What 253 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Ram 2500 Regular Cab

Grid heater nut/bolt detached and entered engine, causing catastrophic internal failure and total engine loss while driving.

NHTSA ODI 11733046

Got into my truck after letting it warm up and the shifter broke out of the handle. It’s a known problem cause the design is flawed by putting so much pressure on the part. So in the end it breaks and then you can’t get your vehicle out of park or whatever gear it broke in. I was charged 718.00 for it to get fixed when I think this should be a recall or tsb.

NHTSA ODI 11718053

Incident Report – Gear Shift Failure Date of Incident: 11/10/2025 Vehicle: 2016 Ram 2500 Pickup Truck VIN [XXX] Mileage: [Insert Mileage] Location: [Insert Location of Incident] Description of Incident While attempting to shift the vehicle from Park (P) into Drive (D), the shift lever suddenly went limp and lost all resistance. Upon applying slight additional pressure to engage the transmission, the shift lever snapped off completely. The gear shift bracket—the component securing the shift rod—fractured in half at the point where the shift rod inserts into the bracket. This mechanical failure rendered the vehicle inoperable and unable to be shifted out of Park. No warning lights or prior symptoms were observed before the failure. The broken part was visually inspected and confirmed to be the shifting lever bracket, consistent with Mopar part number 68470756AA. Immediate Actions Taken The vehicle was safely secured to prevent unintended movement. Engine was turned off and keys removed. Visual inspection confirmed that the shift lever bracket had broken at the rod insertion point. Tow service was arranged for transport to a repair facility. Photographs of the damaged bracket and shifter assembly were taken for documentation. Assessment This incident represents a critical component failure of the gear shift mechanism, resulting in sudden loss of control over transmission operation. The break occurred under normal shifting force, indicating a possible material or design defect in the bracket assembly. Recommended Actions File a warranty or recall inquiry with Ram/Stellantis regarding potential defects in part 68470756AA. Replace the damaged bracket with a verified OEM replacement. Inspect surrounding linkage and cable components for stress damage or misalignment. Retain the failed part for potential recall or manufacturer investigation. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11698580

I previously had recall 17V-821 work completed. This recall was for The Brake Transmission Shift Interlock (BTSI) locking pin may become stuck in the open position. I have the same issue now and see that NHTSA is investigating failed recall fixes. I have taken this to the dealer and an independent shop and am now trying to figure out how to get this repaired.

NHTSA ODI 11693040

The contact owns a 2016 Ram 1500. The contact stated that the shift solenoid change message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer for a recall repair. Upon retrieving the vehicle, the vehicle failed to shift and had no power. The vehicle was diagnosed with a faulty shift solenoid. The replacement parts were on backorder. The local dealer later informed the contact that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and filed a complaint. The manufacturer declined to cover the cost of the repair. The failure mileage was approximately 238,000.

NHTSA ODI 11690345

Transmission gear selector lever can be moved from park to reverse, neutral, and drive without having the brake pedal depressed. This is the way the transmission gear selector currently operates. This is not a one-time incident. I bought this vehicle recently and noticed this transmission gear selector lever issue about a month ago.

NHTSA ODI 11673363

It is the Water pump We have the Concentric brand with out a vent hole picture attached ( which is the one under recall but doesn’t come up on our vin) Yes A Mechanic No No

NHTSA ODI 11663422

I have a 2016 Ram 2500 Power Wagon that i have turned into a show truck. The truck has never been off-road or in the mud, it is driven to and from the shows. Last [XXX] as i was driving to Hickory, NC for a car show on Saturday August 31st my truck instantly lost power and turned on the engine light. The transmission felt like it was stuck in second or third gear, so i pulled over and scanned the PCM to see what the DTC code and it came back as P0870. Went online to research the code and see what it had to say about it and it stated to clear the code to see if it comes back on which i didn't. The light has not returned as of yet but when the truck hits overdrive it has a high pitch squeal coming from it meaning the transmission. I brought it in to my local dealership on Wednesday September 4th to have it looked at they performed DIAG and CVI inspection to find the transmission is starting to fail internally recommend replacing the transmission. Now want me to pay out of pocket for a new transmission even though i have max care warranty on the truck when i bought it new. i don't have $6000.00 to pay for a new transmission that's on back order. If it comes down to it and i have to get my neighbor to help me get the transmission out of this truck cause I'm [XXX] then i will rebuild it my [XXX] thing myself before i pay them $6000.00. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11613233

