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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
6 / 0
Average Mileage:
2,200 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2021 Ram 1500 engine problems

engine problem

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2021 Ram 1500 Owner Comments (Page 4 of 10)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #139

Jan 312022

1500 8-cyl

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

When driving at speeds above 45mph the truck loses acceleration out of no where. It will make grinding/shifting/stuck noises and rapidly going to unsafe speeds. I have been in HIGH traffic EVERY time this has occurred to me. This situation has put myself and my family in harms way too many times. I assume from my research this is a transmission/powertrain issue. This truck is a 2021, I am the first and only owner purchasing in 2021 early year. By three months in I had experienced the issue thinking it was a one off. It is not. I have taken the truck to Ram dealerships in TX as well as New Mexico and no one can seem to find the issue as according to them -??nothing shows up-??. I have a VERY detailed video of the issue happening as I was driving in 75mph. I have show it to the dealership with no solution from them. Latest service appointment was in October 2022-dealership could not find anything. The truck has been driven no more than 15 times from late October 2022-January 2023. The truck as of today January 31,2023 is currently at a collision shop, not related to this current issue but was caused by the Ram Dealership. I received an alert this morning (MOPAR) stating that the Powertrain malfunction indicator light has come on. Other attached information was ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL (ETC) WARNING LIGHT-If light is flashing when the engine is running immediate service is required and you may experience a steady RPM with no throttle control or engine stall and your vehicle may require towing. Transmission Temperature Warning Light, Charging System Warning Light also showed as concerns. I have contacted the current shop that has my truck in its possession to inquire what was done when the alerts wee received etc. Waiting on a call back from them. Bottom line, understanding that anything can happen with vehicles and not all can be replicated etc.,if Ram knows it-??s a known issue fix it so your drivers/consumers don-??t die. Can we enjoy our investment SAFELY Ram?

- Albuquerque , NM, USA

problem #138

Jan 192023

1500 6-cyl Diesel

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V767000 (Fuel System, Gasoline, Engine) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available. The contact stated that they experienced a failure but was luckily travelling at a low speed in a residential area. There was metal found in the fuel filter and the entire fuel system needs to be replaced but the parts are not available. The contact has deemed the vehicle not usable and the manufacturer has been unable to help.

- Redmond, WA, USA

problem #137

Jan 182023

1500

  • miles
2021 Dodge Ram Hemi Etorque shuts down while driving. This has happened approximately a dozen times in the last year. On most occasions this has happened within the first 5 minutes of driving. On all but one occasion we were yielding and then pulling into an intersection and the truck shut off in the middle of the intersection. This caused vehicles that were driving at full speed to swerve from hitting us. The vehicle shut off, goes into park, and the emergency brake engages. A message appears on the dashboard indicating autopark engaged, In order to get moving again, we have to start the card, disengage the emergency brake, and put the car in drive. This is a DANGEROUS situation that will result in serious injury or worse. The very last incident the truck has been running a while. We stopped at a location and placed the truck in park. We never shut the motor off. A few minutes later, we put the car in drive and accelerated. Within the first 20 feet the vehicle shut off and came to a stop. Again, the vehicle automatically went into park and the E brake engaged.

- Bluffton, SC, USA

problem #136

Jan 142023

1500

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

After completing a left hand turn, the vehicle stalled while moving. The emergency brake activated. The car would restart but not immediately engage leaving me stuck in traffic. To get going again the emergency brake had to be deactivated and the vehicle restarted. Following the event an internet search brings up dozens of similar events with many being much worse as they happened at highway speeds. This is incredibly dangerous. I booked a service appointment and will have it looked at. However, even with this being a repeat failure with Ram 1500 eTorque as indicated through a simple internet search, that the dealership indicated they were not aware of this problem is surprising.

- Beaumont , TX, USA

problem #135

Jun 012022

1500 6-cyl Diesel

  • Automatic transmission
  • 6,700 miles
The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact stated that on multiple occasions while stopped at a red traffic light, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact then received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V767000 (Fuel System, Gasoline; Engine) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 6,700. VIN tool confirms parts not available. The consumer stated the truck was sold back to the dealer due to feeling unsafe in the vehicle.

- Bernalillo, NM, USA

problem #134

Jan 122023

1500

  • miles
The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V767000 (Fuel System, Gasoline, Engine) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- North Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #133

Jan 072023

1500

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving down the road my vehicle randomly prompted me to engage the break, then shutdown and abruptly engaged the emergency brake. This could have easily been a life threatening situation for me and other nearby motorists. It is my understanding this is becoming a common occurrence and should be investigated immediately.

- South Lyon, MI, USA

problem #132

Dec 192022

1500

  • miles
Car has turned off on multiple occasions while driving and emergency brake engages. Very dangerous. Forums show this is a common issue but does not produce an error code. Something must be done.

- Dania Beach, FL, USA

problem #131

Dec 072022

1500

  • miles
vehicle stalled and shut off while merging into traffic. Dash lit up and ebrake engaged. No check engine light after incident.Extremely unsafe and could have caused an accident on coming traffic had to swerve out the way to avoid an accident. No prior warnings and has happened twice now.

- Richmond, TX, USA

problem #130

Oct 182022

1500

  • miles
Pulling into my daughter's school this morning, I made a right, then a left into the parking lot/drop off line and the truck shut off completely. The parking brake came on, locked the truck up and automatically shifted itself to Park. Went to ACC mode. I pushed the start button again and all power went off. Pushed a third time and truck restarted. No codes no lights. Took truck to dealer where they hooked up to the CPU and showed no codes. Service advisor said they are seeing this a lot and there is no known repair from Chrysler/RAM. This is first instance where truck shut off. A month ago I got a parking bake default and it would not disengage. I had to turn the truck off then back on to get the brake to turn off.

- Fayetteville, GA, USA

problem #129

Oct 142022

1500

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I bought my truck brand new with 500 miles on it Oct. 14th 21. I made it to around 70k when the truck would stutter and hesitate to drive. Took it to dealership and said No codes, nothing wrong after 2 days of "checking it". Brought it back at 76k and truck would hardly drive, but yet said they couldn't figure it out and sent me on my way. Was driving home at 85k and truck stalled going 75mph while on a 2 lane highway. The truck rolled to about 30 mph and completely died and locked up steering wheel and activated the E brake as I was almost safely off the road. After trying time and time again, I finally got the truck to start and off the road. Called dealership and was told they wouldn't tow it as it was out of warranty at this point. So I had no choice but to limp it to them 400 miles away. They let it sit over weekend and went to test drive it and drove as it would normally. Sent me back out with it, only for it to happen again at 99k and stall. Same process as before and had to lug it to them out of my pocket. They Finally agreed to replace fuel pump, but out of my pocket conviently since they sent it back numerous times and now out of any warranty. At 105k, I took it back to dealership with same issue as before and was told there was nothing to do and sent me on my way. At 111k it stalled on highway at night and almost caused a major crash as the E brake set it's self while traveling at 45mph in a construction zone. Limped to dealer yet again, and they replaced the EVAP cannister as part of their guessing game. Now today at 115.5k I have dropped it off again for same issue. Stalled while traveling 75 on Interstate and almost caused me to hit a pole as I only have so much room to get off the road before it shuts down. I have since called MOPAR themselves and have yet to hear more as the Dealership has not helped at all. This has ALL transpired over the course of 1 year with brand new 2021 Ram 1500 V6 Penstar. Please help.

- Henrietta, TX, USA

problem #128

Oct 112022

1500

  • miles
Unknown system is causing the vehicle to stall. Has happened three times, once in traffic. I will be cruising slow and applying slight brake pressure, then when I release the brake the engine will cut off, apply emergency brake and shift to park. I then have to start vehicle, disengage emergency brake and put into drive. This has happened on three different occasions making me doubt the safety of the vehicle. Dealer service state no codes were shown and can not duplicate. This needs to be addressed.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #127

Sep 292022

1500

  • miles
Car was in drive, I was in traffic (0-5 mph) and the auto brake system engaged. My seat belt was buckled and all the doors were closed. The engine turned to neutral unexpectedly. I was lucky to have enough momentum to pull over. The car then auto shifted itself to park and put its e-brake on. I had to disengage e-brake then push the start button. I-??m thankful I wasn-??t rear-ended. There was no reason the car should have engaged this safety system. I don-??t know of a way to manually over ride this. I-??m worried it will happen again and I won-??t be so lucky to be able to pull over.

