What 5 owners told NHTSA about the 2025 Ram Promaster

Office of Defects Investigation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington, DC 20590 Re: Safety Defect Complaint — Ram ProMaster (2018–2025) — Cowl Water Intrusion into Engine Compartment To Whom It May Concern, I am writing to formally report what I believe to be a serious, systemic, and unresolved design defect in the Ram ProMaster van, affecting model years 2018 through at least 2025. I am requesting that the Office of Defects Investigation open or expand a formal investigation into this matter. Nature of the Defect: The windshield cowl on the Ram ProMaster is designed in a manner that permits significant water intrusion directly into the engine compartment. Water enters through the cowl seam and surrounding gaps, bypassing any drainage system, and flows onto critical engine and electrical components including but not limited to: the serpentine belt and pulley system, the engine fuse box, transmission components, and wiring harnesses. I brought my vehicle to two separate authorized Ram dealerships. The second dealer confirmed — based on testing conducted on multiple ProMaster vans dating back to 2018 — that this water intrusion behavior is consistent across the model line. In other words, the dealer has effectively confirmed that this is not a defect isolated to my vehicle, but a design characteristic of the ProMaster platform itself. This confirmation does not reassure me. It alarms me. A design that has permitted consistent water intrusion onto safety-critical engine and electrical components across a major commercial vehicle platform for over a decade is not an acceptable engineering standard. Given the size and weight of these vehicles — many operated commercially and carrying passengers or heavy cargo — the consequences of power steering loss, electrical failure, or mechanical failure are severe. We have tried dealing with Stellantis as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11728215

Check engine light came on the 2nd day I owned it. The van was converted to an Entegra Ethos Class B RV by Entegra/Jayco, and had over 2000 miles in it when I bought it (New 2026) from La Mesa RV in Tucson AZ on Oct 4, 2025, after they transferred it from the Phoenix La Mesa RV location. After checking the engine light code with an Auto Parts store, it was shown to be an issue with the 6th cylinder. After getting the runaround from 2 Dodge dealers (system down, too busy, no certified tech), I took it to a privately owned garage who diagnosed low compression in the 6th cylinder. They were concerned for my safety to drive it. With this testing info written by the private garage, I got the Dodge dealer in Tucson to take it in and start the diagnosis process. It is an engine defect from initial manufacturing of the engine. Still trying to work through the repair process and the van is still with the dealer. They are trying the easiest and cheapest parts in succession to try to get it passing. This is a safety hazard and will likely cause long term problems, per friends with automotive experience. I'm assuming this van isn't the only one with this issue right off the manufacturing line.

NHTSA ODI 11697894