AutoUtility currently tracks 654 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2018 Ram 1500. Electrical System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 158 complaints (24.2% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 25 filings cite a crash, 8 cite a fire, 14 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • • Total NHTSA Complaints: 654 reports
  • • #1 Reported Problem Area: Electrical System (158 reports • 24.2% of submitted complaints)
  • • Secondary Problem Areas: Fuel & Propulsion System (138), Engine & Cooling (114)
  • • Crash-Citing Complaints: 25 filings
  • • Fire-Citing Complaints: 8 filings
  • • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 14 injury filings • 0 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
654
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
25
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
8
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
14
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2018 Ram 1500

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

#1 Problem Area 24.2% of complaints

Electrical System

158 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 2 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.
⚠️ 4 crash reports 🔥 3 fire reports 🩹 6 injury report entries
#2 Problem Area 21.1% of complaints

Fuel & Propulsion System

138 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 2 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 fire report 🩹 1 injury report entry
#3 Problem Area 17.4% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

114 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.
🔥 4 fire reports 🩹 3 injury report entries
#4 Problem Area 12.5% of complaints

Steering System

82 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 4 crash reports 🩹 1 injury report entry
#5 Problem Area 8.9% of complaints

Powertrain & Transmission

58 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.
⚠️ 3 crash reports 🩹 4 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 2018 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 4.9% of complaints

Loss of Motive Power While Driving

32 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 2018 Ram 1500

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

Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11759980
Filed: 08/27/2026

"Took truck in for warrenty work, engine started nocking techs checked said rod could come through side of engine, Ram know this but refuse to do anything. truck has less than 70000 miles was told 17000 dollar for new motor and install, and there still other issues with this truck, why no recall,..."

Incident Date: 08/19/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech NHTSA ODI ID: #11759743
Filed: 08/26/2026

"The contact owns a 2018 Ram 1500. The contact stated that the infotainment screen delaminated, and the HVAC system, radio, rear-view camera, or navigation system became inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and it was determined that the radio needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not..."

Incident Date: 01/01/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION
Brakes & Traction Control NHTSA ODI ID: #11759342
Filed: 08/25/2026

"The contact owns a 2018 Ram 1500. The contact stated that the ABS warning light and traction control warning light were illuminated. The contact retrieved information about a recall with a similar failure; however, the recall information was unknown. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic..."

Incident Date: 03/25/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
Steering System NHTSA ODI ID: #11759474
Filed: 08/25/2026

"Have had repeated intermittent EPS warning light alerts, sometimes followed by complete loss of power steering even at speed. The light and issue go away once I cycle the key off and back on again but eventually come back. Obviously this is a dangerous fault."

Incident Date: 08/03/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: STEERING
Steering System NHTSA ODI ID: #11759291
Filed: 08/24/2026

"The vehicle with 85,000 miles has suffered a catastrophic internal component failure of the Electric Power Steering (EPS) system, rendering it incredibly dangerous to drive. Because the control module and motor are permanently sealed inside the steering gear assembly, a simple electrical failure..."

Incident Date: 08/20/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: STEERING
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 866 80 13 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Ram 1500 Current Page 654 25 15 Current
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 2018 Ram 1500

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 112 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 67 1 0 0 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 60 3 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 54 0 1 1 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 54 1 0 0 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 49 0 1 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL 33 0 0 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 26 2 0 1 0
Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 25 0 1 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 18 2 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 16 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL 14 0 0 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 13 9 0 10 0
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 13 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 12 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 10 0 0 3 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 9 1 0 2 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 8 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION 7 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 7 0 0 0 0
Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 6 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 5 0 1 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 5 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER 5 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 5 0 1 0 0
Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION 4 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 4 0 1 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 4 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 4 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 3 0 0 0 0
Equipment & Accessories NHTSA category: EQUIPMENT 3 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 3 0 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS,VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 1 0 1 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 2 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION 2 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 2 0 0 0 0
Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY 2 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,STRUCTURE 1 1 0 1 0
BACK OVER PREVENTION,EQUIPMENT 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS 1 0 1 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 5 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EQUIPMENT 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,POWER TRAIN,EQUIPMENT 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,POWER TRAIN,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,SERVICE BRAKES,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEAT BELTS,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SEAT BELTS,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 1 0
STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,WHEELS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 1 0 0
SUSPENSION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 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 (654). 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 (2)

2 OPEN

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 →

Related Official Reports for 2018 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.