2026 RAM 1500 Owner Complaints

Vehicle returned from warranty repair at MainStreet CDJR of Lansing with severe mechanical negligence and federal compliance breaches. The dealership left critical drivetrain components completely loose, including rear transmission mount bolts and cooler lines, creating an immediate highway safety hazard. A separate, certified Ram dealership has since inspected the truck and generated a formal work order explicitly documenting: "Loose bolts left from prior dealer." Furthermore, the initial dealership assigned an uncertified student trainee (Tech ID 1078) to perform this advanced powertrain warranty work and subsequently signed off on a critical federal occupant safety restraint recall completion. The General Manager verbally admitted to the consumer that the servicing technician was uncertified and currently still attending training classes. The dealership held the repair ticket open locally for 33 days to actively manipulate data and hide the compliance paperwork from corporate

NHTSA ID

11766563

Incident

Aug 13, 2026

My 2026 RAM 1500 has the optional trailer tow mirrors. I have had similar trailer tow mirrors on my previous vehicle, a 2023 RAM 2500 HD and they did not seem to be as bad as they are here on my 1500 RAM truck. These trailer tow mirrors obscure too much visibility, particularly and specifically at an intersection. People in crosswalks, as well as other motorists at either the left or right of me, at an intersection, are almost completely impeded by these larger mirrors. I'm 6'1" and I still have to completely get out of my seat to see around these mirrors, to ensure I see other motorists and that don't hit someone. I have had multiple close calls with both vehicles to the left and right at intersections being almost completely hidden with these mirrors, and even a pedestrian recently at a crosswalk. I don't think these mirrors are safe. I don't feel comfortable having my wife drive my truck with these mirrors.

NHTSA ID

11766327

Incident

Sep 22, 2026

while operating my brand-new 2026 Ram 1500 at approximately 35mph, the panoramic sunroof suddenly and violently imploded with a loud explosion resembling a gunshot. There was absolutely no vehicle ahead of me, no overhead structures, and zero external impact from a rock or debris before the failure occurred.The glass shattered violently outward, showering the interior cabin and the roadway behind me with sharp, tempered glass shards. This structural failure caused an immediate, severe distraction while driving at highway speeds, creating an extreme safety hazard for myself, my passengers, and surrounding traffic.Upon taking the vehicle to three separate authorized Ram dealerships—including Finnegan Ram in Rosenberg, TX—service management verbally admitted they could find no physical evidence or point of impact on the glass, yet they refused to cover the repair or report the failure to the manufacturer as a factory safety defect. The vehicle currently has approximately 3100 miles and suffered a catastrophic structural glass failure under normal operating conditions.

NHTSA ID

11765929

Incident

Sep 21, 2026

This happened twice in 3 weeks. I came to a stop, and suddenly the engine raced to 3,500 rpm’s, and surged forward 20-30 feet before I got it under control with extreme brake application.

NHTSA ID

11765756

Incident

Sep 21, 2026

2026 Ram Acceleration problem. It has happened 3 times as the vehicle only has 4200. Miles on it. I had it towed to dealership and they were able to duplicate failure. They ran a number of diagnostic test and software updates. I haven’t had a failure since , but it’s only been a few days. 1/27/2026

