RAM 1500 reliability by year
96 recall campaigns and 10,756 owner complaints across 14 model years. Best year to buy: 2026. Year to avoid: 2019.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
Years to avoid — and why 9 flagged on the NHTSA record
Cleaner on the data: 2024, 2025, 2026 . Still verify the specific vehicle.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 14 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 199, more than the 96 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the 1500 aggregated across 14 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a RAM 1500?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2026 RAM 1500 scores 8.6/10 — the strongest in the 2013–2026 range. 71 complaints on file, 7 active recalls. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which RAM 1500 year should I avoid?
The 2019 RAM 1500 scores 2.0/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 1,465 owner complaints with NHTSA, 30 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2019 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the RAM 1500 should I avoid?
On the NHTSA complaint and recall record, the model years to be most careful with are 2020 (avoid — the powertrain — 1 fatality report and 2 crash-related complaints on the powertrain); 2019 (avoid — the brakes — brakes: 65 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 3,000–80,000 mi); 2017 (avoid — the steering — 10 fire-related complaints and 1 crash-related complaint on the engine); 2016 (avoid — the electrical system — 15 fire-related complaints on the engine); 2015 (avoid — the engine — 28 fire-related complaints and 1 crash-related complaint on the engine); 2014 (avoid — the steering — 9 fire-related complaints and 2 crash-related complaints on the engine). The cleaner years on the data are 2026, 2025, 2024. This is our read of the federal data, not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection of the specific vehicle.
How many years of the RAM 1500 are tracked?
14 model years (2013 through 2026) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 96 distinct recall campaigns and 10,756 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 199 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the RAM 1500?
steering is the most-reported category — 2,549 complaints across 11 model years. Average shop repair runs about $700.