2018 RAM Promaster City Problems: Engine (16 Complaints)

The most-reported problem on the 2018 RAM Promaster City is Engine (50% of 16 owner reports). There are 2 safety recalls. Check the VIN and inspect Engine — this is the NHTSA file, not a score.

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-09-07 16 complaints · 2 recalls

What problems show up on the 2018 RAM Promaster City?

8 of 16 filings named Engine (50% of the file). That is what owners wrote, not a shop diagnosis of the vehicle in the driveway.

Second is Lights (2 reports).

There are 2 official safety recalls on this year. They were filed about Steering. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov — a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific truck.

The 2017 has 19 reports on file; this year has 16. A smaller lifetime total is not a clean bill of health. If you need a fairer comparison, use the equal-time view.

What to check before you buy a 2018 RAM Promaster City

A useful visit to this page takes five minutes. YearTell does not score years and cannot see the vehicle in front of you.

  1. Look up the VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov. This year has 2 campaigns on file below.
  2. Engine. Have a shop check for oil consumption, coolant leaks, rough idle and unusual engine noise.
  3. Lights. Walk around the vehicle: headlights, brake lights and turn signals all working.
  4. Transmission / driveline. Have a shop drive it and check the transmission: hard or delayed shifts, burnt-smelling fluid, and 4WD engagement if equipped.
  5. Skim a few owner reports below for Engine. Look for the same symptom repeating.
  6. Take that list to a mechanic. Do not turn the complaint total into a score.

What owners reported

System named most often: Engine 8 complaints · 50.0% of the file
Crashes, fires, injuries and deaths in those filings:
  • Crashes 0
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 0
  • Deaths 0
All RAM Promaster City years →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Which systems owners named

Share of owner complaints filed against each vehicle system. These shares are not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold.

Which systems owners named Engine (ENGINE) appears in 8 of 16 owner complaints (50.0%) in this vehicle snapshot. Engine (ENGINE): 8 complaints, 50.0% of reports Engine (ENGINE) 8 · 50.0% Lights (EXTERIOR LIGHTING): 2 complaints, 12.5% of reports Lights (EXTERIOR LIGHTING) 2 · 12.5% Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN): 2 complaints, 12.5% of reports Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) 2 · 12.5% Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM): 1 complaints, 6.3% of reports Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) 1 · 6.3% Seat belts (SEAT BELTS): 1 complaints, 6.3% of reports Seat belts (SEAT BELTS) 1 · 6.3% Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES): 1 complaints, 6.3% of reports Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 1 fire reports 1 · 6.3% Steering (STEERING): 1 complaints, 6.3% of reports Steering (STEERING) 1 · 6.3% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
Engine (ENGINE) 8 50.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Lights (EXTERIOR LIGHTING) 2 12.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) 2 12.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) 1 6.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Seat belts (SEAT BELTS) 1 6.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 1 6.3% 0 crashes · 1 fires
Steering (STEERING) 1 6.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

When reports and recalls showed up

When owners filed reports, and when recall campaigns showed up.

When reports and recalls showed up Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jul 2019; the first recall shown was reported in Feb 2018. 2019-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Feb 2018 Apr 2025 Recall campaign 18V129000 ◆ Recall campaign 18V129000 Recall campaign 18V149000 ◆ Recall campaign 18V149000
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2019-Q3 Owner reports 1
2020-Q1 Owner reports 1
2020-Q4 Owner reports 2
2021-Q1 Owner reports 1
2021-Q2 Owner reports 1
2021-Q3 Owner reports 2
2021-Q4 Owner reports 1
2022-Q2 Owner reports 1
2022-Q3 Owner reports 1
2023-Q3 Owner reports 1
2024-Q2 Owner reports 1
2024-Q3 Owner reports 1
2025-Q1 Owner reports 1
2025-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 18V129000
Recall campaign 1 18V149000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-09-06 Open source record

Safety Recalls (2)

Official campaigns. Each one says what could go wrong and what the dealer was told to fix.

In short, these campaigns were filed about Steering.

  1. Recall campaign 18V129000

    Safety recall 18V129000

    Report date
    Component:
    Unclassified NHTSA leftover
    Consequence:
    If the tire placard indicates an incorrect seating capacity, the operator may overload the vehicle, which can cause tire failure, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will install a corrected tire placard, free of charge. The recall began March 15, 2018. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is U17.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Recall campaign 18V149000

    Steering

    Report date
    Component:
    Steering (STEERING)
    Consequence:
    A hydraulic steering fluid leak may require additional sudden steering effort, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the steering gear housing, replacing any affected rack-and-pinion assembly, free of charge. The recall began March 13, 2018. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is U23.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

What owners actually wrote

Short excerpts from the public NHTSA file. Look for the same symptom repeating.

