What's Wrong with the 4th Generation 1500?

Front 3/4 view of a Ram 1500

The 4th generation 1500 runs from 2012 to 2018. Owners have made 931 complaints about those model years. Most of the complaints are about interior problems.

Considering those complaints, along with other data – such as average repair costs, age of the vehicle, and recall frequency – we've assigned this generation a PainRank™ score of 46.76.

It ranks 11th out of 11 eligible generations in overall reliability.

The Worst 2012-2018 1500 Problems

Air Suspension Fails When It's Cold

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The optional air suspension in 4th and 5th generation Ram 1500 won't work in colder climates where the air temperature regularly dips below freezing. As you might image, depending on four deflated bags to provide an adequate ride doesn't wo…

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TRW Crash Sensor Defect

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There's growing concern that some sort of electrical overstress is messing with airbag control units (ACU) in certain Ram trucks. At this time the problem is believed to be responsible for as many as eight deaths which has sparked an invest…

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UConnect Frozen with Blank Screen

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The uConnect infotainment system will often boot into a blank screen, becoming unresponsive to the touch, or reboot at random times. Each time it'd force owners to turn off their cars, restart, and just hope for a better outcome. And an ove…

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UConnect Hacked, Should You Be Concerned?

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On July 21, 2015 a report surfaced that hackers had remotely taken control of a Jeep Cherokee through its UConnect system. They turned on the A/C, cranked the volume of the radio, and even killed the transmission while the vehicle was on th…

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Ram Death Wobble

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Death wobble is a violent shaking of the front end of the vehicle while driving. It usually happens after hitting a bump while traveling at highway speeds, and doesn’t stop until the truck slows down.

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What Owners Complain About

Sometimes it helps just to tally up the complaints and see where the biggest stacks are. Use this information to learn about troublespots or to run for the hills.

Worst Issues

Worst Topics

Worst Years

4th Generation 1500 in the News

Uconnect Hacking Vulnerability Trial Date Set

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A lawsuit concerning hacking vulnerabilities in Fiat-Chrysler’s (FCA) Uconnect system is headed to trial this October. The lawsuit was filed after researchers showed how a Jeep could be controlled remotely through the infotainment system. F … continue reading

What 1500 Owners Say About This Generation

Air Suspension Fails When It's Cold

I have vowed to my dealer that I will park my truck at the shop door every single time I see a warning on my dash telling me I can't raise or lower my truck. Or wake up to the 'drunk truck' sickness we are all too familiar with.

Air Suspension Fails When It's Cold

The dealer says there is nothing they can do to fix the suspension freeze up problem, that it is a factory problem and that the trucks with air suspension should not have been sold in cold climate places.

UConnect Frozen with Blank Screen

Radio and screen would just turn itself off at anytime, and the music that I had down loaded onto a thumb drive would not work unless I rebooted the complete system.

Ram Death Wobble

Bought this truck with only twenty miles on it. It has had a bad vibration from day one. [The dealership] has looked at this a half dozen times and can not seem to get it fix. They say it is a known issue and don't know how to fix it. This has to be one of the worst trucks I have ever owned.

UConnect Frozen with Blank Screen

When [the screen goes blank] you lose all information on your radio, phone, navigation system very annoying. My system came back after a hour of driving very annoying when you need the nav system for areas that you never been in before ad to stop and get out my map.

UConnect Frozen with Blank Screen

Due to the Uconnect failure, I no longer have a functioning radio AM/FM/XM nothing! I can't access the heating features which is disheartening since I live in Michigan and its winter time. Im now paying extra for service's I cannot access due to the faulty screen.

By the Numbers

  1. 7 model years

    Grouping all models by their year can reveal some baddies.

  2. 931 complaints

    Running tally of owner grievances filed to CarComplaints.com.

  3. 11th in reliability

    Overall reliability rank out of 11 eligible generations.