2020 Ram 1500: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Nov 4, 2026 · Electrical, Engine · ME · fire

Truck burned down. Reported problems earlier to you with stellantis/ram having issues with the etorque and not helping to resolve, along with not producing parts. Etorque failed in beginning of 2026, replaced OEM for $5,000(5 times the price it should have been) with no help of ram/stellantis. Now, somewhere in the engine caught on fire and burned the whole truck. Insurance has done investigation and I have received the claim. Safety concern:my wife and [XXX] were in the vehicle, started it and it caught fire. Lucky to have gotten out safe. Total loss of vehicle. The ram rebel 2020 and specifically etorque and electrical all should be looked into and proper action be taken with ram/stellantis to its customers. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Aug 16, 2026 · Electrical, Engine · NY

Twice in the past two years, the eTorque system had failed will driving on the highest. When the unit fails, you lose all power asks if you're battery is low, you can pose the ability to even steer. The first time, I was on the i87 going north, and barely made it off the road. I was nearly hit by several semi trucks because this was on a blind turn with very little shoulder and I basically had to hide in the woods for safety. Just this past week, less than two years after the replacement, the same issue happened again. This incident was on route 11, which is very busy and I was unable to get my vehicle of the road. An officer came to shield me until the tow truck came, but it was very sketchy. This total cost is over 3000$, and no support from Ram as to why this is happening. This past time the bearings went and there was a lot of smoke coming from the engine area. The smell of burning electronics was choking in the cab; at that point I had to get out of the truck due to the toxic fumes. I did file a complaint with them. With this being such a safety concern, why is there no recall? I can't be the only person having had to deal with this. From what the dealership says, this is happening a lot and there is currently an 8 month wait for the part. Just thought you should be aware of this very serious issue.

Filed May 2, 2026 · Electrical · MI

Driving to work yesterday with the heated steering wheel turned and thought I got shocked so I turned the steering wheel heater off immediately. This morning I turned the steering wheel heater on while driving and burnt one of my finger tips on the steering wheel at approx the 9 O'clock position. Before I could hit the button to turn the steering wheel heater back off a small puff of smoke came from the exact spot on the wheel where my finger was burned earlier. I removed the fuse for the steering wheel heater so it could not come back on.

Filed Feb 22, 2026 · Electrical · WI · fire

My 2020 Ram 1500 Laramie was parked in my garage. I started it to let it warm up before driving. The garage started filling with smoke and the smell of fire. I backed the truck out of the garage and noticed flames on my backup camera. The 7 way plug was on fire. I quickly shut the truck off as soon as I got it out of the garage. I put water on the fire to get it out before it took over the back end of the truck. I had drove the truck the day before and filled it up with gas so my life and my son's life was as risk knowing there is a electrical issue. It also was parked in our garage when it started smoking and it could of burnt the whole garage and house down if I didn't get it out of there as fast as I did and noticed it burning. I had contacted 3 dealer ships and they all said sorry we can't help you. I decided to contact Ram directly to file a claim. Ram told me specifically not to take it to any dealer and they would look into it. 3 weeks later they sent out an investigator to my house. They took pictures of the truck and the damage. They plugged in a code reader and it didn't throw any codes. I asked the guy for the report and he said he couldn't give me one. I have since heard back from Stellantis and their email said things like this happen and they have declined any further assistance associated with this fire. They than said to contact the insurance. A fire is a safety issue and there is major concerns of safety. I don't feel safe when they said it was safe to drive after they did the investigation. I took it to a dealer ship to have it repaired and it started to smoke twice driving it to the dealership.

Filed Jul 30, 2025 · Electrical, Lights · 67,178 miles · CO · fire

The contact owns a 2020 Ram 1500 Promaster. The contact stated that after parking and turning the vehicle off, he left it for approximately 10 minutes. The vehicle spontaneously caught fire. The contact was alerted that his vehicle was on fire. The contact noticed that the passenger-side headlight had smoke and flames four feet high. There were no warning lights illuminated prior to the failure. The contact and a bystander extinguished the fire. There were no reported injuries. A call was made to 911 emergency services regarding the incident. The fire and police departments were on the scene. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who determined the failure was due to the wire harness and headlight assembly. A claim was submitted to the insurance company. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted regarding the failure and left 7 voicemails along with emails but no response as of yet. The failure mileage was approximately 67,168.

Filed Mar 15, 2025 · Engine · MI

Smoke, burning smell entering cabin area while driving and using heater. Look up issue, found many people had the same problem involving heater core leaking/failing early.

