2015 Ram 3500 Brakes Problems

Your front brakes are periodically dragging and overheating, sometimes on one side and sometimes both sides, causing your truck to become difficult to drive and leaving you stranded. This has happened repeatedly over several years and created a dangerous situation when your wife and I were stuck on the highway. The calipers, pads, and brake fluid have been inspected and replaced, but the problem persists, and diagnostic codes related to the brake system are present. The issue may be related to a potential recall involving the ABS/HCU (anti-lock brake) control unit, which may need inspection or replacement by a dealership.

Your trailer brake system isn't getting enough electrical power—only 7.5 volts instead of the full amount needed. This causes weak braking performance when towing at speeds below 30 MPH, which is especially dangerous in stop-and-go traffic. The issue appears to be in the truck's computer controlling the trailer brake controller, and other Ram 3500 owners report the same problem. Ram may have a software update available to fix this, though it could come at a significant cost.

Your ABS (anti-lock brake) system is malfunctioning, causing the ABS warning light to stay on. The hydraulic control unit that manages the anti-lock braking is not working properly, and your truck's diagnostic system has recorded fault code C0020. While your regular brakes should still work, the anti-lock feature won't function during emergency braking. Fixing this will likely require replacing the ABS hydraulic control unit (HCU) module.

Your ABS module has failed and is no longer detecting your rear wheel speed, which has caused your ABS braking, traction control, 4WD, and rear backup sensors to stop working. The shop identified the problem in both the ABS module and hydraulic control unit. You're currently driving without these important safety features while waiting for replacement parts to become available.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 RAM 3500. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO ROSEVILLE CHRYSLER JEEP DODGE RAM (2805 LONG LAKE RD, ROSEVILLE, MN, 55113) FOR TRANSMISSION WORK. THE CONTACT INQUIRED WITH THE DEALER TO HAVE THE BRAKE BOOSTERS ADJUSTED BECAUSE THE DEALER STATED THAT THEY FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THIS WAS THE FOURTH TIME THE BRAKE BOOSTERS FAILED. WHILE DRIVING, THE BRAKES SEIZED AND THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP. PER THE MANUFACTURER'S ORDERS, THE DEALER REPLACED THE BRAKE BOOSTERS AS A COURTESY. THE MANUFACTURER AGREED TO HAVE THE FAILURE REPAIRED, BUT STATED THAT THIS WAS THE LAST COURTESY OR REIMBURSEMENT. ANY ADDITIONAL FAILURES REGARDING THE BRAKE BOOSTERS WOULD BE AT THE CONTACT'S EXPENSE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 50,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 RAM 3500. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE BRAKE BOOSTERS FAILED WITHOUT WARNING AND CAUSED THE BRAKES TO SEIZE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THREE DIFFERENT DEALERS, BUT THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE HYDRAULIC BRAKE BOOSTER UNIT FAILED AND NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 16,000. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 RAM 3500. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH IN THE RAIN, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AND FAILED TO ENGAGE WHILE MAKING A LOUD GRINDING NOISE. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE DEALER COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE FAILURE, BUT PERFORMED A SOFTWARE UPDATE ON THE BRAKES, TRACTION CONTROL, AIR SUSPENSION, AND TOWING PACKET. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 15,500.