- Lynn, MA, USA

problem #126

Aug 182022

1500

  • miles
On 8/18/22, I pulled out from a stop sign and as I was moving over to my desired traffic lane, my vehicle shut down, we heard one ding from the dash board, no warnings appeared. I was on a major roadway (north decatur ave at the 215 North Beltway) and was fortunate to be able to move to the far righthand lane. Since there was a sidewalk I wasn't able to get my vehicle out of the roadway. I notified the State Police, activate emergency flashers and we exited vehicle because traffic was traveling through the area at a pretty good speed (45 mph zone). Notified Ram roadside and requested tow to dealership. Attempted several times to restart truck, the starter would only spin but would not fire (sounded like no fuel but I had 1/2 a tank). State Trooper pulled in behind us and activate emergency lights to protect us. Called Ram Service writer who said it sounded like High Pressure Fuel Pump failure. Truck eventually towed to Chapman Ram on Boulder Highway, Las Vegas NV. We were lucky to pull off to right lane, could have been an accident for sure. On 8/20/22, Ram Service Writer messaged me that it was the High Pressure Fuel Pump. On 8/29/22 Service Writer notified me the metal shavings were in the fuel lines and injectors so parts were on order. This failure sounds very similar to the HPFP recall that Ram issued for earlier rams. We were lucky to get out of traffic and were very fortunate the State Trooper was able to stay behind us until we were towed.

- North Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #125

Aug 142022

1500

  • miles
While driving on the freeway the truck lost all engine power and power steering. I was traveling with the flow of traffic but had to quickly try and get my vehicle onto the shoulder and away from other vehicles still traveling at freeway speeds to attempt to restart the truck. This created a very unsafe situation due to not having any sort of power steering to assist in turning the vehicle off the road. I was able to shift the vehicle into neutral and coast to the shoulder in order to return the shifter to park and restart the vehicle

- Menifee, CA, USA

problem #124

Aug 142022

1500

  • miles
While driving the vehicle multiple times the engine has completely shut off and had zero power. The most recent time was traveling down the freeway at the speed limit and the vehicle shut off and lost all power steering.

- Menifee, CA, USA

problem #123

Jul 252022

1500

  • miles
This vehicle has an issue where it will stall. While making a right hand turn about 5 to 8 miles an hour onto a side street near my home the vehicle just shut off and rolled to a stop. It put itself in park and the auto e-brake engaged. At that point the dash info center said to shift into park and release the emergency brake. It started up and I was able to continue. I have also noticed that sometimes during a turn the truck almost stalled but recovered, You could see the rpms drop down to almost 0 but it recovered on its own. This has happened a few times. It is just not safe. 62k for an unsafe truck.

- Seekonk, MA, USA

problem #122

Jul 162022

1500

  • miles
Have a exhaust leak during start up ticking really bad... exhaust is coming inside cab with ac on. This truck only has 36000 miles and has already had several issues with this trucks electrical system and now this exhaust issue

- Pekin, IL, USA

problem #121

Jul 262022

1500

  • miles
Fuel is pouring out of the lines onto the engine. Not just a leak, but flowing out. This could cause my engine to catch fire.

- Hawthorne, CA, USA

problem #120

Jul 102022

1500

  • miles
My truck just stalls while driving. It's happened several times but yesterday was the scariest. I turned left onto a fairly busy road only to notice I had a message on the screen to turn on the truck. Since we were rolling at 3-4mph, I switch into neutral and hit the start button which started the engine. At the next red light, the engine turned off and the emergency brake applied itself. The car behind me almost hit us because we were parked at a green light now. I quickly got it started and pulled over. There were no warning lights or messages. The dealer doesn't know what the issue is. Truthfully I'm a little concerned with my families safety while driving this truck.

- Augusta, GA, USA

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