2020 Ram 3500 Complaints

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — Filed 08/24/2026

High pressure fuel pump recall failed and put my life in danger ️ Terrible experience not only for me but it put in danger a Semi truck driver and others almost got killed

POWER TRAIN,ENGINE — Filed 09/03/2026

We were pulling camper to Nashville TN. We pulled off I24 toward I65 North. I noticed the engine was raving and it felt like I was missing gears on the transmission. I was roughly 4 miles from my destination when I noticed smoke coming from under the hood on passenger side and flames coming from under hood on passenger side of the hood. I stopped the truck/ camper. Three of us had extinguishers trying to put fire out. The entire engingine compartment burned and fire intruded into driver compartment.

FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL,ENGINE — Filed 08/15/2026

The contact owns a 2020 Ram 3500. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the vehicle suddenly experienced reduced speed and hesitation, and there was a rattling noise coming from the engine as the RPMs increased above 1,500. The vehicle was driven slowly to a local dealer, where the contact was informed that the high-pressure fuel pump (HPFP) had likely failed. The exact cause of the failure had not yet been determined, and the vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V880000 (Fuel System, Diesel) and was experiencing the same failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 300,000.

AIR BAGS — Filed 07/20/2026

I was in a single-vehicle accident on July 20th, 2026 and hit an oak tree head-on center and my airbags didn't deploy. I have a fractured neck and whiplash, not to mention other minor injuries. I am now able to type in order to report it. I have photographs.

BACK OVER PREVENTION — Filed 09/30/2025

The contact owns a 2020 Ram Promaster 3500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V552000 (Back Over Prevention); 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 contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera displayed an upside-down or distorted image. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ENGINE — Filed 02/26/2026

The contact owns a 2020 Ram 3500. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the engine overheated. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the cooling fan module had failed, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 97,000.

POWER TRAIN — Filed 01/12/2026

The contact owns a 2020 Ram 3500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and the engine was turned off, the gear shifter shifted into the drive position when the contact's minor [XXX] child entered the vehicle to retrieve an item using the steering wheel and gear shifter to enter, causing the vehicle to roll down a hill and collide with a tree. The impact resulted in significant damage to the passenger side door, bumper, and truck bed. Although a child was inside the vehicle at the time of the incident, no injuries were reported following the collision. No air bags deployed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it had notyet been inspected. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 150,000. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

POWER TRAIN — Filed 01/11/2026

The contact owns a 2020 Ram 3500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and turned off, the gear shifter shifted into drive independently, causing the vehicle to roll away. The vehicle stopped before crashing. The vehicle was taken to a dealer; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 75,000.

BACK OVER PREVENTION — Filed 12/02/2025

The contact owns a 2020 Ram 3500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V552000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. 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 contact had not experienced a failure.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 10/09/2025

After normal operation, I shut off the vehicle, and within seconds it caught fire without any external cause. Our insurance company and Look Larson Dodge investigated the incident over approximately 3½ weeks but could not determine a definitive cause of the fire.

FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL — Filed 12/31/2021

The contact owns a 2020 Ram 3500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle made an abnormal ticking sound. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with high-pressure fuel pump failure, but the vehicle was not repaired at the time. The contact stated that upon pulling into a parking lot, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the high-pressure fuel pump had imploded, causing damage to the fuel system. The dealer related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V880000 (Fuel System, Diesel), and the vehicle was repaired; however, the contact later became aware that the dealer had replaced the high-pressure fuel pump with the same part. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle to an independent mechanic to be serviced, the mechanic informed the contact that the high-pressure fuel pump installed on the vehicle was not the recall part, but the same defective part. The mechanic recorded the high-pressure fuel pump and part number, and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was confirmed that the recall part had not been installed on the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The contact stated that the dealer delayed performing the recall repair free of charge, which required the contact to pay for the replacement of the high-pressure fuel pump with the correct part. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer failed to complete the recall repair free of charge. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.

WHEELS — Filed 06/10/2025

The contact owns a 2020 Ram 3500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front wheels became inoperable. The contact stated that the vehicle was pulling to one side. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed and the contact was informed that the front wheel studs had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 36,000.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 04/01/2025

Abs module has failed twice since truck purchased.

ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — Filed 04/26/2023

Codes: P2002, P242F, P2463, P1451 Failures: DPF, Charge air cooler leak, PM sensors, EGR internally cracked, Catalytic Convertor, Pink tinged oil, strong diesel odor in oil - post failures. Erratic def gauge readings, unstable idling, clunking downshift when exhaust brake decelerates, warm up stumbling. Power reduced, see dealer (over and over and over and over). Limp Mode (5 MPH). Permanent ticks/taps from front left motor, front passenger wheel well, passenger side mid-truck. Extremely loose gear shifter plus an occasional “Vehicle Not in Part” message on the dash display. Manufacturers Service Center (local and ONLY Ram dealership) has reproduced the issue. Independent Diesel Mechanic shop also reproduced. Service center and Independent shop both inspected. The safety issues of a 5 MPH limp mode and risk of sudden engine stalls while driving in traffic, especially on an interstate should be fairly self explanatory… As is a constant “Power Reduced See Dealer” problem, when your truck is used to do what it’s designed to do… Tow large loads. As is an extremely loose gear shifter that doesn’t always properly register as “in Park”. The date listed below is simply the date of the very first occurrence. It’s not a representation of every date after. The most recent date was just last week.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING — Filed 11/29/2024

The contact owns a 2020 Ram 3500. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, he noticed that coolant was leaking underneath the vehicle. The EGR warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that upon adding coolant to the EGR valve, the contact noticed that coolant was still leaking. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the EGR valve had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 115,000.

TIRES — Filed 08/27/2024

The contact owns a 2020 Ram 3500 equipped with Atturo Tires, Tire Line: Trail Blade A/T, Tire Size: 235/80/R17, DOT Number: KA0HD80R4223. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the front passenger's side tire experienced a blowout. The contact pulled over to the side of the road. Upon inspecting the tire, the contact noticed that the tread had separated, causing the tire to blowout. The contact replaced the tire with the spare tire. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front end of the vehicle was shuddering. The vehicle was taken to the tire shop, where it was determined that the front driver's side tire tread had separated. The front driver's side tire was replaced under warranty. The tires were replacement tires. The tire manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The tire failure mileage was approximately 4,000. The vehicle failure mileage was approximately 28,000.

ENGINE — Filed 08/01/2024

Reoccurring messages regarding DEF, Exhaust Regeneration, and DPF, causing more and more frequent ReGen for longer and longer. Numerous trips to various Ram dealerships resulting in codes being cleared and then being told it was a software issue. After 2 years of this intermittently happening, we experienced an extended Regen that lasted hours and did not clear out the error code. Ram dealer in Utah charged $280 to do a stationary regeneration and once again clear out codes. Less than 6 months later with more and more Regens, a failed regen sent truck into Low Power Mode (losing the ability to tow or excelerate quickly). We ended up having to take it to a Ram dealer over 2 hours away in S. Atlanta to have them take it apart and tell us that the factory installed wiring harness rubbed a hole in the charged air cooler boot which was then causing failed regeneration of the diesel particulates causing the filter to fill. Dealer clearly stated that had any other dealer done a visual inspection of the physical components they would have seen this occurring. We filed a claim and opened a case with Ram for the $4500 repair and waited 8 days with no response to 9 phone calls. The same day we authorized the work, we receive the coveted return call to start the process, but once the customer service rep found out we had already authorized the work we were advised that case would be closed and we would have to open another case for reimbursement. So we started the whole process again, submitted all of the documentation and paid receipts and have been denied. All attempts to contact a supervisor or manager go nowhere and Ram customer service is rude and unhelpful and went as far as to tell us that our mistake was having the vehicle repaired (as if we are just going to let an $80k vehicle sit indefinitely in an unusable state).

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE — Filed 12/04/2023

On 12/4/23, at 6:37 am PST, we initiated remote start via the key fob. At 6:40 am pst, a flash and fire erupted from under the hood of the truck. We immediately worked to control the fire using extinguishers and garden hoses until the fire department arrived a few minutes later. They worked to put the fire out that engulfed the engine compartment and then worked to get the hood open to finish putting the fire out. The fire didn’t fully go out until the battery cables were cut.