NHTSA ID

11764983

Incident

Sep 10, 2026

While driving at highway speeds, a severe transmission defect caused an electronic and mechanical failure chain on my 745-mile vehicle. The transmission experienced an immediate loss of hydraulic control, causing the engine to surge to 4,000 RPM and violently slam three separate times under load, attempting to force a gear engagement (DTC P076F-00). This severe physical trauma caused the Transmission Control Module (TCM) to completely drop communication with the Engine Control Unit (ECU), throwing error codes U0080-00 (Ethernet Bus 1) and C2226-00 (TCM Disabled ECU).The vehicle's safety software responded to this network crash by entirely cutting transmission line pressure. This architecture resulted in an instantaneous and catastrophic Loss of Motive Power (LMP). The vehicle entered a dead-freewheel state, causing it to roll backward on an active, inclined freeway off-ramp into oncoming traffic. A severe collision was avoided solely due to immediate driver reaction time. The driver and a [XXX] passenger were left stranded in a live traffic zone. Dealership Repair Order #XXX explicitly documents this loss of motive power and unintended directional movement. However, the manufacturer's current remediation plan completely ignores the severe electrical and structural trauma. The dealership is attempting a superficial valve body replacement based on a stationary shop air test. This low-pressure test cannot inspect for warped clutch steel plates, glazed friction linings, micro-fractured planetary gear teeth, or torque converter clutch fatigue caused by consecutive 4,000 RPM shock-loads. Furthermore, a mechanical valve body fails to address the high-speed Ethernet bus crash that disabled the TCM. This vehicle suffers from an unpredictable, systemic electronic and mechanical safety defect that creates an immediate hazard to public safety. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11764262

Incident

Sep 7, 2026

On September 14, 2026, my 2026 Ram 1500 Limited, with approximately 6,000 miles, caught fire while parked and unattended in my workplace parking lot. I had driven the vehicle approximately six minutes to work and parked it at approximately 1:30 PM. I did not notice any warning lights, warning messages, smoke, unusual smells, or other indications of a problem while driving or when I parked the vehicle. At approximately 2:25 PM, a coworker noticed smoke coming from the parked vehicle. He approached the vehicle and then ran inside to alert others. Workplace surveillance cameras captured the incident. Management reviewed the footage, which shows the truck sitting parked and unattended before smoke becomes visible, followed very quickly by visible flames. The fire developed very rapidly. The fire department responded and extinguished the fire, and a fire investigator responded to the scene. There was no collision, the vehicle was unoccupied, and thankfully there were no injuries. The cause of the fire and the component or system responsible are currently UNKNOWN. The vehicle is available for inspection. Because this is a 2026 vehicle with only approximately 6,000 miles that caught fire while parked and turned off shortly after being driven, we are concerned that a vehicle component or system may have malfunctioned and created a serious safety hazard.

NHTSA ID

11764237

Incident

Sep 14, 2026

The charging system does not charge the starting battery at times. On a 2 plus hour drive I got a low voltage warning from my dash camera. the dashcam has the feature to protect not running the battery to low. I was driving at highway speeds and the trucks onboard gauges showed the battery voltage at 12.5 volts. It should show between 13.8 to 14.1 with the engine running. If the battery were to have completely died the truck would have been disabled at speed. Dealer looked at it and charged the battery up. Said batter was good and saw no issues, but I have experienced it again after so they are wrong. Truck has less than 4000 miles on it.

NHTSA ID

11763918

Incident

Aug 22, 2026

side air bag is at body shop waiting on estimate. side impact wife driving 30 mph hit in left side started at A post ripped through drivers door crushed outer and inside rocker panels. has dent into cab area. Wife was taken to hospital in a neck brace with large Hematoma above left eye from head bouncing off side window. Vechicle has not been inspectied by anybody other than body shop. Truck is new 3000 miles with no warning lamps on. The truck was pushed over 1 lane do to impact.

