Ram 1500
Problems & Worst Years

Six consecutive model years of Ram 1500 complaints show a truck whose problems keep migrating between the same handful of systems. Power steering issues open the run in dramatic fashion: the 2016 model logged 759 total complaints, the highest of the six years, driven by a power steering assist failure reported 316 times and flagged at safety severity, plus a separate ABS module failure and an engine that stalls at idle due to stop-start system failure — both also safety-flagged. Recalls attached to that year include 16V167, 18V332, 19V757, 20V475, 22V406, and 23V411.

Power steering failure persists into 2017 (111 occurrences, safety-flagged) alongside a new cluster of engine manifold bolt failures and exhaust manifold problems severe enough to cause stalling and rough idling, under recall 17V434 among others. The 2018 model shifts toward the UConnect touchscreen, where delamination and phantom touches top the list at 139 occurrences and safety severity, joined by a high-pressure fuel pump failure and continuing power steering module problems.

The 2019 model year posts the highest total in the range at 581 complaints: rear window water leaks causing interior damage lead at 155 occurrences, followed closely by dashboard electrical malfunctions (153, safety-flagged) and yet another power steering failure entry (109, safety-flagged), plus a significant alternator failure cluster. That year alone carries eleven separate recall campaigns in the data, including 19V020, 19V067, 19V142, 19V201, 19V556, and 19V812.

Complaint volume drops in 2020 as engine stop-start stalling and a motor generator unit failure take over, before climbing again in 2021 with random engine shutdowns during driving (146 occurrences, safety-flagged) and a return of low-speed power steering loss, both under recall 22V767. Across all six years, power steering trouble and stalling-related engine or electrical shutdowns are the two threads that never fully disappear — worth checking against the extensive recall history for any specific VIN, since so many campaigns apply here. As with any used truck, these totals reflect what owners chose to report to NHTSA rather than a measured failure rate, and a thorough pre-purchase inspection paired with full service history tells a buyer more than the model year by itself.