Ram 1500: which model years to avoid
Complaint and recall totals for every Ram 1500 model year we track, ranked by severity.
| Model year | Complaints | Recalls | Crashes | Fires | Severity | Most-reported system |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 1,255 | 12 | 72 | 10 | 51.3 Medium | STEERING |
| 2014 | 1,739 | 17 | 97 | 24 | 71.1 Medium | STEERING |
| 2015 | 1,427 | 18 | 79 | 58 | 86.9 Medium | STEERING |
| 2016 | 1,506 | 17 | 90 | 35 | 89.4 Medium | STEERING |
| 2017 | 860 | 13 | 80 | 16 | 124.7 High | STEERING |
| 2018 | 644 | 15 | 25 | 8 | 54.0 Medium | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2019 | 1,453 | 29 | 74 | 11 | 61.8 Medium | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2020 | 613 | 13 | 24 | 6 | 46.3 Medium | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2021 | 657 | 14 | 26 | 4 | 47.5 Medium | ENGINE |
Across 9 model years, the 2017 Ram 1500 carries the highest severity index (124.7, driven by steering), while the 2020 is the cleanest at 46.3.
Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs. Complaint counts are not normalised by units sold; a high-volume seller will attract more filings than a rare trim.