Model Year Index

Which Ram 2500 years to avoid

Across 12 scored model years, the 2014, 2018 and 2016 model years carry the highest severity-weighted complaint rates.

Ownership label · Ram 2500 Full report
D
Grade 2010–2021
2014 vs model median 1.4×
Model median3× median
Steering 56
Engine 37
Drivetrain 37
Avoid

2014 · 2018

Best

2010 · 2021

What the record shows

Written from this model’s own complaint and recall history.

The Ram 2500 carries 65 distinct recall campaigns, and its weighted recall count stays in double figures for nine consecutive years from 2013 — an unbroken run matched here only by its 3500 sibling, and one no other heavy-duty truck on this site comes close to. That steadiness is the defining feature of this record, more than any single complaint pattern.

Steering leads seven of twelve scored years, including 121 of the 2010 truck’s 180 complaints and 189 of the 2011 truck’s 289. The accounts describe wandering at highway speed and, in a substantial group, the front-end oscillation heavy truck owners call a wobble — the same phenomenon that dominates the Ford F-250 file, though at a much lower share here.

The two flagged years are led by different things. On the 2014 truck, steering still leads but engine and drivetrain sit close behind, and the filings there describe throttle lag from a standstill. On the 2018 truck, braking leads at 89 reports, with owners describing long stopping distances under hard braking.

Fire allegations are scattered rather than clustered: sixteen on the 2012 truck, fifteen on 2019 and eleven on 2021, against zero to seven elsewhere.

2010 and 2021 are the strongest years here, at 0.76 and 0.71 times the model’s median.

Reviewed Claude, 11 August 2026, against the model's own record and NHTSA campaign filings

Year by year

Severity-weighted complaints filed in each model year’s first 60 months on the road, so every year is measured over an identical window.

Year Complaint volume vs median Reports Grade
2010
0.76× 180 B
2011
1.11× 289 C
2012
1.17× 247 C
2013
0.74× 166 C
2014
1.35× 308 D
2015
0.72× 159 C
2016
1.09× 235 D
2017
0.75× 166 C
2018
1.16× 267 D
2019
1.04× 184 C
2020
0.96× 197 C
2021
0.71× 136 C
2022 P
1.30× 267 D
2023 P
0.27× 63 B
2024 P
0.49× 76 B
2025 P
0.44× 100 B

P — provisional. These years have not completed 60 months on the road, so their totals are incomplete and they are excluded from the verdict.

What owners report

The component groups most often named, with one representative report. These are unverified — allegations, not findings.

2014 D 308 reports · median 16,000 mi

  1. Steering 56

    Driving on idaho highway 21, speed limit is 45 with slower speeds required around corners due to the windy road. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  2. Engine 37

    This is regarding the 6.7l cummins engine. Throttle lag from a dead stop such as merging into traffic or crossing a road is dangerous. This lag could very well cause me to get rear ended or broad sided. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  3. Drivetrain 37

    2014 ram 2500 4x4 cummins diesel 68rfe auto trans. Significant lag in acceleration when actuating the pedal. 2+- seconds of no response before truck starts accelerating. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

14 crash · 7 fire · 4 injuries

2018 D 267 reports · median 17,200 mi

  1. Brakes 89

    Upon maximum emergency braking at any speed, the truck stops as if the brakes where wet, impossible to stop when towing a unloaded 16 foot utility trailer down hill it just keeps on going until you reach bottom. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  2. Electrical 46

    The contact owns a 2018 ram 2500. The contact stated that the u-connect screen periodically failed to function, which impacted the functionality of the sos feature built into the rearview mirrors. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  3. Steering 33

    The fca recall v06 concerning drag link separation prescribes a spot weld repair that I feel will eventually fail because of future alignment service. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

11 crash · 1 fire · 11 injuries

The best year for the 2500

Ranked by overall score among years with a full 60 months on the road.

2010 is the best-scoring 2500 model year with a full 60 months on the road, at 71.1 out of 100 — a score that combines complaint rate, recall campaigns and open investigations. On complaint rate alone the lowest is 2021 at 0.71× this model’s median, against 0.76× for 2010.

Yearvs medianReportsGrade
2010 0.76× 180 B
2021 0.71× 136 C
2015 0.72× 159 C

Recalls

65 campaigns on record, 2 carrying a Park It or Park Outside warning.

Campaign Component Model years Units affected
18V332000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING 2014–2018 4,815,661
17V821000 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:LEVER AND LINKAGE:COLUMN SHIFT 2010–2017 1,482,874
15V461000 EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:RADIO/TAPE DECK/CD ETC. 2013–2015 1,416,903
22V904000 STRUCTURE:BODY:TAILGATE:HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS 2019–2022 1,224,078
18V486000 STRUCTURE:BODY:TAILGATE 2015–2017 1,149,223
19V347000 LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:TAILGATE:LATCH 2013–2018 1,103,209
15V459000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL 2012–2014 1,059,444
24V436000 BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA 2022 1,033,433
17V302000 AIR BAGS 2013–2016 1,021,279
19V021000 STEERING:LINKAGES:DRAG:LINK:CONNECTION 2014–2018 795,575
15V460000 SEAT BELTS 2013–2015 667,441
26V059000 EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS 2025 456,287

+ 53 further campaigns

How long do they last?

Complaint records show when problems get reported, not how long a car survives. Where owners gave an odometer reading, faults on the 2014 were reported at a median of 16,000 miles. Treat that as the point problems start being noticed, not a lifespan.

Common questions

Answered directly from this model’s record.

Which Ram 2500 years should you avoid?
2014, 2018, 2016 carry the highest severity-weighted complaint rates of any Ram 2500 model year measured over an identical 60-month window.
What is the best year for the Ram 2500?
2010 is the best-scoring Ram 2500 model year with a full 60 months on the road, at 71.1 out of 100. The score combines complaint rate, recall campaigns and open investigations.
How many recalls does the Ram 2500 have?
65 distinct recall campaigns are on record across all scored Ram 2500 model years. A recall is a matter of record: the manufacturer filed a defect report with NHTSA.

How this was calculated

Every model year is scored over an identical window: complaints filed with NHTSA during the first 60 months after that model year went on sale. Without this, older cars look worse purely because they have had longer to accumulate reports.

Limitations. Complaints are unverified reports submitted voluntarily by owners; they are allegations, not findings, and reporting rates vary between models. Model years with fewer than 60 months on the road are marked provisional and excluded from verdicts. Cross-model comparison is withheld pending production-volume data.

Full methodology · Sources · Data vintage August 9, 2026

Working 2014 2500
Complaints in window
308
Severity-weighted
401
Model median (weighted)
296
vs model median
1.35×
Recall campaigns (weighted)
16
Open investigations
1
Score 47.8 D