GarageCalc What the data says
Service brakes accounts for about 32% of this year's Ram 3500 complaints. That is a moderate concentration; worth knowing, but complaints are spread across several areas.
The 2018 model year contributes 89 complaints (37%). Older vehicles dominate, consistent with age-related wear rather than a new defect.
Complaints are up sharply year over year, 145 to 238 (+64%), in a market that rose about 2%. Year-over-year movement is the most useful signal here: a model's sales are roughly stable from one year to the next, so a sharp rise means the per-vehicle complaint rate genuinely moved, not just that the model is popular.
How to read this
Raw complaint totals track how many Ram 3500s are on the road as much as they track quality, so a high count on a best-seller is partly a volume story. Complaints are also self-reported: they capture what owners chose to file, not a controlled survey. Use these numbers to know where to look during a pre-purchase inspection and which recalls to check, not as a verdict on their own. Compare any car instantly in the Car Complaint Checker, or read the full 2026 study for the market-wide picture and methodology.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Ram 3500 reliable?
Complaint counts alone cannot answer that, because they track how many are on the road as much as build quality. What the 2026 data shows: 238 NHTSA complaints so far (rank 51 of 765 models), +64% year over year, with service brakes the most-cited area. Treat it as a starting point and cross-check recalls and a pre-purchase inspection for the specific vehicle.
What is the most common Ram 3500 complaint?
Service brakes: 75 of the 238 complaints filed in 2026 cite it (about 32%). That is a moderate concentration; worth knowing, but complaints are spread across several areas.
Which Ram 3500 model year has the most complaints?
The 2018 model year, with 89 of this year's 238 complaints (about 37%). Older vehicles dominate, consistent with age-related wear rather than a new defect.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation complaint database, complaints received 2026-01-01..2026-08-24, compared with 2025-01-01..2025-08-24 (same window). Counted once per complaint ID, vehicles only. Aggregated data is available under CC BY 4.0 with a link to GarageCalc.