are performed by NHTSA engineers on new production vehicles.
NCAP crash test ratings for this model are not yet loaded or this vehicle was not tested in the years analyzed. NHTSA tests a subset of new vehicles each year. Check nhtsa.gov/ratings directly for the latest results.
What the complaint data suggests
PoorThe DODGE RAM has 10,128 NHTSA complaints and 46 recalls on record. 690 complaints involve crash-related incidents. This data reflects owner-reported issues submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- 10,128 total complaints filed with NHTSA
- 46 federal recall campaigns
- 690 crash-related complaints on record
- Review NHTSA complaint history for the most-reported components
- Check recall completion status at nhtsa.gov/recalls
- Verify service records for frequently complained components
Consult the by-year breakdown to identify model years with elevated complaint rates.
Consult the by-year breakdown to identify model years with fewer reported issues.
- Run a VIN check on the specific vehicle you are considering
- Verify all open recalls are completed at nhtsa.gov/recalls
- Request service records for the most-reported complaint components
- Have a certified mechanic inspect the vehicle before purchase
Problems by model year (best vs. worst)
Source: NHTSA public complaints database. Updated: Sep 2026
Safety recalls
NHTSA safety recalls
46 recalls foundSafety recalls are mandatory repair campaigns ordered by NHTSA when a vehicle defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety. Manufacturers are required to fix recalled vehicles free of charge. Always verify open recalls before buying a used car.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:MODULE
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST:POWER STEERING FLUID
STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST:POWER STEERING FLUID
EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS
STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:MASTER CYLINDER
POWER TRAIN:CLUTCH ASSEMBLY:PEDAL/HAND LEVER(MOTORCYCLE)
EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER
POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT
STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY
STEERING:LINKAGES
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER
EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL
STEERING:LINKAGES
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:MOTOR
STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER
STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:MOTOR
Source: NHTSA Recalls Database. Data covers model years 2003–2012. Always run a VIN-specific check below for the most up-to-date open recall status.
Common problems
What goes wrong most often
The vehicle systems owners complain about most, ranked from all 10,128 NHTSA complaints — these are the areas to inspect first on a used car.
Owner complaints
NHTSA complaint reports
10,128 totalThese are consumer-submitted safety complaints filed directly with NHTSA. Each complaint describes a real owner's experience. Complaints flagged as crash-related or fire-related are highlighted.
Adjustable pedals move side to side 2-3 inches making breaking unsafe by allowing foot to slip off of break onto the accelerator,
The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while refueling the vehicle, fuel started spilling out of the fuel filler neck. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic who determined that the fuel tank inlet check valve was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The failure mileage was 108,000.
The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Ram. The contact stated when refueling the vehicle, the fuel did not enter the fuel tank as intended, however, the fuel spilled out onto the ground. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was informed that the repair was not eligible for coverage under the warranty program SB-10056513-6651, which had a similar failure description. The failure mileage was approximately 3,000.
I purchased my 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 truck around May 2022 at a used car lot. It had low mileage so I thought I did great. Immediately after I brought it home, it began to die. I figured it had a really old battery so I purchased a new one. This one would last around 3 days instead of the one day before dying. I would drive it and jump it over and over. I tried to contact the dealer over and over but they would not respond to my calls. I wrote a terrible review about them in Yelp and they contacted me immediately, but when I attempted to schedule a time to drop the truck back off, they stopped responding again. About 9 months later the truck stopped turning over all together. We found that the fuel pump was the issue. It sat for a year until I had it towed to the mechanic, who fixed the fuel pump, but found that the car would only run for a few seconds. He continued to diagnose it, and after weeks, he tells me that there is something terribly faulty with the electrical system, but he is stumped as to what it is. He says he does not see where anyone has tampered with the system at all, but there is something mysterious about the electrical component. I have put so much money into this truck including having to pay insurance and a high monthly payment for a dead truck. Please help me. I can provide documents after I meet with mechanic who still has truck.
The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled, and then the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact stopped the vehicle and had to wait for over one hour before being able to restart the vehicle. The contact drove the vehicle to an independent mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the fuel pump relay had failed and informed the contact that there was a recall for the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V115000 (Electrical System) however, neither the VIN nor the vehicle was included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.
