2008 RAM 5500: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2008 RAM 5500
No owner has filed a defect report with NHTSA about the 2008 RAM 5500. That is not a clean bill of health — it usually means few were sold, or the year is too new for problems to have surfaced.
Recalls on the 2008 model year
NHTSA has issued 1 recall campaign covering the 2008 RAM 5500, affecting an estimated 3,117 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover electrical system:alternator/generator/regulator. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
Recalls also distort complaint counts. Publicity about a campaign reminds owners that complaining is possible, so reports for a recalled component often spike after the recall rather than before it.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR
74,811 vehicles 2016-10-13- Defect
- Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain model year 2011-2014 Dodge Charger Police vehicles, 2007-2013 RAM 3500 Cab Chassis, 2008-2013 RAM 4500 and 5500 Cab Chassis, and 2013 RAM 2500 and 3500 vehicles. The affected vehicles have a 220 amp alternator that may suddenly fail.
- Consequence
- If the alternator fails, the vehicle may stall without warning, increasing the risk of a crash. There is also the possibility that the alternator may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the alternator with a revised alternator, free of charge. The recall began on December 23, 2016. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is S68.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
Every year of the RAM 5500
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
Why this page is short
A model year needs about 8 reports before percentiles mean anything, and this one does not have them. Complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road, so a thin page usually means a rare car, a new car, or a car whose owners do not file.
Other years of the same model do have enough: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022. The mechanical parts are often shared across those years, so their pages are the better guide to what this one is likely to do, with the caveat that a shared part is not a shared production line.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
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