2019 Ram 1500 Powertrain & Transmission Problems

Rear differential started making loud noise and grinding sounds

The contact owns a 2019 RAM 1500. The contact stated that when his spouse started the vehicle during cold weather conditions, the engine was turned on, revved high, and the gear shift from park (P) to drive (D) inadvertently without the brake pedal being depressed. The contact stated that the vehicle jolted off and crashed into the door of a business. The contact's spouse sustained a head injury but did not receive medical attention. A police report was filed, but the info was not readily available at this time. The vehicle was taken to the spouse's residence and parked. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

The contact owns a 2019 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and hauling a 500 lb. trailer, the vehicle hesitated and failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. In addition, a bearing made an abnormal grinding sound. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road, opened the hood, and noticed dust on top of the eTorque Motor Generator Unit (MGU). The contact was able to restart the engine. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the Motor Generator Unit (MGU) had failed. The dealer informed the contact that continuous driving of the vehicle had caused the tensioner to overextend due to the loss of power by the MGU and bearing. The contact was informed that parts to repair the vehicle were on backorder. The vehicle remained with the dealer unrepaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and filed a claim. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.

SEE FULL COMPLAINT NOTES IN ATTACHED PDF; SUMMARY HERE (you do not provide sufficient space to provide all info you request) I own a 2019 Ram 1500 4WD Limited (not eTorque). On multiple occasions, the vehicle has unexpectedly shifted out of Drive into Neutral while driving. When this occurs, a warning chime dings and a message on display directs me to “Shift to Park”. The vehicle immediately loses forward power (because it has shifted itself to Neutral), until I come to a complete stop, shift to Park, and then shift back to Drive to move forward. Usually the engine stays on, but on at least one occasion the engine turned off and I had to restart. This has happened at least five times total, including three times within the past month. The events have occurred while decelerating to a stop, braking but not stopping, and accelerating from a slow down. Each time, I experienced a sudden and unexpected loss of propulsion, requiring me to stop the vehicle in traffic, shift fully into Park, and then reselect Drive before the vehicle would move again. These incidents have occurred in active traffic situations and have placed me and others at risk of a collision due to the sudden loss of power (SEE DETAILS IN PDF). I previously brought the vehicle to a dealer for this issue after it had just occurred (~1 year ago, before the recent increase in frequency); however, the dealer stated that the vehicle did not throw a code, or no code was stored. They could not replicate the problem and no repair was made. There are at least 55 NHTSA complaints filed that appear the same as my issue; none appear to have been resolved by dealers or RAM. This appears to be a systemic safety defect involving the powertrain and electronic shifting system. The unexpected loss of propulsion in traffic presents a serious risk of injury or death. I am submitting this complaint due to the ongoing and unresolved safety concern. I am scared to drive my family in my vehicle until it is known to be fixed.

Car shut off while driving without warnings.

Right front axle seized in front differential both axle splines worn and identical needs replacement. No parts available.

The contact owns a 2019 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was a whining sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact stated that later, while driving the vehicle, there was a clucking sound coming from the vehicle, and the vehicle lost power to the rear axle. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic, who examined the vehicle. After removing the rear axle casing, the mechanic discovered metal shavings and bearings inside the rear axle casing. The contact was advised that the rear axle needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact indicated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V556000 (POWER TRAIN); however, the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted regarding the failure. The failure mileage was 84,000.

My 2019 RAM 1500 diesel (built 12/12/2019 is included in Recall 23V-411 for tone wheel delamination. My tone wheel has failed (confirmed by technician). Stellantis provides free tone wheel replacement under Recall 73A for 2014 and 2016 models but excludes 2015/2017/2018/2019 models despite having the identical defect from the same supplier. I received only Recall 66A (software) which did not prevent failure. Stellantis now wants me to pay $3,037 to replace the defective part they replace free in other model years. This discriminatory recall remedy is inadequate and unjust.

The contact owns a 2019 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently shifted from drive(D) to park(P) independently. After shifting back to drive(D), the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular failure. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Motor Generator Unit failed at 89,000 miles. Three dealerships that I spoke with having waiting lists of customers for this repair. Backlog on part is up to four months. It is evident that this is specifically problematic to the models equipped with the 5.7-liter V8 Hemi MDS VVT eTorque Engine. Federal warranty expires at 80,000/ 8 years. Based upon the number of vehicles effected and specific to eTorque engines, seems like a recall (or reimbursement) is warranted in this case.

