2020 RAM 1500 — Complaint #2057736
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR filed January 21, 2025
NHTSA complaint #2057736 (ODI reference 11637241) concerns a 2020 RAM 1500 and was filed on January 21, 2025. The owner reports the failure occurred on January 15, 2025. The vehicle had 80,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Ohio based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as electrical system:alternator/generator/regulator, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same RAM 1500 cohort independently describe similar electrical system:alternator/generator/regulator failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2020 RAM 1500 shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owns a 2020 Ram 1500 Laramie. The contact stated that the alternator was making an abnormal whining noise. The noise had increased and become louder over time. The alternator was making an abnormal grinding sound. While his wife was driving at approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle lost voltage, stopped, and shut down. The flashers became inoperable. The essential power mode message was displayed. The check engine light was illuminated. The contact had replaced the battery three months prior. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where an unknown diagnosis was provided. The vehicle was not repaired due to the part being backordered. The manufacturer was contacted, but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2057736 |
| ODI Number | 11637241 |
| Date Filed | January 21, 2025 |
| Failure Date | January 15, 2025 |
| VIN | 1C6SRFJT3LN |
Similar ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR Complaints for 2020 RAM 1500
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.