The contact owns a 2016 Ram 2500. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V821000 (Power Train). The contact stated that while the vehicle was turned off with the key out of the ignition, the vehicle rolled backward and crashed into some trees. Additionally, the contact was able to move the gear shifter while the vehicle was turned off. The contact's son was inside the vehicle when the failure occurred; however, no injuries were sustained. No Police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the contact was informed that the recall repair failed prevent the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

NHTSA ODI 11509458

Previous FCA campaign #U30 of solonoid pack for transmission 68rfe has been completed in 2018 and in June of 2022 a transmission service technician stated the one from the recall was faulty and needed replaced. Upon replacement with OEM solonoid pack the truck went into limp mode and was locked into 4th gear. Vehicle is undrivable and at the dealer. After further inspection the solonoid issue caused the clutch pack to shed debris into the bottom on the transmission pan which just had a new gasket, filters and fluid less than 20 miles ago. Transmission tech stated the debris was no there and saw no evidence of failure to the clutch pack prior to the replacement of the solonoid. Now transmission has to be rebuilt at owned expense. Vehicle has 72,000 miles and is not used for towing or aggressive driving.

NHTSA ODI 11474197

I was driving my truck on the freeway pulling a loaded stock trailer. The truck suddenly down shifted into fourth gear and the engine RPM’s maxed out! I almost crashed the truck because the momentum of the trailer pushed the truck sideways on the freeway. I had to avoid traffic and get to the shoulder. Truck would not shift out of fourth gear and truck shifted into 4WD low also on its own. Had truck towed to dealers ship and was told a shift solenoid went out. Because of that they now have to change the torque converter and replace the transmission from the damaged it caused. It is unknown if it damaged any of the engine components at this time or any other parts of the drivetrain. Now I’m stuck paying for a transmission because Dodge didn’t put a safety backup into their system to prevent this in case of a failure. I see that I am not the first person it’s happened to by reading the power train comments for this year truck.

NHTSA ODI 11466065

The contact owns a 2016 Ram 2500. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked and running, she opened the front driver's side door and stepped on the running board with her body between the front driver's side door and the vehicle frame. The vehicle lunged forward independently, turned to the left and crashed into the front end of the passenger's side of the unoccupied vehicle parked next to it. The contact became trapped between the two vehicles and pinned between the driver's side door and the frame of her vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle was squeezing continuously as if it had shifted into drive. The contact attempted to honk the horn by extending the keys on her left arm but was unsuccessful and started screaming for help. Two individuals arrived at the scene but could not unlock the door and were unable to break the front passenger's side window to unlock the door in order to extract the contact. The contact squeezed her body and reached out the unlock button on the driver's side door, and she unlocked the door. One of the individual got inside the vehicle, shifted into reverse and reversed slowly in order to release and extract the contact. The vehicle was parked. The contact was then extracted but was knocked unconscious. The contact was airlifted to the hospital where she was informed that she had sustained six broken ribs, damaged clavicle required surgery, damaged lungs due to squeezing, squeezed organs to one side of her abdomen, bruises on both glutes and bruised hips. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the local collision center. The collision center informed the contact that the driver's side frame of the vehicle she was squeezed against was dented, which showed the severity of the squeezing. The local Chrysler dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.

NHTSA ODI 11456603

My truck will shift in to gear without the key being in or the truck being on. I found a recall (T79) listed but my vin does not seem to be listed under this recall.

NHTSA ODI 11448915

My transmission got so hot climing up a hill it caught the excused on fire, thankfully had water in the truck an put the fire out no warnings nothing, just flush transmission hot went to stop an realized it was on fire, had to have transmission rebuilt an cooler lines an cooler repaired, still not runing right.

