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CarsRam › 1500 › 2019

2019 Ram 1500: engine and transmission complaints

ELEVATED COMPLAINT SIGNAL
34%
465 of 1,355 relevant owner complaints are about the engine, transmission or fuel system

34% of relevant owner complaints on the 2019 Ram 1500 are about the engine, transmission or fuel system. That is elevated. Worth an independent inspection before you commit to one.

Better than 63% of the 1,230 model years we track (2010–2023).

Excludes 114 airbag, lighting and seat-belt recall complaints that would otherwise mask the signal (unadjusted: 32%).

NHTSA data checked September 13, 2026
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Drivetrain complaints
465
engine, transmission, fuel
Total complaints
1,469
this model year
Fires reported
11
owner-reported
Recall campaigns
30
75 crashes · 63 injuries

Complaints by component

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM378 · 26%
STEERING336 · 23%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER233 · 16%
ENGINE226 · 15%
POWER TRAIN205 · 14%
SERVICE BRAKES131 · 9%

The years either side

2010
no data
2011
64%
421 of 688
2012
56%
322 of 697
2013
20%
235 of 1,273
2014
41%
654 of 1,761
2015
46%
622 of 1,443
2016
42%
621 of 1,535
2017
41%
331 of 870
2018
40%
247 of 659
2019
34%
465 of 1,469
2020
41%
239 of 623
2021
59%
373 of 675
2022
54%
315 of 607
2023
41%
71 of 197

Manufacturers fix things mid-generation. A bad year next to a clean one is common; the fix usually arrived in between.

Cleaner alternatives

Same car, a better year

Other full-size pickups with no elevated signal in 2019

The percentage is each model year's drivetrain complaint share. No elevated signal describes the model year, not any one car; a well-kept example of a flagged model can still be the right buy, and any of these still needs an inspection.

What owners reported

AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM09/10/2024CRASH2 INJURED
I was driving a new truck i had purchased from a dodge dealer , i was rear-ended at highway speed, the truck lost control and went off road hitting a earthen burm head on, flipped and came to rest on the roof. The traction control didn't work, the front impact airbags did not deploy and the engine was still running whi…
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM01/15/20222 INJURED
Fuel tank has a cap less tank system that sprays gasoline all over the person pumping it. Most fuel pumps will not let fuel into the tanks causing the person who is fueling the vehicle to be splashed with fuel. The dealership wants $200 just to look at it but a local mechanic says the system is faulty. The emissions…
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM01/05/2022FIRE1 INJURED
On 06-06-2021 my wife, daughter and Me and our three dogs, was heading to are first destination on are 2 week vacation pulling are camper. In about 150 miles into the trip started smelling diesel, pulled over on a narrow 2 lane road couldn’t see anything. So my wife found a road we could pull off on to check everything…

Three of 465 drivetrain complaints. The full report shows more, with quotes about the engine in the car you are looking at first.

Recall campaigns on this model year (30)

VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2019 RAM 1500 vehicles equipped with a 12" touchscreen display and a base-level heating, ventilation and air conditioning ("HVA…
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2019 Ram 1500 vehicles equipped with a 48v auxiliary battery system located behind the rear seat (sales code: XBZ). Due to an …
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:PEDALS AND LINKAGES
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2019 Ram 1500 vehicles equipped with adjustable pedals. The affected vehicles have a brake pedal that may move too far and sep…

This does not say whether a particular car has an open, unrepaired recall. That depends on the VIN.

Before you buy a 2019 Ram 1500

Have the VIN?Paste it and get the full report for that car. First report free, then a 30-day pass covers a whole car search.

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Experimental model-level information. This is not a vehicle inspection, vehicle-history report, financial advice or purchase recommendation. It describes patterns across a model year, not the condition of any individual vehicle. Combined across 2 body styles NHTSA files separately.