INTEGRAL TRAILER BRAKE CONTROLLER WORKS CONTRARY TO INDUSTRY STANDARD CONTROLLERS. THE FUNCTION OF THE ELECTRIC BRAKE "OVERRIDE LEVER" DOES NOT OVERRIDE CONTROLLER SETTING AND APPLY FULL POWER TO THE TRAILER BRAKES. THE INTEGRAL CONTROLLER ON THIS VEHICLE WILL ONLY SUPPLY OVERRIDE VOLTAGE PROPORTIONAL TO THE SENSITIVITY SETTING OF 0 TO 10 AND THE SPEED OF THE VEHICLE. WHEN STOPPED THE SENSITIVITY VARIES THE OVERRIDE VOLTAGE BETWEEN 0 TO 7 VOLTS DC. SAFETY ITEM. AT VERY SLOW SPEEDS LESS THE 10 MPH AND THE SENSITIVITY SET AT MAX 10 THE OUTPUT OF THE CONTROLLER OVERRIDE IS 7.2 VDC AND 7.2 AMPS. AT 35 MPH THE OUTPUT WAS 10.3 VDC AND 10.9 AMPS. AT 45 AND 55 MPH THE OUTPUT WAS AT ITS MAXIMUM 11.5 VDC AND 11.5 AMPS. THE BRAKING CURVE WAS ALMOST THE SAME WITH THE SENSITIVITY SET AT 10 AND HEAVY VEHICLE BRAKING PRODUCED THE SAME VOLTAGE AMPERAGE CURVE. THE SAFETY PROBLEM IS THAT THE "OVERRIDE FUNCTION" IS SPEED RELATED WHEREAS INDUSTRY STANDARD HAS THE OVERRIDE SWITCH BYPASS ALL OTHER SETTING AND APPLY FULL BATTERY POWER 12 VDC TO THE BRAKE CONTROL SYSTEM. I WILL POINT OUT FROM MY 50 PLUS YEARS OF TOWING THE NEED OF FULL EMERGENCY OVERRIDE POWER TO THE TRAILER BRAKE SYSTEM. SNOW, ICE, OR BLACK ICE, ALL REQUIRE VERY SLOW VEHICLE MOVEMENT AND THEREFORE VERY LITTLE OVERRIDE POWER, CAREFUL USE OF THE OVERRIDE FUNCTION CAN PREVENT A "JACK KNIFE" SITUATION. GOING DOWN A STEEP GRAVEL HILL, LIKE SNOW AND ICE YOU RARELY IF EVER USE THE VEHICLE BRAKE BUT DEPEND ON THE OVERRIDE CONTROL USE TO KEEP EVERYTHING STRAIGHT. SINCE THE OVERRIDE FUNCTION IS SPEED DEPENDENT FULL OVERRIDE AT LOW SPEEDS WILL NOT APPLY ENOUGH POWER TO CONTROL THE TRAILER. 15MPH IDLE FULL OVERRIDE 200 YEARS TO STOP. [XXX] BSME MSME. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

THE ITBCM ( INTEGRATED BRAKE CONTROL MODULE) ON MY NEW TRUCK HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE AND RE-FLASHED ONCE. THE BRAKE CONTROLLER WORKS INCONSISTENTLY. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN IT WILL STOP THE TRAILER AS INTENDED AND THEN THERE ARE TIMES WHEN IT WON'T WORK AT ALL OR EITHER WON'T EMIT ENOUGH BRAKING POWER. THIS IS A REAL SAFETY ISSUE. I USE THE TRUCK TO PULL A 8K LB TRAILER (EMPTY). WHEN LOAD WITH 3 CARS I GROSS A COMBINED WEIGHT OF OVER 20K LBS. ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS THE TRUCK ONBOARD DISPLAY WOULD DISPLAY THE MESSAGE SAYING "TRAILER BRAKES DISCONNECTED/CHECK TRAILER BRAKE WIRES". WHEN THIS OCCURS I LOSE THE ABILITY TO STOP MY TRAILER. PULLING THAT MUCH WEIGHT AND WITHOUT THE ABILITY TO STOP MY TRAILER PROPERLY POSES A REAL SAFETY CONCERN NOT ONLY TO ME FOR ESPECIALLY TO OTHERS ON THE HIGHWAY. THIS IS A MAJOR KNOWN ISSUE ON SEVERAL FORUMS CONCERNING THE RAM ITBCM. I JUST GOT MY TRUCK BACK TODAY (9/19/2016) FROM THE RAM DEALERSHIP AFTER BEING THERE ALL WEEK. I WAS TOLD THE MECHANICS RAN SEVERAL TEST AND CONFIRMED THAT THE ITBCM NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AGAIN. THIS IS THE SECOND REPLACEMENT AND IT STILL DOESN'T WORK CORRECTLY. THIS PROBLEM FIRST BEGAN WITH ONLY A FEW HUNDRED MILES ON THE TRUCK. ONCE I GOT TO 24K MILES IT GOT WORST THE MORE I USED IT FOR TOWING. NOW I'M AT 30K MILES AND THE PROBLEM REMAINS EVEN AFTER REPAIRS. SOMETHING SERIOUSLY NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS. PEOPLE LIVES ARE AT STAKE. THIS PROBLEM OCCURS RANDOMLY AT TIMES WHEN I'M TRAVELING 65MPH ON THE HIGHWAY AND EVEN WHEN TAKING OFF FROM A STOP. I PAID MONEY TO GET MY TRAILER INSPECTED JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT IT WASN'T THE PROBLEM. I EVEN HOOKED MY TRUCK UP TO ANOTHER WORKING TRAILER AND HAD THE SAME MESSAGE DISPLAY.