NHTSA ODI 11438257

The contact owns a 2016 RAM 2500. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the RPM gauge revved to the red line; the contact released the accelerator pedal and the vehicle jerked, then the transmission shifted inadvertently to fourth gear and would not allow the contact to shift gear to drive. The vehicle was hauling a trailer at the time of the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with the torque converter control being out of range. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ODI 11435044

WHEN MOVING FROM REVERSE TO DRIVE THE TRANSMISSION STAYS IN 1ST GEAR ONLY ALLOWING UP TO 35 TO 45 MPH AND DOES NOT SHIFT TO NEXT GEAR.

NHTSA ODI 11396143

ABLE TO SHIFT INTO DRIVE WITHOUT PRESSING THE BRAKE. PUT THE TRUCK BACK IN PARK TO SEE IF IT WAS JUST THE ONE TIME BUT IT CONTINUED TO BE ABLE TO SHIFT OUT OF PARK WITHOUT PRESSING THE BRAKE. WE HAVE NOT HAD THIS OCCUR PREVIOUSLY OR WE HAVE JUST ALWAYS BEEN PRESSING THE BRAKE.

NHTSA ODI 11376457

THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT KEEPS COMING ON. I HAVE HAD AT THE DEALERSHIP 3 TIMES. THE THIRD TIME THE DEALER HAD MY VEHICLE FOR 6 WEEKS. WHEN I WENT AND PICKED IT UP, I GOT APPROXIMATELY 1 MILE DOWN THE ROAD AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN. I TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALER AND IT IS CURRENTLY STILL BEING WORKED ON TO TRY AND FIGURE THE PROBLEM OUT. THE CHECK ENGINE CODE KEEPS SHOWING THE TORQUE CONVERTER. THE DEALER CHANGED THE VALVE BODY THE THIRD TIME THAT IT WAS THERE.

NHTSA ODI 11366007

I PURCHASED MY VEHICLE YESTERDAY. TODAY I WAS DRIVING IT IS STALLED AS I WAS PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC I RESTARTED IT IT DROVE FINE ANOTHER TWO MILES. AT WHICH TIME IS STALLED AGAIN WITH NO LIGHTS, NO INDICATIONS ON. SOUNDS LIKE SOME NOISE COMES FROM THE AIR BOX. SOME KIND OF AIR NOISE COMES FROM THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE ENGINE WHEN IT HAPPENED

NHTSA ODI 11337451

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 RAM 2500. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V818000 (EQUIPMENT, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING) AND 20V036000 (POWER TRAIN) HOWEVER THE PARTS TO DO THE REPAIRS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIRS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN THREE TIMES TO LANDMARK DODGE CHRYSLER JEEP RAM, 6850 MT ZION BLVD, MORROW, GA 30260, AND WAS REJECTED TO BE SERVICED DUE TO THE PARTS NOT BEING AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V818000 (EQUIPMENT, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING), AND PART DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECTED FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 20V036000 (POWER TRAIN).

NHTSA ODI 11330461

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 RAM 2500. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE SHIFTING THE GEARS TO PARK, THE VEHICLE AUTOMATICALLY REVERSED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESUME THE VEHICLE BACK TO NORMAL AFTER A FEW DAYS. THE CONTACT STATED NO WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO LOCAL DEALER NAPLETON ELLWOOD CITY CHRYSLER DODGE JEEP RAM LOCATED AT 1000 LAWRENCE AVE, ELLWOOD CITY, PA 16117 WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE MAIN WIRING HARNESS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED AS OF YET. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND REFERRED THE CONTACT TO NHTSA. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 12,000.

NHTSA ODI 11322391

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 RAM 2500. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V818000 (EQUIPMENT, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING) AND 20V036000 (POWER TRAIN) HOWEVER, THE PARTS TO DO THE RECALL REPAIRS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE CONTACT CALLED BERGEY'S CHRYSLER JEEP DODGE RAM LOCATED AT (408 HARLEYSVILLE PIKE, SOUDERTON, PA 18964 (215) 721-3470) BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE CONTACT DID NOT EXPERIENCE A FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED HOWEVER NO FURTHER ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.

