"How reliable is the 2009 Dodge Ram 3500?"

"Based on 130 NHTSA complaints, the 2009 Dodge Ram 3500 has a median complaint mileage of 48600 miles. The most common issue is STEERING."

"What are common problems with the 2009 Dodge Ram 3500?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2009 Dodge Ram 3500 is STEERING, accounting for a significant portion of the 130 total complaints filed."

2009 Dodge Ram 3500: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 130 complaints

130

Total Complaints

48,600mi

Median Mileage

STEERING

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

29,812 25th Percentile

48,600 Median Mileage

81,660 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

STEERING

AIR BAGS

SUSPENSION

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

SERVICE BRAKES

STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY

POWER TRAIN

VISIBILITY/WIPER

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 DODGE RAM 3500. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 09V005000 (STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY). THE AUTHORIZED DEALER STATED THAT THE PART FOR THE RECALL REPAIR WAS ON A MASSIVE BACK ORDER, CONSISTING OF 47,000 CONSUMERS. THE CONTACT WA..."

"DODGE 3500 RECALL #09V00500 STEERING LINKAGES/TIE ROD ASSEMBLY. SWIFT DODGE, 4318 CHILE ROAD, DAVIS CA INFORMED ME IN AUGUST 09 THAT MY TRUCK WAS SUBJECT TO THIS RECALL. IN DECEMBER 09 THEY PURPORTED TO HAVE COMPLETED THE RECALL WORK AS SPECIFIED IN INVOICE #25289. THIS WAS VERBALLY DESCRIBED AS ..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

STEERING 65 complaints

25th: 31,125 mi Median: 48,600 mi 75th: 66,000 mi

AIR BAGS 12 complaints

25th: 43,500 mi Median: 58,000 mi 75th: 80,125 mi

SUSPENSION 11 complaints

25th: 30,187 mi Median: 54,228 mi 75th: 91,094 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 complaints

25th: 35,000 mi Median: 41,850 mi 75th: 88,250 mi

SERVICE BRAKES 5 complaints

Median: 25,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

TX: 13 OR: 12 CA: 11 WA: 11 WY: 7 PA: 6 CO: 6 MO: 5 IL: 5 KS: 5

Who Files Complaints?

4.6%

Original Owners

95.4%

Second+ Owners

Dodge Ram 3500 — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1993	26	-	EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS:SWITCH	0
1994	102	86,879	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	4
1995	132	64,935	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	11
1996	182	115,000	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	8
1997	153	108,000	EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS:SWITCH	5
1998	134	93,500	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	13
1999	146	115,000	STRUCTURE	11
2000	77	87,285	STRUCTURE	5
2001	168	77,500	STRUCTURE	15
2002	59	48,500	STEERING	4
2003	330	79,084	AIR BAGS	10
2004	275	69,184	AIR BAGS	52
2005	240	84,000	STEERING	31
2006	349	79,500	STEERING	19
2007	284	80,000	STEERING	19
2008	219	66,650	STEERING	13
2011	293	48,700	STEERING	5
2012	498	46,840	STEERING	6

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28