2016 Ram 1500: engine overheating

Filed Sep 28, 2026 · Suspension · IA

After driving approximately 30-45 minutes a message on the dashboard showed up saying "Immediate Air Suspension Service/Repair Required". The suspension locked up at this point. Driving down the interstate at speeds of 70 mph was not safe for the vehicle or the occupants. This problem was addressed by a licensed Ram mechanic/dealership and determined the compressor was bad as it had stored codes for overheating. A new compressor was added. A week later the same message appeared. A deeper dive was done to look for causes, and nothing could be determined. This has occurred a total of three times.

Filed Feb 11, 2026 · Electrical, Engine · 130,524 miles · WI

On September 29, 2025, my vehicle overheated. Smoke was coming from the interior vents as well as from under the hood. I pulled over shortly after and had my vehicle towed to a repair shop. I got an estimate for radiator repair. That did not fix the issue, so more repair was needed related to a heating and evaporator core. I have attached the invoices for those repairs. I just wanted to note this for my records.

Filed Nov 2, 2025 · Suspension · OH

I bought this vehicle used and have had nothing but issues with the factory OEM Air Ride Suspension. Driving down any road, it will dump the air in the rear completely, sometimes it will dump the air on just the drivers side front and rear. I get dash warnings saying the air suspension is overheating and needs to cool. The local Dodge Dealer where I bought it knows about the problem and only advised me to replace it with aftermarket suspension. I bought an extended warranty and I personally believe they didn’t want to warranty the suspension. It will cost me $4-5k to replace with an air delete kit and could be $5-10k for OEM parts depending on what all gets replaced. Now my warranty is expired and it’s all on me. This is a safety problem and is a serious issue as there’s thousands of these vehicles with this suspension system having issues. Dodge is completely aware of it and it needs to be on them, not the consumer.

Filed Aug 28, 2025 · Engine, Fuel system · FL

I own a 2016 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel (VIN: [XXX] ). This vehicle is covered under the EcoDiesel Approved Emissions Modification (AEM) Settlement extended warranty. Since the update in January 2025, the truck has suffered repeated EGR system failures and related warranty failures. The EcoDiesel lawsuit itself was based on EGR cooler defects that could leak coolant and cause fires. My truck has experienced the same failure pattern, with coolant leaks, overheating, and unsafe breakdowns. On [XXX], the vehicle shut off in the middle of the road while I was driving, creating a serious hazard. The cause was traced to a covered emissions component. This was not an isolated incident. The vehicle has been in dealerships for over 60 cumulative days since January 2025, mostly for repeated EGR codes and fuel system issues, but the root problem has never been properly repaired. On [XXX], the low-pressure fuel pump failed after it had already been replaced. The premature failure left me stranded and required a $500 tow. This failure also presented a risk of sudden power loss in traffic. Despite repeated visits to authorized dealers, repairs are incomplete or improperly billed, including installation of non-OEM parts that failed again. The repeated stalling, coolant leaks, overheating, and sudden no-start conditions show that this truck remains unsafe to operate on public roads. I am reporting this as a safety defect because the emissions system failures and improper repairs have caused the vehicle to shut off while driving and continue to present a risk of fire, engine damage, and sudden loss of power. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Feb 13, 2025 · Fuel system · VT

Issue with the relay controlling the fuel pump located in the fuel tank(lift pump) When the relay stop working, the engine cannot be started or don't supply fuel to the High pressure fuel pump (HPFP) forcing to stop on the road. Could lead seriously to an unsafe situation like the HPFP can do. This issue can be reproduce easily by the dealer. No DTC or check engine ON for this type of issue. The dealer fix it yesterday and the damage was under the TIPM (Total integrated Power Module) The wires connectors under the relay were melted by overheat. This issue lead to an OFF and ON electrical contact between the fuel pump and the relay. This issue is largely documented over internet and can be fix for under 200$ usd with an external relay. But the first FCA option is to replace the TIPM board for 1200$ usd. Actually no recall for this major issue present in many FCA models since many years. The first time this issue happend was december 20, 2024. The date of repair is february, 12 2025. Between those two dates, I got the crank nostart problem many times.

Filed Jan 4, 2025 · Electrical, Engine · WA

Since buying our 2016 Ram 1500 ecodiesel, we have had nothing but problems. In 2020 there was an EGR/coolant leak that was supposedly done. Upon getting the recall done, they said that the manufacturer has not yet made any equipment to fix the issue. They replaced our hose, but we have had to get it fixed almost annually since then. This is a lemon of a truck and FCA should be ashamed releasing a vehicle with so many issues and no fix in sight. It says our recall was "remedied", but even the service department said that there is no guaranteed fix because FCA has not released anything to actually fix this issue. We were without our truck for almost a month. Ridiculous. DO NOT BUY THIS TRUCK, YOU WILL REGRET IT!!!!

Filed Feb 12, 2024 · Brakes, Electrical · TX

Has had the "Hemi tick" ever since I bought it new. But didnt seem to effect performance, so I thought.......Time went on and the "tick" became louder and louder even though I got the oil changed religiously, air filters, tires, (2) tune ups, all proper maintenance was performed for the livelihood and longevity of the truck accordingly and have receipts to back up that claim. Now, at about 100,000 miles i had to replace the rear differential and axle of which i noticed was a recall of the same year and same truck but they say according to my vin number there are no recalls.......well, we need to include my truck in some of these because ive already paid out of pocket for the same problem listed in the recall. Also, regarding the active class action "HEMI TICK" lawsuit, low and behold, as i accumulated more miles, it gravitated to a loud tick, and an extreme loss of power when trying to accelerate to get on a highway or pass somebody on the highway, or even just take off from a green light.....it runs higher rpm than normal, the combustion is incorrect for sure, If I needed to hit the gas to get out of the way of danger, chances of success are grim. Twice I was on the highway going 70 and it straight up died, went blank! We were ok, thank God! My miles per gallon has dwindled away lower and lower getting about 8-11 mpg. It overheated this last summer in this condition. Anytime I parked and idled i had to have the hood open to prevent overheating. Took it to a couple auto shops and after replacing the fan clutch twice, the PCM, the throttle body/position sensor, accelerator position sensor, radiator flush, new radiator cap..........we cleared all error codes being we replaced the problems causing it to present a clear operating truck error free. .........all except the engine light when turning the key to power on, it blinked 10 times. Took it to dealership who quoted 800 to tear down the engine to get to the lifters and camshaft. 5,250.00 quote for lawsuit problem.

