RoadVitals

2021 RAM 1500 Visibility Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the visibility system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Visibility reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
23
Latest Aug 6, 2026
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
3%
of 665 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
0
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
0

What this page shows

Reports naming windshields, glass, wipers, defrosters and mirrors. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2021 RAM 1500 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 23 reports on file name it.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Owner reports naming visibility

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

Body & structureElectricalVisibility
Filed Aug 6, 2026

REAR WINDOW FRAME CRACKED AT BOTH CORNERS- WATER LEAKS INSIDE OF VEHICLE DURING RAIN. THIS CAN AFFECT ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS THAT ARE AT THE REAR CAB INSIDE THE TRUCK. I NOTICED THIS A MONTH AGO BUT DONT KNOW HOW LONG IT HAS BEEN THERE.

NHTSA ID
11755206
Incident
Mar 1, 2026
ElectricalSteeringVisibility
Filed Jul 30, 2026

RTSCM FAILED TO BE REPAIRED resulting in life long issue. Recall Y80 from December 2021 was performed and then erased from my vin history. 14a associated with same failing part was completed and issue never went away.

NHTSA ID
11753665
Incident
Jul 17, 2021
AirbagsVisibility
Filed Jun 23, 2026

The leather-wrapped dashboard on my 2021 Ram 1500 is bubbling and delaminating on both the driver and passenger sides. The material is lifting and separating from the base, creating glare and reflections that impair forward visibility while driving. It also raises potential concerns with passenger airbag deployment due to the distorted/bubbling surface over the airbag module area. This is a widespread known defect on 2019–2021 RAM trucks with leather dashboards. I have an open case with Ram Customer Care (#96620269) where only partial coverage was offered. Attached are photos showing the bubbling/delamination on both sides. This defect affects safe vehicle operation. Please investigate.

NHTSA ID
11746001
Incident
Jan 2, 2026
Visibility
Filed Mar 21, 2026

Rear drivers side window shattered without any incident or accident. Possibly due to extreme cold but it was not witnessed and truck was parked in driveway.

NHTSA ID
11726009
Incident
Feb 27, 2026
Visibility
Filed Mar 18, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at 10 MPH, there was an abnormally loud sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was parked, and while inspecting the exterior of the vehicle, the contact became aware that the driver's side rear glass had fractured. The contact stated that the driver’s side rear glass fractured without impact. The vehicle was taken to Safelite Auto Glass. The vehicle was being repaired. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 62,000.

NHTSA ID
11725257
Incident
Mar 16, 2026
Mileage
62,000 mi
Visibility
Filed Feb 19, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. While driving 65 MPH in inclement weather and attempting to clean the windshield, the windshield washer fluid failed to spray onto the windshield. The contact was unable to see the road clearly and pulled over to the side of the road to inspect the vehicle. The contact became aware that the windshield washer fluid hose was cracked. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was determined that the windshield washer fluid hose needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

NHTSA ID
11719123
Incident
Jan 13, 2026
Mileage
40,000 mi
Visibility
Filed Nov 22, 2025

My driver sun visor support broke when I tried to pull down the sun visor. It is supported by a plastic piece. If it wasn’t supported on the left side it could have fell down completely blocking my visibility of the road. I looked up this issue online and there are many other videos with the same issue with these trucks. This issue is so persistent that some third party companies have already come out with plastic support pieces to screw in to fix this. I took the truck to the dealer but they said they won’t fix it since my truck is out of warranty. There was no warnings, messages, or symptoms of the problem prior to the failure.

NHTSA ID
11700963
Incident
Nov 16, 2025
ElectricalVisibility
Filed Oct 8, 2025

Vehicles headunit no longer functions, backup camera system is also in-operational. Due to apparent over the air (OTA) updates to the uconnect infotainment headunit there is a widespread and known issue of, during the automated firmware update process, the vehicles battery being drained completely. This causes the vehicle to lose all power and the head unit to then fail the update process which creates a failure state for the headunit. In this particular case the headunit is "bricked" prescribled troubleshooting steps have been attempted but screen only displays: ("Software Update Update failed. Please re-insert USB Device.") according to a dealership service technician needs to be replaced. But there are none available for order. 2021 Ram 1500 BH UC 4 8.4" w/o nav.

