Recently it was announced that the NHTSA is investigating Ram heavy-duty diesel trucks due to complaints about safety issues. Stalling and power loss highlight the safety issues, which are likely caused by fuel pump failure. Over 600,000 Ram trucks could be affected by this problem, but is your Ram 2500 one of them?

Is the Ram 2500 affected?

This major problem might have you sweating if you’re a Ram owner. The good news is, only certain models are actually affected by it. The heavy-duty lineup of Ram trucks includes the 2500, 3500, 4500, and 5500. However, only the models with the 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel are impacted by the fuel pump failure. That means it automatically excludes 2500 models with the standard 6.4-liter engine.

If you’re a Ram HD 2500 owner and your vehicle has the standard gas 6.4-liter V8, fortunately, these vehicles do not fall under the ones being investigated by the NHTSA. However, if you opted for the optional 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel engine, it’s best to take action sooner than later.

What will Ram do about it?

Depending on the results of the NHTSA’s investigation, it could issue a voluntary recall followed by asking the manufacturer to issue a recall. Since this is a safety-related problem, the likely result will be Ram issuing recalls on all 3500 models and higher. These types of fuel pump failures as well as other major issues are not uncommon for Ram diesel engines.

As we reported previously, there have been a number of recalls for Ram diesel engines just in the last year. Various problems occur in these Cummins 6.7-liter diesel engines more often than many other brands. There have been 71 recalls issued over the last few years.

How to handle stalling and power loss while driving

There’s really not much someone can do if this happens to your Ram truck while driving. Obviously, you should immediately do your best to turn the hazard lights on and make your way to the side of the road or wherever is safest. Stalling or power loss means the vehicle will likely be undrivable, so towing is probably going to be necessary.

Luckily owners of a Ram model without the 6.7-liter diesel engine don’t need to worry. However, owners of larger HD trucks equipped with the Cummins turbodiesel should keep this issue in mind while driving and try to stay safe. Hopefully, the NHTSA’s investigation will go quickly enough that whatever Ram’s remedy for the future recall is, can take place soon.

What problems are Ram 2500 owners running into?

For recent years, Ram 2500 models have been fairly clean of issues for the most part. Of course like any vehicle, there are going to be specific cases where someone has some problems. Though compared to other Ram heavy-duty truck models, there have been far fewer problems reported online.

The issues that have been reported by the NHTSA and users on CarComplaints are with the body of the vehicle, fuel system, or engine. Though none of these are especially common, it is worth noting. The NHTSA reported 11 instances of a “fuel/propulsion problem” with 2020 Ram 2500 trucks.

Is your Ram heavy-duty truck affected by the recent issue? If it’s a 2500 model, it depends on which of the engines it’s equipped with. Owners of a 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel are at risk. This can be a highly dangerous problem to run into, especially at high speeds. According to Cars.com, NHTSA investigations turning into proper manufacturer recalls can take more than 16 months, and the investigation just started last week.