NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2021 Ram 1500. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026
4-5-22 Came to a full stopped at an intersection, and as I started making a right hand turn , engine just shut off then the beeping started. Stalled in the middle of a turn and oncoming traffic. while panicking and traffic coming i had to ........... Shifted to park started the truck then shifted to drive and the engine revved but not moving. Dash said The E brake had engaged. Shifted to park again pressed the e brake button the back to drive at which point people were swerving to avoid hitting me. I was almost in a sever accident due to this. I have a scheduled an appointment with a dealer on 4-12-2022. There was no indication of anything wrong with the truck......nothing...... it just shut off. This is a very serious issue that Chrysler needs to acknowledge. Someone is going to seriously be injured by this. I looked online to see if there was a recall for it, there was nothing but I did see plenty of other people that this has happened to so it is not just a one and done people. Chrysler has a serious issue they need to address.
While starting to drive forward or backward turning, there is a shutter vibration felt slightly heard. It also has grinding shutter vibration at turn in intersection during the turn. The dealer on the 3 complaint visit replaced a front passenger CV Joint and bearing, upon picking the truck up it did it immediately again. Could not return as it was the service department closing time. There is also vibration grinding around 50 mph and up. Dealer states they can not duplicate issue. This is abnormal and concerns me as in a turn or higher speed, something breaks will put my family's lives and other motorist in danger. Also when using AC defrost vent stays open and will cause dew on the windshield.
After decelerating to approximately 5 mph at a traffic circle entrance and then turning slightly right and accelerating to enter the traffic circle, the vehicle's engine suddenly died and the dash indicated the vehicle must be shifted into park to restart. The emergency brake automatically engaged bringing the vehicle to a stop in the traffic circle. The vehicle's electronics were erratic and the vehicle was not able to immediately be shifted into park and the engine restarted. After approximately 30 seconds, the vehicle was able to be restarted. The vehicle was driven to a stop light approximately 100 yards down the road. Upon coming to a stop (before fully stopping), the same issue occurred again. Again, the electronics were erratic. Eventually (30 seconds later) the vehicle was restarted. This is apparently a known issue discussed alot on 5th Gen Forums, a Ram Truck forum.
The vehicle shut off while in motion, slammed itself into park also while in motion, and applied the emergency brake in the middle of a busy intersection. It is currently at the dealership where they can find nothing wrong It
The engine cut off while driving out of the intersection and killed in the middle of the lane. Thankfully no cars were coming at the time. Had there been traffic, I was a sitting duck. This has happened multiple times while pulling out into the intersection- always happening from a slow start. There are no warnings/alarms from the vehicle when this happens. The truck is less than 1 yr old.
Engine shut off from a quick stop. After I pressed the gas to go again rolled through intersection and stopped. Had to be put in park restarted and take the e-brake off to get to go again
Stopped at stop sign, attempted left turn, vehicle stalled, mid turn. Was able to pull over to right side shoulder, vehicle applied brake and went to park and engine off push button went to off from the run position. Vehicle is 2021 limited longhorn 5.7 hemi etorque.
The truck just stalls randomly and all lights come on. Then it puts the emergency brake on. You have to put it in park release the the brake and restart it and hope no one hits you. I brought it to the dealer twice so far. I also called Chrysler customer care. I have a case# 82559049. They did nothing for me and I requested to speak to a esupervisor. I haven't heard back. Both times they say no fault codes, they never heard of the problem and cant duplicate. The second time they stated they updated the PCM software and said it happened in the morning with right turns... They now also put electrical and body systems and successfully flashed ECU from old part number to current part number. I never told them anything with right turns. I'm bringing it to the dealer today. They left a part hanging under the seat. The engine also sometimes tics when first started then goes away. I'm very concerned for my safety and if I have any passengers. First time under a 1k miles in May 2021 then randomly since then .Last time March 2022
WHILE DRIVING ON A ROAD GOING APROX 20 TO 25MPH MY TRUCK STALLED. IT SAID THEIR WAS AN ERROR SHIFTED TO PARK AUTOMATICALLY AND ENGAGED THE EMERGENCY BRAKE. i HAD TO SHUT THE VEHCILE OFF TO GET IT TO SHIFT INTO DRIVE. IF I WERE ON AN EXPRESSTWAY OR TRAVELING AT A HIGHER RATE OF SPEED I COULD HAVE HAD A ACCIDENT OR IT MAY CAUSE ME TO GET REAR ENDED.
