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Dodge RAM 1500 misfire problems

83 of the 12,420 owner complaints about the Dodge RAM 1500 describe misfire or rough idle, most of them for the 2011 model year.

owner complaints
83
worst model year
2011
typical repair cost reported
$3,800
typical mileage
96,300
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.

By model year

Often reported together

Check engine light 38Stalling 12Loss of power 12Engine failure 11Knocking 9Shudder 3Power steering loss 3Hesitation 3

Trouble codes mentioned

P0305 3P0300 2P0385 1P0308 1P0306 1P0304 1P0303 1P0302 1P0301 1

What owners say

Filed Apr 17, 2026 · Engine · MD

My 2012 Dodge developed an engine issue at 129,000 miles. The issue was rough idling and no acceleration. I took it to a Dodge dealer. They diagnosed it as a chronic cam issue with this generation Chrysler hemi engine. I had the cam and replaced at Waldorf Dodge. The cost was at $3400. I believe this is a known problem and Dodge is aware of exactly why it happens. Lack of oil pressure to two of the cylinders that are dropped while driving for fuel economy. This should be Dodge problem not the consumer. I take excellent care of my vehicles. I also have a 2004 Dodge truck but that’s over 450,000 miles on it same engine same transmission.

Filed Mar 20, 2026 · Engine · 80,000 miles · WI

The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the check engine warning light was flashing, and the vehicle unexpectedly decelerated. While depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle was shaking and continued decelerating. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road. A certified mechanic was contacted and advised the contact to drive the vehicle approximately 45 MPH with the hazard lights flashing to the repair shop. The mechanic diagnosed a misfire in cylinder #2, lifters failure, causing the camshaft failure, which allowed metal debris to enter the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.

Filed Aug 1, 2025 · Engine · MD

The vehicle finally became inoperable at 119,000 miles due to lifter failure. Lifter issues started when the vehicle had about 106,000 miles on it. There were multiple misfire and gas mileage became worse. There was a loud ticking noise coming from the engine as well. Vehicle has been well maintained and only 1 owner, purchased new. With the lifter failure, this caused damage to the camshaft and which led to an excess amount of metal shavings to be spread throughout the engine. The vehicle ultimately had to get a engine replacement because of the excess metal shavings in the engine.

Filed May 15, 2025 · Engine · AL

The engine has lifters ticking when cold and a loss of power during operation. The engine hesitates during driving at different times and runs rough. There is no warning before this happens and no warning lights/sensors activated. The truck only has 76k miles on it.

Filed Jul 28, 2022 · Engine · KS

I was driving at highway speed. The vehicle suddenly lost power and began to shutter. It was difficult to control and the vehicle behind me had to swerve to the inside lane to avoid a rear end collision. Upon receipt and diagnosis from Olathe DCJ, they indicated there is a misfire in cylinder 5. Through a Google review, I discovered this is very common know issue. It costs anywhere from $3500-$15000 to resolve let alone the risk to life. In discussion with my service advisor (Mike), they perform this repair a couple of times a month. This is in one location in the Kansas City area. I can only imagine how widespread this issue is.

Filed Apr 17, 2022 · Engine · CA

The camshaft is defective and prematurely wearing down due to the lifters. Causing a warning code to come on give a p0300 code and and check engine light to flash at a random mulitipule misfire to come up will cause the truck to die at times causing a crash. Luckily I was able to park it before that happened and now can't drive it because of the saftey Hazzard.

Filed Dec 5, 2021 · Engine · OH

Camshaft lobe warn down from, from faulty rocker arm roller (needle bearing) (there is no to very little compression in cylinder 5), apparently engine is lubricated "by splash oil design" and people smarter then me have diagnosed that it is a design flaw.(having to do with the well and the height of the bores that accept the rocker arms) The engine only had 118,000 miles when the engine light came on, resulted in a severe knocking sound and misfiring. I expected a well taken care of motor with regular oil changes would last 200,000 miles. My choices are to rebuild the motor and or replace, both are costly. Thanks for taking the time to read my complaint. [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

Filed Mar 24, 2021 · Engine, Transmission · 79,000 miles · IA

Engine code reading misfire on cylinder 3 while driving down the interstate. Vehicle has less than 80k miles. Vehicle starts to shake and is harder to control, and loses acceleration, is random, almost causing a multi-car pileup. Issue is the camshaft and lifters. It is descibed in this communication this is apparently a known issue with anything with a 5.7, 6.0 or 6.4 hemi motor. Spark plugs and plug wires were replaced 3/21/21, driven again on 3/22/21, same issue, almost causing another crash due to loss of power on the interstate when merging, and then shaking almost sending the vehicle into bridge.

Filed Mar 23, 2021 · Engine · 129,000 miles · VA

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ram 1500. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate forward driving at various speeds. The check engine warning light illuminated and the vehicle began to misfire and shudder. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine coils needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. No dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 129,000.

Filed Nov 30, 2020 · Engine · 86,000 miles · CA

I was operating my vehicle when it presented a check engine light. I utilized a code reader to determine it was a cylinder 5 misfire code. The code disappeared after roughly 30 seconds. About an hour later, the check engine light came on and stayed on. The truck started violently shaking, causing me to almost lose control of the steering wheel. I had to quickly pull off to the side of the road from the middle lane, almost causing multiple accidents as my speed rapidly decreased. The shaking continued for another two minutes after which it stopped. I was able to get the vehicle home by traveling at a low rate of speed and keeping the engine speed under 3000 RPM. The issue was diagnosed as a failing camshaft and lifters causing a misfire and the loss of power. This is a serious safety issue, and I am not able to drive my vehicle for fear of the misfire occurring again and me losing control of the vehicle causing an accident.

Related recalls

No recalls on record for this model year.

Questions about the Dodge RAM 1500 misfire

Which Dodge RAM 1500 years have misfire or rough idle problems?

The model years with the most reports are 2011 (30 complaints), 2012 (23 complaints) and 2002 (7 complaints).

How much does it cost to fix misfire or rough idle on the Dodge RAM 1500?

Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $3,800 (median of 17 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.

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