2012 Dodge RAM 3500

Typical pattern

4.2% of complaints about the 2012 Dodge RAM 3500 came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2012 vehicle — around the middle of the 201 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 2.9 yr in service. The most-reported system is steering (223 complaints), typically at 2.3 yr or about 25,500 miles.

Complaints: 504
Median age at failure: 2.9 yr
Median mileage: 47,000 n=240
Crash / fire / tow: 5% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System

0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y

Steering

223 reports · 25,500 mi

2.3 yr

1.8%

Electrical system

46 reports · 114,000 mi

6.4 yr

10.9%

Suspension

36 reports · 22,000 mi

2.5 yr

Engine

35 reports · 73,000 mi

3.5 yr

2.9%

Fuel / propulsion

29 reports · 124,000 mi

3.3 yr

3.4%

Power train

28 reports · 73,000 mi

5.9 yr

7.1%

Wheels

15 reports · 74,820 mi

4.7 yr

13.3%

Air bags

15 reports · 105,000 mi

4.0 yr

13.3%

In owners’ own words

Electrical system 19,000 mi 2.3 yr in service crash / fire / tow

DRIVER SIDE CONTROL FOR POWER WINDOWS/POWER LOCKS - SMOLDERED, SMOKED AND THEN STARTED SMALL FIRE. LOTS OF SMOKE - TO THE POINT WE WERE SICK FROM FUMES. DOORS AND WINDOW POWER OPERATION CEASED. THE ENTIRE CONTROL PANEL MELTED AND NEED TO BE EXTINGUISHED. *TR

Electrical system mileage not reported 3.2 yr in service

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 DODGE RAM 3500. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN: 14V635000 (FUEL SYSTEM: DIESEL AND ENGINE: ENGINE COOLING DIESEL. HOWEVER, THE PART NEEDED TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. UPDATED 03/30/15*LJ

Electrical system 60,000 mi 3.4 yr in service

RECALLS: P65 DIESEL FUEL HEATER, POTENTIAL FUEL LEAK AND FIRE. RAM DOES NOT HAVE PARTS TO FIX, REFUSES LOANER VEHICLE UNTIL PARTS ARE AVALIABLE. VEHICLE NOT SAFE TO DRIVE N49 LEFT TIE ROD, REQUESTED APPOINTMENT TO HAVE REPAIRED APPOINTMENT NEVER MADE BY DEALER. EMMISSION CONTROL PROBLEMS RELATED TO O2 SENSORS AND WIRING, PAID $387 TO HAVE REPAIRS MADE, NOT REPAIRED AND NOT UNDER WARRANTY ACCORDING TO RAM. ENGINE STOPS RUNNING REQUIRES CODE CLEARING THRU OBD2 SYSTEM TO GET RUNNING OUT OF "LIMP" MODE. DEALERS AWARE OF ISSUES, MULTIPLE TSB, BUT NO FIX WORKS.

Suspension 19,678 mi 1.6 yr in service

PULLING INTO A PARKING SPOT AND TURNED WHEEL. LEFT LOWER TIE ROD BOLT SNAPPED. *TR

Other RAM 3500 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.