Problems with 2013 RAM 1500 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Instrument cluster failure while driving. instrument cluster shuts down while driving and instrument cluster fails while driving. instrument cluster so far has rebooted and returned to working condition but so far cluster has failed around 20+ times while driving. unknown if instrument cluster will resume functioning after failure until it does restart. dealer unable to diagnose problem with instrument cluster making vehicle unsafe to drive due to possible instrument cluster failure. unknown if this is a hardware problem, software problem or electrical problem. numerous trips to dealership and speaking with ram customer service has failed to resolve issue . *tr

Driving vehicle on paved roadway traveling appx 30 mph. vehicle burst into flames. witness said flames shot out both sides of the vehicle from under the body. large amount of smoke was around the vehicle as i pulled off the road. a quick glance at the instrument panel showed everything appeared normal and no warning lights. smoke in cab and flames came up through the dash as i exited the vehicle. extensive damage to the interior including the windshield busting out from the heat. took fire department 3 attempts to extinguish the flames. after flooding the interior and dash cavity (through the hole burned through the dash) of the vehicle 2 times, the fire continued. at that time the fire department disconnected the battery and flooded the interior and dash area a 3rd time which finally extinguished the fire. the only injury was smoke inhalation and resulting sore throat suffered by me, the only occupant of the vehicle. this vehicle was less than 6 months old and i had no prior problems with the vehicle. vehicle was towed to the dealer (nyle maxwell dodge, austin tx) on the morning of the fire (12/19/2013) and while chrysler has acknowledged liability they have not settle with me on my loss as of this date (01/23/2014). the vehicle was deemed a complete loss by both my insurance company investigator (state farm) and the chrysler investigator. *tr

Center dash cluster reboots while driving. vehicle keeps running while cluster recycles. it has occurred dozens of times since i purchased the vehicle. it occurs at multiple speeds and sometimes when i am sitting at a stop light. i have been reporting this problem to the dealer service departments since it first occurred. no one seems to have a clue as to the root cause. multiple software updates have not fixed the problem.

When attempting to start the vehicle, there was no electrical power. fiddled with buttons for a few minutes the all of a sudden it was back to normal. this happened multiple times. dealers told me they never heard of this problem. *tr

When using the horn driving or stationary, there is a significant delay from depressing the steering wheel center and the horn sounding. the delay renders the horn relatively useless for timely warning to other vehicles. this has resulted in multiple close calls. horns are meant as warning devices, seconds count at speed and this delay is an extreme safety issue.

Fuses continue to blow from various outlets/hubs/plugs in the vehicle. random noise comes from under dash when car is turned off. key(fob) also gets stuck in the ignition and will not come out unless truck is turned back on. *tr

I was parked and the truck didn't start back up. truck was less than 2 weeks old when this happened. the steering wheel was locked. turned out not to be the battery which was the first guess. the dealer said it had something to do with the anti-theft system that was installed and then taken out when i purchased the truck. this happened in october 2013 and i've been driving it until today 7/1/14. the same thing happened this morning. the truck left me stranded at a gas station. waiting for another diagnosis. *tr

I am providing a follow-up on my 2013 dodge ram. both chrysler and the dealer have worked on my truck numerous times to keep the truck panel lights from coming on. i am still losing my brakes and power steering. all the lights on the cluster panel continue to keep going on which is just about every day now. i have finally parked the truck and plan to see if we can afford a third vehicle. the problems are almost a year old and i am convinced chrysler is unable to repair the vehicle. i am convinced that it will only be a matter of time before i crash as i never get a warning when the brakes or the power steering will fail. the dealer and chrysler are now very involved, which i appreciate but so far they have not been able to repair the vehicle. i has been close to a year and i am bringing the vehicle back to the dealer. i hope they someday repair the truck as it really is a great vehicle. *tr

