2019 Ram 1500: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Oct 2, 2026 · Engine, Fuel system · PA

On XXX, approx. 1615 hours, I was traveling EB on I70 in [XXX]. The cruise control was set at approximately 72MPH. I was in the left lane of travel and both my wife and I heard a revving noise and as I looked at the dashboard, I noticed the RPM gauge was high, I hit the brakes and started to go to the right lane and the entire vehicle shut down. All within a matter of 5-10 seconds. The dash indicated to put the truck in park to start it. I was able to make it to the shoulder and get the vehicle stopped and in park. I popped the hood and looked around the engine compartment. I saw no fluids leaking and no steam or smoke coming from the engine. I then attempted to restart the vehicle and it did absolutely nothing. Vehicle was towed to a RAM dealership, [XXX] CRJD in [XXX]. The did a cursory inspection ad determined that the engine was seized up but gave no indication as to the cause. Recommendation was to replace engine at a cost of nearly 18K dollars. Upon conducting further investigation on my own, I discovered that the Z46 recall of the HPFP, described with total accuracy what I experienced on the highway that day. The recall was performed on my vehicle on XXX. It is fully my belief that the fuel pump that was replace through the recall has now failed in the same manner as described in the recall and was the cause of the complete engine failure. I have notified the dealership of my findings and opinions, and they are unwilling to investigate further without direction from the manufacturer. Notified Service Manager, [XXX]. (XXX) 1302 hours On XXX (1310 hours) I notified the RAM Recall Team, [XXX], of the situation. He advised that it was to be escalated to case/claim and that I would be contacted by a case file agent. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Sep 25, 2025 · Electrical · FL

I bought a new battery from the Chrysler dealership in February of 2023 that started going bad in May of 2025. It is under warranty until February 2026. On May 28th 2025, I was attending a canine seminar out of town. At the end of the day, I went to start the truck & the battery was dead. I was able to get a jump start & immediately took it to a local retailer to have the starter, alternator & battery checked.The battery had Indications of going bad, the alternator & starter passed the tests. I purchased a mobile jump starter to make sure I wouldn't be left stranded somewhere. When I returned home, I scheduled an appointment at the dealership to have them replace it. The dealership kept it overnight & said their diagnostic machines did not give the code that allowed them to replace the battery under warranty. I was getting ready drive to Indiana from Florida & wanted to make sure it would be safe.I then drove to Texas after that, then back home, about 1200 miles each leg. When I went to leave to Maine a couple weeks later, the truck would not start. I was able to use a jump starter to get it going. When I got to Maine, I scheduled an appointment at the local dealership to have them check it. They ran the same tests & said they could not get the code to replace the battery under warranty. It became increasingly difficult to start the truck & even got to the point where I couldn't use a mobile jump starter to start it. When I returned from Maine, I made an appointment with a reliable mechanic who said the battery was swollen & leaking acid. He said it was ready to explode, potentially catching the engine compartment on fire. At that point I contacted the dealer again, and they said that yes, with acid leaking & the battery swollen, they could replace the battery under warranty. It should never have gotten to the point where the battery had to be leaking acid to get it changed out under warranty, the testing the dealerships do does not properly identify bad batteries. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF

Filed Aug 21, 2023 · Engine · 60,000 miles · NC

The contact owns a 2019 Ram 1500. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle, he became aware of a brown fluid leaking underneath the front of the vehicle onto the ground. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the head gasket, the radiator, the engine, and other unknown parts had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated, and there was black smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to a second dealer, National Speed (4022 Glenside Dr, Richmond, VA 23228) where it was diagnosed that the PCM was unable to read the O2 sensors; however, the cause of the failure was not yet determined. The vehicle was being repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