The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Ram 2500. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for both an oil change and to have the vehicle serviced for NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V352000 (Air Bags). The contact was later informed that there was another recall on the vehicle for NHTSA Campaign Number: 08V641000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part for the repair was not available. An appointment was then made to bring the vehicle back to the dealer on a later date for service. A few days later while the contact's husband was driving at 80 MPH with a horse trailer attached to the vehicle, the vehicle caught fire. The contact's husband managed to pull over and extinguish the fire. A police report was filed. No injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer where it remained their possession. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 256,000.
Read 14 more owner reports
My truck went into anti-theft mode for no apparent reason and stranded me on a hot day in a parking lot. The engine would not run for more than 2 seconds.
Airbag did not deploy. ACM signaled deployment but airbags did not inflate. Need assistance in finding out why the airbags did not fire. Det. [XXX] #[XXX] Vehicle Crimes/Traffic[ Unit Dallas Police Department [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Drivers side low & high beam headlight doesnt work. Bulb tests good, ground confirmed good. No power to high or low beam. Passenger side operates properly.
Driving and all of the sudden you get a death wobble, truck bouncing/ rattling making it hard to steer and won't stop until you slow down or stop. More than one date bit the one I will add below is most current
Driving and it will randomly have a death wobble...hit a bump or at a certain speed it will have a death wobble and is hard to control until slowed or stopped.
The air bag light is on and it has a recall the lights behind the gages went out and the engine has a knock at times
I was in a head on accident going approximately 40 mph. I was wearing my seatbelt. A Chevy Trailblazer Crossed the centerline and hit me head on at approximately 40 mph. The airbags did not deploy and the seatbelt also did not restrain. As a result I hit the steering wheel and broke my sternum & suffered numerous other injuries. The Incident was documented by police and has been reported to my insurance company, Auto-Owners Insurance. No one has inspected the airbags or seatbelts but the vehicle is available for inspection.
In the 4 years I have owned this 2007 Dodge Ram I have had to replace the wiper motor 5 times. I was at my fathers funeral, it was snowing and I started the truck but the wipers would not turn on. The wiper motor was just replaced in late fall of last year, less than 6 months. I've only put 12,000 miles on the truck in 4 years. 102,000 miles on.
The contact owns a 2007 Ram 1500. The contact stated while her son was driving approximately 70 MPH, the driver’s side front wheel suddenly separated from the vehicle causing the driver to nearly loses control of the vehicle before eventually stopping the vehicle. During the incident, no injuries were reported. A police report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was towed away. Upon inspection, it was discovered that the axle had fractured. The manufacturer was notified of the failure however, the local dealer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 56,200.
The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that after operating the windshield wipers, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was able to restart but the contact was unable to use the wipers and drive at the same time. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 137,008.
The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Ram. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, exhaust fumes were present inside the cabin of the vehicle. The contact indicated that the failure was caused by the exhaust manifold bolts shearing off, causing exhaust fumes to leak from the exhaust system into the cabin of the vehicle. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 185,000.
2007 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab 4WD - No interior lighting, No dashboard lighting. The interior lighting and dashboard illumination affects day and evening driving for different reasons. No ability to drive vehicle during evening hours or when there is no natural day lighting. Unable to see the speedometer, gas level indicator and temperature gauges. Exterior lights work, but inside the vehicle it is completely dark. There were no warning lamps or messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to discovery during evening hours due to dashboard not displaying or illuminating the warning lamps during day hours. So if something were to go wrong while driving during the day there is no way of knowing the issue and/or troubleshooting prior to failure. Replaced blown fuse in the Integrated Power Module - Cavity 35 - Mini fuse 15 Amp Blue - Description Cabin Compartment Node (CCN) Illumination. This course of action restored the interior lights and the dashboard lighting appeared to be working, however the warning lamps were displaying false information. For example, emergency brake light was on, but the emergency brake was not engaged. There is no way of knowing if the warning lamps are reporting accurate or inaccurate information. The vehicle was purchased used on 8/31/2021 - mileage 204,836. The information reported in this text above was not disclosed by the dealership. As of 9/1/2021 in process of having vehicle inspected by dealership to determine course of action. To date all communication has been verbal.
The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would not accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact also stated that the vehicle would not reverse whenever the pedal was depressed. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with the transmission needing to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 232,575.
The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while attempting to refuel the vehicle, the nozzle continuously stopped while refueling. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer and was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle. An independent mechanic and was contacted, and the contact was informed that the failure might be linked to a defective EVAP system. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and confirmed that the Vin was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 300,000.
Showing 20 of 10,128 total NHTSA complaints. Source: NHTSA Complaints Database
Check the exact car
Before you buy, check the exact Dodge RAM
These pages show model-year patterns across 10 years. Enter a VIN to verify the exact vehicle's accident history, title brands, odometer records, and open recall status before purchase.
The basics
How to read this data
Complaints, recalls, investigations — here’s what each number actually tells you about a used Dodge RAM, in plain English.
What is an NHTSA Complaint?
An NHTSA safety complaint is a report filed directly by a vehicle owner or driver describing a safety-related issue. Anyone can submit a complaint at NHTSA.gov. The number of complaints is a signal of how common a problem is — but complaints per model-year matter more than raw totals, since popular vehicles naturally receive more reports. The Dodge RAM has 10,128 complaints on record across 10 model years.
What is a Safety Recall?
A safety recall is a mandatory campaign issued by NHTSA when a vehicle component poses an unreasonable risk to safety or does not comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards. Unlike complaints (which are owner-reported), recalls are formally investigated and confirmed by regulators. Manufacturers must fix recalled vehicles free of charge. The Dodge RAM has 46 recall campaigns in the NHTSA database.
What Are Crash Complaints?
Crash complaints are NHTSA filings where the owner indicates a crash occurred as part of the incident. 690 of the Dodge RAM's 10,128 complaints involved a crash. This metric is particularly important because it indicates how often defects resulted in actual collisions — a key safety signal beyond general reliability.
How Is the Reliability Verdict Calculated?
The reliability verdict (Poor) is generated by analyzing the vehicle's total complaints, recall history, crash complaint ratio, fire complaint ratio, and top component failures relative to class averages. This verdict gives buyers a quick interpretation before they review year-level details and VIN-level history. It should be treated as one decision input, not a substitute for a VIN-specific report.
Why Do Newer Years Have Fewer Complaints?
Newer model years appear to have fewer complaints because there has been less time for owners to file them. Complaints accumulate over years of ownership. A 2020 model year vehicle will typically show fewer complaints than a 2015 model year even if it is less reliable — simply because fewer owners have had time to report issues. Focus on complaints per year of market presence when comparing across model years.
Fleet Data vs. Individual VIN
Everything on this page reflects aggregated data across all Dodge RAM vehicles on the road — not any specific car. Two Dodge RAM vehicles of the same year can have very different histories: one may have been in three accidents and have an open recall; another may be clean. A VIN check gives you the individual car's history: accidents, title brands, odometer records, service history, and real-time recall status.
What Are NHTSA Investigations?
When NHTSA receives a pattern of related safety complaints, it opens a formal investigation. A Preliminary Evaluation (PE) is the first stage — NHTSA determines if a safety defect may exist. If evidence is strong, it escalates to an Engineering Analysis (EA), which can result in a mandatory recall. The Dodge RAM has 0 investigations on record (0 active). Investigations listed above may have already led to the recalls shown on this page.
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How does the Dodge RAM stack up? Compare complaint history with similar vehicles.
By state
Check a Dodge RAM by state
Title-branding rules, flood-damage exposure, and salvage laws vary by state. Run a free VIN check or explore state-specific vehicle history guidance before buying a used Dodge RAM.
Research more
Keep researching before you buy
Compare brands and categories, then check the exact car's history by VIN.
Dodge RAM reliability — frequently asked questions
Is the Dodge RAM reliable?
Poor. The Dodge RAM has 10,128 NHTSA owner complaints and 46 recall campaigns across model years. A commonly reported issue area is AIR BAGS. Use year-level data as a pattern guide, then verify the exact car with a VIN check before purchase.
Which Dodge RAM years to avoid?
Years with the most NHTSA complaints: 2005 (1,826 complaints), 2006 (1,747 complaints), 2003 (1,358 complaints). Use these years as a shortlist for deeper inspection, and always run a VIN check on the exact vehicle before purchase.
What are the most common Dodge RAM problems?
Top reported issues: AIR BAGS (2,203 complaints); STEERING (1,978 complaints); POWER TRAIN (1,924 complaints).
Does the Dodge RAM have recalls?
Yes — 46 NHTSA recall campaigns have been issued for the Dodge RAM. Check nhtsa.gov/recalls or run a VIN check to see if your specific vehicle has open recalls.