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Manufacturer communication · Service bulletin

Ram bulletin 18-020-24 REV. A

What it says"Flash: Powertrain Control Module (PCM) Updates Customers may experience the following: 68RFE Transmission sump temperature derate. NHTSA’s full summary ↓

Ram filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated May 8, 2024, received Jun 7, 2024, about the power train. It names 2 model years (2019–2020). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.

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What the bulletin says

Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communication
Transmission 68RFE Transmission “"Flash: Powertrain Control Module (PCM) Updates Customers may experience the following: ● 68RFE Transmission sump temperature derate.”

What it applies to, as NHTSA’s summary states it — build dates and equipment as the manufacturer filed them. The dealer checks the VIN and the build date on the door jamb; a vehicle outside the window is not covered by this bulletin.

"Flash: Powertrain Control Module (PCM) Updates Customers may experience the following: ● 68RFE Transmission sump temperature derate. This bulletin involves reprogramming the ECM/PCM with the latest available software."

Kind Service bulletin Manufacturer date May 8, 2024 Received by NHTSA Jun 7, 2024 Components Power Train

Document filed under this number

DocumentKindDatedNHTSA idAt NHTSA
18-020-24 REV. AService bulletinMay 8, 202411001322PDF, 132 KB

What the document itself lists

Labour operation and the time the manufacturer allows

OperationDescriptionTime
18-19-04-TNModule, Engine Control (ECM) - Reprogram (0 - Introduction) 10 - Diesel0.4 hrs

Read by machine from the document NHTSA serves (2 pages), read Sep 30, 2026. A part number is shown only where it matches Ram’s own catalogue shape, an operation only with its code and time, and a description only where the reader got it whole; anything it could not settle is left out, and the PDF is the record. Times are the manufacturer’s warranty allowances, not a quote. Listings and prices on eBay Motors are the seller’s.

Affiliate disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you request a quote or buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Nothing on this page changes because of it.

The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.

Model years it names

Source: as the manufacturer filed them

A vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.

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What owners reported

Source: NHTSA complaint database

Owners of the 2 model years this bulletin names have filed 356 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 49 of them name Power Train — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.

Transmission intermittently drops out of gear. Most of the time this is when in reverse and moving backwards. All of a sudden you realize you are no longer moving backwards and in some cases rolling forward.

2019 Ram 2500 · Power Train · filed with NHTSA Apr 23, 2020 · ODI 11322026

A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.

More bulletins about the power train

Source: same model, same component group

41 other manufacturer communications filed against the Ram 2500 under the same component group (power train), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the Ram list.

NumberKindDatedNHTSA’s summary
114739Service bulletinSep 24, 2026TRANSMISSION KIT - WITH TORQUE CONVERTER
08-302-26Service bulletinAug 1, 2026Flash: Electronic Shift Module (ESM) Updates Customers must experience a Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) illumination and the vehicle must…
18-067-26Service bulletinJul 14, 2026Flash: Powertrain Control Module (PCM) Updates Customers must experience a Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) illumination and the vehicle mus…
18-066-26Service bulletinJul 8, 2026Seed Request Denied During Technicians may experience the following: SYMPTOM: ● The scan tool displays the message "Seed Request denied" whe…
9100841Service bulletinJun 25, 2026HD Front and Rear Prop Shafts Increase U-Joint Usage If customer concern diagnosis leads to suspect u-joint issue or failure with the prop s…
18-002-26 REV. BService bulletinJun 24, 2026Flash: Powertrain Control Module (PCM) Updates Customers may experience a Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) illumination and the vehicle may…
21-029-26 REV. AService bulletinMay 1, 2026Flash: Transmission Control Module (TCM) Updates Customers must experience a Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) illumination and the vehicle m…
21-028-26 REV. AService bulletinMay 1, 2026Flash: Transmission Control Module (TCM) Updates Customers must experience a Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) illumination and the vehicle m…

Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.

Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Ram, by the number printed on the letter.

Photo: Christian Buehner / Unsplash

Common questions

Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5

Is Ram 18-020-24 REV. A a recall?

No. A service bulletin is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.

Is the 18-020-24 REV. A repair free?

Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way. Every Stellantis warranty extension on file lists the ones Stellantis has filed.

Which vehicles does 18-020-24 REV. A cover?

The manufacturer filed it against 2 model years: 2020 Ram 2500, 2019 Ram 2500. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.