NHTSA ODI 11316993

CLUTCH MASTER CYLINDER FAILED WHILE DRIVING IN 2ND GEAR, NO CLUTCH PRESSURE, COULD NOT STOP TRUCK AND IT WOULD NOT STALL, I ENDED UP TURNING KEY OFF AFTER DRIVING OVER CURB ON TO SIDEWALK. THIS WAS WHILE TRYING TO STOP FOR STOPPED CARS AT TRAFFIC LIGHT. FORTUNATELY I WAS ONLY MOVING AT MAYBE 10 MPH. FLORIDA TRUCK, 26K MILES ON IT.

NHTSA ODI 11296970

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 RAM 2500. WHILE TRAVELING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE 4 WHEEL DRIVE LEVER WOULD SHIFT INDEPENDENTLY AND THE "4 WHEEL DRIVE SHIFT IN PROGRESS" WARNING MESSAGE WOULD ILLUMINATE. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO SEVERAL DODGE DEALERS, INCLUDING ATHENS DODGE CHRYSLER JEEP RAM (4145 ATLANTA HWY, ATHENS, GA 30606), GWINNETT CHRYSLER DODGE JEEP RAM (5054 GA-78, STONE MOUNTAIN, GA 30087), AND AKINS DODGE CHRYSLER JEEP RAM (220 W MAY ST, WINDER, GA 30680). THE ACTUATOR AND ELECTRICAL HARNESS WERE REPLACED; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE CONTINUED. THE MANUFACTURER INFORMED THE CONTACT TO TAKE THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE ORIGINAL DEALER TO BE SERVICED. THE CONTACT BROUGHT THE VEHICLE BACK TO ATHENS DODGE, BUT THEY WERE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS LESS THAN 10,000.

NHTSA ODI 11291272

WHILE DRIVING WITH OR WITHOUT MY TRAVEL TRAILER AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS A LOUD GROUNDING NOISE IS HEARD FROM UNDER OR TOWARD THE FRONT DIVE TRAIN AND HAS SOME FEEDBACK FELT FROM THE STEERING WHEEL SOMETIMES THE SERVICE 4WD LIGHTS UP BUT NOT ALWAYS I MUST SLOW DOWN TO A CRAWL INGAGE THE 4WD STOP BACK UP CUT OFF IGNITION RESTART SOMETIMES IT DISENGAGES 4WD AND SOMETIMES WHEN I SLOW TO A CRAWL A MECHANICAL CLUNK CAN BE HEARD AND TRUCK WORKS NORMALLY . DURNING THE TIME THE GRINDING SOUND IS PRESENT THE 4WD WILL NOT FUNCTION AND THE 4WD INDICATER LIGHT WILL NOT COME ON. WHEN THIS FISRT OCCURRED THE TRUCK HAD AROUND 4000 MILES IT WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER CONWAY CHYSTLER CONWAY SC 29528 THEY REPLACED TRANSFER CASE CONTROL MODULE SAID IT WAS FIXED I PICKED IT UP IT DID IT AGAIN ABOUT 5 MILES FROM DEALERSHIP I TOOK IT BACK THEY AGAIN REPLACED A PART THE AXLE LOCKER ACTUATOR SAID IT WAS FIXED 7 DAYS TOTAL IN SHOP NOW FOR THIRD TIME AT 12000 MILES ITS DOING IT AGAIN BACK TO CONWAY I HAVE CONTACTED FCA TO ASK FOR A BUYBACK THIS IS VERY UNSAFE IF THIS TRUCK INGAGES 4WD PULLING MY CAMPER ON THE INTERSTATE IT COULD CAUSE A CRASH SO I NOW WILL NO LONGER DRIVE THIS TRUCK UNLESS I ABSOLUTLY HAVE TO IF NO BUYBACK IS ISSUED I WILL REQUEST A LIBILITY LETTER BE ISSUED TO ME FROM FCA RELEASING ME FROM ANY LIBILITY OF THIS TRUCK BEING SOLD OR TRADED

NHTSA ODI 11271602