What are the common problems with the 2026 Ram 2500?
Owners of the 2026 Ram 2500 have filed 34 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the brakes (14) and the electrical system (12). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 5 of its 34 complaints list a mileage (200 to 4,017 miles), too few to say when problems were reported; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
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See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 34 owner complaints on the 2026 Ram 2500. Owners named the brakes most often: 14 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 34 complaints, 1 reports a crash, 1 reports a fire and 1 reports an injury (3 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 2026 Ram 2500
NHTSA's file holds 34 owner complaints on the 2026 Ram 2500. Owners named the brakes most often: 14 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes | 14 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Electrical System | 12 | 3 | Under 5 mileages |
| Engine | 4 | 1 | Under 5 mileages |
| Exterior Lighting | 3 | 1 | Under 5 mileages |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 3 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
Of the 34 complaints, 1 reports a crash, 1 reports a fire and 1 reports an injury (3 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 2026 Ram 2500
Too few complaints on the 2026 Ram 2500 list a mileage to say when owners reported problems: 5 of its 34 complaints list a mileage (200 to 4,017 miles), and a median is given here only with 10 or more.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2026 Ram 2500 wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Every model year together: Half of the 5,342 NHTSA owner complaints on the Ram 2500 that list mileage came after 61,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Ram 2500 last? →
Is the 2026 Ram 2500 a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2026 is a good or a bad Ram 2500: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2026 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 34 complaints, the 2026 drew the fewest of the 14 Ram 2500 model years from 2013 to 2026 with 10 or more complaints. The most: the 2018 (2,610).
The 2026 is a recent model year: it has had less time than older years to collect complaints, so its count is still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 Ram 2500 | 178 | 144 | 39,400 |
| 2014 Ram 2500 | 345 | 237 | 30,000 |
| 2015 Ram 2500 | 215 | 141 | 35,000 |
| 2016 Ram 2500 | 261 | 148 | 24,000 |
| 2017 Ram 2500 | 699 | 201 | 46,500 |
| 2018 Ram 2500 | 2,610 | 519 | 52,000 |
| 2019 Ram 2500 | 194 | 77 | 9,000 |
| 2020 Ram 2500 | 162 | 54 | 10,000 |
| 2021 Ram 2500 | 109 | 16 | 34,000 |
| 2022 Ram 2500 | 182 | 32 | 18,000 |
| 2023 Ram 2500 | 49 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2024 Ram 2500 | 60 | 9 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2025 Ram 2500 | 68 | 8 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2026 (this page) | 34 | 5 | Under 10 mileages |
The linked 2015–2022 pages show NHTSA's September 15, 2026 collection, so their counts can differ from this table's.
Every 2500 year compared on NHTSA’s complaints and recalls: Ram 2500 years to avoid →
2026 Ram 2500 recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 8 recall campaigns that name the 2026 Ram 2500. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 26V651000 | Oct 6, 2026 | ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC):CONTROL MODULE |
| 26V531000 | Aug 13, 2026 | BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA |
| 26V288000 | May 7, 2026 | POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM) |
| 26V244000 | Apr 16, 2026 | ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC):CONTROL MODULE |
| 26V225000 | Apr 9, 2026 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2026 Ram 2500 lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2026 Ram 2500.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 29 of the 34 complaints on the 2026 Ram 2500 give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: 2500. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: 2500.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2026 Ram 2500 questions
What are the most common 2026 Ram 2500 problems?
NHTSA's file holds 34 owner complaints on the 2026 Ram 2500. Owners named the brakes most often: 14 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 34 complaints, 1 reports a crash, 1 reports a fire and 1 reports an injury (3 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 2026 Ram 2500?
NHTSA's file gives no mileage figure for the 2026 Ram 2500: 5 of its 34 complaints list a mileage (200 to 4,017 miles), and this page gives a median only with 10 or more. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 2026 Ram 2500 can cover.
Is the 2026 Ram 2500 a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2026 is a good or a bad Ram 2500: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2026 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 34 complaints, the 2026 drew the fewest of the 14 Ram 2500 model years from 2013 to 2026 with 10 or more complaints. The most: the 2018 (2,610).
How many recalls does the 2026 Ram 2500 have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 8 recall campaigns that name the 2026 Ram 2500. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2026 Ram 2500 before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2026 Ram 2500.