What's Wrong with the 4th Generation 1500?

The Worst 2012-2018 1500 Problems

Air Suspension Fails When It's Cold

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…

TRW Crash Sensor Defect

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…

UConnect Frozen with Blank Screen

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…

UConnect Hacked, Should You Be Concerned?

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…

Ram Death Wobble

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.

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

2013 1500 GPS/UConnect malfunction 26 (100%)
2013 1500 radio not working properly 20 (77%)
2014 1500 air suspension does not work properly 19 (73%)
2014 1500 bump in transmission when releasing brake or accelerating 19 (73%)
2013 1500 various electrical issues 17 (65%)

Worst Topics

Interior 178 (100%)
Engine 151 (85%)
Transmission 142 (80%)
Electrical 107 (60%)
Body 62 (35%)

Worst Years

2014 297 (100%)
2013 245 (82%)
2012 170 (57%)
2015 106 (36%)
2016 87 (29%)
2017 17 (6%)
2018 13 (4%)

Timeline of 4th Generation 1500 News

The a
ir suspension in the 4th and 5th generation Ram 1500 doesn't work in cold weather and that's a pretty big problem if you live in Canada where checks notes it gets cold.
Posted on
August 31, 2020
Tagged
#lawsuit
Source
carcomplaints.com
More than 228,000 Ram trucks might suddenly roll away, even when the key isn’t in the ignition. The problem is caused by pins in the brake transmission shift interlock (BTSI) that stick open in higher temperatures. Fiat-Chrysler is expanding a previous recall of 1.8 million vehicles to include trucks with column shifters that were built between 01/01/2017 and 01/10/2018.
Posted on
February 15, 2019
Tagged
#recall
Source
carcomplaints.com
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. FCA has called the case meritless and tried to get it dismissed. When that didn’t work they turned to the U.S. Supreme Court. To FCA’s surprise, the court refused to even hear the appeal.
Posted on
February 1, 2019
Tagged
#lawsuit
Fiat-Chrysler (FCA) has settled allegations that it used an emissions defeat device in over 100,000 vehicles with 3-liter EcoDiesel engines. FCA didn’t disclose that the 2014-2016 Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee contain an auxiliary emission control device, presumably to get around strict nitrogen oxide testing. As part of the settlement FCA will pay fines, recall the affected vehicles, extend their warranties, and pay an average of $2,800 to each affected owner or lessee.
Posted on
January 13, 2019
Tagged
#lawsuit
Source
carcomplaints.com
Follo
wing multiple violations issued by the EPA, owners are suing Fiat-Chrysler for allegedly using illegal emissions software in their EcoDiesel engines.
Posted on
October 1, 2018
Tagged
#lawsuit
Source
carcomplaints.com

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.
2016 Ram 1500 Owner

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.
2014 Ram 1500 Owner

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.
2013 Ram 1500 Owner

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.
2014 Ram 1500 Owner

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.
2016 Ram 1500 Owner

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.
2013 Ram 1500 Owner

By the Numbers

7 model years
Grouping all models by their year can reveal some baddies.
934 complaints
Running tally of owner grievances filed to CarComplaints.com.
11th in reliability
Overall reliability rank out of 11 eligible generations.