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2019 Ram 1500: battery drain or dead battery

12 of the 1,501 complaints about the 2019 Ram 1500 describe battery drain or dead battery.

owner complaints
12
of this car's complaints
1%
recalls
3
Is there a fix? There are 3 recalls and 215 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below

Battery drain or dead battery by model year

  • 2026
    1
  • 2025
    10
  • 2024
    1
  • 2023
    3
  • 2022
    4
  • 2021
    6
  • 2020
    5
  • 2019
    12
  • 2018
    3
  • 2016
    2
  • 2015
    1
  • 2014
    3
  • 2013
    2

What owners say

Filed Jul 21, 2026 · Acceleration, Electrical · FL

​SUMMARY OF ISSUE: Water intrusion from a defective factory rear window seal flooded the Radio Frequency (RF) Hub module, causing severe, dangerous network communication (CAN bus) failures while driving. The removed RF Hub has been retained by the owner and is available for physical inspection upon request. SAFETY RISKS: Power steering repeatedly seizes/locks up while driving. ​Vehicle completely stalls and freezes in active intersections and at highway speeds on I-95. ​Instrument panel illuminates with all warning lights ("Christmas tree" dash) and prompts driver to "Put Vehicle in Park and Put Back in Drive" while actively moving in traffic. ​Vehicle experiences complete power loss, creating a severe rear-end collision hazard. ​TIMELINE & MILEAGE: 60,328 mi (Dec 2022): Initial electrical glitches reported to dealer prior to 100k warranty expiration. ​92,733 mi (Sept 2024): Reported ongoing key fob loss, electrical anomalies, and TPMS drops. ​168,492 km (~104,696 mi): Scanned multiple CAN bus "U-codes" (documentation available). ​104,716 mi (Sept 22, 2025): Leaking rear window seal repaired by dealer. ​~114,000 mi: Worsening symptoms and total vehicle stall. ​DEALER FAILURE & DENIAL: When repairing the window seal, the dealer failed to inspect for interior water damage or check underlying electronics. They refused to open/inspect the RF Hub, claimed they could not reproduce the intermittent issue, and are attempting to blame an unrelated "star connector." The owner opened the RF Hub casing and photographed clear galvanic solder corrosion and water damage directly under the leak point. Component has not been inspected by police, insurance, or manufacturer reps. PRIOR SYMPTOMS: Progressive TPMS loss, "Key Fob Not Detected" while driving, throttle surges at stops, parasitic battery drain, and full dash light warnings—worsening with humidity and rain.

Filed Jun 1, 2026 · Electrical, Visibility · NC

SEVERE SAFETY HAZARD: CASCADING ELECTRICAL FIRE RISK. My 2019 Ram 1500 suffered a catastrophic electrical failure while driving. The alternator's voltage regulator melted, overcharging the system and causing the battery to boil and vent toxic sulfuric acid fumes into the cabin, creating an immediate respiratory and fire hazard. This is the direct result of Manufacturer Defect XL1/XG1 (Rear Window Leak). I have physical dealer records proving Westgate Ram held this vehicle for 19 days in Aug 2022 to fix Water Leak Code 09H2OLEAK. They returned the vehicle claiming it was fixed, but I have geolocated photos showing the window leaking heavily just 17 days later. Because the leak was never resolved, water continuously entered the rear cabin, corroding the RF Hub and creating a parasitic drag that destroyed the electrical grid. CRITICAL NEGLIGENCE: On June 1, 2026, Stellantis Corporate (Case XXX) acknowledged the severity of the fire risk by immediately inquiring if Emergency Services had been contacted, yet subsequently refused to offer a safety tow. When I attempted to escalate, their agents [XXX] , [XXX] , [XXX] , [XXX] ) refused to provide IDs. Furthermore, my phone number is now being rejected by their system; calls to their support line immediately fail or disconnect, leaving a fire-risk vehicle stranded at my residence with no recourse. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Mar 30, 2026 · Acceleration, Electrical · NJ

RF Module lost connection to CAN Bus and caused the vehicle to shutoff while driving. Symptoms include messages about key fob not within range and TPMS not able to communicate with sensors. RF Module was replaced however the issue returned. Other symptoms include parasitic draw caused by RF Module that in turn causes the system to report low voltage while driving. Vehicle has left me stranded on more than one occasion due to RF Module failures. These situations where preceded by no starts and shifter errors. Most of these issues can temporarily be resolved by disconnecting the main battery for extended periods. Dealer or service center has not reproduced the issue. Dealership inspected the RF module during installion of a new RF module after a water leak. The issue first appeared after the dealership repaired the "backlite" window, which was leaking on to the RF module. I suspect this might be related to system updates installed during the window installation service call. All of this started in early 2024.