I was making a turn at a slow speed and the the truck just stopped. Parking brake went on and basically had to restart my truck. From what Im reading online, this is a very common issue. I was in a very busy intersection and definitely put me at high risk.
Cause of the incident is UNKNOWN at this time. The vehicle is currently with a Ram dealership for identification of the issue and repair. The incident occurred shortly after I exited an interstate with traveling speed at 70 mph or faster. If this issue had occurred on the interstate the potential for a serious accident would be extremely high. Incident: On March 16, 2022 while driving into work the vehicle seized and would not move. This occurred as I was pulling into the company parking lot at a speed of approximately 5 mph. The vehicle had just come off an interstate and had been traveling approximately 75 mph in congested traffic. Attempts to put the vehicle into Drive, Neutral, or Reverse were unsuccessful. The shifter would automatically move back into Park. I shut the engine off and then restarted. This did not resolve the issue and the truck would not go into any gear. The START/STOP Ignition also would not go to the OFF position when I shut the engine off. It would go to the ACC position only. I noted two different messages on the display when I restarted the engine. "Service Trans Press Brake When Stopped Key Off Engine to Engage Park" and "Service Trailer Brake System". I check the Error Code with an OBD device. The error code was U0402 "Invalid Data Received From TCM". To move the vehicle I disconnected the negative battery lead for 5 minutes and then reattached. This cleared the error and I was able to put the vehicle into drive. I took the vehicle to the dealership and will not drive it until repaired. The dealership had requested I take the vehicle and continue to drive as is to see if the issue would re-occur. I refused this as it could lead to a serious accident and potential loss of life.
Five minutes into my commute while making a low speed right turn from a stop, my vehicle stalled and shutoff in the middle of the road nearly causing an accident. Once stopped it automatically applied the emergency brake. This is apparently a known issue with the e-torque system.
Truck stalled at low speed and would not start couple mins later started and ebrake was on very dangerous was in a bad spot for this to happen with two kids in the car
Vehicle’s engine randomly shuts off while making slow turns. Error message appears saying to shift to park before starting engine then auto park engages. Vehicle restarts with issue and Ram dealer claims no codes or ability to reproduce, however acknowledged this is a documented issued and they currently don’t have a fix. No warning or codes prior. This is very dangerous as it is a loss of propulsion while turning in traffic. The second time it happened it almost caused a very serious wreck and vehicles had to serve to miss broadsiding me as I tried to restart my Vehicle.
Purchased this brand new truck back in July, 2021. As of today, it only has 7,200 miles on it. It has been hesitant when I press on the gas, as if it is going to stall out. I just figured it was because of the auto start/stop feature so I usually try to remember to disengage it. Then it shut off completely on me two different times this past week while I was making a right hand turn. When the engine shut off, the emergency brake engaged. I brought it to the dealer where I purchased the vehicle and they said no codes came up. They also test drove it and found no issues. I am very concerned for my safety and need this problem looked into. I belong to a Ram forum and it seems like many, many people are experiencing the same issues.
Engine stalls and applies emergency brake has happened two times first on 2/16/22 other on 3/2/22
Today 02/27/2022 2021 Ram Etorque 5.7 Engine stalled while vehicle was braking at stop sign at a low speed, vehicle rolled to a stop. Auto emergency brake deployed and the auto shift engaged putting my truck from drive to park before i could place the vehicle in Neutral. I was able to restart the truck on first try after being stuck in the middle of the intersection. Disengaged parking brake and drove off. No error message or codes on dash. 5 year old son was in backseat of vehicle. Truck has 15k miles
Truck stops running, fuel shuts off but power stays on.
Driving on a 35 mph highway and slowed to 10/15 mph to make a left turn and engine stopped running. Drifted to get out of intersection and when almost stopped the e brake locked on. Restarted vehicle and continued driving. Vehicle has 10911 miles and 3/4 full on gas.
