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Ram 1500

Every model year 2016–2027: recalls, owner complaints, NHTSA crash ratings and EPA efficiency side by side, each value traced to the file it came from.

12 Model years 2016–2027

152 Recalls NHTSA campaigns, all years

7,301 Complaints owner reports, all years

A Newest grade 2027 Safety Signal

2023 Best on record cleanest filed year

The 2027 1500 →Which years to avoid Compare it

Ram Pickup — photograph via Wikimedia Commons — Ram Pickup · Photo: Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Active NHTSA advisory on 1 model year of the 1500 — park outside or do not drive. The year rows below carry it.

Every Ram 1500 model year

Source: NHTSA · EPA · one row per year

Year	Powertrains	Safety	Recalls	Complaints	Crash	Best efficiency
2027	Hybrid Gas	A	0	0	—	22 mpg
2026	Hybrid Gas	D	9	103	★★★★★	22 mpg
2025	Hybrid Gas	D	8	365	★★★★★	23 mpg
2024	Hybrid Gas	C	6	77	★★★★★	23 mpg
2023	Hybrid Gas Diesel	D	11	203	★★★★★	24 mpg
2022	Hybrid Gas Diesel	F	16	631	★★★★★	26 mpg
2021	Hybrid Gas Diesel	F	15	683	★★★★★	26 mpg
2020	Hybrid Gas Diesel	F	14	640	★★★★★	26 mpg
2019	Hybrid Gas Diesel	F	29	1,494	★★★★★	23 mpg
2018	Gas Diesel	F	15	667	★★★★☆	23 mpg
2017	Gas Diesel	F	13	884	★★★★☆	23 mpg
2016	Gas Diesel	F	16	1,554	★★★★☆	24 mpg

Which model year the record favours

Source: recalls and complaints per year on the road

Years to avoid, with the reasons →Best on the record 2023

On the filed record so far, the 2023 is the cleanest 1500 year we hold, and the 2021 the one to check hardest. The 2021 carries a standing park-outside or do-not-drive advisory, which outranks every other number on this page.

Both figures are divided by the number of years the car has been on sale, because otherwise the oldest year on the page loses every time simply for having been around longer. The current model year and any year under three on the road are left out: their records are not finished.

Year	Safety Signal	Recalls /yr	Complaints /yr
2023	D	3.7	68
2022	F	4	158
2020	F	2.3	107	2 critical
2017	F	1.4	98	4 critical
2016	F	1.6	155	4 critical
2018	F	1.9	83	5 critical
2019	F	4.1	213	9 critical
2021	F	3	137	Advisory

Which Ram 1500 years reported which system early

Source: NHTSA complaints, odometer at report

Earliest on the record: 2020 service brakes complaints at 0.41× the mileage of same-age vehicles (median 3,100 miles). Latest: 2018 steering at 5.37× (77,825 miles).

Year	Engine	Electrical System	Steering	Power Train	Fuel/Propulsion System	Service Brakes
2025	—	0.98×	—	—	—	—
2023	—	1.02×	—	—	—	—
2022	0.98×	1.64×	—	—	0.91×	—
2021	0.56×	1.61×	—	0.57×	0.65×	2.01×
2020	0.98×	3.03×	—	0.54×	1.36×	0.41×
2019	0.63×	1.24×	1.32×	0.56×	—	1.39×
2018	0.99×	1.06×	5.37×	0.71×	2.01×	—
2017	0.76×	0.83×	2.2×	0.53×	1.41×	—
2016	1.05×	0.74×	1.47×	0.62×	1.4×	1.95×

Each cell is that model year’s median odometer when owners reported the system, divided by the median for the same system across every make’s complaints on the same model year. under 0.67× reported early; 1.5× or more late; a dash means too few readings. When problems get reported, not how often — complaint counts are in the table above. Across the whole fleet: which systems go first.

What owners filed about the Ram 1500, by system

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsEvery system, every year →

The systems the federal record is deep on for this nameplate: the complaints per model year, the mileage owners reported them at, and every recall, investigation and manufacturer bulletin filed under the heading — each one linked, none a failure rate.

engine problems 1,815 complaints, every model year electrical problems 1,747 complaints, every model year steering problems 1,159 complaints, every model year transmission and drivetrain problems 939 complaints, every model year fuel system problems 933 complaints, every model year brake problems 812 complaints, every model year airbag problems 146 complaints, every model year visibility and wiper problems 74 complaints, every model year

What changed year to year

Source: computed from the filed record

2027: 10 → 12 EPA configurations
2026: best combined mpg 23 → 22; 7 → 10 EPA configurations
2025: 10 → 7 EPA configurations
2024: dropped diesel; best combined mpg 24 → 23; 13 → 10 EPA configurations
2023: best combined mpg 26 → 24; 15 → 13 EPA configurations
2021: 13 → 15 EPA configurations
2020: best combined mpg 23 → 26
2019: added hybrid; 7 → 13 EPA configurations
2017: best combined mpg 24 → 23; 10 → 7 EPA configurations

Compare

All 1500 head-to-heads →Which is better for you? →

Head-to-head	Verdict
2027 1500 vs Jeep Gladiator · Large Pickup truck	1500 +6
2027 1500 vs Chevrolet Silverado · Large Pickup truck	1500 +9.3
2027 1500 vs Rivian R1T · Large Pickup truck	R1T +41.3
2027 1500 vs Nissan Frontier · Large Pickup truck	1500 +2
2026 1500 vs Chevrolet Colorado · Large Pickup truck	1500 +8.2
2026 1500 vs Ford F-150 · Large Pickup truck	F-150 +19
2026 1500 vs Ford Ranger · Large Pickup truck	Ranger +22.3
2026 1500 vs Toyota Tundra · Large Pickup truck	Tundra +27.6
2026 1500 vs GMC Sierra · Large Pickup truck	Sierra +10.8
2025 1500 vs Ford F-150 Lightning · Large Pickup truck	F-150 Lightning +45.2
2020 1500 vs Jeep Gladiator Pickup · Large Pickup truck	1500 +2.9

In the studies

Source: computed from the same record, method on each page

Odometer at first complaint · rank 47 of 79 1.19× the mileage of same-age vehicles Ram 1500 owners reported problems to NHTSA at a median 25,600 miles across 2018–2022 (fleet 23,512), later than vehicles of the same model year. 1,118 readings.

Common questions about the Ram 1500

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

Which Ram 1500 year is the best used buy?

On the recall record, the 2023 1500 comes out top of the years before the current one: Safety Signal grade D (60/100), 11 recalls and 203 owner complaints on file. That ranks paperwork, not condition — a specific car's history and service record still decide it.

What Ram 1500 years should I avoid?

2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025, 2026 have the weakest recall records in this range — one carries an active park-outside or do-not-drive advisory. The year pages list every campaign, its severity and whether a repair exists yet. Every 1500 model year ranked, with the reasons.

How many recalls does the Ram 1500 have?

Across model years 2016–2027, NHTSA has posted 152 recall campaigns for the Ram 1500. They are counted per model year in the table above, because a campaign almost never covers the whole run — it covers a build range.