RAM 3500 reliability by year
6 recalls and 2,218 owner complaints across 14 model years. Best year to buy: 2025. Year to avoid: 2018.
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 1 flagged on the NHTSA record
Cleaner on the data: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and others. 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
Common trouble spots across the 3500 aggregated across 14 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a RAM 3500?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2025 RAM 3500 scores 8.4/10 — the strongest in the 2012–2025 range. 33 complaints on file, 0 active recalls. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which RAM 3500 year should I avoid?
The 2018 RAM 3500 scores 6.8/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 763 owner complaints with NHTSA, 0 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2018 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the RAM 3500 should I avoid?
On the NHTSA complaint and recall record, the model years to be most careful with are 2015 (avoid — the powertrain — powertrain: 30 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 5,000–69,200 mi). The cleaner years on the data are 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020. 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 3500 are tracked?
14 model years (2012 through 2025) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 6 recalls and 2,218 owner complaints.
What's the most-reported problem on the RAM 3500?
brakes is the most-reported category — 641 complaints across 11 model years. Average shop repair runs about $450.