I was turning left at a stop sign. As I turned, at a low speed, the enigine shutoff. I lost use of the electric steering and the truck came to a stop. The parking brake automatically engaged. Putting the brakes on, I placed the truck in park and restarted the engine. It started back up. I disengaged the parking brake and took off.
The truck shut off while driving. Driving and taking turns between 5-15mph Truck just shuts down and engages the parking brake.I almost got hit 2 times. The truck is brand new with 4,000 mikes on it. The first time it happened I had 2,000 miles on it. After reading online this is a big problem and someone is going to be killed. This need ti be addressed
While driving at low speeds I turn right at a stop sign. I did not come to a complete stop just a roll through. The truck turned off and applied emergency brake. I was able to re start and continue. this has happened four times. Dealer unable to duplicate. last happened a month ago
Engine shuts down on a low speed turn for no reason. You must stop, place in park and restart. Sometimes it puts the ebrake on and shifts itself into park upon stall. Very dangerous in traffic or on train tracks.HUNDREDS of people are posting of the same situation and dealers can't duplicate it. There is a service bulletin on earlier builds prior to my 6/21 build that they say don't apply but has the same symptoms. Build date 6/21 miles now 1200 Ram 1500 E Hemi.
Driving down the freeway using adaptive cruise control it was working very well, a car pulled in front of me and my truck slowed down. The car in front shortly after moved out of the way from in front of me. My truck immediately started accelerating hard to get back up to the initial speed. Traffic had come to a sudden stop in front of me but my truck continued to accelerate hard towards the now stationary traffic. I had to slam on my brakes and dive onto the shoulder else I would have wrecked. A similar situation happened a few days later when approaching a traffic light there was a car already stopped at the light. I had a car in front of me which was braking, my truck correctly slowed down. Just before coming to a stop the car in front switched lanes, my truck then punched it as if trying to get back up to the initial speed with a stationary car less than 2 car lengths in front of my I had to slam on the brakes else I would have slammed into the back of the stationary car.
Making a right turn under 20mph and the truck shut off on me . Got the "Shift to P to Start" message, followed by "Shifter Autocorrect Active", then after restarting got the message "Park Brake Auto Engaged Press Brake + Push Switch to Release" and "Safe-Hold Temporarily Disabled" and "AutoPark Disabled".
I almost died, when my truck stalled as I was entering a major thoroughfare. This primarily has to do with the auto start/stop option on my Ram, which if you do not come to a complete stop, and attempt to accelerate with this feature on, the vehicle stalls. This has happened to me several times, and if you go on the online forums it is happening to many other Ram drivers, it is a serious safety issue, as you have no control over the stall due to the computer. Basically, when I am coming to a stop and then accelerate with the vehicle at a slow crawl, 2-3 MHP, the truck stalls. Imagine rolling through a yield sign and your vehicle stalling, with oncoming traffic headed your way, serious safety issue. Extremely lucky to not have been involved in a crash with oncoming traffic headed my way going 55 MPH, I was able to stay in the yield lane.
Within first mile of operation within neighborhood while accelerating through away from stop sign executing a left hand turn traveling below 15 mph the vehicle stalls. Truck immediately automatically engages parking brake forcing sudden stop. Issue has occurred intermittently at least once a month since purchase. Vehicle is not set for auto emergency braking. This issue is a significant safety issue for anyone on roads.
Vehicle simply turned off while driving at slow speed. Once I pulled over and place it in park and started it back like nothing happened.
We came to a stop sign. Went to press the gas to proceed into the road with on coming traffic. The truck started to accelerate and then the engine cut off. The emergency braking system was engaged and the dash light reflected that. After a few seconds we were able to restart the truck. Luckily just before we were hit by other vehicles since we were left in the middle of a busy road with morning traffic in both directions. I do not feel safe driving this truck. I quickly googled the issue and found many other threads of complaints with the same issue. Please do the research on this before people are killed!
After letting the truck warm up for at least 3 to 5 minutes, got in the truck and drove less than a mile and came to a second stop the engine stalled. Also I do not have the E torque system. I've also had an issue from day one a purchase of the truck and even filed a complaint with FCA about my stability control activating on certain turns under 30 miles an hour.