Filed Nov 30, 2022 · Engine, Transmission · TX

I have a 2019 Ram 1500 Classic 3.6L Pentastar that I was driving home in from being out of town, and as soon as I got back in town I started getting the smell of burning oil coming through my AC vents when I would stop. I assumed it was a car nearby, but once I stopped at my house the smell came back. The next morning I went outside and there were a few drops of oil under the truck, so I looked underneath and the transmission pan cover underneath my truck was covered in oil. I couldn’t figure out where the oil was coming from, so I took the truck to my mechanic. They took a look at it and saw that the leak was coming from my oil housing assembly, and oil would run to the back of my engine then spill down over the transmission’s bell cover and drip off the transmission pan cover. This mechanic is not a large mechanic by any means, and they said that they usually get 20-30 of these same trucks every year with the same exact problem: a leak coming from the oil housing assembly. They said that it happens because the manufacturer cut corners when making this part, and after 60-90k miles it will give out due to the heat coming off the engine. They also said that the manufacturer and dealers will try to blame it on the consumer stating they over torque the filter when replacing it, but that is not the case at all. It is the quality of the oil filter housing that is the issue, and the manufacturer needs to improve the quality of the part and do a recall for this part. My truck was just over 80k miles when this occurred a few days ago, and the mechanic was not able to get an aluminum aftermarket version of this part, so I’ll have another 60-90k miles before I have to drop another thousand on this part. Please fix this issue and issue a recall.

Filed Aug 24, 2022 · Transmission · CO

On 07-20-22 I was driving home from work in the evening around 5:45 pm, out of nothing, i noticed my temp gauge starting to rise. It rose up to alarm level (overheating). I slowed down and pulled over, and noticed the temp gauge starting to drop down to below overheating but still above normal. Note: I live 4.7 mile away from work and the highest speed limit on my way home is 55mph. I limped slowly with the truck while paying attention to the temp gauge until i pulled up in my drive way. When I opened the door of the truck, i was hit by a huge cloud of white smoke coming from underneath the truck. I shut off the truck and moved away quickly. I noticed a reddish fluid coming from underneath the truck. I could not tell what it was at the beginning but it was oily. Later on I realized it was transmission fluid mixed coolant. Note: transmission fluid is flammable. Due to distance of 4.7 miles distance to my house the truck (exhaust) had not warmed up enough to ignite the transmission fluid. It was later identified by Mike Shaw dealership in Greeley CO, that the heat exchanger (from the radiator) on the transmission body had failed and transmission fluid and coolant mixed rendering the whole transmission void. I was lucky i drive a short distance otherwise the truck would have caught on fire. The truck was towed from my drive to the dealership by my insurance. I am raising the concern because i saw a report by a 2019 Ram owner on your website who had the same experience and unlucky to him, his truck caught fire and burnt down. See January 5, 2022 report the federal safety agency NUMBER 114446344. I bought the truck brand new on January 1, 2019 in Greeley CO. I am the only owner and driven mostly home to work and occasional trip, very minimal towing averaging twice a year. My truck has little over 70k mile on it. Today, over a month after the incidence i am still waiting to receive the truck from FCA/Dealership back. I was promised to have it back over a week ago. And, cost is going up.

Filed Sep 15, 2021 · Brakes · FL · fire

Based on the inspections and investigation arranged by the insurance group (attended by the vehicle and braking system manufacturers), a “seized caliper” was the cause of a 2019 incident that nearly killed a family traveling from Illinois to Florida. A 2019 DODGE RAM was rented from Enterprise Rent-a-car (Illinois), for the purpose of transporting a family (and their personal belongings) to their new home in Florida. 8 hours into the trip, the truck was traveling 65-70 mph on I-65 South when smoke began emanating from the rear, drivers side tire area. The driver pulled to the side of the road to inspect the issue, and immediately spotted flames near the drivers side, rear tire. The flames were directly beneath the fuel tank, leading the family to abandon the vehicle. 911 was called and the county fire department arrived approximately 20 minutes later. The vehicle was fully engulfed in flames, and was a total loss. Fortunately, no one was (physically) hurt. Kentucky State Police also attended the incident, transporting the family to a local DQ for them to wait for their replacement rental vehicle to be delivered. This incident occurred on May 31, 2019. Disappointing is the best way to describe how Dodge and Bosch have handled this incident. Ilco, the insurance group acting on behalf of Enterprise Rent-a-car, completed a thorough inspection process, which suggested that a seized caliper was the cause of the incident. The family involved were verbally notified on the findings. End of story

Filed Aug 11, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · MI · fire

The contact owned a 2019 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while inside of her residence the vehicle was parked in the driveway when without warning the vehicle independently engulfed with flames. The fire department was contacted and came out to the resident and extinguished the flames. A police report was filed. The vehicle was deemed a total loss by the insurance adjuster who was contacted and came out to the resident. The vehicle was not towed. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that no recalls were under the VIN. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and started an investigation. Damages from the flames were done to the left side of the contact residents. The failure mileage was unknown at this time.

Filed Sep 16, 2020 · Electrical · 15,000 miles · NY · fire

Tl* the contact owned a 2019 ram 1500. The contact stated while driving about 70 MPH on cruise control, there was a strong burning odor and discovered through the rearview mirror that there was black smoke coming from the vehicle. The contact stated he pulled the vehicle over and got out the vehicle. The smoke was coming from the hood and the fire was visible under the vehicle. The police came to the scene and a police report was filed. The fire department came on the scene and extinguished the fire. The vehicle was towed to towing lot where then the insurance company towed the vehicle to an unknown location and deemed it destroyed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. However, no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.

Filed Sep 15, 2020 · Brakes · 16,500 miles · FL · fire

To whom it may concern, in may 2020, I rented a 2019 dodge ram to facilitate a move from illinois to florida. 8 hours into the journey, the vehicle erupted into flames, nearly killing my son, fianc, myself and our puppy. Fortunately, someone driving behind us flagged us down when they noticed black smoke coming from the vehicle. We were able to safely escape, called 911, then had to watch as all of our personal effects and some valuables were destroyed by fire. That was on may 31, 2020, inspections were performed on the vehicle, with ram being one of the parties involved in the inspection process. Unfortunately, the inspectors were unable to definitively say what happened, although they theorized that the rear, drivers side caliper may have seized up, resulting in the fire. Either way, nothing we could have done differently. While I am relieved that we were able to escape harm, it's upsetting that all of our keepsakes, personal effects and some valuables were destroyed. To add to the heartbreak, we have yet to hear from anyone acting on behalf of ram. Considering the near miss we suffered, I would think that ram would show some compassion and reach out to us. Very disappointing, I will never purchase a dodge affiliated vehicle (again) in my life.

Filed Sep 3, 2020 · Engine · 18,000 miles · MD

Sudden loss of engine oil due to engine mounting bracket breaking away from frame causing engine to drop puncturing the oil filter. 7 quarts of oil pumped out all over the hot exhaust and onto the right front brake assembly. When I saw the smoke I slowed down and tried to get to a safe stopping point off of the highway. By the time I got there the low oil pressure indicator came on. When I finally came to a complete stop oil was everywhere under and on the vehicle.I shut the engine off and got out thinking it may be on fire. Thankfully it was not. I also hope there is no engine damage. I called the dealer and had it towed to there shop. I was informed there was an incomplete weld on the frame bracket causing this failure. This sounds like a manufacturing defect to me! I,am not happy with the repairs the dealer is proposing. This truck is 2 years old and has 18,000 miles.*dt

Filed Jul 19, 2019 · Engine · MI · fire · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owned a 2019 ram 1500. The contact stated that while the driver was driving at an unknown speed, another vehicle cut in front immediately as the lanes were merging. As a result, the driver depressed on the the brake pedal and swerved to the left direction crashing into the rear of the vehicle who cut in front and into a curb. After the crash, the vehicle engulfed in flames instantly. The fire department extinguished the fire. A police report was filed but it was unknown if a fire report was filed. The driver sustained a burn injury on his arm but did not seek medical attention. The vehicle was towed and deemed destroyed. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The contact mentioned that the insurance company was conducting an investigation to determine the cause of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. *dt *dt*jb vehicle is currently at an acution.