10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
34,395 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.

2015 Ram 3500 drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2015 Ram 3500 Owner Comments (Page 2 of 2)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #11

May 102017

3500

  • 23,365 miles

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

When accelerating (either from a stop or a rolling stop) and then braking and then accelerating again, the engine will hesitate. Some call this "dead pedal" but I feel it's dangerous because it leaves vulnerable in traffic to a collision. It's happened to me numerous times and again today. I was at a 4 way stop and proceeded to accelerate when it was my turn, about 1/3 way into the intersection, a vehicle traffic ignored the stop sign and attempted to cross my line of travel. I had to break and then immediately accelerate and the truck hesitated which left me in the intersection. If the other vehicle had been traveling at a faster rate, it would have T-boned me. As it was, the other driver was able to maneuver his vehicle around me. To me, this isn't a delay in which the turbo spools up to help deliver power. It almost feels like the throttle is dead however the truck is still running. The hesitation can last about a second or so but in that time, I feel the truck is unsafe.

- East Helena, MT, USA

problem #10

Apr 202017

3500

  • miles
At 70 mph or above the vehicle viberates heavily and have changed tires and balanced four times, it fiberates in the rear mostly or under the seats

- Leitchfield, KY, USA

problem #9

Feb 102017

3500

  • 25,000 miles
Happened a year ago and again yesterday. Both times were similar situations: Pulling out into traffic, doing a right turn on red - after stopping. Pull out with light throttle as normal and then power drops to nothing for a second or two and then it takes off! very disconcerting when traffic is coming at you. Btw: I'm a conservative driver and never hot rod and rarely use more than light throttle.

- Port Hadlock, WA, USA

problem #8

Jun 132016

3500

  • 15,000 miles

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

In June 2016, towing a 14 foot light trailer up sonora pass on hwy 108 in California, the truck bucked, studdered and shook in first gear, stalled and slipped backward towards a 1000 foot cliff, it then lunged into gear and it was smoking the tires. I let it do that to gain traction and then slowly made my way back up. I cannot tow anything out of first gear without the bucking and studders, and losing forward momentum, anywhere. Almost lost it all that day including my life and nothing has been done to fix the issue. 2 dealerships in 2 states acknowledge the problem, state they have other customers that have the same problem but Dodge cannot seem to understand a fix or the seriousness of this defect. The truck is not safe to tow anything anywhere and that is obsurd for a Ram 3500. This truck is advertised as the number one truck for towing, but it just can't do the job safely. Please view letter sent to dealership dated July 9th. 2016.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #7

Sep 102016

3500

  • 26,500 miles
The tuck has a horrible lag in the throttle response. When trying to pull out into heavy traffic the truck lags more than it should. This has been happening since the day I bought it new with 16 miles on it. If you press the pedal more than half down from a stop you can count to 30 before it actually starts moving. There have been multiple times where this has almost caused an accident. I have been reading forums about this issues and have come up with 2 causes. 1 the throttle control programing is set extremely conservative which will cause this. 2 the one that almost everyone is reporting is that the dpf regen system is causing too much back pressure. People are reporting that when they delete the exhaust and egr off the truck it gets its power back. These systems never seem to completely clean out and all wise has high back pressure.

- Box Elder, SD, USA

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problem #6

Oct 312016

3500

  • 20,295 miles
2015 Ram 3500 laramie dually 4X4, 6.7 I6 cummins, aisin transmission. Truck experiences "dead pedal" under hard acceleration or when depressing pedal 3/4 to full throttle suddenly. This happens under all conditions: Stopped, rolling, under acceleration. Advancing the pedal suddenly or completely down in emergency situations results in a 3-4 second delay where the truck will not respond, then slowly adds power. This is extremely dangerous as the truck will not respond to the drivers inputs. Possibly resulting in a crash or death. In several cases the truck has responded in the above described manor resulting in emergency action by the driver to avoid a crash or wreck. Problem has been occurring for the past 10 - 15K miles and still continues. As per the dealer servicing the vehicle. We were told nothing is wrong, this was normal and they refused to do anything about it. As per Ram technical assistance "if the customer steps in the throttle, the vehicle will go into derate to keep the driveshaft off the ground. If you stay around 60 to 70% throttle then there is no derate. Sounds like the vehicle is operating as designed." A copy of the report has been provided with this report

- Canal Winchester, OH, USA

problem #5

Jul 102015

3500 6-cyl Diesel

  • Automatic transmission
  • 64,900 miles

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

The contact owns a 2015 Ram 3500. While driving at various speeds, smoke appeared under the hood and the engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact pulled over, looked under the hood, and noticed that the engine compartment was on fire. The contact was able to extinguish the fire. The contact sustained minor burns that required medical attention. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the motor failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 64,900...updated 06/08/16 the consumer stated there was an issue with the radio, transmission, catalytic converter, electrical system and interior lighting. Updated 06/29/16.

- Buchannon, WV, USA

problem #4

Nov 232015

3500 4WD 6-cyl

  • 1,500 miles
The new Dodge Ram equipped with cummins diesel experience a dead pedal, or pedal delay when pressing the gas pedal 3/4 to full throttle. This poses a serious risk when needing to get out of the way, or move the vehicle under emergency circumstances. This happens under all conditions: Stopped, rolling, under acceleration etc. If you push the pedal too far the truck will not respond to operator commands and will take 1.5-2 seconds to start picking up speed. This is a seriously dangerous situation and someone is going to get killed or seriously injured. There is not excuse for a vehicle not responding to driver input. Manufacture claims "turbo lag", this is simply not true. You can build turbo boost, monitored on the vehicle gauge, then press the pedal to the floor, the truck will not respond for 1.5 to 2 seconds. Please look at further information on the cummins forum below, it has numerous articles about this issue. Here as a link to just one of them. www.cumminsforum.com/forum/2013-general-discussion/1836593-very-slow-throttle-response.html please, help fix this issue before someone gets hurt or killed due to the inability to move the vehicle out of harms way. This tsb somewhat addresses the problem, but only fixes it partially, not to the point that it is safe. Tsb 18-041-15 I believe the manufacture knows this is an issue, but is not fixing it due to emissions related programming on the vehicle. There are aftermarket solutions to this problem, however they void the manufacture warranty, and im not willing to lose my warranty on a new vehicle. I will be submitting another one of these for my 2015 as well, since they both have the same issue. Thank you.

- Redmond, OR, USA

problem #3

Sep 012015

3500

  • 2,000 miles
Dead accelerator pedal. When applying accelerator there is a period of time when nothing happens. This is particularly concerning as it leaves the vehicle occupants and the vehicle essentially dead and in harms way while trying to maneuver in traffic, merging, turning, emergency avoidance, etc.

- Oklahoma City, OK, USA

problem #2

Nov 032015

3500

  • 1,000 miles
The transmission is severely limited by torque management. If you step on the gas pedal the truck barely moves. It moves at its own pace instead of being under your control. This can creates some very dangerous merging situations where you are trying to merge with traffic and the truck decides it won't move. You end up half way committed and half way not.

- Hillsboro, OR, USA

problem #1

Feb 022015

3500

  • 5,000 miles
Excessive driveline vibration at speeds from 55mph - 70mph.

- Morgantown, IN, USA

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