When driving at speeds above 45mph the truck loses acceleration out of no where. It will make grinding/shifting/stuck noises and rapidly going to unsafe speeds. I have been in HIGH traffic EVERY time this has occurred to me. This situation has put myself and my family in harms way too many times. I assume from my research this is a transmission/powertrain issue. This truck is a 2021,I am the first and only owner purchasing in 2021 early year. By three months in I had experienced the issue thinking it was a one off. It is not. I have taken the truck to Ram dealerships in TX as well as New Mexico and no one can seem to find the issue as according to them “nothing shows up”. I have a VERY detailed video of the issue happening as I was driving in 75mph. I have show it to the dealership with no solution from them. Latest service appointment was in October 2022-dealership could not find anything. The truck has been driven no more than 15 times from late October 2022-January 2023. The truck as of today January 31,2023 is currently at a collision shop, not related to this current issue but was caused by the Ram Dealership. I received an alert this morning (MOPAR) stating that the Powertrain malfunction indicator light has come on. Other attached information was ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL (ETC) WARNING LIGHT-If light is flashing when the engine is running immediate service is required and you may experience a steady RPM with no throttle control or engine stall and your vehicle may require towing. Transmission Temperature Warning Light,Charging System Warning Light also showed as concerns. I have contacted the current shop that has my truck in its possession to inquire what was done when the alerts wee received etc. Waiting on a call back from them. Bottom line, understanding that anything can happen with vehicles and not all can be replicated etc.,if Ram knows it’s a known issue fix it so your drivers/consumers don’t die. Can we enjoy our investment SAFELY Ram?
Once again this truck is still having the same issues! I was on the local freeway going 60 and all of a sudden the truck brakes and shuts off while in in the express lane! [XXX]! How was our safety at risk? Really? I don't understand how these trucks haven't been recalled yet RAM recalled and bought back 2022 Rams due to defrosting issues. Apparently trucks breaking and stopping out of nowhere isn't a big deal but lets not make folks wipe their windows...So many of these Ram 1500 have the same issues and what?! STELLANTIS DOES NOT CARE! No warning lights came on yet again but just decides to brake and shut off. This isn't the first incident! Again I was fortunate to no get hit! But my nerves, mental/emotional status, and scares are enough injuries! Please see ram forms, social media, etc there are so many others with these issues that haven't reported to NHTSA! INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
While traveling over a speed bump at approximately 5 mph, truck will stall, "autocorrect shift" and apply emergency brake. Vehicle is a 2021 eTorque.
I was driving down the road at 55 when the truck had a throttle error would not respond and shut down. I started it back up same errors would not go over 30 mph almost causing an accident causing someone to hit me from behind.
While driving my truck at approximately 70MPH on the highway, the truck shut down. I was able to pull off the side of the road and dashboard showed the message of Electronic Throttle Control and the engine light turned on. This is the third report I have filed regarding this truck shutting down while driving and the 7th time this truck has randomly shut down on me since purchasing in July 2021. This has been on the dealership 2 separate times and is going in tomorrow for a third time for this issue, I no longer feel safe driving this truck and feel this incident should be address as soon as possible,
The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact stated that after stopping at a stop light, the fuel saving feature activated and engine turned off; however, after releasing the brake pedal, the engine failed to restart as designed. The failure had occurred on several occasions. The contact stated that after the failure occurred and the vehicle was restarted, the RPM would be elevated; however, the vehicle failed to exceed 29 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer on several occasions but no cause for the failure was determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 300.
Power steering intermittently fails. Loss of power steering while driving and service power steering warning message and beeps turn on during failure then shuts off when power steering restored. Loss of power steering nearly caused an accident. Symptoms started two weeks ago and increasing in frequency and severity. I am bringing truck back to dealer for investigation.
Truck showed "Service Electronic Throttle"... Truck has 13,000 miles on it. Along with the service code, rear view camera doesn't work, backup sensors don't work, and remote start will not operate. No apparent throttle issues, but concerned for safety with rear view camera and backup sensors not operating. It would be nice to have the remote start as its winter, but only an inconvenience for that matter.
