10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 5
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
31,960 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2013 Ram 1500 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2013 Ram 1500 Owner Comments (Page 4 of 9)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #115

Mar 192017

1500

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

There is a spring in the steering colum that allows the air bags, volume control, cruise control, heated steering wheel, and anything else located on the steering wheel to work. It broke not covered under warranty should be a recall safety issue.

- Bloomington, IN, USA

problem #114

Sep 202019

1500

  • miles
Door locks won't close with key fob or inside switch. Locks stay open while driving. Door looks only lock manually. Stationary and while moving.

- Pflugerville, TX, USA

problem #113

Aug 272019

1500

  • 75,000 miles
Instrument cluster flickers and causes driver to be distracted posing a risk for accident and/or injury. This started out as a sporadic issue, but now seems to be a constant situation. When I get into my vehicle, even before starting the vehicle, the instrument cluster flickers. It used to resolve itself rather quickly once the vehicle was turned on, but now it is not uncommon to drive the vehicle for several miles before the issue stops. There are a significant number of threads online about the issue and appears this is a defect in the manufacturing or design of the instrument cluster that should warrant a recall. I have video of the issue, but unfortunately can't upload the video to this site.

- Stevens Point, WI, USA

problem #112

Jul 102019

1500

  • 77,350 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Child door looks and auto door locks not working. Either by in interior switches or key fob. Some or all door will not lock without manually pressing down the manual door locks. Common problem found when searched on Ram forums dealer replaced body control module and new key fobs.

- Acworth, GA, USA

problem #111

Feb 112019

1500

  • 109,000 miles
First experienced malfunction of the rear driver's side automatic door lock not cycling with the other locks. I had to manually operate the lock by reaching around from the front door. This went on for about a month, then the drivers door lock started doing the same thing. Doing some research online in Ram forums, there were several other people with the same complaint and issues. Other people had went through the painstaking process of paying the dealer to trouble shoot and replace various other parts until the issue was traced to the body control module (BCM, part number 68200252af for my model). When I called my local service department, they explained that part was on back order with no eta. Vehicle was stationary, happens whether using the key fob, or door handle controls, or inside console buttons.

- Gig Harbor, WA, USA

problem #110

Apr 042019

1500

  • 69,895 miles
As I was driving to work this morning I had my cruse control set at 65mph. I reached the normal point in which I turn the cruse control off every morning due to an approaching intersection and the cruse control buttons on the steering wheel would not function. I hit the brake peddle and the cruse still would not shut off. I was able to get out of the turn lane and proceed through the intersection, which was luckily green, and shifted the vehicle into neutral and shut if off. Upon starting the vehicle back up the cruse control buttons will not function. I tried again this afternoon and they are working just fine. Ever since the wire harness was replaced a few years ago there have been issues with the volume controls for the radio but this is the first time I have had any issue with the cruse control. What if this would have happened at a busy intersection with a red light?

- Saint Peters, MO, USA

problem #109

Sep 012018

1500

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Cruse control stop working also driver door master switch stop working except the 2 back windows

- Rio Rico, AZ, USA

problem #108

Oct 012018

1500

  • miles
Keyfob does not work properly. It opens the truck on its own and keeps trying to open all time when keyfob is near.

- Rio Rico, AZ, USA

problem #107

Jan 292019

1500

  • 40,000 miles
The fob key will not go to the off position. The farthest left it goes is to accesory.the key is stuck in the ignition I can still start it and drive it but have to disconnect the battery at night so as to not drain the battery.

- Toluca Lake, CA, USA

problem #106

Feb 012019

1500

  • 114,425 miles
As of yet, there has not been an accident happen. However, I just finished a 15 mile drive and my airbag light and the message "service airbag system" has come on and off 6 times at random. In doing my own research, if the clockspring in the wheel which connects the airbag loses connection it will cause that fault possibly leading to an airbag failure to deploy in the event of an accident. This happened both while moving and also while stationary.