On august 26th i was traveling in my truck at about 58mph with the cruise control on. as i entered a 45mph speed zone i tapped the brake pedal to disengage the cruise. the truck maintained speed so i pressed the brake pedal many times with the truck not slowing down. i then had to hit the brakes quite hard to slow down. while doing this i noticed a message come up on the info screen which read service electronic throttle control. after stopping i checked to see if something like a floormat was pressing on the accelerator pedal, which there was not. this same situation happened again on august 30th. i contacted south lake motors, the local ram dealer to schedule an appointment for sept. 4. i took my truck in and they found a code in the computer, but could not find anything wrong. in the following 2 weeks the same thing happened two more times as i tried to slow down from a speed of between 55 and 60mph, except i did not have the cruise on. they looked it over again on sept 19 and decided to put a new accelerator pedal in it on sept. 20th. the next day it stuck again as i tried to slow for a truck turning in front of me, almost causing me to rear end that vehicle. sept 27th i took it back in and they still could not find anything wrong. on oct 7 i once again dropped my truck off at the dealer and they kept it for 5 days trying to duplicate the issue. they could not find the problem. on oct 13 while traveling at 45mph i let off the accelerator pedal and the truck maintained speed, i had to slam on the brakes to slow it down to negotiate a corner without wrecking. this has happened two time since then. on oct 21st i took it back to the dealer and they installed a data recorder to record the events.the mechanic and other dealership employees have told me this truck is not safe to drive. i have called chrysler daily telling them this vehicle is unsafe. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 dodge ram 1500. the contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph, the horn failed to sound after numerous attempts. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who stated that the horn would activate only when pressure was applied to the logo that was affixed in the center of the steering wheel. the technician also informed the contact that the vehicle was functioning as designed. the manufacturer was notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 2,900.

Tl*the contact owns a 2013 dodge ram 1500. the contact stated that while making a left turn to exit highway traffic, the vehicle stalled without warning. the vehicle resumed normally after being restarted. in addition, the headlights and panic alarm would activate independently. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, who performed a diagnostic but was unable to locate a failure code. the vehicle was also test driven, but the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 3,000 and the approximate current mileage was 5,000.

30july2013 truck was towed to dealership due to not starting and leaving my wife stranded. dealership replaced ignition. 14sept2013 back to dealership with same symptoms. shows key in ignition which will not allow you to lock doors, radio stays on, dashboard lights stay on, do not need key with chip to start truck. back to dealership and fixed ignition. 1oct2013 back to dealership for same ignition issue. dealership opened case star case with chrysler. technician found that when key was not put in completely straight it locks a tumbler causing this issue. duplicated same issue on 2 new dodge ram trucks on their lot. engineer from chrysler advised acting as designed and resolution is to re-educate customer how to insert key. i (the consumer) opened a case with chrysler myself ([xxx]at 800-992-1997 which is also tied to the dealership star case they filed) to escalate for a better resolution. besides their customer service is horrible at call backs and unable to reach anyone in management (i have a detailed list of people, call times, dates, employee ids) i also rxd the same resolution, no issue found, acting as designed. this is unacceptable as other people have duplicated this same problem on other trucks and no clue when issue could occur causing vehicle to not start, unable to lock doors (if my wife is stranded she will be unable to lock the doors), and possible power drain as electrical issues. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

On about 3jul13, my wife and i found out that the running lights for our travel trailer weren't working. all other lights were working, so we continued driving during daylight hours. on returning home, i found out that the trailer lights worked when hooked up to a battery, but there was no power going to the appropriate prong in the wiring harness even though the running lights on the truck functioned. i brought the truck back to the dealer where a fuse had to be replaced in the truck. the service manager then told me he had the same problem with his truck if: - the trailer was plugged in when the truck was started - the lights had been left on "auto" or the radio was left on. this presents a severe safety hazard if i'm pulling a trailer at night and forget to turn my lights off auto or leave my radio on prior to starting the vehicle. i only do light checks on my trailer once a day, not every time i stop for a break. the trailer has not been a cause of shorts on previous vehicles. *tr

My truck have been in the shop 5 times. 3 times for overheating 2 times for a computer problem it shut off stuff like headlights turn signals radio dash gauges windows and lock so when that's done it shuts the truck off and it stop were its at and don't come back on at all until an hour latter i have own this truck for 5 month and i can seem to keep it out of the shop. *tr

Center dash cluster reboots while driving. vehicle keeps running while cluster recycles. it has occurred dozens of times since i purchased the vehicle. it occurs at multiple speeds and sometimes when i am sitting at a stop light. i have been reporting this problem to the dealer service departments since it first occurred. no one seems to have a clue as to the root cause. multiple software updates have not fixed the problem. *tr

