The vehicle shut off in the middle of the road while driving without warning. To get it restarted, we needed to activate with remote start on key fob several times before it would allow us to restart. The vehicle also did the same behavior 3 more times in a parking lot where it would immediately halt and shut off while the vehicle was in motion. We have today reported to the dealer and will be transporting the car there today.
2026 Ram 1500 engine problems
13 complaints (12% of all complaints for this car).
- owner complaints
- 13
- of this car's complaints
- 12%
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
Owners did not name a specific part.
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Ram 1500 engine problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2026 Ram 1500 engine
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
What 2026 Ram 1500 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
I was stopped at a stop light with auto start off, the engine shut off and went to park. A message showed on the screen to start the vehicle I did and drove off.
Motor Generator Unit. The dealer is swapping it under warranty. Failure is a risk to safety because it shuts the truck off while driving. Last time it was at 70 mph on a busy interstate. Problem has been confirmed by Ram dealer. There were no warnings prior to the failure. There were also no check engine lights after for 4 events. Then on the 5th time of shutting off, it left a check engine and battery light.
Vehicle returned from warranty repair at MainStreet CDJR of Lansing with severe mechanical negligence and federal compliance breaches. The dealership left critical drivetrain components completely loose, including rear transmission mount bolts and cooler lines, creating an immediate highway safety hazard. A separate, certified Ram dealership has since inspected the truck and generated a formal work order explicitly documenting: "Loose bolts left from prior dealer." Furthermore, the initial dealership assigned an uncertified student trainee (Tech ID 1078) to perform this advanced powertrain warranty work and subsequently signed off on a critical federal occupant safety restraint recall completion. The General Manager verbally admitted to the consumer that the servicing technician was uncertified and currently still attending training classes. The dealership held the repair ticket open locally for 33 days to actively manipulate data and hide the compliance paperwork from corporate
This happened twice in 3 weeks. I came to a stop, and suddenly the engine raced to 3,500 rpm’s, and surged forward 20-30 feet before I got it under control with extreme brake application.
2026 Ram Acceleration problem. It has happened 3 times as the vehicle only has 4200. Miles on it. I had it towed to dealership and they were able to duplicate failure. They ran a number of diagnostic test and software updates. I haven’t had a failure since , but it’s only been a few days. 1/27/2026
On XXX, I leased a 2026 Ram 1500 truck from Enterprise Rent-A-Car ([XXX] branch) with a friend, both of us being young women. While traveling, the vehicle suffered a catastrophic electronic system failure. The truck’s central computer completely desynced from the key fob, locking two female occupants out and leaving us stranded and vulnerable in a remote area. It also began alerting about “ checking tire pressure system despite checking all tires. A passerby stopped (dangerous) and by offered a used AirTag battery, the red light in the fob was working before and after the battery change. It started once, we were forced to sleep in a running vehicle, afraid to turn it off. Eventually the tire pressure alert over rode the key fob alert so we reached a secure location and turned off and locked the truck. After breakfast we were completely locked out and stranded again. We tried a replacement NEW fob battery but still didn’t sync leaving us stranded AND locked out. Because Enterprise corporate actively alters manufacturer safety equipment by stripping the physical, manual emergency backup key blades out of the key fob housings, we had absolutely no physical mechanism to override the locked doors to seek shelter or access the cabin during this system failure.A subsequent VIN search on the official the federal safety agency database proved that this exact vehicle had an active, unresolved federal safety recall for software defects (the federal safety agency Recall Campaign #26V‑531 / Manufacturer Recall #78D) issued on XXX. Enterprise held this vehicle in its active fleet and rented it to me eleven full days after the federal safety recall went live, violating federal laws governing rental fleet recall compliance. The specific software defect cited in the federal recall matches the exact electrical system crash that disabled our vehicle, locked out our security protocols, and put our physical safety at risk TWICE. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
[XXX]. at about [XXX] I put the vehicle on Drive mode after releasing the electronic parking brake. Suddenly the vehicle engine stopped running all power was not available to include power windows and doors. I was trapped inside my vehicle for about 20 minutes. I made a call to the manufacture's roadside assistance at 8667264636 since the vehicle has only 3,000 miles on it. The script reading third world country support team was not very helpful. I managed to exit the vehicle through an open window after releasing the hood latch. My first troubleshooting procedure was to reboot the system by disconnecting the negative of the vehicle power pack, my next step was to confirm volage on the power pack. After I got confirmation that sufficient power was available and reconnected the negative side to the power pack, I used my key fob to unlock the vehicle. I got power to the dash and the 12" cluster screen but the push to start was still disabled. I called back the manufacture's roadside assistance once again only to be informed that I had to pay $200 for towing. I decided to disconnect the power pack once again this time for 30 minutes. Upon reconnecting it back again I was able to restart the vehicle and cautiously drove it to my home. I've noticed glitches since the last software update completed through my ISP as the system is designed to do so. Please investigate, this is a safety concern. People could get trapped for hours in inclement weather (heat) specially the ones with no technical/mechanical background. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
At a red light, the truck flashed all lights then refused to move. I tried to put the truck in park and turn it off and back on again but it didn't ever turn on again. The truck was towed to the dealer 13 days ago now. They fixed all safety recalls but it didn't resolve the issue and the truck still will not drive. The manufacturer is refusing to repair what the dealer believes to be the issue.
1st incident: approx: 4/1/26. Bought brand new , had for 2 days . Approx had 40 miles on it. Check engine light came on several times, had to bring to dealer. 2nd incident : approx: 6/15/26 driving vehicle doing appr 50 MPH, vehicle suddenly did not give gas would not move. Rpm went to 6000 RPM , had to pull over.with no control 3rd incident: same issue: brought to dealer ; don't know whats wrong? Maybe sensor or instrumentation cluster replacement truck only has 6,000 miles on it.
Questions about the 2026 Ram 1500 engine
Does the 2026 Ram 1500 have engine problems?
Owners have filed 13 complaints about the engine of the 2026 Ram 1500, 12% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2026 Ram 1500 engine problems start?
Not enough complaints include the mileage to tell.
Was there a recall on the 2026 Ram 1500 engine?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Ram 1500 have bad engine?
The Ram 1500 model years with the most engine complaints are 2015 (394 complaints), 2016 (354 complaints) and 2014 (347 complaints).
Other 2026 Ram 1500 problems
Electrical 51Driver assistance 12Transmission 11Lights 10Visibility 10Brakes 9Suspension 4Airbags 3Body 3Locks 2Steering 2Acceleration 1Seat belts 1Seats 1
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