NHTSA ID

11763123

Incident

Sep 3, 2026

On XXX, I leased a 2026 Ram 1500 truck from Enterprise Rent-A-Car ([XXX] branch) with a friend, both of us being young women. While traveling, the vehicle suffered a catastrophic electronic system failure. The truck’s central computer completely desynced from the key fob, locking two female occupants out and leaving us stranded and vulnerable in a remote area. It also began alerting about “ checking tire pressure system despite checking all tires. A passerby stopped (dangerous) and by offered a used AirTag battery, the red light in the fob was working before and after the battery change. It started once, we were forced to sleep in a running vehicle, afraid to turn it off. Eventually the tire pressure alert over rode the key fob alert so we reached a secure location and turned off and locked the truck. After breakfast we were completely locked out and stranded again. We tried a replacement NEW fob battery but still didn’t sync leaving us stranded AND locked out. Because Enterprise corporate actively alters manufacturer safety equipment by stripping the physical, manual emergency backup key blades out of the key fob housings, we had absolutely no physical mechanism to override the locked doors to seek shelter or access the cabin during this system failure.A subsequent VIN search on the official NHTSA database proved that this exact vehicle had an active, unresolved federal safety recall for software defects (NHTSA Recall Campaign #26V-531 / Manufacturer Recall #78D) issued on XXX. Enterprise held this vehicle in its active fleet and rented it to me eleven full days after the federal safety recall went live, violating federal laws governing rental fleet recall compliance. The specific software defect cited in the federal recall matches the exact electrical system crash that disabled our vehicle, locked out our security protocols, and put our physical safety at risk TWICE. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11763022

Incident

Sep 7, 2026

The contact owns a 2026 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V059000 (Exterior Lighting, Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

NHTSA ID

11763018

Incident

Sep 9, 2026

The vehicle has failed to start and left me stranded multiple times. The concerning thing here is, upon jumping the vehicle, there were no concerning lights just a single check engine light. I was driving directly to the dealer for a repair. All was fine for about 10 minutes. Then, I hit the brakes and all warning lights came up and the brakes STOPPED WORKING. The pedal was soft and going nearly to the floor. I very luckily avoided an accident and pulled over, then had the vehicle towed to the dealer. A week and a half later, when trying to start the truck it had another full electrical freakout and was towed to the dealer again.

NHTSA ID

11762807

Incident

Aug 10, 2026

[XXX]. at about [XXX] I put the vehicle on Drive mode after releasing the electronic parking brake. Suddenly the vehicle engine stopped running all power was not available to include power windows and doors. I was trapped inside my vehicle for about 20 minutes. I made a call to the manufacture's roadside assistance at 8667264636 since the vehicle has only 3,000 miles on it. The script reading third world country support team was not very helpful. I managed to exit the vehicle through an open window after releasing the hood latch. My first troubleshooting procedure was to reboot the system by disconnecting the negative of the vehicle power pack, my next step was to confirm volage on the power pack. After I got confirmation that sufficient power was available and reconnected the negative side to the power pack, I used my key fob to unlock the vehicle. I got power to the dash and the 12" cluster screen but the push to start was still disabled. I called back the manufacture's roadside assistance once again only to be informed that I had to pay $200 for towing. I decided to disconnect the power pack once again this time for 30 minutes. Upon reconnecting it back again I was able to restart the vehicle and cautiously drove it to my home. I've noticed glitches since the last software update completed through my ISP as the system is designed to do so. Please investigate, this is a safety concern. People could get trapped for hours in inclement weather (heat) specially the ones with no technical/mechanical background. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11762728

Incident

Sep 7, 2026

My tailgate wont open at all ! I tried the button in the overhead console ,the key fob and manually! Nothing works and I can't get a dealership to get me a loaner to look at it because I can't be with out transportation! It's a little frustrating I have a new truck that was less then 1month old at the time. Not to mention the other electrical issues like (system keep unpairing my phone),my airbag RH rear canister makes a loud bursting noise or the light indicator in the mirror come on and system is froze until I turn the truck off and back on. I'm hoping you will be able to help with the issues I've mention!

NHTSA ID

11761422

Incident

Jul 29, 2026

Fall of 2025. After braking in a round a bout vehicle would not drive. I had enough forward momentum to get through the round a bout and pull over. Once stopped I shut off truck and restarted it. The transmission worked after restarting. Took truck to dealer but they could not determine any problems. August 2026 same issue occurred in another round a bout. I was able to limp to a side street and shut down and restart truck. Worked fine after restart.