- Medina, TN, USA

problem #105

Jan 162018

1500

  • 24,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

All 4 door locks on my truck do not work properly when using the key fob as well the power locks inside the vehicle. They either do not lock or unlock. It rotates locking one door and other is open, sometimes 3 doors lock and 1 open, and it changes every time it's used. There are public forums where many other people experience the same issue until they replace the BCM module. Ive experienced great difficultly with the dealerships ability to properly diagnose the issue. They advised me to replace all 4 actuators, never addressing the public forums that discusssed this exact issue. Seems like the dealers are making money on these problems and not correcting the issue. The truck had only 24,000 miles on it when the issue started. This should not be happening. This is a major safety issue many others have complained of the same issue.

- Sayville, NY, USA

problem #104

Dec 012018

1500

  • 80,000 miles
Dash goes blank then comes back on.. now is ticking when it does.. happens when driving normally

- Cape Coral, FL, USA

problem #103

Oct 062018

1500

  • 53,000 miles
When parking I get error 'vehicle not in park' and engine will not shut off. Seems stuck and until you put it in reverse, then drive, then park multiple times it will allow you to shut the engine off. Everytime I try and park and I am stationary for the past month.

- North Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #102

Mar 012017

1500

  • 54,000 miles
As I'm driving, all of the electrical components on my dash shut down and then come back on one at a time within a minute. My understanding is that the problem is related to the gauge cluster and after a little searching on the internet, it is a well-known issue with the 2013 Ram. The problem has been happening randomly since I bought the truck in 2015 and can not be replicated on command. Sometimes I can go a couple of months with no problem; at other times, it occurs 2-3 times a week. So far, it hasn't affected the operation of my truck, but this is a huge safety risk should they decide not to come back on at some point.

- Walkersville, MD, USA

problem #101

Aug 102018

1500

  • 60,000 miles
As I was parking my vehicle I heard a click sound. Immediately after the airbag light illuminated also horn/radio/cruise control stopped working. Very unsafe. Not fare for a defect like this to happen. After reading forums online this is a known problem that fca has not looked into.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #100

Feb 012016

1500 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 60,561 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ram 1500. The contact stated that strong exhaust fumes encompassed the interior and exterior of the vehicle. The dealer (peterson Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram, 5801 E gate blvd, nampa, id 83687, (208) 475-3000) diagnosed that the exhaust manifold had an internal failure, which was leaking fluid into the engine compartment due to the bolts shearing off. The dealer replaced the exhaust manifold and the bolts on the front passenger side; however, the failure recurred. The dealer stated that the exhaust manifold needed to be replaced on the driver's side and the bolts. The manufacturer provided no remedy other than replacing the same parts. The failure mileage was not available. * the first failure was the passenger side exhaust manifold began ticking. Tamera, the Chrysler adjuster did not tell me this was under a customer help at the time of the repair of I sould have brought the above her attention then. I heard only a tick on the passenger side and they said the other side was fine. In less than 1000 miles and around 30 days the other side started ticking. In researching this problem it appears that Chrysler has allowed this to allowed this to continue unchecked since 2009, but it is hard to tell as they have done some changes in the engine for fuel economy sake, but it appears to be an ongoing problem. I have had some exhaust odors, but it has not seemed to have caused health problems at this point. My son has a 2003 diesel that has the same problem, but is long out of warranty. Updated 11/1/2018

- Nampa, ID, USA

problem #99

Jul 272018

1500

  • 120,400 miles
Controls (cruise, gear up/down) on steering wheel non-operable. Dealer diagnostics say clockspring (pn 68110740ae) is bad.

- Richmond, KY, USA

problem #98

Mar 202018

1500

  • 100,088 miles
Driving on hwy 45 mph, engine shut down no warnings. Towed to shop. Wiring harness laying on engine, melted the wirers causing it to short out.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #97

Jan 112018

1500

  • 81,000 miles
Dashboard from time to time will go completely out for a few seconds and reboot while driving. During this time no dashboard information is available. It is hard to reproduce because it happens randomly.

- Coeur D Alene, ID, USA

problem #96

Dec 012017

1500

  • 38,000 miles
There is a electrical connector under the dash that comes loose.. the truck shuts down with no control. Will not start cant get out of park to be towed.. total lockout. Dealer charged 150 bucks to "fix it" happened again a month later.

- Hastings, MN, USA

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