The dangerous behavior occurs only when the truck is in four-wheel-drive. Two behaviors: One:Low range. Ascending up a steep dirt road without warning truck shifted into neutral and got stuck there. Shifting into reverse drive or park did not take it out of neutral. The steering and brakes worked. The four-wheel-drive, low and four-wheel-drive high indicatorlights were blinking simultaneously. This behavior persisted after turning the truck off and on again. I had to back down a switchback dirt road. Eventually, I thought to disconnect the battery and reconnect it which corrected the behavior and put the truck back to normal. I no longer use this truck in four-wheel-drive low. I am having the truck looked at by a second dealer service department to try to diagnose this problem. 2: the second abnormal, behavior occurs in four-wheel-drive low, first gear heading downhill using the engine compression for braking. The truck will without warning shift into 2 Wheel Dr. high range, and the four-wheel-drive, low and four-wheel-drive high indicator lights blink simultaneously. This behavior is corrected by turning the engine off and then on again.

MGU FAILED AND HAS BEEN ON BACKORDER FOR MONTHS

Alternator with etorgue has gone out leaving the truck stranded and no parts are available. I order one on the 23rd of June 2025 it is now September 9th 2025. There is no update and part is still showing back ordered.

The contact owns a 2019 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, the vehicle jerked violently and downshifted unintendedly. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated, and the gear shift indicator and speedometer were malfunctioning. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The contact stated that the failure had recurred while driving at various speeds, and the vehicle stalled on several occasions. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle was able to be restarted after 5-15 minutes. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with loose wires. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The contact stated that while his son was driving 65 MPH, the failure recurred, and the vehicle shut off. The contact's son was able to pull over to the side of the road. The contact’s son was unable to remove the ignition key when the vehicle shut off. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 16,000.

Truck was stopped. Then as I started pressing on the gas pedal, there was a warning sound. The gear selector knob rotated on its own from D to P and the message on the screen said to start / stop the vehicle to put it back in gear D. This put myself and my family at risk of a car accident as we were merging onto an expressway. This happened while the truck was starting to accelerate. This is the second time this happens.

The vehicle will require that you shift it into park when slowing causing you to have to stop the vehicle place it in park then back into gear. This has happened regularly since about 20,000 miles on the vehicle, most often occurs in warmer weather months and it randomly occurs but at least weekly. This is a known issue among many Ram owners as noted in the online chats and forums. Pulling into traffic can be an issue.

During normal driving when coming to a stop the vehicle will hard downshift to neutral for no apparent reason. It will also hard shift to 1st like it’s lagging hard from 2nd or deciding if it wants to shift to neutral. It will happen at random times, in the middle of a turn, middle of an intersection. And is a serious concern

My 2019 RAM 1500 Big Horn/Longhorn 3.6L V6 (VIN: [XXX] ) experienced a sudden and catastrophic engine failure without warning while driving. The vehicle shut off unexpectedly on the highway and would not restart. There were no prior dashboard warning lights, low oil pressure indicators, or error messages before the incident. A full diagnostic revealed severe mechanical failure in cylinder 1, including piston-to-valve contact and 40% leak-down with compression at 50 psi. This damage rendered the engine inoperable and required a complete replacement. Prior to the failure: The vehicle was regularly maintained using synthetic oil, following the manufacturer's recommended intervals (between 6,500–10,000 miles). The oil life indicator was followed, and the truck was never low on oil or pressure. A Customer Satisfaction Notification for PCM (Powertrain Control Module) reprogramming was never completed due to the dealer’s system being down on two separate service visits. Despite following proper maintenance and attempting to comply with the manufacturer’s recall-like notice, the engine failure occurred without any warning or indication. The dealership and warranty provider have attempted to deny responsibility, blaming maintenance intervals without proof that it caused the failure. This is a serious safety concern as the engine shut down at highway speed, placing me and others at risk. I am requesting NHTSA investigate this issue and whether PCM logic, a known defect, or improper diagnostics at the dealership contributed to the failure. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The MGU for the hybrid system of the etorque of them truck failed. The bearing inside of it has started to grind and there is very little replacements available to consumers for repair. The dealership, Fernley Ram, located in Fernley Nevada stated that there is only 210 parts available in all of the US. Im reading in different forums that there are thousands of consumers waiting months (4-6 on the high end) for the part to be available. The part failing can cause power loss to vehicle while driving and thankfully it failed when I was arriving home today. Just wanted to bring this up so it can be known and hopefully a remedy can be figured out.

While driving down a curving mountain highway above 70 mph, the gauge cluster displayed “shift to park” or “shift to drive” I don’t recall exactly. The transmission then downshifted dramatically, perhaps into 3rd gear, then the motor shut off.Thankfully, I successfully merged through heavy traffic to the narrow shoulder but the truck would not restart. After over 30 minutes of attempts (fuel tank above half)I called a tow truck. My family climbed up the hill to get a safe distance from the road. It was cold and dark and things could have gone much worse. Ram owners on internet forums have described this exact problem many times and it’s clear that this is a wide spread safety issue. This is the second time the truck had lost power while driving in the same manner. The first time the dealer could not replicate the issue while it was under warranty and returned it to service. No I’m out of warranty, need a new transmission at largely my own expense and there are zero available in the country. The dealer has my truck for an “indefinite” time period.