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-09-07
Safety incident filters
Showing 6 of 16 complaints · page 1 of 1
2025-05-07Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN)
NHTSA ODI 11659568
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The contact owns a 2018 Ram Promaster. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. Additionally, the engine seized, and the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was started, and the vehicle was driven to the residence. The failure occurred intermittently; however, the failure became a persistent failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 69,900.
2025-03-08Engine (ENGINE)
NHTSA ODI 11647169
CrashFireInjuryDeath
My vehicle has shut off on several occasions while driving. No oil or engine light appeared on, but my oil was very low. No ill or negative indicators came up whatsoever. The vehicle stopped in places which I was not able to stay or park at. Some people were honking because my vehicle was blocking traffic. I believe the first time I encountered the problem was around 106,000miles. The problem has continued up to now at 120,00miles. Dealerships and myself have added oil but the problem continues with no indicators communicating an issue, though there clearly is one.
2024-07-03Engine (ENGINE)
NHTSA ODI 11598663
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The contact owns a 2018 Ram Promaster City. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light and the throttle control system warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was unsure of the diagnostic results; however, the contact was informed that the vehicle would be repaired under an unstated recall. The dealer performed an unstated test on the vehicle and then informed the contact that the vehicle could not be repaired because the vehicle was no longer under recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 139,405.
2024-04-17Engine (ENGINE)
NHTSA ODI 11583648
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The contact owns a 2018 Ram Promaster City. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was hot. The contact added coolant to the engine; however, the coolant was gone in less than two weeks. The contact then stated that while driving at various speeds, an abnormal knocking noise was coming from the engine. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
2023-09-20Seat belts (SEAT BELTS)
NHTSA ODI 11545637
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The front passenger seat belt would not pull out to secure passengers. I took the vehicle to an independent service center to see about fixing the problem. They were unable to fix the device. I was traveling and could not get to my home dealer until I returned. I was unable to take any passengers in my vehicle for safety reasons without a functioning seatbelt. I ordered a replacement seat belt assembly from the dealer and had to wait 4 weeks before the part came in. The dealer was able to replace the old assembly with the new one.
2022-08-15Engine (ENGINE)
NHTSA ODI 11479434
CrashFireInjuryDeath
I am not contacting NTSA to report a new safety concern but rather reporting that a fix addressing a known safety concern is not working. The concern is associated with a recall notice of 2015-2018 FCA vehicles with 4 cylinder Tigershark engines (a pertinent excerpt of the notice is shown below with emphasis added). The recall is to check for excess oil consumption which could trigger a vehicle stall, a serious safely concern. To address this potential problem the recall notice authorizes a oil consumption inspection which basically involves the inspection of oil level on the vehicle’s dipstick after it is driven for a while to measure if excess oil consumption has occurred. The problem with this inspection is that it requires the vehicle to be returned to the dealership after 1500 to 1700 mile interval. According to FCA, any exceedance of this short mileage window invalidates the inspection. This is a problem for individuals that use their vehicle primarily for long road trips. The conditions of the inspection are not practical. I contacted FCA to authorize the test be completed after 3000 miles (the dealer indicated the test would not be accepted by FCA because the 1700 mile requirement was exceeded). They showed no flexibility on the required test parameter and really couldn’t explain why the narrow window for reinspection was technically sound. They had the audacity to state that if I was to have the inspection repeated, I would have to pay for it. The inspection to detect excessive oil consumption presumably resulted from the manufacturer selling defective engines. A two hundred mile window for the reinspection is so narrow that the recall notice to address a potential safety issue associated with the excess oil consumption should be considered a sham recall notice.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems on the 2018 RAM Promaster City?

Owners named Engine most often — 8 of 16 reports (50%). That is the NHTSA file, not a diagnosis of every vehicle.

Are there recalls for the 2018 RAM Promaster City?

NHTSA lists 2 safety recall campaigns. They were filed about Steering. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov; a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific vehicle.

What should I inspect before buying a 2018 RAM Promaster City?

Look up the VIN for open recalls. Have a shop check for oil consumption, coolant leaks, rough idle and unusual engine noise. Then skim owner filings for the same symptom and take that list to a mechanic.

Does a high complaint count mean I should skip this year?

No. Counts are reports people chose to file and they are not adjusted for sales volume. YearTell does not publish scores or a list of years to skip. Inspect the vehicle.

EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Source: NHTSA ODI / recalls, snapshot 2026-09-07. YearTell is not a government agency.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources