Ram 1500 Lemon Law

Yes. Ram recalled about 131,700 eTorque-equipped Ram 1500 trucks because the engine can stall or shut down from an over-rich fuel condition. The remedy is a powertrain control module software update. Confirm your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

It may be. If the eTorque or stalling problems keep returning after repairs, or your truck is out of service for an extended time, you may have a California lemon law claim for a buyback, replacement, or cash settlement, with the manufacturer paying your attorney fees.

Often, yes. Two requirements apply to business vehicles under California's Lemon Law: (1) your business has five or fewer motor vehicles registered in California, and (2) the vehicle's actual curb weight is under 10,000 pounds — measured by curb weight, not the higher GVWR. A Ram 1500's curb weight is well under 10,000 lbs, so a work-use truck meets the weight test. As with any claim, the truck also has to be under the manufacturer's warranty with a substantial defect that can't be fixed after a reasonable number of repair attempts. See our business-vehicle guide for the details.

Yes. The REV is fully electric and the Ramcharger pairs an electric drivetrain with an on-board generator, so both bring failure points the gas truck does not have: charging sessions that will not initiate or drop out, real-world range short of the rating, 12-volt faults and no-start conditions, reduced-power warnings from high-voltage or drive-motor faults, and on the Ramcharger, generator and range-extender faults. Any of those can support a claim on its own if Ram cannot fix it.

It can be. A vehicle that cannot reliably recharge away from home has a defect going to the heart of what you paid for. The difficulty is proving it, because the fault often will not reproduce on the dealer's connection. Insist every visit is written on a repair order with the date, the mileage, and specifics — which station, which network, what error appeared, and whether the session ever initiated. Photos of the error screen at the charger are genuinely useful.

Yes, in two ways. Days out of service count toward the 30-day threshold whether or not you were given a loaner, and they need not be consecutive. Separately, keep records of jobs turned down or income lost while the vehicle was unavailable — that context carries real weight in negotiation even though it is not part of the statutory restitution formula.

Tighter than most owners assume, and several competing firms still publish the wrong figure. Ram opted into California's AB 1755 procedures, so a claim generally must be filed within one year of your express warranty's expiration and no later than six years from the vehicle's original delivery date — materially shorter than the four-year rule applying to manufacturers who did not opt in. If your warranty has lapsed or is close to it, check the date first, not last.

Yes. California law does not require every complaint to be the same complaint. A collection of substantial defects that together impair the use, value, or safety of the vehicle can support a claim even where no single symptom recurred four separate times. Service advisors treat each as unrelated; the statute does not.

It can matter a great deal. The law counts days your vehicle is out of service regardless of the reason. Thirty or more cumulative days during the warranty period creates a presumption in your favor. The days need not be consecutive, and being given a loaner does not stop the clock. Keep a written log of every date the vehicle was unavailable.

Usually not, and this is a common reason owners never call. The mileage offset is calculated from the miles you drove before your first repair attempt, not from your current odometer — so miles accumulated while the manufacturer worked through the problem do not reduce your recovery.

Potentially a buyback (a refund minus a mileage offset), a replacement, or a cash-and-keep settlement — plus your attorney fees paid by the manufacturer, at no cost to you.