Ram bulletin 18-038-26 REV. A
What it saysFlash: Powertrain Control Module (PCM) Updates Customers must experience a Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) illumination and the vehicle exhibit/set SYMPTOM: one or more of the following Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs)… NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Ram filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Jul 29, 2026, received Mar 18, 2026, about the engine — 2 documents under this number: 18-038-26 and 1 more. It names 4 model years (2025). 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 communicationFlash: Powertrain Control Module (PCM) Updates Customers must experience a Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) illumination and the vehicle exhibit/set SYMPTOM: one or more of the following Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs): ● P219A - Bank 1 Air-Fuel Ratio Imbalance. ● P219B - Bank 2 Air-fuel Ratio Imbalance. ● P032F - Combustion Engine Producing Insufficient Torque. NOTE: This revision has an updated and more effective fix for DTC P219B than the prior version. Customers may experience one or more of the following: ● **Power Take Off (PTO) may cancel during engagement with high PTO loads.** ● Engine speed surging, unstable, hunting, or oscillating while coasting at low vehicle speeds. ● Stationary Idle PTO feature is not activating when the user configuration is selected to require parking brake be set (DD/DP Only). ● PTO not auto-resuming after hard-wired remote start (DD/DP Only). ● Driveline clunk or bump when coasting to a stop in cruise control mode. ● Engine idle undershoot or delayed response with power steering input. In addition, the following software enhancement(s) is available: ● Increase the duration that PTO related messages are displayed on the Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) (DD/DP Only). This bulletin involves reprogramming the PCM with the latest available software.
Trouble codes it names: P032F P219A P219B
Documents filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18-038-26 REV. A | Service bulletin | Jul 29, 2026 | 11035974 | |
| 18-038-26 | Service bulletin | Mar 10, 2026 | 11030131 |
What the document itself lists
Labour operation and the time the manufacturer allows
| Operation | Description | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 18-19-06-L9 | Module, Powertrain Control (PCM) Reprogram | 0.3 hrs |
Read by machine from the document NHTSA serves (3 pages), read Sep 29, 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.
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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 themAlso filed against model years this site has no page for: 2025 Ram 4500; 2025 Ram 5500.
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 databaseOwners of the 2 model years this bulletin names have filed 104 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 89 of them name Electrical System, Power Train, Engine — 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.
The contact owns a 2025 Ram 3500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH, several unknown warning lights illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed, and determined that several repairs were needed, and there was an issue with the battery.
2025 Ram 3500 · Engine · filed with NHTSA Mar 16, 2026
The contact owns a 2025 Ram 3500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V826000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM); and the vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the instrument panel software update was completed; however, the instrument panel became inoperable after the update was completed.
2025 Ram 3500 · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Apr 28, 2026
Check engine light consistently comes on with codes p0263, p0272, p0266 for contribution balance codes for cylinders 1, 2, 4 & 5. Truck runs rough. Dealership says it’s a 5-8 week process to test and get injectors into replace if that’s the issue.
2025 Ram 2500 · Engine · filed with NHTSA Feb 4, 2026
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 engine
Source: same model, same component group58 other manufacturer communications filed against these Ram models under the same component group (engine), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the Ram list.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25-004-26 | Service bulletin | Sep 23, 2026 | Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT) Sensor Water Intrusion ’s VIN MUST be listed in VIP or your RSU VIN list. NOTE: This bulletin applies to ● The… |
| 9100922 | Service bulletin | Sep 15, 2026 | SENSOR Exhaust Temperature If this sensor is being replaced due to an early-life P242B pending fault code, clear the fault code and perform… |
| 07-006-26 | Service bulletin | Sep 1, 2026 | Engine Overheat Customers may comment on the following: SYMPTOM: ● Vehicle overheating. ● Temperature gauge is reading hot. ● Overheat symbo… |
| 114255 | Service bulletin | Aug 26, 2026 | RADIATOR - ENGINE COOLING |
| 114254 | Service bulletin | Aug 26, 2026 | RADIATOR - ENGINE COOLING |
| 9100882 | Service bulletin | Aug 17, 2026 | PULLEY Fan If replacing 68209745AA, also replace 68723388AA, 05086958AB, and 68000833AD. Retain bolts, mark each with its original location… |
| 113744 | Service bulletin | Jul 29, 2026 | SENSOR - TURBOCHARGER SPEED |
| 18-025-26 | Service bulletin | Jul 9, 2026 | Flash: Powertrain Control Module (PCM) Updates Customers must experience a Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) illumination and the vehicle mus… |
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.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Ram 18-038-26 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 18-038-26 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.
Which vehicles does 18-038-26 REV. A cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 4 model years: 2025 Ram 2500, 2025 Ram 3500, 2025 Ram 4500, 2025 Ram 5500. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.