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2021 Ram 3500 Electrical Problems

13 owner-reported electrical complaints from NHTSA data

13
Complaints
3
Recalls
1
Fires
Jan 2024Dec 2023
Date Range

Data sourced from NHTSA public database. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified mechanic.

Electrical Recalls (3)

RECALLCampaign #21V798000

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:RELAYS/SOLENOIDS

Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Ram 3500, 2500 pickup trucks, and Ram 3500, 4500, and 5500 cab chassis vehicles equipped with Cummins 6.7L Turbo Diesel engines. An electrical short in the relay may cause a vehicle fire with the ignition on or off.

Fix: Owners are advised to park these vehicles outside of buildings or structures, and not near other vehicles, until the vehicle has been remedied. Dealers will inspect and, if needed, replace the Solid State Intake Heater Grid Relay ("Relay"); if FCA US Recall ID Y08 (NHTSA Recall ID 21V-163) is open, then insulating material will be applied to the Relay after inspection. Owner notification letters were mailed November 10, 2021. Owners may contact FCA US, LLC customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA US, LLC's number for this recall is Y76. This recall has been superseded by 23V060.

RECALLCampaign #21V163000

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2021 Ram 2500, 3500, and 3500, 4500, and 5500 Cab Chassis vehicles equipped with a Cummins 6.7L Turbo Diesel engine. An electrical short may occur in the Solid State Intake Heater Grid Relay, which could result in a vehicle fire.

Fix: Dealers will inspect and, if needed, replace the Solid State Intake Heater Grid Relay ("Relay"); if FCA US Recall ID Y08 (NHTSA Recall ID 21V-163) is open, then insulating material will be applied to the Relay after inspection. Customers are advised to not park these vehicles inside of buildings or structures, or near other vehicles until the vehicle has the final repair completed. Owner notification letters were mailed November 10, 2021. Owners may contact FCA US, LLC customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA US, LLC's number for this recall is Y76. Owners may contact FCA US LLC customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA US LLC's number for this recall is Y08. This recall has been superseded by recall number 21V-798.

RECALLCampaign #23V060000

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:RELAYS/SOLENOIDS

Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Ram 2500, 3500, 3500 Cab Chassis, and 4500, 5500 Cab Chassis vehicles equipped with a Cummins 6.7L Turbo Diesel engine. An electrical short may occur in the heater grid relay with the ignition on or off.

Fix: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will replace the relay, free of charge. This will be a Phased campaign. Phase 1 will include 2023 model year vehicles. FCA US will notify dealers on or about 3/23/2023 and begin notifying owners on or about 4/5/2023. Phase 2 will include 2022 model year vehicles and Phase 3 will include 2021 model year vehicles. FCA US will notify dealers and owners on or about 4/27/2023 for Phase 2 and 5/11/2023 for Phase 3. Interim owner notification letters informing owners of the safety risk were mailed March 28, 2023. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed April 5, 2023. Owners may contact FCA US, LLC customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA US, LLC's number for this recall is 13A. This recall is an expansion of and supersedes recall number 21V-798.

Owner Complaints (13)

highELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE
Filed: Nov 2025

Your truck's instrument cluster is displaying multiple false readings: your MPG gauge shows 0, your miles-to-empty reads "low" despite a 3/4 full tank, your odometer has stopped working entirely, and both your check engine light and low fuel warning light came on while driving. This happens because your truck's odometer is programmed to stop functioning at 1,000,000 kilometers (621,369 miles), even though U.S. vehicles use miles. The fix requires installing a new gauge cluster, which will reset your odometer to 0 and require a replacement sticker to be placed in your door jamb to document the true mileage.

NHTSA #: 11700252
mediumELECTRICAL SYSTEM,WHEELS
Filed: Mar 2024

After a recall was "repaired" prior to our purchase, the right wheel came off on the interstate, after the lugs sheered off.

NHTSA #: 11575525
mediumELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Filed: Jan 2024

The contact owns a 2021 Ram 3500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V060000 (Electrical System) 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 #: 11564857
mediumELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Filed: Dec 2023

The contact owns a 2021 Ram 3500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V060000 (Electrical System) 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 and confirmed that parts were not yet available. 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 #: 11560324
mediumELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Filed: Dec 2023

I've had a recall on this truck for years? No parts or fix available. Why?! This needs to be fixed. Who do I cpmlain to?

NHTSA #: 11559868
mediumELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE
Filed: Oct 2023

 The contact owns a 2021 Ram 3500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V904000 (Structure) and 23V060000 (Electrical System) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. 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 disconnects.    

NHTSA #: 11549843
mediumELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Filed: Sep 2023

The contact owns a 2021 Ram 3500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V060000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact was informed by the dealer that the manufacturer had been sending 3-4 parts per month. 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 #: 11543117
mediumELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Filed: Aug 2023

The contact owns a 2021 Ram 3500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V060000 (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. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA #: 11541151
mediumELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Filed: Jul 2023

I took the vehicle to the dealer for recall Manufacturer Recall Number13A NHTSA Recall Number23V-060 The dealer told me that they can only order one per week. I will have to wait over a year for the part to come in. This is a fire hazard and I have been advised to not park the vehicle in the garage or near other vehicles. Waiting over a year for a fire hazard repair is not acceptable.

NHTSA #: 11533101
mediumELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Filed: Apr 2023

The contact owns a 2021 Ram 3500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V060000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. An unknown local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA #: 11515220
mediumELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Filed: Sep 2022

The Auto lights sensor turns lights on/off at random during dark/night driving. The high beam auto sensor keeps the high beams on, so you do not notice losing driving lights. I found this out by accident, when I started losing my trailer lights at night. Quick fix, turn the light switch to on, instead of auto. NOTE - Cost me over 1000.00 to find that out. Re-wire the trailer, replace the 7-way plug.

NHTSA #: 11482571
mediumELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES, AIR
Filed: Jul 2022

The contact owns a 2021 Ram 3500. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the check engine, cruise control, 4WD, stability control, the ABS and trailer brake warning lights were illuminated. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The dealer informed the contact to turn the vehicle on and off multiple times to reset the computer. The contact stated all the warning lights turned off, except for the check engine warning light. The contact stated two days later, the check engine warning light turned off independently. The contact stated that the failure recurred three times. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the rear passenger’s side wheel speed sensor and the rear passenger’s side ABS sensor to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience failure. The contact took the vehicle to Rogersville Chevrolet (5655 US-11W suite a, Rogersville, TN 37857: (423) 272-1000), however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

NHTSA #: 11475662
mediumELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE
FireFiled: Apr 2022

Our vehicle was involved in a total loss fire from the engine compartment while driving. We were driving the unit and noticed smoke, when we were merging to pull of the road flames started coming up and we immediately exited the vehicle and had to run, because it started popping. We were lucky to escape unharmed physically, but the situation could have been much worse. There were no indications or lights warning of engine failure or fire. This occurred on September 2, 2021. At this point in time there were no recalls on the vehicle. When we contacted Stellantis to report the incident, they concluded their investigation they denied responsibility. A few months after the fact we received notice of the recall. To date we have not been reimbursed for the loss of the vehicle, our personal belongings in the vehicle, and the loss of income from no longer having the vehicle. Our insurance company, Stellantis, etc all inspected the unit related to the claim and confirmed the fire began in the engine compartment.

NHTSA #: 11462482

Other 2021 Ram 3500 Issues