Stellantis recalls Ram 1500 pickups because instrument cluster can go blank

Here’s the short version: Stellantis is recalling more than 72,000 Ram 1500 pickups because the big 12-inch gauge screen in front of you can go completely dark — either right when you start the truck or while you’re driving down the road. When that screen goes blank, you lose the information the government requires you to have. That’s not a cosmetic glitch. That’s a federal safety compliance problem.

If you own a 2025 or 2026 Ram 1500 with the 12-inch digital instrument cluster, this one applies to you. Let me walk you through what’s actually failing and what you should do about it.

What actually goes wrong

The truck uses a 12-inch instrument panel cluster — that’s the digital display where your speed, warning lights, and gear indicator live. On the affected trucks, that cluster is running software that can make the whole display go blank. It can happen at start up, or it can drop out while you’re driving.

Here’s why that matters mechanically. When the cluster goes dark, it can’t show you two things the federal safety standards specifically require: the brake system warning light and the gear (shift position) indicator. In plain terms, the light that tells you something’s wrong with your brakes disappears, and the readout that tells you whether you’re in Park, Reverse, Drive, or Neutral disappears with it.

The brake warning light is your early alert that something in the braking system needs attention. If it can’t illuminate, you don’t get that warning at all. And the gear indicator matters more than people think — if you can’t confirm what gear you’re in before you take your foot off the brake, you can roll or lurch in a direction you didn’t expect. That’s a real crash risk, especially in a parking lot or on an incline.

Stellantis calls this out as a noncompliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards Nos. 102, 105, and 135. Those are the standards that cover the gear position display and the brake system indicators. This isn’t the company being cautious about a minor bug. The cluster physically can’t do what the law says it has to do when it goes blank.

What the filing says

According to the Part 573 Safety Recall Report for campaign 25V826, FCA US (Stellantis) opened an internal investigation into blank instrument clusters on September 10, 2025. On November 5, 2025, the company recognized this as a vehicle build issue. Then on November 21, 2025, its Vehicle Regulations Committee determined a safety recall was warranted.

The affected production window is wide. Trucks built between October 3, 2023 and November 12, 2025 are covered. The filing notes these clusters were built or serviced with the problem software, so it includes trucks that had the component installed during service, not just factory builds.

In total, 72,509 pickups are covered under this recall — 2025 and 2026 Ram 1500s.

What this means if you own one

1. Run your VIN. Not every 2025-2026 Ram 1500 is affected — only the ones built with this cluster software. The only way to know for sure is to check your specific VIN. Do it against NHTSA’s recall lookup and watch for the recall notice Stellantis is required to mail you.

2. Don’t ignore a blank screen. If your cluster goes dark at start up or drops out while you’re driving, treat it as the safety issue it is. You’ve lost your brake warning light and your gear indicator. Get it in to a dealer and mention this recall by number.

3. Confirm your gear before you move. Until this is fixed, don’t rely on muscle memory in a parking lot or on a hill. If the display isn’t showing your shift position, take an extra second to be sure of what gear you’re in before you let off the brake.

4. The fix is free. This is a federal safety recall, which means the repair — almost certainly a software update to the cluster — costs you nothing at the dealer. Don’t let anyone charge you for it. Keep every receipt and work order if you’ve already paid to have a blank-cluster complaint looked at, because you may be owed reimbursement.

5. Document your symptoms. If your screen has gone blank, write down when it happened and under what conditions — cold start, highway driving, whatever. That record helps the dealer and protects you if the repair doesn’t take the first time.

You can read the recall details on the 2025 Ram 1500 hub, and the source document is the NHTSA Part 573 report for 25V826.

The honest take

A blank gauge cluster sounds like a minor annoyance until you realize what it takes with it. Losing your brake warning light and gear indicator at the same time is exactly the kind of thing the federal safety standards exist to prevent. Stellantis appears to have caught this through its own investigation and moved it to a recall in a matter of weeks, and if the remedy is a software reflash, it should be a quick visit.

That said, a screen that can drop out while you’re driving is not something to sit on. If you own one of these trucks, run your VIN, watch your dash, and get the update done when the letter arrives. It’s free, and it fixes a problem you don’t want to be discovering at a stop sign on a hill.