When starting to accelerate after turning at low speed, my 2021 RAM 1500 with the E-Torque engine will shut-off and the emergency brake will engage. A message will appear that says “Park brake engaged, press brake and push to release.” Truck has 5150 miles on it. This has occurred two different times while entering highway traffic. Very alarming as I’m sure you can imagine. The first time it happened I was on a lightly traveled road and was alone. Then today (1/9/22), It happened again, but this time on a much busier highway and my family was with me and we were almost rear ended. Not a fun experience and potentially deadly. After researching online, particularly on RAM owner’s website and forums I have found this to be a common complaint among RAM owners. They take vehicle to dealers and the dealers can’t replicate the incident and so they tell customers they can’t help them if it doesn’t happen when technicians drive the truck, yet they send customers away with a potentially deadly vehicle. I am getting an appointment with local dealer tomorrow but I expect the same answer. I sincerely urge the NHTSA to address this dangerous situation with Chrysler-RAM before serious injury or death occurs in these vehicles. Hopefully NHTSA can get RAM to acknowledge this situation and get something done before injuries or deaths occur. Maybe they will address this with a federal agency. They certainly haven’t with their customers. Thank you for your advocacy for the safety of the American people.
While driving to the highway out of my neighborhood my truck lost all power, I was able to pull over to the side, read the message, “electronic throttle control”, wait a few minutes and restart my truck and continue on my way, I had lost complete acceleration and my truck shut down, I had no throttle power, again later that night returning home my truck again shut down and showed the message “electronic throttle control”, again I was able to pull off the side of the highway, wait and attempt to restart which I was able to do after about 10 minutes, again I lost complete acceleration again I had no throttle power but was able to put on my emergency flashers and coast to the side of the road, this is the 4th time this has happened to us and the second time our new truck has been in the shop for this and other issues, our local dealership does not understand the severity and life threatening issues associated with this, we could have lost our lives has we not recognized the loss of power and safely coasted to the emergency lane.
I was driving on the highway when all of sudden my truck shut down, I coasted to the emergency lane and was unable to restart my truck, I waiting about 10 minutes, restarted my truck and had to keep pumping the throttle to keep it running to get to my destination. I was able to have an OBD reader connected to my truck at a dealership and there were 3 codes stored all relating to fuel. This happened to me in twice in November of 2021 and again twice on January 7th of this year. I also received another code at the dealership on January 8th regarding another recall. These combined total of 4 shut downs have put me and my family in extreme danger, this brand new truck is unreliable and we are hesitant to drive it.
I bought a new truck from a dealership with an open recall on it. I didn’t think anything of it, since they assured me they would fix it once they could. About a month after I purchased it, the dealer called me and told me they were not legally supposed to sell me the truck in the first place and that I had to bring my truck back to their lot indefinitely and leave it their until they could fix the recall, that currently has no remedy to it. I told them I was uncomfortable with this, and I didn’t think it seemed right. They told me they would call me back the next day, but it had now been a week later, and I have not heard anything from them since then. I’m not sure if this is the appropriate way to handle this, but I have been unable to get anymore information from the dealership, and the whole ordeal seemed very odd to say the least.