The 8.4" multi-display terminal (mdt) became inoperable and i was unable to control heat/ac/defroster or view the back up camera which created an unsafe condition while backing the vehicle. my truck has been returned to the dealer several times to have the computer updated, re-flashed and untimely replaced. i've had to take off from work several times to bring this vehicle in and lost time. on 4/2/14, i brought my vehicle in for a routine oil change and when i left the mdt became inoperable again and is completely unusable. *tr

While driving, the front driver seat will automatically adjust, (move back and forth) sometimes. also, it shows memory system not available while not in park. sometimes, the radio volume will not turn down, nor channel change will not work. the radio channels would change on their own. this includes satellite, radio, or phone plugged in. sometimes, when you try to turn the a/c fan speed up it won't go. you have to do it several times. tire pressure sometimes shows low for one or more tires but when tires are tested they are all the same pressure. seems something is wrong with the electrical system with the truck. i worry something may happen while driving. truck would not raise and lower. message on the console but when i took it in they said there was nothing wrong and it did not store the error. once the error cleared up there was no record of it storing the error. *js

Instrument cluster failure while driving. instrument cluster shuts down while driving and instrument cluster fails while driving. instrument cluster so far has rebooted and returned to working condition but so far cluster has failed around 20+ times while driving. unknown if instrument cluster will resume functioning after failure until it does restart. secondary condition to entertainment cluster multiple failure. entertainment console cluster replaced due to multiple failure of touch screen system. this failed to resolve the instrument cluster problem despite dealership assurances that it would. instrument cluster being replaced now on truck. truck 10 months old - multiple entertainment console failures & instrument cluster failures. dealer unable to diagnose problem with instrument cluster making vehicle unsafe to drive due to possible instrument cluster failure. unknown if this is a hardware problem, software problem or electrical problem. numerous trips to dealership and speaking with ram customer service has failed to resolve issue. *tr

The ram trucks use a logic circuit to control all electronics. the horn in these vehicles also uses this logic circuit, instead of using the traditional direct connect or relay configuration that most cars/trucks use. because of this logic circuit, there is an approximate 1 second delay between the time the horn is depressed until the horn actually sounds. this vehicle was in for service this week and the dealer indicates this is normal for this truck. this is dangerous. by the time the horn sounds, an accident could have occurred. this does not just affect my truck. this problem is well documented on the ram owners forum , with some people having longer or shorter delays. a quick tap of the horn yields no sound, because you must press on the horn for about a second before the horn sounds. *tr

Led headlights get condensation causing reduced brightness and visibility. dealership replaced the headlights. the new ones had the same problem. i was then told that condensation was normal, and that was how the light was designed. *tr

This is a new vehicle. four times i encountered the display of the message vehicle not in park while driving on the road. this is a very confusing and dangerous message since it appears to be related to a door not being fully closed. i reported it to the dealer on march 11th. the manager appeared to be aware of a problem with this message and said he will report it to an engineer when he visits the dealership. the reason for reporting this is i am not sure this problem will be corrected for my vehicle. *tr

Outside ambient temperature sensor inaccurately reads temperature (usual 8-12 degrees less than actual ambient temperature) this affects several functions of the vehicles features (auto heated seats and steering wheel also vented seats). *tr

My 2013 dodge ram 1500 on multiple occasions has nearly allowed accidents due to the horn being delayed. i complained and took in to the dealership to be repaired but the dodge service representative told me there is not a problem because it works as designed. obviously there is a flaw in their design. i researched this problem on the internet and many people have complained of the same thing. the horn control on this particular model operates through the computer and that is what is said to be causing the delay. the delayed horn in my vehicle has nearly allowed accidents on multiple occasions by consequently causing a delayed response from the drivers of other vehicles. dodge needs to fix the problem before people are seriously hurt or killed. thanks for your help!! *tr

Plastic key ---can not remove from switch----will turn of engine---but will not come out of key hole----have to leave in truck---does not happen all the time----next time driven may come out and then may not-----this seem like not reading truck shift handle is not in park-----you can leave in truck and lock but dash lights do not time off---have taken dealer and they can not fix-----this could lead to a lot of things---theft, ect. ect. ect. need something done. *tr

My truck will not start, it won't even turn on.it continuously says check the fuel cap and the check engine light will turn on but absolutely nothing is wrong with it (before it started to act up). even though it seems like the batteries dead and we know it won't turn on it's still making a loud like clicking or knocking noise. it will stop for a minute and then start again. i've never heard a car do that before so i don't think that's normal. my clicker key won't even work to lock or unlock or even set the panic off.