Filed Mar 1, 2026 · Electrical · NY

Purchased vehicle used in 2024 and purchased a 3 year extended bumper to bumper warranty. The center screen was restarting every 3 minutes and was draining my battery down to being completely dead when it was not running. On 12/15/2025 I brought the truck to a Ram dealer with the problem and it was diagnosed by the dealer (Sansone Auto Mall) as needing to replace the entire radio/HVAC center stack, and it was the cause of the parasitic drain on the battery. The work was approved by my warranty and the parts were ordered. It has been 11 weeks and the parts have not arrived and Stellantis has been unable to provide a timeframe of when the parts will arrive at the dealer to do the repairs. The truck has no defroster or heat rendering it unsafe to be driven on roads. I have had an open case with Stellantis for several weeks and call them frequently to attempt to locate the parts for my vehicle in which they are unable to provide me a delivery date and a repair timeframe.

Filed Jul 3, 2025 · Engine · OR

As we were driving and pulling a 32 foot trailer battery died, luckily we were able to stop safety and charge battery and bought a new battery to get us home. The Mopar 48‑volt motor‑generator unit (MGU)—often referred to as the “eTorque alternator died. There is a back order of currently 4800+ and months to get this part in order to fix a truck that doesn’t start without it. How is this not a recall? This is highly unsafe if we hadn’t been watching the battery voltage as we were driving and noticed it was getting dangerously low potentially causing a huge pile up accident on the freeway with our trailer.

Filed Sep 7, 2024 · Brakes, Engine · HI

2019 Doge ram 1500 quad cab- the engine completely and immediately froze up and locked all tires in the middle of a busy 2 lane street- sounded like only 2 of the 8 pistons were barely firing, was told my engine was "toast-it sucked a valve"! I am an old school mechanic so I take care of every aspect of my truck regularly by professional mechanics- how can a truck not even 5 yrs old with payments still owed have so many issues and now if completely trash? In addition, I have had computer issues, rear camera issues, the side mirror just fell off on its own.....so many issues with this model. How can a dealership and a manufacturer legally sell such a piece of junk? Is there any recourse? Law suit- class action or individual ? I am deseperate for help- I was nearly killed on this street when it all happened- the engine completely died-battery drained-back tires locked up all in an instant while driving 30 mph.

Filed Jul 23, 2023 · Electrical · KS

The Motor Generator Unit stopped charging the battery, which in turn made my battery die. This can be inspected. I was put at risk due to being broke down out of town on the side of a main street. The vehicle was inspected by a local mechanic shop as a Ram dealership was not within their city limits. They were the only ones to inspect it. Prior to the battery completely dying, my check engine light and low battery light came on within 10 seconds of each other. My battery died within 15 to 20 minutes of that happening.

Filed Mar 8, 2023 · Electrical · CA

vehicle will not respond to keys and intermittently will start and drive then die in the middle of the road. Waring lights turn on then go off. truck will be fine for a few days then fail to start and completely drain the battery. Water is entering the vehicle cause moisture and mold on the carpet and possible cause of the electrical problems. when truck is off radio will turn on and off and dome lights flash

Filed Mar 6, 2023 · Electrical · IN

Dead battery. Something in the electrical system is draining the battery. I replaced the battery approximately 2 months ago.

Filed Jan 31, 2022 · Electrical, Fuel system · FL

1) The Fuel Pump broke on our 2019 Ram Big Horn. It only has around 40,000 miles on it. We had it towed to the dealership. They are going to replace the fuel pump mid to end of February due to part shortage. My wife was on the entry roadway to I95 when without warning the truck puttered and died on the entrance ramp. There was no warning lights, messages etc. Luckily she puttered to the side out of the way of speeding cars getting on I95. According to the dealership they have no idea how the fuel pump died. The dealership is the only party that inspected the vehicle. 2) The second problem we are having with the Ram, is the dashboard lights flicker on off for no particular reason. It just happens when it feels like it. We brought it to the dealership and of course it didn’t happen to them so they have no idea why the dashboard lights are going on and off. The rear defroster isn’t working. The battery died as well. We feel there is some type of electrical problem with the truck. We do not believe a vehicle with only 40,000 miles would have the fuel pump die. I know other Ram trims (2500, 3500 etc)have had recalls due to fuel pumps dying and dashboard lights going on and off for no reason. I think this is a problem that needs attention! My wife could have been killed on the ramp to I95

Filed Dec 14, 2021 · Transmission · TX

Battery went dead, display showed power steering failure and the check engine light was on. I had the code read and it was P1DF3

Filed Sep 15, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 32,002 miles · CA

Vehicle fails to start without any notice or apparent indications of a potential issue.I had someone use a code reader and got the following code p1df3... I checked ram forums and this is a common malfunction. Without warning something drains the battery. No one knows what will fix it yet.