Close call backing up Ram needs to fix this Y80 recall
2021 Ram 1500 Laramie crew cab with the Hemi etorque has 10k miles. Today traveling at approximately 35 mph I slowed to yield at a round about but did not reach a complete stop, as I went to go my truck went forward into a very busy round about and the engine shut off completely. I stalled, rolling into a 2 lane roundabout on a busy road, fearful for my life. Center screen stated to place vehicle in park before starting. I placed my flashers on and mid panic attack managed to think enough to restart the engine. I placed the shifter dial into Park and restarted without any issue. The emergency brake had become engaged at this time. I was able to release that and safely exit the roundabout. I did cause a backup and was left in a potentially lethal situation. Very very scary. No issues after this. Had my husband check truck when I got home, no error codes detected. I do not know if it is related but I do on occasion feel like there is issue with the auto start/stop feature “sticking or hiccuping” when I do not come to a complete stop (our area had many round abouts)
Vehicle has shut off on me a total of 7 time on me while driving since I purchased on Jan 2 2021. The first time this happened was about 2 weeks after I bought the truck. Each time has been about the same conditions. While driving at low speeds “around 5 mph” my truck automatically shut itself off. At this point it automatically engages the emergency brake. I then have to put shifter back in park, put my foot back on the brake to restart my truck then turn off the emergency brake. At this point I am able to shift back to drive and go. Two of the times this happened I was in a high traffic area where I almost got rear-ended. My vehicle does not throw out any codes and the dealership has not been able to duplicate. First time I took it to the dealer they had it for about 2 or 3 days. The second time they had it for 3 1/2 weeks. The 3rd time I took it in to a different dealer and they said they came across a bulletin somewhere that said the needed to change out the MGU, which they replaced yesterday. Hopefully this fixes the issue. A vehicle shutting down randomly is very dangerous. I have been reading a lot of forums and this seems to be a common problem that needs to get fixed or recalled somehow. The date and mileage on the next section are from the last time this happened. But like I said earlier this has been happening since early January 2021.
My 2021 Dodge RAM 1500 eTorque just stalls while driving. It's happened twice in the last 2 weeks. Both times were making a left hand turn going approximately 10-15 miles an hour. The engine just stalls. No power steering and limited brakes. While rolling to a stop, the e-brake comes on automatically causing a violent stop. This is a known issue. It's been in the shop for 2 days now and they can't reproduce it and are giving the truck back today.
While driving at any rate of speed the brakes have suddenly just locked resulting in the inability to move. When it locks up it takes a harsh fast jerk on everyone in the vehicle. Not only does this put my entire family at risk of potentially getting hit by other vehicles that could possibly lead to a fatality. The brakes also lock up while backing up for no reason which again jerks everyone in the vehicle. The engine shuts off randomly while moving also while slowing down or coming to a stop which puts everyone at risk. The Manufactures have many defects that are highly detrimental to families, Ram needs to recall these trucks as its putting everyday life in danger. A truck can be replaced however a loved one you can't. I barley drive mine not only due to the safety risk and defects but also because I had many issues with the Dealership I purchased from, and I will not put myself or child back in such environment which results in having to find someone else that deals with Ram. I have made ongoing complaints regarding the issues including Battery was completely dead and I had to replace, the dashboard lights blink, message power steering unavailable, services shifters. I have made it very clear that I personally do not feel safe driving my family in this truck. Ram has done a poor job with getting the help owners need to stay safe. I never get a response from anyone when I report problems. So, I have a New Truck in my driveway, with financial obligations yet the New Vehicle is unreliable transportation, along with putting lives at risk. Ram needs to recall these trucks due to the ongoing defects and poor quality along with acknowledgement that the truck is not worth the price paid. I avoid going out because the truck is not a reliable vehicle for a family, it's only a risk taker and I'm not willing to risk my life or my families. This has caused ongoing hardship; I fear driving my own vehicle which has caused me to not go out in the community.
While driving the MIL chimed , check engine light is active along with low battery gauge illumination and low battery warning light , in park vehicle idling is erratic in drive or reverse idle is erratic also with spurts of motion, no active or stored codes are present but MIL is active
Unknown Failure causing issue. Vehicle's Engine Shutoff while traveling down the road with no warning messages. Then message says to apply breaks and push "start", but it was in the "Run" and still coasting in Drive on the road. After it slowed to about 5-10 mph, the emergency break system engaged and the vehicle went to "Park" causing the vehicle to throw me forward in the seat and objects were thrown as if I had collided with something. My wrist was injured by this, but lucky I had no passengers or my dog with me. The local dealership is looking into it, but say there is nothing wrong. Upon doing some research, I see multiple people have stated this has happened to them as well. This is a significant risk to health and safety of vehicle occupants and other vehicles that may be traveling near them when this happens. Depending on speed it occurs, the outcome could result in death. I did attempt to connect my on-board diagnostic/monitoring system and found that the manufacturer has it block so I cannot see any possible codes or sensor readings of the vehicle. Then they say nothing is wrong when you take it to them to scan. That is also unacceptable.
As i slowed down to turn right and get on highway truck died and had to easy to side of highway and restart