RoadVitals

2020 RAM 3500 Powertrain (other) Problems

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

Data refreshed

Powertrain (other) 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.
10
Latest Feb 18, 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.
9%
of 112 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

Powertrain reports that are not specifically the engine or transmission — driveshafts, axles, transfer cases and differentials. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2020 RAM 3500 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 10 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 powertrain

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

Powertrain (other)
Filed Feb 18, 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Ram 3500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and turned off, the gear shifter shifted into drive independently, causing the vehicle to roll away. The vehicle stopped before crashing. The vehicle was taken to a dealer; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 75,000.

NHTSA ID
11718941
Incident
Jan 11, 2026
Mileage
75,000 mi
Powertrain (other)Transmission
Filed May 21, 2024

The contact owns a 2020 Ram 3500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V835000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID
11589870
Incident
Dec 29, 2022
Powertrain (other)
Filed Jan 16, 2024

Vehicle will not go into park and shut off. I could not turn the engine off. Not having the ability to turn the motor off is a safety concern. This has progressed to where it says vehicle is not in park while vehicle is in drive and moving. The problem is intermittent and I have documented it with multiple pictures and videos and witness accounts but the dealer has not been able to reproduce the malfunction. The service representative has been helpful but has not been able to. The vehicle has not been inspected by the police or other independent representatives. The vehicle does not have any codes associated with it. This same exact series of malfuctions occurred on my 2016 Ram 2500 and the valve pack on the transmission failed and the vehicle would not move and eventually the transmission failed. Then the emission software would not extinguish the check engine light even though there were no issues. The dealer reinstalled the software and after less than 25 miles the same issue happened. I traded in the vehicle because Ram would not honor the warranty and I could not pass smog with a check engine light on and nothing wrong with the sensors or the output. Now I am having problems with the 3500 progressively going in the exact same way as the 2500. I have had to take it to the dealer 6 or 7 times in as many months and less than 10,000 miles.

NHTSA ID
11565787
Incident
Nov 22, 2022
Powertrain (other)
Filed Sep 5, 2023

The contact owns a 2020 Ram 3500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V835000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted several times. 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. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID
11542659
Incident
Sep 5, 2023
EngineFuel systemPowertrain (other)
Filed Jun 23, 2023

My high pressure fuel pump went out while I was towing the 43 ft enclosed trailer causing the engine to shut down. I was able to get it home and onto a car hauling trailer took it to a dealership and confirmed the high pressure fuel pump was the culprit they informed me that they would not perform the safety recall because of a modification to the vehicle which has no bearing on the safety issues at hand I contacted FCA they encouraged me to take it to a different dealership which I did. I had to pay a tow truck to haul it to another dealership in which they told me they would do the recall however when they put my VIN number in their system my pickup had been blacklisted by the parent company Chrysler saying do not work on this vehicle for safety recalls. I at this point got quotes to have it done and it was extremely expensive to friend advised me to look into the law so I contacted a lawyer and they told me to file a complaint with NHTSA.

NHTSA ID
11528487
Incident
May 4, 2023
Powertrain (other)
Filed Apr 19, 2023

The vehicle does not always go in park. If you attempt to shut the engine off it will notify, If you left the engine running and get out of the vehicle it could roll away. This failure has happened more than 30 times. 3 times today.

NHTSA ID
11517928
Incident
Oct 15, 2020
Powertrain (other)
Filed Apr 6, 2023

We where driving down the highway and the drive shaft fell out the car. This took out my brake lines and my transmission harness. This caused major damage to my car and it almost killed my drivers because they were unable to stop with no brakes they had to go into a ditch to avoid hitting someone. I have spoken with some other owners and they had some of the same issues. My truck was taken care of and just left the shop the previous week. We did not hit anything it just appears that some of th bolts came apart. This is a flaw in th design because the truck should not fall apart going down the highway.

NHTSA ID
11515758
Incident
Jan 27, 2023
Powertrain (other)
Filed Dec 17, 2022

While leaving the veterinary office parking lot there is a short steep hill. As I started up the hill slowly as there are pedestrians around. About halfway up my truck starts rolling backwards as if the transmission has shifted into neutral I hit the brakes to stop and then start out again. This has happened about 5 times in the same place since I have owned the truck and one other place that also was a short steep driveway. I did take the truck to the dealership and they could not recreate the problem but they did do an update to the TCM. So far no problems.

NHTSA ID
11497871
Incident
Nov 17, 2022
Driver assistanceFuel systemPowertrain (other)
Filed Jan 16, 2022

DEF reservoir got low and light came on indicating about 300 miles until truck goes into limp mode 5 MPH. Added 1 gallon of DEF and the guage showed to be in the safe zone. The computer system never registered that fluid was added and truck went into limp mode on the way home. When in limp mode you are unable to move vehicle off the roadway in a safe manner or even drive on any roadway without major risk of getting hit. Truck has to be towed to a dealership to have the computer reset. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. Ironic that first responder and government vehicles with this same engine ect are omitted from the limp mode function due to safety concerns but not the general public.

NHTSA ID
11447679
Incident
Jan 15, 2022
EngineFuel systemPowertrain (other)
Filed Oct 25, 2021

Truck was with high pressure pump issues, spent $2600 in rental truck, $400 i. Towing truck and about one month with no truck, Chrysler still doesn't want to pay me back, this is my second truck with same issue, previous truck was a 2019 3500 ram having the same problem when truck was with only 4,000 miles on it. Now they repaired my truck but now i feel like my truck lose already torque, is using more diesel and more DEF.

NHTSA ID
11438155
Incident
Jul 28, 2021

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

Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .