2013 Ram 1500 — Should You Buy One?
Typical asking price: $12,000–$20,000. There is 1 high-severity known issue you need to know before handing over a check.
Deciding between model years? Compare the 7 Ram 1500 years we've written up →
Kestrel Take
The truck that introduced the 8-speed ZF and the available air suspension to the half-ton Ram — a comfortable, good-riding pickup with FCA's electrical quirks. The 5.7 Hemi's lifters, the TIPM, and the air suspension are the big-ticket risks. The 3.6 Pentastar is the simpler engine.
What we checked
Partly reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25
NHTSA holds 1,270 owner complaints for the 2013 Ram 1500, and 12 recall campaigns.
A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 50% of them are about one thing — steering. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.
12 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.
Not written up yet: the engine (131 complaints). That group is in the public record and is not covered by the issues below. Treat it as something to ask about, not as absent.
Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.
Known Issues for the 2013 Ram 1500
Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.
Air springs leak and the compressor fails, dropping a corner. Coil conversion kits exist.
Repair cost (estimate): $1,200-$3,000
Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the suspension (44).
The rotary shifter and early software had recalls and quirks.
Repair cost: $0 recall to $800
Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (228), the transmission and drivetrain (86); 12 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.
NHTSA opened an investigation in 2023 covering roughly 1.1 million 2013-2016 Ram 1500s after reports of the steering suddenly stiffening or losing power assist at speed, including crashes. A related 2016 recall fixed 2015-2016 trucks built in a narrow window, but the broader complaint pattern for trucks like this one remained under investigation rather than a completed recall as of the last update. Test the steering at both parking-lot and highway speed, and ask if a steering-assist warning has ever come on.
Repair cost: $800–$1,600 (steering gear/EPS assembly; no completed recall remedy for this model year)
Source: NHTSA complaints filed under steering (631).
Walk-Away Red Flags
- ✗Ticking at idle on a Hemi
- ✗Random electrical faults
- ✗Truck sitting low — air suspension
- ✗Heavy tow use with no records
Good Signs
- ✓3.6L Pentastar, or a Hemi with lifter work done
- ✓Coil spring suspension rather than air
- ✓TIPM replaced
- ✓Documented service
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Known issues on this page are based on documented owner reports, NHTSA complaints, class-action records, and manufacturer technical service bulletins. Individual vehicles vary. A pre-purchase inspection by a trusted mechanic is always worth doing.
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