Filed Apr 12, 2024 · Electrical, Engine · FL · fire

The contact owned a 2020 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving at approximately 45 MPH, the windshield wiper was operating erratically, the lights began flashing, the emergency lights would not work, and the lock was inoperable. The contact observed smoke coming from the vents and underneath the dashboard. The vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the road where the contact observed sparks and flames coming from the dashboard that were approximately 5 feet in height. The Fire Department extinguished the fire. The vehicle was destroyed as a result of the fire. A fire report was filed. The contact was not sure if a Police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a storage lot. The insurance company was pending a tow. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was unknown. The contact stated the fire started in the dash area and believes it to be an apparent faulty electrical system.

Filed Oct 29, 2023 · Transmission · IL

Transfer case has failed per dealer inspection and diagnostics. Several lights turned on. Burning smell in/outside of vehicle. Vehicle will jerk from time to time. Parts are apparently on back order for several weeks and I have been told the vehicle is drivable even though transfer case issues / failures can be a serious safety issue.

Filed Oct 10, 2023 · Electrical, Lights · GA

On Monday, October 10, 2023, I started my truck in the morning when the temperature was 60-65 degrees. The truck turned the rear defroster on and after 10 minutes I put my two boys in the backseat and smelt a burning smell. There was nothing smoking, so I told myself I would look at it once I got back from dropping them off. I pulled out of my driveway and within a minute my back window shattered above my 3 month old. I took it to the Dodge/Ram dealership and they said based on their inspection the third brake light was leaking and water got into/on the window and when the rear defroster turned on it shattered the window. They said it is not covered under warranty even though the main cause was a manufacture defect with the the third brake light leaking water into the vehicle. So this repair is going to cost me $1,500 because of the leak. This is a major safety violation with windows breaking above kids or people in the back seat and electrical getting wet because of the leak in the third break light.

Filed Sep 20, 2023 · Fuel system · CO

After I got the vehicle, during the first winter in January of 2021, I was filling up the vehicle at a gas station in Kansas. The fuel pump clicked off long before the tank was full and continued to click off every 3 seconds or so when attempting to continue. I stopped filling the tank at about half full after about 20 minutes in the freezing outside temperatures thinking it might have been something wrong with the pump. The gas gauge only read 1/2 full. I went to the next exit and tried again. Same situation. It took forever and finally after repeating this for about another 20 minutes, it finally did go to full but then leaked gasoline everywhere like it didn't stop because it was clogged or something. Seems to do it frequently when temps are below freezing. What ever repairs were supposedly made, did not work. I am very concerned this is a fire hazard potential if not corrected. I took it to the dealership where I purchased the vehicle and they claimed they replaced the fuel nozzle. But it continues to do this every time it gets below freezing. I am wondering if moisture / vapor is becoming frozen in the line, or that the fuel nozzle system is of poor design where the tank cannot keep up with the venting. Perhaps it was the manufacturer trying to comply with environmental regulations, but failed. In any case I worry about the fuel leaking out and catching on fire from driving or static. It is a serious problem!

Filed May 25, 2023 · Engine · 72,000 miles · FL · fire

The contact's brother owned a 2020 Ram 1500 Rebel. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously driven parked and left unattended a few hours later, the vehicle spontaneously caught fire. The neighbors alerted the owner that the vehicle had caught fire. The fire department extinguished the fire and informed him the fire started in the engine compartment. A 2021 Mercedes Benz CLA 250 parked in front of the Ram caught fire as well. There were no reported injuries. A police report was filed. It was unknown if the air bags were deployed. The vehicle had burnt to the frame. The vehicle was still at the owner's residence. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, who informed me an adjuster would evaluate the vehicle damage. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000

Filed Aug 5, 2020 · Engine · 3,483 miles · CA

On sunday, july 19, 2020, parked and turned on the AC. Start smelling something burning and white smoke started to come out of front and cab vents. Immediately turned off and let truck sit for 30 minutes and drove about ten miles and the white smoke and smell returned. Pulled over on the freeway to check under the hood for smoke. No smoke was coming from the engine compartment. So, we called dealership to see if this was normal for an ecodiesel truck. The smell and smoke gave passengers inside the vehicle headaches. We were made aware that this wasn't normal and needed to bring the truck in. The smoked continued to travel throughout the truck vents even after it was parked at the resident. July 20,2020 contacted roadside services and had the truck towed to the dealership. The dealership diagnostic was the heater core caused these problems. Passengers experienced headache from the smoke and burning smell. This is a safety hazard especially for someone that is unable to smell, especially if all the windows are up. The truck has less than 3,500 miles. This was a brand new 2020 vehicle and is still at the dealership being repaired.