AutoUtility currently tracks 866 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2017 Ram 1500. Steering System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 221 complaints (25.5% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 80 filings cite a crash, 16 cite a fire, 48 report one or more injuries, 1 reports one or more fatalities.

Key Problem Findings
  • • Total NHTSA Complaints: 866 reports
  • • #1 Reported Problem Area: Steering System (221 reports • 25.5% of submitted complaints)
  • • Secondary Problem Areas: Engine & Cooling (163), Fuel & Propulsion System (128)
  • • Crash-Citing Complaints: 80 filings
  • • Fire-Citing Complaints: 16 filings
  • • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 48 injury filings • 1 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
866
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
80
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
16
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
48
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
1
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2017 Ram 1500

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 25.5% of complaints

Steering System

221 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 9 crash reports 🩹 5 injury report entries
#2 Problem Area 18.8% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

163 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 3 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 1 crash report 🔥 10 fire reports 🩹 4 injury report entries
#3 Problem Area 14.8% of complaints

Fuel & Propulsion System

128 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 3 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 2 crash reports 🔥 1 fire report 🩹 1 injury report entry
#4 Problem Area 12.2% of complaints

Electrical System

106 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 6 crash reports 🔥 1 fire report
#5 Problem Area 11.2% of complaints

Brakes & Traction Control

97 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 8 crash reports 🩹 3 injury report entries
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2017 Ram 1500

Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis

AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.

Powertrain & Transmission 6.4% of complaints

Loss of Motive Power While Driving

55 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Steering System 3.2% of complaints

Steering Sticking, Binding or Assist Loss

28 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Symptom Identification Method: A complaint may describe more than one symptom, so percentages may sum to more than 100%. Symptom identification reflects text contained in consumer-submitted complaint records and does not establish a confirmed mechanical diagnosis.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2017 Ram 1500

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11759586
Filed: 08/25/2026

"The crank tone wheel failed and created a no start scenario. The vehicle had to be towed to the dealer and they are advising quoting me a repair when there is a related open recall for this exact situation."

Incident Date: 07/11/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE
Electrical System NHTSA ODI ID: #11757359
Filed: 08/17/2026

"Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2017 Ram 1500. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale in a parking lot with an interpreter. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 117,777; it was discovered that the mileage was 166,000 on the Carfax..."

Incident Date: 08/14/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Other / Miscellaneous NHTSA ODI ID: #11757158
Filed: 08/15/2026

"Frame rotted around gas tank strap and caused it to pull out, which left my gas tank hanging by one strap"

Incident Date: 08/15/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Steering System NHTSA ODI ID: #11756574
Filed: 08/12/2026

"Loss of electric power steering. Hard to steer the truck."

Incident Date: 08/09/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: STEERING
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA ODI ID: #11755971
Filed: 08/10/2026

"while driving on the highway at 75mph, the pickup engine completely lost power and died. we could not restart the engine. Eventually we were able to put it in neutral and pull it off of the highway with another pickup. The Z46 recall for the high-pressure fuel pump was replaced the prior month. the..."

Incident Date: 06/24/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Ram 1500

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Ram 1500 1439 79 18 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Ram 1500 1527 90 17 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Ram 1500 Current Page 866 80 13 Current
2018 Ram 1500 654 25 15 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Ram 1500 1464 74 30 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Ram 1500 621 24 14 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Ram 1500 667 26 15 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Ram 1500 597 23 16 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Ram 1500 194 10 11 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Ram 1500 70 5 6 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Ram 1500 323 8 7 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Ram 1500 0 0 6 View 2026 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2017 Ram 1500

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 147 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 170 5 0 5 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 99 1 8 4 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 62 1 0 1 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 38 8 0 2 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 35 2 1 3 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 34 2 0 3 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 33 26 0 25 1
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 31 0 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 26 1 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 20 3 0 1 0
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL 19 0 1 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 19 1 0 0 0
Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 15 0 2 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 12 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL 10 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 10 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 9 0 0 0 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 9 2 0 2 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 7 7 0 9 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 6 0 0 0 0
Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 6 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 5 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 5 1 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 5 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 5 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,POWER TRAIN 4 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 4 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 4 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 4 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEATS 3 3 2 13 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 1 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 3 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 3 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,SERVICE BRAKES 3 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE 2 2 0 3 0
AIR BAGS,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 2 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 0 1 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,POWER TRAIN,EQUIPMENT 2 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,WHEELS 2 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,WHEELS 2 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 1 3 0
SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN 2 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 1 0 0 0
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
PARKING BRAKE,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,TIRES 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VISIBILITY 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
SEAT BELTS,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SEAT BELTS,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
SEAT BELTS,STRUCTURE,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, AIR 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE 1 1 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 1 0 0 0
STEERING,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,WHEELS,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,AIR BAGS 1 1 0 3 0
SUSPENSION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
TIRES,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
TIRES,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
TRAILER HITCHES 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 0 0
Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY 1 0 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 1 1 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (866). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (3)

2 OPEN 1 CLOSED

Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Official Federal Inquiries: NHTSA opens a defect investigation when safety screening or consumer defect trends indicate a potential unreasonable safety risk. An open investigation is a formal inquiry and does not by itself confirm a defect or result in a mandatory recall.
OPEN Recall Query (RQ) ODI Action #RQ25003
Opened: 2025-07-03 • Currently Active

Post Recall Remedy Brake Transmission Shift Interlock (BTSI) Failure

Affected Component: POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received 14 Vehicle Owner Questionnaire (VOQ) reports and 6 EWR Death & Injury (D&I) reports describing post recall remedy failures of the brake transmission shift interlock (BTSI) system in certain Model Year (MY) 2013-2018 RAM pickup trucks.The subject vehicle models include 1500, 2500, 3500, 4500, and 5500 trucks equipped with a column mounted shift lever.The failures of the BTSI described in the V...

Active federal investigation. Official NHTSA File →
OPEN Engineering Analysis (EA) ODI Action #EA23001
Opened: 2023-03-17 • Currently Active

High pressure fuel pump failure

Affected Component: FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE21-021 on October 14, 2021, to investigate incidents alleging a stall/loss of motive power as a result of high-pressure fuel pump failures in certain model year (MY) 2019-2020 Ram 2500, 3500, 4500, and 5500 heavy duty trucks equipped with 6.7L Cummins turbodiesel engines. During the investigation, ODI sought to determine if the related defect allegation was limited in scope to the recalled popula...

✓ Resulted in Safety Recall Campaign: 24V957 Official NHTSA File →
CLOSED Preliminary Evaluation (PE) ODI Action #PE16014
Opened: 2016-12-16 • Closed: 2024-01-25

Vehicle Rollaway

Affected Component: POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

Basis – On December 16, 2016, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE16-014 to investigate 43 vehicle rollaway incidents with operators alleging they had shifted to Park and then exited the vehicle prior to the rollway incidents.  These complaints involved multiple Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) model and model year vehicles that share a common electronic rotary shifter design.  Of the 43 consumer complaint...

Closed without associated recall campaign. Official NHTSA File →

Related Official Reports for 2017 Ram 1500

Cross-reference safety recalls, crash test safety ratings, and EPA fuel economy for this model year

Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.