Reliability & cost of ownership
Dodge Ram 3500 Reliability & Common Problems
How reliable is the Dodge Ram 3500? Compare every model year side by side — NHTSA recalls, owner complaints, and crash-test stars — then open the year you're shopping for a full reliability and repair-cost forecast.
Dodge Ram 3500 problems by model year
70 recall entries and 2236 owner complaints on file across 15 model years, sourced from the federal NHTSA database.
| Year | Recalls | Complaints | NCAP stars | Full report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 Ram 3500 | 5 | 104 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2008 Ram 3500 | 11 | 173 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2007 Ram 3500 | 14 | 208 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2006 Ram 3500 | 11 | 257 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2005 Ram 3500 | 7 | 196 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2004 Ram 3500 | 7 | 214 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2003 Ram 3500 | 9 | 286 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2002 Ram 3500 | 1 | 44 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2001 Ram 3500 | 0 | 130 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2000 Ram 3500 | 1 | 58 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 1999 Ram 3500 | 1 | 104 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 1998 Ram 3500 | 1 | 105 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 1997 Ram 3500 | 0 | 125 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 1996 Ram 3500 | 1 | 124 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 1995 Ram 3500 | 1 | 108 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
Most-complained-about components
Owner complaints filed with NHTSA against the Dodge Ram 3500, grouped by the component each complaint names — the fastest read on where this model gives trouble.
- steering534 complaints
- power train302 complaints
- air bags294 complaints
- suspension238 complaints
- electrical system197 complaints
- service brakes178 complaints
- structure164 complaints
- hydraulic140 complaints