Reliability & cost of ownership
Ram 3500 Reliability & Common Problems
How reliable is the 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.
Ram 3500 problems by model year
165 recall entries and 2484 owner complaints on file across 18 model years, sourced from the federal NHTSA database.
| Year | Recalls | Complaints | NCAP stars | Full report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 3500 | 4 | 25 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2025 3500 | 5 | 42 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2024 3500 | 2 | 43 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2023 3500 | 5 | 17 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2022 3500 | 12 | 189 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2021 3500 | 9 | 62 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2020 3500 | 11 | 116 | No NCAP test | Full reliability report → |
| 2019 3500 | 14 | 134 | No NCAP test | Full reliability report → |
| 2018 3500 | 11 | 798 | No NCAP test | Full reliability report → |
| 2017 3500 | 13 | 309 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2016 3500 | 16 | 134 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2015 3500 | 16 | 136 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2014 3500 | 17 | 202 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2013 3500 | 18 | 114 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2010 3500 | 8 | 150 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2009 3500 | 2 | 3 | No NCAP test | Full reliability report → |
| 2008 3500 | 1 | 4 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2007 3500 | 1 | 6 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
Most-complained-about components
Owner complaints filed with NHTSA against the Ram 3500, grouped by the component each complaint names — the fastest read on where this model gives trouble.
- service brakes989 complaints
- electrical system388 complaints
- power train332 complaints
- steering303 complaints
- engine259 complaints
- vehicle speed control206 complaints
- hydraulic193 complaints
- unknown or other164 complaints