2012 Dodge RAM 5500

Typical pattern

2% of complaints about the 2012 Dodge RAM 5500 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 2.5 yr in service. The most-reported system is steering (21 complaints), typically at 2.3 yr or about 36,784 miles.

Complaints: 51
Median age at failure: 2.5 yr
Median mileage: 32,844 n=25
Crash / fire / tow: 13.7% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

In owners’ own words

Steering 100 mi 1.2 yr in service

THE TRUCK WANDERS ALL OVER THE ROAD. GOING BACK AND FORTH WITH THE STEERING. THIS HAPPENS WHEN DRIVING DOWN ALL TYPE OF ROADS AND SPEED. *TR ## VIN PASSED ## DODGE RAM 5500 2012 ##

Steering mileage not reported 2.3 yr in service

OVER 9 MONTHS AGO WE RECEIVED A SAFETY RECALL NOTICE FROM CHRYSLER: SAFETY RECALL N26 / NHTSA 13V-239 FRONT AXLE TUBE WELDS LETTER STATES THAT PARTS NEEDED TO DO REPAIRS ARE NOT ON HAND. AS SOON AS THEY ARE MADE AVAILABLE THEY WILL CONTACT US FOR REPAIRS. HERE IT IS 9MONTHS LATER AND WE GET THE SAME EXACT LETTER. THE LETTER STATES THAT THIS DEFECT COULD CAUSE A DRIVER TO WRECK AND LOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. I FEEL THAT TIME HAS EXCEEDED FOR THEM TO MAKE THIS RIGHT. *TR

Steering mileage not reported 2.3 yr in service

OVER 9 MONTHS AGO WE RECEIVED A SAFETY RECALL NOTICE FROM CHRYSLER: SAFETY RECALL N26 / NHTSA 13V-239 FRONT AXLE TUBE WELDS LETTER STATES THAT PARTS NEEDED TO DO REPAIRS ARE NOT ON HAND. AS SOON AS THEY ARE MADE AVAILABLE THEY WILL CONTACT US FOR REPAIRS. HERE IT IS 9MONTHS LATER AND WE GET THE SAME EXACT LETTER. THE LETTER STATES THAT THIS DEFECT COULD CAUSE A DRIVER TO WRECK AND LOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. I FEEL THAT TIME HAS EXCEEDED FOR THEM TO MAKE THIS RIGHT. *TR

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.

2012 Dodge RAM 5500

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

In owners’ own words

How to read this