NHTSA ID
11692019
Incident
Sep 30, 2025
Visibility
Filed Aug 26, 2025

the rear defrost overheated causing the rear windshield to shatter

NHTSA ID
11683070
Incident
Aug 22, 2025
Visibility
Filed May 1, 2025

HELLO SIMILAR INCIDENT TO THE HD 2020 RAM 2500 WINDSHIELD WIPERS NOT OPERATE PROPERTLY. REDUCED VISIBILITY INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH. MY VEHICLE IS EXPERIENCING THE RIGHT SIDE WINDSHIELD WIPER BECOMING LOOSE IN WHICH PREVENTS IT FROM WIPING RIGHT AND LEFT MOTION AS IT WOULD NORMALLY WIPE. A VISUAL OF THE NUT INDICATE A RUSTY APPEARANCE (AND POSSIBLY A NOT A PROPER FITTING NUT) TOMMORROW I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE DEALER TO ADDRESS , MANUFACTURE RECALL NUMBER 75B ON MY VEHICLE AND WILL ADDRESS THIS ISSUE. HERE IN PUERTO RICO IT IS RAINING QUITE A BIT LATELY SO THE ISSUE HAS APPEARED FOR THE FIRST TIME ONCE. I NEEDED TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE SO, AFTER REMOVING THE NUT I APPLIED SOME PLUMBERS TAPE AND TIGHTENED THE NUT BACK IN PLACE. I WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED IF THIS ISSUE CAN BE ADDRESSED. THANK YOU

NHTSA ID
11658309
Incident
May 1, 2025
Visibility
Filed Apr 4, 2025

The rear window (backlite) has a known manufacturing defect that allows water intrusion, potentially damaging the RF hub and creating conditions conducive to mold growth (see TSB 23-098-23). My vehicle has been affected by this defect, yet FCA has only extended the warranty to select vehicles, excluding others of the same year, make, and model that are clearly impacted by the same issue. This defect has led to saturated floor boards/carpet under the rear seats and has lead to the growth of mold.

NHTSA ID
11652762
Incident
Feb 26, 2025
ElectricalVisibility
Filed Mar 4, 2025

Rear window is leaking in both of the top corners and running down interior of vehicle. Damaged sensor under rear seat that had to be replaced and would not allow vehicle to unlock or start. Battery had to be disconnected and towed to repair facilty.

NHTSA ID
11646184
Incident
Dec 1, 2024
Visibility
Filed Feb 5, 2025

I was driving East bound at 8:00 am into the sun. I lowered my sun visor to block the sun. About 15 mins down the road the sun visor assembly completely separated from the ceiling mount. Looking this issue up online I found a YouTube video of another owner who had the same problem. Many comments from viewers describing that their drivers sun visor has separated from the mounting bracket. My truck only has 26k miles on it and it’s not even 4 yrs old yet, but out of warranty by 5 months. This is a serious driving hazard as someone might try to catch the falling visor while driving in sun glare.

NHTSA ID
11641001
Incident
Feb 3, 2025
Visibility
Filed Sep 25, 2024

Both of the front driver and passenger side flip down sun visors have broken within one week of each other. Each visor is attached to the ceiling of the cab by a metal arm with a plastic retaining clip. That plastic clip has broken on both visors within one week of each other and my truck only gets very light use. Since the retaining clip is broken both visors fall out of the ceiling and hang in the view of the driver and block the line of sight, which means the driver can not see directly in front forward. I have spoken to the local Dage Ram dealership who sold me the truck as well as the main national Ram customer service and both say the repair is outside of warranty even though its a safety issue and a clear defect so they will not fix the issues without me paying form $550 plus labor for each visor.

NHTSA ID
11616317
Incident
Aug 1, 2024
Visibility
Filed Aug 27, 2024

This has happened twice. The first Time Ram replaced the part no charge Warranty. The drivers side Sun visor breaks where it is hooked on to the interior roof. It falls down only hanging by the wires for the light in the visor. Yesterday it did it while driving on Highway. I allmost crashed. The part is on back order and Ram doesnt know when they will get them. Without it you are blinded by the Sun. Dangerous.

NHTSA ID
11611205
Incident
Aug 26, 2024
ElectricalVisibility
Filed Jul 3, 2023

The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact stated that the U-Connect system inadvertently kept reconnecting, preventing the HVAC system and defroster from operating as designed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the U-Connect system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to parts being on backorder. The manufacturer was not contacted or notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.

NHTSA ID
11530093
Incident
Jun 26, 2023
Mileage
42,000 mi
Visibility
Filed Dec 22, 2022

The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact stated while attempting to use the windshield washer function, there was no washer fluid coming out as needed. The contact parked the vehicle in the garage and notice that due to 5-degree weather, the windshield washer fluid line had burst. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 40,500.

NHTSA ID
11498529
Incident
Dec 21, 2022
Mileage
40,500 mi
Visibility
Filed Jan 11, 2022

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.

NHTSA ID
11447101
Incident
Jan 5, 2022
Driver assistanceVisibility
Filed Oct 30, 2021

I am a courier and use my truck to deliver lots of material that I pick up at loading docks. The back up camera shows all shadows as simply black areas, and any details in shadow are absent. If my load obscures my rear view mirror I am backing up blind until the camera is itself in shadow. This is incredibly dangerous, especially if backing up around children.

