RoadVitals

2018 RAM Promaster City Engine Problems

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

Data refreshed

Engine 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.
8
Latest Mar 8, 2025
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.
50%
of 16 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 the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2018 RAM Promaster City submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 8 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 engine

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

Engine
Filed Mar 8, 2025

My vehicle has shut off on several occasions while driving. No oil or engine light appeared on, but my oil was very low. No ill or negative indicators came up whatsoever. The vehicle stopped in places which I was not able to stay or park at. Some people were honking because my vehicle was blocking traffic. I believe the first time I encountered the problem was around 106,000miles. The problem has continued up to now at 120,00miles. Dealerships and myself have added oil but the problem continues with no indicators communicating an issue, though there clearly is one.

NHTSA ID
11647169
Incident
Mar 8, 2025
Engine
Filed Jul 3, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ram Promaster City. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light and the throttle control system warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was unsure of the diagnostic results; however, the contact was informed that the vehicle would be repaired under an unstated recall. The dealer performed an unstated test on the vehicle and then informed the contact that the vehicle could not be repaired because the vehicle was no longer under recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 139,405.

NHTSA ID
11598663
Incident
Apr 15, 2024
Mileage
139,405 mi
Engine
Filed Apr 17, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ram Promaster City. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was hot. The contact added coolant to the engine; however, the coolant was gone in less than two weeks. The contact then stated that while driving at various speeds, an abnormal knocking noise was coming from the engine. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

NHTSA ID
11583648
Incident
Aug 1, 2021
Mileage
50,000 mi
Engine
Filed Aug 15, 2022

I am not contacting NTSA to report a new safety concern but rather reporting that a fix addressing a known safety concern is not working. The concern is associated with a recall notice of 2015-2018 FCA vehicles with 4 cylinder Tigershark engines (a pertinent excerpt of the notice is shown below with emphasis added). The recall is to check for excess oil consumption which could trigger a vehicle stall, a serious safely concern. To address this potential problem the recall notice authorizes a oil consumption inspection which basically involves the inspection of oil level on the vehicle’s dipstick after it is driven for a while to measure if excess oil consumption has occurred. The problem with this inspection is that it requires the vehicle to be returned to the dealership after 1500 to 1700 mile interval. According to FCA, any exceedance of this short mileage window invalidates the inspection. This is a problem for individuals that use their vehicle primarily for long road trips. The conditions of the inspection are not practical. I contacted FCA to authorize the test be completed after 3000 miles (the dealer indicated the test would not be accepted by FCA because the 1700 mile requirement was exceeded). They showed no flexibility on the required test parameter and really couldn’t explain why the narrow window for reinspection was technically sound. They had the audacity to state that if I was to have the inspection repeated, I would have to pay for it. The inspection to detect excessive oil consumption presumably resulted from the manufacturer selling defective engines. A two hundred mile window for the reinspection is so narrow that the recall notice to address a potential safety issue associated with the excess oil consumption should be considered a sham recall notice.

NHTSA ID
11479434
Incident
Aug 9, 2022
ElectricalEngine
Filed Apr 22, 2022

Driving on the expressway and the electrical gages started acting erratic then the motor turned off while driving. When the vehicle turned off we lost all control of the vehicle at 70 MPH. We hit the brakes hard causing traffic issues and stopped in traffic and could not move and had to call a tow truck to move the vehicle. Towed the vehicle to the dealer that said the motor was bad and that FCA would have to replace it. We were told prior to this happening that the van had recalls but ours was fine.

NHTSA ID
11461847
Incident
Apr 18, 2022
EngineFuel system
Filed Oct 10, 2021

When driving down the hill of our neighborhood road, while approaching the stop sign to turn onto the main road, the van stalled. With no advanced notice, the vehicle lost all ability to accelerate, brake and turn. This resulted in the van stopping halfway into the middle of the main road. This is the second time that this issue has occurred. The first time the car was towed to the dealership and they had it for 2 weeks to 'just do an oil change'. Knowing oil is the cause for the unsafe "safety mechanism" to be triggered we added a couple of quarts until the vehicle was able to start and drove it back up the hill to our home.

NHTSA ID
11436203
Incident
Oct 8, 2021
Engine
Filed Sep 17, 2021

Radiator fan has failed at 57,000 miles causing my engine to overheat.

NHTSA ID
11433348
Incident
Sep 17, 2021
Engine
Filed May 11, 2021

THE LOW OIL SENSOR DOES NOT GIVE ANY TYPE OF WARNING, MESSAGE, OR STORE A FAULT CODE IN THE VEHICLE. THIS VEHICLE IS NORMALLY DRIVEN BY MY WIFE OR DAUGHTER. ON 2 OCCASIONS THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN MOTION COMING UP TO A STOP SIGN AND WHEN THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED THE VEHICLE DIED AND WOULD NOT RESTART. AFTER A PERIOD OF TIME, APPROXIMATELY 15 MINUTES IN THE FIRST CASE, THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO BE RESTARTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE LOCAL DODGE/RAM DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS CHECKED FOR FAULT CODES AND NONE WHERE FOUND, AND THE VEHICLE WAS PERFORMING NORMALLY AT THIS TIME. UPON SPEAKING WITH THE SERVICE ADVISOR ABOUT WHAT OCCURRED, HE INFORMED ME THAT MOST LIKELY IT WAS THE LOW OIL SENSOR. HE INFORMED ME THAT ON THIS VEHICLE THE LOW OIL SENSOR DOES NOT DISPLAY A MESSAGE OR SET A CODE, IT SIMPLY SHUTS OFF THE MOTOR. HE SAID THE SENSOR COULD BE ACTIVATED BY A BRAKING ACTION, AND IN THAT CASE IT WOULD SHUT OFF THE ENGINE WITH NO WARNING. HE SAID AFTER A PERIOD OF TIME WHEN THE OIL SETTLED BACK ON THE SENSOR THE VEHICLE WOULD RESTART WITH NO ISSUE. IN THE SECOND CASE, THE VEHICLE WAS APPROACHING A STOP SIGN WHEN THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF IT BRAKED HARD UNEXPECTEDLY. WHEN THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED, THE ENGINE SHUT OFF, POWER STEERING AND BRAKES WERE LOST AND ALMOST RESULTED IN A REAR END COLLISION WITH THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF IT. IN THIS CASE, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT RESTART UNTIL ADDITIONAL OIL WAS ADDED. LUCKILY IN BOTH CASES THIS OCCURRED IN LOW SPEED RESIDENTIAL AREA STREETS. BUT, IF THIS OCCURRED IN A HIGHWAY OR HIGHER SPEED SETTING THE RESULTS COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH WORSE. HIGHER SPEEDS, UNEXPECTED BRAKING, VEHICLE LOSS OF CONTROL. THE OIL CONSUMPTION ON THIS VEHICLE IS OUTRAGEOUS. I DID HAVE THE OIL CONSUMPTION RECALL TEST PERFORMED ON THIS VEHICLE, BUT I DO NOT FEEL THAT IT WAS CONDUCTED PROPERLY BY THE DEALER. AND I AM TOLD THAT THEY WILL NOT RE-PERFORM THE TEST.

NHTSA ID
11416060
Incident
Apr 1, 2021
Mileage
30,000 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.

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .