2018 Ram 1500 Engine Problems

Which parts fail

• Exhaust system
  3
• Engine › Crank/camshaft position sensor
  1
• Exhaust system › Manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe
  1

Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  1736%
• 25k–50k
  715%
• 50k–75k
  817%
• 75k–100k
  613%
• 100k–150k
  613%
• 150k+
  36%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2018 Ram 1500 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

The contact's husband owned a 2018 Ram 1500. Two years ago, the contact received a notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V757000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the parts for the repair were unavailable. At the time, the dealer had been notified about the recall and confirmed that parts were not yet available. A year later, the dealer called that contact to inform her and that parts slowly coming to their dealer and that she had been placed on a waiting list for the recall repair. Recently, the contact stated that while her husband was driving at 65 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate upon depression of the accelerator pedal; two unknown warning lights also appeared on the instrument panel. As her husband pulled over, a white color smoke began to emit from the engine. Upon lifting up the engine's hood, her husband saw flames coming from under the engine. …

Traveling on highway, heard noise coming from the engine. I was close to an off ramp and got off the highway. In the process of getting on the off ramp alarms went off. Turned on the flashers, came to a stop partially on the shoulder. Turned off the vehicle, turned it back on and it started right up. Turned to head into town to get some place safe to check the issue and all the alarms went off again. Put the car into neutral and coasted down the road to a local restaurant parking lot. Once safely parked, I opened the hood and my engine was on fire. I ran to the window of the restaurant to get a fire extinguisher and was able to put out the fire quickly. I contacted my insurance carrier and went through the process of repairing the truck. One body shop got it back up and running. Another shop fixed the cosmetic issues. …

The contact owns a 2018 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH, his granddaughter smelled an abnormal burning odor coming from the vehicle. The contact looked out of the rearview mirror and saw heavy white smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact immediately pulled over and had the occupants exit the vehicle. The contact checked under the hood as white smoke filled the engine compartment. The contact stated that there were no warning lights illuminated prior to the failure. Due to the failure, the contact initially had the vehicle towed to the residence before it was later towed to an independent mechanic. Upon inspection of the vehicle, the mechanic discovered coolant had leaked into the EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) cooler. …

The contact owns a 2018 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 MPH and making a right turn, the vehicle started vibrating and almost stalled. The contact stated that the check engine warning light and a warning light for the throttle body was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle and was able to drive off the roadway; however, the vehicle stalled again. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle. The contact raised the hood and there was oil on the engine block and there was the odor of diesel fuel in the engine compartment. The contact had the vehicle was towed to a local dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the fuel pump had failed, and that the engine had been contaminated and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. …

The contact owns a 2018 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the high-pressure fuel pump (HPFP) had failed. The fuel system assembly was replaced. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V406000 (Fuel System, Diesel). Additionally, the contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. …

The contact owns a 2018 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled but was almost immediately restarted. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the destination and turned off; however, while attempting to restart, the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that the crankshaft position tone wheel had completely delaminated and needed to be replaced. The contact was advised by the mechanic that there was a recall for the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and the contact was informed that the VIN was not associated with NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V411000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). Several dealers were contact and provided the same information. …

The contact owns a 2018 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not able to restart, and the contact had the vehicle towed to the residence. The vehicle was later towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle with a crank sensor failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V475000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance since the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was 45,381. The contact stated Stellantis has changed its position on replacing the part in the original W58 recall, revised to reprogramming the PCM on the revised W58 and now 66A says there is no current solution. …

The contact owns a 2018 Ram 1500. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The system failed to go through regeneration. The contact stated that the EGR cooler and radiator were leaking. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the service electronic control message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a crack in the EGR cooler, and that the cooler was leaking. The contact stated that the exhaust was stuck and clogged. Additionally, the fuel filter was clogged. The turbo boost sensor also had malfunctioned. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V757000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer was contacted but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

The contact owns a 2018 RAM 1500. The contact vehicle is related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V406000 (Fuel system diesel) and 23V411000 (Engine and engine cooling). VIN tool confirms there was 2 recalls at this time. However, the contact was driving up an incline at 65mph when the vehicle loss power. There was a strong odor and smoke was observed coming from the back of the vehicle. There was white fome coming out and surrounding both tail pipes of the vehicle. No lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed and diagnosed by a local mechanic and refused repair due to recall. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and was not repaired, due to cost. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure milage was approximately 104,000. The vehicle was not part of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V757000 (Engine and Engine Cooling)

The contact owns a 2018 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The driver was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the crankshaft position sensor tone wheel. The contact was informed that the crankshaft position sensor tone wheel had delaminated. No warning lights were illuminated. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V475000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 160,000.

Related recalls

Engine complaints in other 1500 years