The Ram 2500 is a great upgrade over the Ram 1500; it does a lot of things the 1500 can do but better. However, like many trucks, the Ram 2500 isn’t perfect. Indeed, if you’re shopping for a used Ram 2500, avoid the 2013 model year, as it was the most problematic year for this Ram model, according to CarComplaints.

The Ram 2500’s death wobble

In fairness to the Ram 2500, the death wobble isn’t new and it wasn’t an isolated issue for this specific truck. Chrysler, Ram’s parent company, has dealt with the death wobble plaguing its cars for years. The most recent models, including the Ram 2500, are free of this issue. But, the 2013 model year of the Ram 2500 suffered from it.

The death wobble was the most common complaint filed by owners of the Ram 2500. This issue can be as deadly as its name implies. At times, the death wobble will cause the car to shake violently, which can lead to dangerous situations.

It’ll cost about $1,000 to fix. The average mileage of the Ram 2500s that experienced a death wobble was about 35,000 miles. This is prime mileage for a used truck, so a used 2013 Ram 2500 will likely experience a death wobble. Currently, there are lawsuits against Chrysler for this dangerous problem.

The 2013 Ram 2500’s other issues

While the death wobble was the most serious and most common complaint, the 2013 Ram 2500 had plenty of other widely-reported issues.

For example, many drivers described electrical problems with the 2013 Ram 2500’s tech features. Things wouldn’t work properly or they’d turn on and off. These electrical problems also affected relatively used trucks. The engine was also a big problem for numerous drivers. Many experienced a failure with the turbos, which required a costly trip to the mechanic.  

The 2013 Ram 2500 was also the subject of 16 recalls, and some also affected other cars. A couple of these recalls only affected the Ram 2500 and Ram 3500, but they were very severe issues. Additionally, in 2015, a widespread security flaw was found in the software of many Ram trucks, including the 2013 Ram 2500. 

On top of this, the Ram 2500 was not the safest pickup truck on the road when it came to crash test results. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration only gave the 2013 Ram 2500 three and four stars in its crash tests. 

Better choices over the Ram 2500

The Ram 2500 has a long history, so there are many older model years to choose from. That said, the death wobble is constant among older Ram trucks, so you may have to choose a more recently used 2500 or go further back in time and find an even older one.

The 2018 model year seems to be the latest one to avoid complaints about a death wobble. But a Ram 2500 from 2018 likely hasn’t depreciated much. The Ram 2500’s 2000 model year seems to be free of any death-wobble grievances from CarComplaints.

If you accept that the death wobble is a fact of life for most Rams made in the last 20 years, then you’ll have more options. The Ram 2500s from 2008 to 2011 have relatively few complaints. The 2500s from the 2002 and 2005 model years have also received relatively few complaints comparatively.

With that said, although the 2013 Ram 2500 was very bad in terms of its issues, the 2001, 2003, and 2006 model years were, too. Avoid all of those model years if possible.