Service bulletins that may apply

Related recalls

Electrical system: instrument cluster/panelReported July 26, 2019 · 237 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2019 Ram 1500 vehicles. The instrument cluster may not properly illuminate driver warnings. As such, these vehicles fails to conform with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 101, "Control and Displays."
Risk
Failure of the instrument cluster to properly illuminate may prevent the driver from receiving warnings about the vehicle's systems and increase the risk of crash.
Remedy
Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the instrument cluster, free of charge. The recall began August 8, 2019. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1‑800‑853‑1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is V83.

Recall number 19V556000 · Recall details

Electrical system: 12v/24v/48v batteryReported February 28, 2019 · 33 vehicles affected
What is wrong
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 incorrect assembly repair process, the auxiliary battery wire terminal connection may overheat.
Risk
If the auxiliary battery system overheats, there is an increased risk of a fire within the cabin even if the ignition is off.
Remedy
FCA US has notified owners, and dealers will properly secure the auxiliary battery fasteners, free of charge. The recall began March 15, 2019. Owners may contact Chrysler's customer service at 1‑800‑853‑1403. The Chrysler number for this recall is V17.

Recall number 19V142000 · Recall details

Electrical system: softwareReported May 17, 2018 · 4,815,661 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2014-2018 Dodge Journey, Charger and Durango, RAM 2500, 3500, 3500 Cab Chassis (more than 10,000lb), 4500 Cab Chassis and 5500 Cab Chassis, Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee and Chrysler 300, 2014-2019 RAM 1500, 2015-2018 Dodge Challenger, 2015-2017 Chrysler 200, 2016-2018 RAM 3500 Cab Chassis (less than 10,000 lb), 2017-2018 Chrysler Pacifica and 2018 Jeep Wrangler vehicles. These vehicles are being recalled to address a defect that could prevent the cruise control system from disengaging. If, when using cruise control, there is a short circuit within the vehicle's wiring, the driver may not be able to shut off the cruise control either by depressing the brake pedal or manually turning the system off once it has been engaged, resulting in either the vehicle maintaining its current speed or possibly accelerating.
Risk
If the vehicle maintains its speed or accelerates despite attempts to deactivate the cruise control, there would be an increased risk of a crash.
Remedy
Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the software, and perform a software flash on the engine or powertrain control module, free of charge. The recall began June 4, 2018. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1‑800‑853‑1403. Note: Owners are advised to stop using cruise control until the software update has been performed. In the event that cruise control cannot be disengaged while driving, owners should firmly and steadily apply the brakes and shift the transmission to neutral, placing the vehicle in park once it has stopped.

Recall number 18V332000 · Recall details

Questions about the 2019 Ram 1500 battery drain

Is battery drain or dead battery a common problem on the 2019 Ram 1500?

12 of 1,501 owner complaints about the 2019 Ram 1500 (1%) mention battery drain or dead battery. The model year with the most reports is 2019.

Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2019 Ram 1500?

There are 3 recalls and 215 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.

Other symptoms on the 2019 Ram 1500

Power steering loss 126Loss of power 112Check engine light 86Stalling 62ABS 57Water leak 43Engine failure 37Adaptive cruise 33No deployment 33Knocking 33Jerking 33Wipers 33Backup camera 32Grinding brakes 28Steering lock-up 28Won't start 25Airbag light 22Warning lights 21Fuel pump 17Overheating 17Key fob 16Screen failure 15Won't shift 15Harsh shifting 14Headlights 13Seat belt 12Brake failure 11Fire or smoke 11Slipping 11Sudden acceleration 11Fuel smell 10Hesitation 10Start-stop 10Transmission failure 10Misfire 9Whining noise 9Collision warning 6Door locks 6Pulling 6Sunroof shattered 6Ball joint 5

All model years of the Ram 1500

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