Filed Sep 21, 2020 · Engine · 98,385 miles · CA

Took my truck in for engine light 12/18/19 particulate sensor problem. Sensor code cleared returned 12/19/19. 6/29/20 recall csn 1, egr cooler. With this work had to replace manifold and then damaged head engine cylinder due to damage by technician and had to replace, returned 7/24/20. 7/30/20 engine overheated, check engine light on. Fault of loose hose clamp and system not bled of air, returned7/31/20. 8/4/20 check engine light on.egr cooler by pass acutotur valve not working. Returned 8/6/20. 8/10.20 check engine light on. Egr bypass solonide high resistance and not actuating, replace actuator, returned 8/11/20. 8/17/20 check engine light on. Removed cam driven vacuum pump, returned 8/21/20. 8/28/20 engine light on and black smoke and oil spraying out the back. Truck towed back to dealer since it would not start. Main engine gasket blew and totalled engine. Dealer still has truck as of today 9/21/20 to replace engine. All issue happened when driving the truck. I have all work invoices if needed. I applied for buy back but was refused due to state guidelines for lemon law.

Filed Aug 27, 2020 · CA

Coolant leaking. Leak couldn't be detected by only eyes observation under the truck. It's unknown where the leak went. First, we refilled the coolant, and when it happened the 2nd times after a period of time of 1-2 months, we refilled it once again, once the coolant tank was empty, but only this time, it's a short period of 2 days. Took the truck to the chrysler dealership, was told by the mechanic that it's a recall item, that it had been reported some of the ram 1500 had mysterious coolant leaked. They had no idea where the coolant go, they said it's not "safe" to drive the truck. Now my truck had been in the shop for 1.5 months and was till being told that the part had not arrived. We never received any recall warning from chrysler. Luckily the coolant warning sign is working. Otherwise, we won't be able to know and we as well as other drivers on the street might be exposed to explosion.

Filed Jan 23, 2020 · Engine, Fuel system · 50,000 miles · OH

2016 ram ecodiesel 60,000 miles I recently accepted the offer from ram for emissions recall on my ecodiesel. I agreed to it thinking that with the extended warranty that they offered that my problems would be taken care of. Part of the recall was to have the aem update done to your truck. After the dealer installed this which I believe it was just an ECM reflash my truck gets worse fuel economy and sometimes will start and the rpms will slowly creep down until the truck dies. If I keep restarting the engine it will eventually stay running after 10 or 15 minutes idling. Normally does it when you are on a time crunch. My engine has always consumed a lot of engine coolant. Was on a trip with my family and the heat quit working. I stopped at a parts store and purchased a gallon of antifreeze and it took the whole gallon to fill it back up to the resovoir. I have had to add coolant at least once a month. Have probably added 4 gallons in the last year.acceleration is very sluggish at times. This is very dangerous because you never know when it's going to do it. I recently took my truck to the dealer for the starting problem and the coolant consumption problem. I was floored when the service writer called and said that ram is aware of these problems but there is currently no fix and gave me free antifreeze! I could understand this if the truck was brand new but it's 4 years old. There should be a fix by now! I am paying $500 a month for a vehicle that may or may not start. It may or may not move when I hit the accelerator pedal and it still uses antifreeze. I am very dissatisfied with this truck and ram not holding up to their end of the deal. If I knew what I know now I would've opted out of their offer. All of these vehicles have the same issues and ram needs to be held accountable for their neglect of these problems. My truck is a death trap!

Filed Jan 4, 2020 · Engine, Transmission · 43,937 miles · CA

2 major issues: a- since vehicle got computer system updated for the emissions lawsuit - vehicle has lost 70% power at take off. Meaning, I currently have a very high risk of getting t-boned at intersections because the vehicle doesn't take off. I currently have a claim open with chrysler but their case manager claims that parts to fix the issue is currently not available. This emission update was done back in june 2019. B- vehicle started to overheat and create very high coolant smell inside the cabin. This happened when the vehicle was in motion driven at approximately 45mph, if the vehicle sits idling you can't tell the problem, only when driven. I had vehicle towed to dealership and admitted on 10/31/2019. After 63 days at the dealer and so much back and forth with chrysler case managers and supervisors "this people is extremely useless and should not be assigned to handle cases sensitive like this one!" on 01/03/2020 "63 days after check in date" the truck was release from the dealer with absolutely no repairs made. The vehicle that is currently overheating with very high risk of getting caught on fire has been released to me so I can take my kids to schools and and my life and other at danger. This is terrifying! Makes me think that chrysler wants to deal with much more costly issues when the worst happens!

Filed Dec 10, 2019 · Engine, Fuel system · 42,000 miles · CA

Did the new ecodiesel update and now truck lags during acceleration. Takes a second or 2 to take off. Also with the egr cooler recall I'm losing coolant can possibly cause a fire. Fca told me when I called to carry a jug of coolant with me to refill as needed. I would think I would have to do this on a 3 year old truck.