2013 Ram 1500
Complaints about this year name power steering far more often than the other years of this generation — 41% of them, about 4× the usual rate of 11.4%.
Generation 1 of the Ram 1500, which began in 2009 and ran to 2018. Everything below compares this year against the others in that generation, not against a different car wearing the same name.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 3,780 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 665 |
| Involving a crash | 216 |
| Involving a fire | 30 |
| Recalls | 12 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 4/5 |
| EPA combined | 17 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- power steering — 40.7% of this year's complaints, against 14.8% across the other years of this generation (2.7×).
- rack — 10.5% of this year's complaints, against 2.8% across the other years of this generation (3.8×). Owners wrote it as: rack, pinion, rack pinion, steering rack.
- steer — 7.4% of this year's complaints, against 2.3% across the other years of this generation (3.2×). Owners wrote it as: steer, steer vehicle.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- steering wheel — 16% of complaints, 3× usual
- rack — 10% of complaints, 4× usual
- electronic power — 7% of complaints, 5× usual
What owners wrote
On 08/09/2023 1:15pm while driving 2013 Ram 1500 during heavy rains, power steering indicator light came on and steering wheel locked up. Was able to keep control of the truck enough to safely stop. The EPS (electronic power steering) rack and pinion failed. W…
Electronic Power Steering died. Could not turn steering wheel. I was just informed by repair shop that the steering control module and rack/pinion will have to be replaced at a cost of $3,600. No warning lights prior to the failure. Service center has ordered…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 19V347000 LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES Fixed free of charge.
- 17V821000 POWER TRAIN Fixed free of charge.
- 17V302000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 15V459000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 13V287000 ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) Fixed free of charge.
- 13V610000 POWER TRAIN Fixed free of charge.
- 15V461000 EQUIPMENT Fixed free of charge.
- 13V237000 EXTERIOR LIGHTING Fixed free of charge.
Showing 8 of 12. The rest are on NHTSA's site.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Ram 1500 was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2013 Ram 1500? What happened to yours?
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