NHTSA ID

11761333

Incident

Oct 10, 2025

The contact owns a 2026 RAM 1500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was turned off, an attempt was made to open the front passenger door and both rear doors manually and with the key fob; however, the doors failed to unlock or open. The vehicle was restarted, but the doors remained unresponsive. After sitting for approximately 15-20 minutes, the front passenger door and both rear doors were able to unlock and open. The contact expressed concern that the failure posed a safety hazard in an emergency situation. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 6,650.

NHTSA ID

11760889

Incident

Aug 30, 2026

Mileage

6,650 mi

While actively driving the vehicle on roadways the vehicle began initiating a software update without any approval prompt request to confirm OK to begin the update. The backup camera, radio, SOS and driver assistance features were unavailable during the update, and the update screen stated "Vehicle should not be driven, and should remain in PARK or with parking brake engaged". Problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by dealer as it occurred this morning 8/28/26.

NHTSA ID

11760226

Incident

Aug 28, 2026

At a red light, the truck flashed all lights then refused to move. I tried to put the truck in park and turn it off and back on again but it didn't ever turn on again. The truck was towed to the dealer 13 days ago now. They fixed all safety recalls but it didn't resolve the issue and the truck still will not drive. The manufacturer is refusing to repair what the dealer believes to be the issue.

NHTSA ID

11760150

Incident

Aug 14, 2026

Vehicle experiences a severe, unpredictable 1 to 2-second acceleration delay/dead spot when pulling away from stop signs or turning from low-speed near-stops. This vehicle nearly caused an accident due to entering an intersection and losing all throttle response before cross-traffic. I do not feel safe driving this vehicle

NHTSA ID

11759465

Incident

Aug 21, 2026

On August 20 i received an update for the Uconnect blue screen in reverse recall. In doing this update it created a new problem with the u connect screen creating a blinding/distracting light in night time driving. They removed a setting theme mode which would keep the screen in dark mode. Without this setting the screen is in white mode. No other setting within the u connect settings will reduce the level of brightness. This could cause an accident do to eyes adjusting from the bright white screen. I have pictures to demonstrate issue.

NHTSA ID

11759063

Incident

Aug 20, 2026

The contact leased a 2026 Ram 1500. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle and shifting into reverse(R), the vehicle suddenly lost power and shut off. The contact made several attempts to restart the vehicle and the vehicle restarted on the 10th attempt. While driving approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle suddenly lost power and shut off another time. After approximately 10 minutes and several attempts the vehicle restarted. The vehicle was restarted, and the vehicle was able to accelerate, but lost power and shut off again. The vehicle was restarted and the contact continued driving. The following day, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the failure reoccurred. The contact became aware that the failure had occurred after reversing out of a parking space and then shifting to drive. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 1,600.

NHTSA ID

11758168

Incident

Aug 17, 2026

Mileage

1,600 mi

Every time I press the unlock button on my remote or when any of the four doors is opened on the vehicle the tailgate automatically opens.

NHTSA ID

11757308

Incident

Aug 16, 2026

Emergency brake comes on during car wash and engine turns off. Car crashed into the back of the truck on 7-7-26 causing damage to the front of their vehicle. Truck was evaluated by dealership who "reset the electronics" but it continues after this service.

NHTSA ID

11757254

Incident

Aug 2, 2026

Vehicle auto braking inoperative, lane detection not working, main screen goes completely black. Vehicle went into limp mode while entering the freeway . Main dash flagged yellow, and highlighted check engine, service electric stability control, airbags service, 4 x 4 unavailable, service electronic stability control.

NHTSA ID

11757189

Incident

Aug 15, 2026

Dealer offerd for sale, sold, but didn't physically deliver the vehicle. On the 11th of July. On the 14 of July i was informed my new vehicle was ready for pickup. It was not repaired I was told I would just have to come back when the parts arrived. I declined delivery and requested unwind and was told that was not an option because they funded the loan. I still wish to unwind the contract and not do business as they were willing to break the law and if I had not known and declined, I would have been unknowingly taking unnecessary liability. This company is a risk to public safety. As "we sometimes do this for people."

NHTSA ID

11756890

Incident

Aug 14, 2026