2020 Ram 3500 Electrical Problems

Your check engine light came on, and the dealership diagnosed a faulty Grid Heater Relay that they said could have caused a fire if you'd kept driving. You've noticed that newer model years (2021-2023) have a recall for the same part, raising concerns that your 2020 may have the same defect. The fix will involve replacing the Grid Heater Relay with a new one.

Your truck caught fire in the engine compartment shortly after you used remote start via the key fob. The fire was severe enough that it required the fire department to respond, and they couldn't fully extinguish it until the battery cables were cut. This indicates a serious electrical or fuel system issue that occurred when the engine was being started remotely.

Your ABS (anti-lock braking) module has failed twice since you bought the truck. This system helps prevent your wheels from locking up during hard braking. The module will need to be replaced or repaired to restore proper ABS function.

While driving Down a paved roadway on 6/30/23 @ 5pm doing approximately 20 miles per hour the vehicle died and the dash lite up with every single message possible such as 4WD inactive, oil change due, fuel filter service required and etc. Attempted to restart the vehicle for about 25 minutes when another citizen noticed we were having issues with the vehicle so they stopped to assist us. The citizen towed my vehicle to location we were staying at for the weekend and upon arrival to the location I disconnected both battery terminals to allow the computer modules to drain/reset. After allowing the batteries to be disconnected for several hours I hooked them back up and tried starting the vehicle and was unsuccessful getting it to restart. I disconnected the batteries again for the night and returned the next morning to hook them up. after hooking the batteries back up, I was able to get the vehicle started and moved it around at the place we were staying at and allowed it remain running for about 20 minutes before I shut it off. Went and did other projects and about 5 hours later returned to the pickup to see to see if it would start since we were heading back the next morning and it started so I figured it would get us home on Sunday July 2nd. On July 2nd @ 11:30am started the pickup to leave and everything seemed normal. We drove about 5miles from the location we were staying at and were approaching an intersecting highway OR58. I proceeded out onto OR58 westbound and as we got about 1 mile down the road when the pickup died and every message was being displayed again. As we sat way off the shoulder of OR58 incident response pulled up behind us to make sure everything was ok. I told the incident responder that we were good and I was working on contacting RAM for a tow. About 15 minutes had passed and IR person walked away then the pickup started. I was able to drive the pickup about 2 more miles down the road when it died again and had to be towed.

The contact owns a 2020 Ram 3500. The contact stated that she locked the vehicle with the key fob, and the auto start system started the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was contacted and suggested that the manufacturer of the battery be contacted. The manufacturer provided no additional assistance. The failure mileage was 16,000.

This Laramie trim level truck has an electronic drop tailgate with a button to drop the tailgate on the overhead console and one on the key fob. The tailgate on my truck was closed during my pre-trip and entering the vehicle. I had a trailer hooked to the receiver hitch and drove ten miles before realizing the tailgate was now in the down position and caused significant damage to the tailgate because the tailgate made contact with the trailer. With the electronic release tailgate on this particular year truck there is not a warning message alerting the driver that the tailgate is ajar. There is such an alert on newer models (2021-2022) I went to a local dealership to check. I’m sure the tailgate drop button somehow was pressed on the key fob while in my pocket entering the truck. But I did not receive any alert on the instrument cluster or even hear the tailgate open because the tailgate has a soft open feature. I see this being a serious safety concern to possibly lose cargo and cause a more serious accident.

The contact owns a 2020 RAM 3500. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, he depressed the START/STOP button several times however, the vehicle failed to start. After waiting for approximately 45 minutes the vehicle started. The contact also stated the vehicle failed to recognize the key fob inside the cabin of the vehicle. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.