Air suspension failure on the 2013 RAM 1500
When air suspension failure gets reported
Owners of the 2013 RAM 1500 report air suspension failure at a median of 75,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 67,500 miles and a quarter after 80,000 miles, from 25 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 14th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 100 miles at the tenth percentile to 100,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 99,753 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
20% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64 miles | 67,000 miles | 74,000 miles | 80,000 miles | 99,817 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $900–$4,500 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 7 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2019, at a median of 10,000 miles, and latest on the 2014 at 77,500 miles.
By volume the 2014 carries the most reports, with 64; the 2013 has 30. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
While vehicle was in park and lowering the four corner suspension system to entry/exit mode, an extremely loud pussst (like disconnecting an air tool from an compressed air tank). This caused the driver/passenger to jump and and pets to bolt into the driver/passenger seat. My concern is this may happen while the vehicle is in motion at a high rate speed and cause the driver to become distracted and cause an accident. Several posts to forums from jeep owners have experienced smililar issues in their chrysler made vehicles with air suspension. *tr
Driving on freeway at about 65 MPH vehicle began pulling to the left was able to correct but then noticed the front end appeared to be low. When I stopped I noticed the front end wheel wells were all most on top of the tires. After I restarted the vehicle there was no warning light but I cycled though the messages and saw a message that said service air suspension immediately. Attempted to raise the vehicle using air suspension buttons to raise the front end but it did not function. The failure of suspension components at highway speed could result in loss of control. I have scheduled service with the dealer but they could not get an appointment for 5 days. After reviewing several ram vehicle forums I see that there are multiple problems associated with the ram 4 corner air suspension. Fiat (chrysler) should fix these issues as suspension failure could result in accidents or worse as these systems age and fail. My vehicle only has 28,000 miles and if it is failing already I can only imagine what the future holds. If fiat can not do a viable fix they should recall and replace the systems with coil springs.
While working under the truck the air suspension failed causing the truck to drop. I have also been driving the truck and for no apparent reason the front or rear drivers air bag deflates almost causing me to lose control. I spoke with the dealer who stated with the cold weather there are multiple issues with the 2013 and 2014 ram air suspension failing. He also stated that there was a newer compressor installed in newer trucks along with better components that solved the issue. I have approximately 72000 miles on the truck with a repeated air suspension failure in the 45days I have owned the vehicle.
Also reported on the 2013 RAM 1500
Other steering problem
Other electrical problem
Loss of power steering
Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure
Other engine problem
Other powertrain problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 30 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does air suspension failure happen on the 2013 RAM 1500?
Across 25 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 75,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 67,500 miles and a quarter after 80,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is air suspension failure on the 2013 RAM 1500?
30 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.3 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed