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2020 Ram 3500: fire, smoke or burning smell

7 of the 116 complaints about the 2020 Ram 3500 describe fire, smoke or burning smell.

owner complaints
7
of this car's complaints
6%
recalls
0
Is there a fix? 158 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Fire, smoke or burning smell by model year

What owners say

Filed Sep 8, 2026 · Engine, Transmission · IN · fire

We were pulling camper to Nashville TN. We pulled off I24 toward I65 North. I noticed the engine was raving and it felt like I was missing gears on the transmission. I was roughly 4 miles from my destination when I noticed smoke coming from under the hood on passenger side and flames coming from under hood on passenger side of the hood. I stopped the truck/ camper. Three of us had extinguishers trying to put fire out. The entire engingine compartment burned and fire intruded into driver compartment.

Filed Nov 9, 2025 · WA · fire

After normal operation, I shut off the vehicle, and within seconds it caught fire without any external cause. Our insurance company and Look Larson Dodge investigated the incident over approximately 3½ weeks but could not determine a definitive cause of the fire.

Filed Dec 8, 2023 · Electrical · TX

Check engine light turned on in my 2020 dodge ram 3500, I took the truck back to the dealership. According to them the Grid Heater Relay needs to be replaced & the truck could have caught on fire if we would have kept driving like that. I have done some research and saw that there has been a recall on that same part for the 2021-2023. Could it be possible the 2020 were defective also, this is a major safety concern and should be looked into. I also don’t believe the customer should be responsible for paying for this issue to be fixed when it was my family’s safety that was jeopardized.

Filed Dec 5, 2023 · Body, Brakes · UT · crash · fire · 2 injuries

As I was driving the vehicle caught fire and I lost brakes. The vehicle had to be put into a retention pond to stop it.

Filed Jan 11, 2022 · Electrical, Engine · 213,000 miles · AR · fire

The contact owns a 2020 RAM 3500. The contact stated that while driving at 15 MPH, the oil warning light was illuminated, and the vehicle made abnormal sounds. Additionally, there was smoke coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The contact pulled over and refilled the oil reservoir; however, the failure recurred with oil leaking from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed with engine damage and connecting rod failure, which punctured the engine block. The engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. Upon investigation, the contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 20V511000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 213,000. The oil light did not come on until after the engine had started knocking rapidly. The engine oil also ran out quickly as well. Consumer immediately refilled the oil and drove for 5 minutes and the engine stopped knocking for a few seconds before there was louder knocking, smoke and spewing oil. Consumer had previously reported to the customer care FCA group 2 times last August about metal shavings on the fuel filter. The fuel pump continued to produce metal shavings in the filter every time the filter was change.

Filed Nov 13, 2021 · Fuel system · TX · fire

I was on my way home from the local RAM Dealer last night, where I wanted to sell my truck (after inspecting it, they offered me $82K for it), when, spontaneously, my truck started to smoke from under the hood and literally burst into flames! I had to pull over and jump out to avoid being burned alive! I am so traumatized. I'm attempting to tow what's left of this truck to the dealer this morning. I hope FCA will take responsibility for this!

Filed Apr 17, 2021 · Engine · 10,000 miles · NV · fire

Truck caught fire in engine compartment. I had just gotten on the freeway and reached 70mph when I could see smoke coming from the engine. Pulled over and it quickly became engulfed in flames. State farm claim 28-18q6-12r elizabeth anderson, claim specialist, 844-292-8615x2539126712

Questions about the 2020 Ram 3500 fire or smoke

Is fire, smoke or burning smell a common problem on the 2020 Ram 3500?

7 of 116 owner complaints about the 2020 Ram 3500 (6%) mention fire, smoke or burning smell. The model year with the most reports is 2013.

Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2020 Ram 3500?

There are 0 recalls and 158 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.

Other symptoms on the 2020 Ram 3500

Fuel pump 23Loss of power 10Stalling 9Power steering loss 7Check engine light 6Key fob 5

All model years of the Ram 3500

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