NHTSA ID
11438753
Incident
Oct 28, 2021
Visibility
Filed Jul 11, 2021

Rear camara does no show images

NHTSA ID
11424271
Incident
Jun 22, 2021
Visibility
Filed Jul 6, 2021

Backup camera sometimes has blank screen and guide lines sometimes are not there and zoom function does not work when no guidelines. Truck has been to the dealership 5-7 times, in January they replaced the camera itself but did not fix the issue. I was to they cannot do anything at this point unless it fails at the dealer. It does not have the trailer backup camera.

NHTSA ID
11423525
Incident
Oct 29, 2020
EngineVisibility
Filed Apr 14, 2021

I HAVE HAD 2 SAFETY ISSUES WITH MY 2021 RAM 1500 LARAMIE WITH APPROX. 4,500 MILES ON IT. 1ST , AND MOST IMPORTANT, I HAVE HAD THE ENGINE STALL WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A STOP ONTO A ROADWAY. IT HAS OCCURRED BETWEEN 5-25 MPH APPROX WHILE PULLING FROM A STOP, OR SLOW ROLL, INTO TRAFFIC. THE SECOND OCCURRENCE WAS ON 4/13/2021, UNSURE OF THE FIRST DATE. THE VEHICLES ENGINE COMPLETELY SHUTS DOWN, I RECEIVE A MESSAGE TO APPLY MY FOOT TO THE BREAK, SHIFT TO PARK, AND THAT THE EMERGENCY BREAK IS AUTO APPLIED ONCE AT A FULL STOP. THANKFULLY I MAINTAIN ELECTRICAL POWER SO I CAN STEER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD BUT THE ENGINE IS COMPLETELY WITHOUT POWER AND BOTH TIMES I HAVE HAD TRAFFIC APPROACHING FROM BEHIND ME. THE 2ND ISSUE, WHICH IS MINOR COMPARED TO A STALLING ENGINE, IS THAT THE BACKUP CAMERA PERIODICALLY STOPS WORKING. IT EITHER GOES COMPLETELY BLACK (ALTHOUGH THE MAGNIFYING GLASS REMAINS ON THE SCREEN) OR IT GETS A VERY POOR QUALITY IMAGE WITH LOTS OF COLORED LINES THROUGH THE PICTURE. THIS MAKES IT MUCH HARDER TO MANEUVER A BIG TRUCK WHEN YOU HAVE NO VIEW BEHIND YOU FROM THE CAMERA. AGAIN MINOR RELATIVE TO THE STALLING , WHICH IS MY MAJOR CONCERN, BUT AFTER I TOOK MY TRUCK IN FOR THE CAMERA ISSUE THERE IS CURRENTLY NO FIX AND THEY ARE AWAITING A SOFTWARE UPDATE. IT IS NOW BACK TO THE DEALER FOR A SECOND TIME IN 4,500 MILES MOST IMPORTANTLY TO ADDRESS THE STALLING AND WAS BROUGHT IN IMMEDIATELY AFTER IT OCCURRED. I HAVE ALSO SINCE HAD A CLICKING NOISE START IN THE STEERING COLUMN. I AM NOT SURE IF THIS IS JUST AN ANNOYANCE OR ANOTHER ISSUE. ALL ITEMS ARE REPORTED TO THE DEALER AND THEIR 800 NUMBER FOR WHICH THEY HAVE CREATED CASES.

NHTSA ID
11408080
Incident
Apr 13, 2021
Mileage
4,500 mi
Visibility
Filed Feb 1, 2021

WITHIN A WEEK OF BUYING THIS VEHICLE I NOTICED THE AUTO TINT MIRRORS, REAR VIEW AND DRIVER'S SIDE, BOTH DIM WHEN IT IS NOT BRIGHT OUTSIDE. CLOUDY DAYS OR NIGHT THEY WILL DIM WITH VERY LITTLE ADDED LIGHT. OUTSIDE HOUSE LIGHTS AND PARKING LOT LIGHTS WILL CAUSE IT TO DIM. IF I OPEN MY DOORS WHILE THE TRUCK IS RUNNING, REGARDS IF HEADLIGHTS ARE ON THE DOME LIGHT WILL DIM THE MIRRORS, IF SITTING AT NIGHT WHILE ON THE PHONE, IT WILL DIM THE MIRRORS. THE REAR VIEW MIRROR WILL BRIGHTEN INSTANTLY, HOWEVER THE DRIVER'S SIDE MIRROR WILL STAY VERY DARK FOR 1-2 MINUTES, MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE ANYTHING BEHIND YOU. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN TO THE DEALERSHIP 7 TIMES FOR THIS ISSUE AND FOR A BACKUP CAMERA ISSUE IN THE LAST 3 MONTHS. THE DEALER SAID ENGINEERS FOR CHRYSLER ARE SAYING THAT THIS IS NORMAL AND DESIGNED TO WORK THIS WAY. I'M NOT SURE HOW REMOVING THE ABILITY TO SEE BEHIND YOU IS REGARDED AS SAFE.

NHTSA ID
11390974
Incident
Nov 7, 2020
Mileage
64 mi

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Other components reported on this vehicle

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