2011 Dodge RAM 1500

Typical pattern

4.3% of complaints about the 2011 Dodge RAM 1500 came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2011 vehicle — around the middle of the 203 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 6.5 yr in service. The most-reported system is electrical system (213 complaints), typically at 7.1 yr or about 86,000 miles.

Complaints: 988
Median age at failure: 6.5 yr
Median mileage: 78,000 n=706
Crash / fire / tow: 7.9% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System

0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y

Electrical system

213 reports · 86,000 mi

7.1 yr

5.2%

Power train

179 reports · 45,000 mi

3.0 yr

Engine

151 reports · 100,000 mi

7.9 yr

6.6%

Fuel / propulsion

128 reports · 100,000 mi

7.9 yr

2.3%

Other

46 reports · 72,600 mi

7.5 yr

10.9%

Steering

45 reports · 66,240 mi

5.2 yr

11.1%

Suspension

40 reports · 25,500 mi

3.9 yr

7.5%

Exterior lighting

29 reports · 65,790 mi

4.9 yr

Structure

23 reports · 62,000 mi

5.8 yr

13%

Service brakes

21 reports · 61,000 mi

6.2 yr

28.6%

Speed control

19 reports · 40,000 mi

4.3 yr

15.8%

In owners’ own words

Structure 2,300 mi 3 mo in service

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 DODGE RAM 1500 QUAD. WHILE DRIVING ABOVE 50 MPH, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT WHEN HE WOULD ROLL THE REAR WINDOWS DOWN, THE VEHICLE WOULD SHAKE EXCESSIVELY ALMOST CAUSING THE CONTACT TO LOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. THE DEALER WAS AWARE OF THE ISSUE, INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THERE WERE NO RELATED RECALLS AND OFFERED NO ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE. THE CONTACT DID NOT INFORM THE MANUFACTURER NOR WAS THE VEHICLE REPAIRED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE APPROXIMATELY 2,300. BW UPDATED 01/18/11 *BF UPDATED 03/15/11*LJ

Structure 1,024 mi 10 mo in service

WHEN DRIVING VEHICLE AT ANY SPEED FROM 25 MILES AND ABOVE WITH REAR QUAD CAB DOOR WINDOWS DOWN - ANY HEIGHT - VEHICLES SHAKES VIOLENTLY, NOISE IN CAB MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO TALK. HAVE DONE THIS WITH SINGLE WINDOW DOWN, REAR WINDOW BOTH OPENED AND CLOSED AND VEHICLE STILL SHAKES MAKING VEHICLE HARD TO DRIVE. HAVE NOT TRIED THIS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AS I IMAGINE THE VEHICLE WOULD BE UNCONTROLLABLE. *TR

Structure 160 mi 9 mo in service

RIGHT KNEE BUMPS THE LARGE KEY TURNING IT, AND SHUTTING OFF THE ENGINE, MAKING IT HARD TO CONTROL. THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES USUALLY WHILE CORNERING OR SLOWING FOR A CORNER. *JB

Steering 10,000 mi 7 mo in service

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 DODGE RAM 2500. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 65 MPH WHEN THE STEERING STARTED TO GET LOOSE AND THE WHEEL STARTED VIBRATING. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND WAS TOLD THE TIE RODE ON THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE HAD BROKEN. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 10V657000 (STEERING: LINKAGES: TIE ROD ASSEMBLY) FOR THE 4500 AND 5500 MODEL, BUT NOT THE 2500. THE FAILURE MILEAGE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 10,000. UPDATED 05/05/11*LJ UPDATED 05/09/11

Other RAM 1500 model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.