STRUCTURE,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE — Filed 11/25/2023

As I was driving the vehicle caught fire and I lost brakes. The vehicle had to be put into a retention pond to stop it.

AIR BAGS — Filed 06/28/2022

On 6/28/2022 I was involved in an off-set not-at-fault head on collision at 45+ MPH. My vehicle then careened off the initial collision causing a side impact with a large light standard. My vehicle continued until it collided head on with a building and came to a stop. The front impact and side impact airbags did not deploy at any time. My vehicle and the other vehicle were deemed a total loss.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — Filed 01/11/2022

The contact owns a 2020 RAM 3500. The contact stated that while driving at 15 MPH, the oil warning light was illuminated, and the vehicle made abnormal sounds. Additionally, there was smoke coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The contact pulled over and refilled the oil reservoir; however, the failure recurred with oil leaking from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed with engine damage and connecting rod failure, which punctured the engine block. The engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. Upon investigation, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V511000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 213,000. The oil light did not come on until after the engine had started knocking rapidly. The engine oil also ran out quickly as well. Consumer immediately refilled the oil and drove for 5 minutes and the engine stopped knocking for a few seconds before there was louder knocking, smoke and spewing oil. Consumer had previously reported to the customer care FCA group 2 times last August about metal shavings on the fuel filter. The fuel pump continued to produce metal shavings in the filter every time the filter was change.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE — Filed 05/03/2021

This Laramie trim level truck has an electronic drop tailgate with a button to drop the tailgate on the overhead console and one on the key fob. The tailgate on my truck was closed during my pre-trip and entering the vehicle. I had a trailer hooked to the receiver hitch and drove ten miles before realizing the tailgate was now in the down position and caused significant damage to the tailgate because the tailgate made contact with the trailer. With the electronic release tailgate on this particular year truck there is not a warning message alerting the driver that the tailgate is ajar. There is such an alert on newer models (2021-2022) I went to a local dealership to check. I’m sure the tailgate drop button somehow was pressed on the key fob while in my pocket entering the truck. But I did not receive any alert on the instrument cluster or even hear the tailgate open because the tailgate has a soft open feature. I see this being a serious safety concern to possibly lose cargo and cause a more serious accident.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — Filed 11/14/2021

As I was preparing to travel for the holidays comíng up, I was traveling to Texas to see family. I was driving around 65 mph when suddenly the truck started jerking and slowing down when the gas pedal would not give it power. The car behind slammed the brakes and in order to avoid hitting me had to went the the side of the highway. Before coming to a complete stop the truck a 2020 ram 3500 shut off and will not come off. The tow truck was able to scan the truck and the codes are for low fuel pressure and fuel pump. This was a very scary situation because I’m with all my family and not only did I put them in danger by this truck failing with out a notice of any kind but also put others like the vehicle behind in danger because the truck failed. I have look up and this seems to be a common issue with all the “new ram trucks” not sure why there is no recall yet. Hoping this gets looked at and something can be done for the safety of others

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — Filed 11/12/2021

I was on my way home from the local RAM Dealer last night, where I wanted to sell my truck (after inspecting it, they offered me $82K for it), when, spontaneously, my truck started to smoke from under the hood and literally burst into flames! I had to pull over and jump out to avoid being burned alive! I am so traumatized. I'm attempting to tow what's left of this truck to the dealer this morning. I hope FCA will take responsibility for this!

ENGINE — Filed 04/15/2021

TRUCK CAUGHT FIRE IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT. I HAD JUST GOTTEN ON THE FREEWAY AND REACHED 70MPH WHEN I COULD SEE SMOKE COMING FROM THE ENGINE. PULLED OVER AND IT QUICKLY BECAME ENGULFED IN FLAMES. STATE FARM CLAIM 28-18Q6-12R ELIZABETH ANDERSON, CLAIM SPECIALIST, 844-292-8615X2539126712