CIRCA NPOON 5/6/16 INTERSECTION OF POMONA ST AND ORANGETHORPE , FULLERTON, CA MY 2015 RAM 350 W/3009 MILES FAILED TO STOP WHILE 25 FT BEHIND A LATE MODEL CAMRAY, AT LESS THAN 1 MPH THE ABS FAILED TOTA;LLY. MY RAM PLOWED INTO THE CAMRAY WHICH WAS STOPPED WHILE ATTEMPTING A LEFT TURN ON TO ORTANGETHORPE. THE 87 YEAR OLD DRIVER IN THE CAMRAY WAS BUMPED 15 FT AND SUFFORD A DENTED LEFT BUMPER, FENDER AND TAIL LIGHT. MY WIFE WAS IN THE PASSENGER SEAT OF THE RAM AS A WITNESS AND A FULLERTON POLICE OFFICER WITNESSED THE ACCIDENT, HE FAILED TO MAKE A REPORT TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE.. I HAD NO OPTION BUT TO HIT THE CAMRAY, AS IF, I SWERVED TO THE LEFT I WOULD HAVE HIT ONCOMING TRAFFIC AND IF I SWERVED RIGHT I MIGHT HAVE KILLED PEDESTRIANS IN THE CROSS WALK! .I HAD NO CHOICE, BUT USE THE CAMRAY TO STOP SINCE THE RAM ABS SYSTEM FAILED TOTALLY. I REFUSED TO DRIVE THE RAM 3500 WITH OUT BRAKES, SO I PAID AAA TO TOW THE RAM BACK TO THE DEALER MCPEEK'S DODGE IN ANAHEIM, CA

WHEN TOWING MY 13000 POUND TRAILER, I NOTICED THAT THE ELECTRONIC TRAILER BRAKE CONTROLLER IN MY TRUCK WILL PROVIDE SUFFICIENT BRAKING POWER TO STOP AT SLOWER SPEEDS. HOWEVER, WHEN A HARDER/FASTER STOP, SUCH AS WHEN I WAS TRAVELING AT 45-50 MPH IS REQUIRED THERE IS NOT SUFFICIENT BRAKING TO THE TRAILER. I WAS NOT ABLE TO STOP AS QUICKLY AS I SHOULD HAVE. I TESTED THE VOLTAGE ON THE CONTROLLER WITH THE SETTINGS TO MAXIMUM (GAIN AT 10 AND MANUAL SLIDER TO 100%) AND WAS ONLY GETTING 7.5 VOLTS. THE READING SHOULD BE CLOSER TO 12 VOLTS. THE BRAKES ON MY TRAILER WERE INSPECTED AND ARE WORKING CORRECTLY. THE DEALER SAID THE CONTROLLER WAS WORKING AS DESIGNED. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT THE DEALER IS OVERLOOKING AND CAN LEAD TO ACCIDENTS/FATALITIES. THIS SEEMS TO BE AN ISSUE WITH THE 2015 VEHICLES AND THE FACTORY BRAKE CONTROLLER.

I HAVE THE INTEGRAL TRAILER BRAKE CONTROLLER ON MY TRUCK AND I HOOKED UP TO MY CAMPER FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH THE NEW TRUCK, [THE TRAILER BRAKES WORKED FINE WITH THE TRUCK THAT I REPLACED] I HAD VERY LIMITED BRAKING POWER ON TRAILER BRAKES, I DID SOME TESTS ON THE TRAILER BRAKES FIRST AND FOUND THAT THEY ARE WORKING PROPERLY, THEN I DID A TEST ON THE BRAKE CONTROLLER AND FOUND OUT THE TRAILER BRAKE CONTROLLER IS ONLY PUTTING OUT AROUND 9 VOLTS WHEN SET TO MAXIMUM GAIN AND FULLY APPLIED, IT SHOULD BE 12 VOLTS OR HIGHER, I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY REPLACED THE TRAILER BRAKE CONTROL MODULE, THE BRAKES ARE NO BETTER AND IM AFRAID TO TOW NOW AND CAN'T EVEN USE THIS TRUCK FOR WHAT I BOUGHT IT FOR, THE DEALER SAYS THAT'S HOW THE CONTROLLERS WORK NOW WHICH IS UNSAFE AND UNACCEPTABLE.