2016 Ram ProMaster problems: recalls, complaints and whether this is a year to avoid

Is 2016 a good year for the Ram ProMaster?

The spread across this nameplate is wide: the 2021 draws 9 times the complaints of the 2024. On a run like that the model year you buy matters more than the badge, and 2016 sits in the middle of it.

Older years have been on the road longer and collect more complaints for that reason alone, and a year that sold in higher volume collects more while being no worse.

This retrieval holds 7 of the nameplate’s model years. 2015, 2019, 2020, 2022 are absent, which means no records came back for them — not that they were clean. The ranking above is among the years shown.

The 2016 accounts for 18% of every complaint filed against the Ram ProMaster in this retrieval, which works out to 7.0 complaints per year on the road across the 10 years since it was sold new — the figure to compare against other years, because it removes the advantage a newer car gets simply from having had less time to accumulate reports.

Complaint volume is broadly flat against the 2014 (1.0×), so on this measure the two years are interchangeable and the choice between them comes down to condition and price rather than the model year.

Which recalls cover the 2016?

Take the campaign number to any franchised Ram dealer. Recall repairs are free with no mileage or ownership limit, and they follow the car rather than the owner, so a used 2016 with an unrepaired campaign is a free repair you can claim. How recalls work.

Recall text is abridged from the NHTSA record. Search the campaign number at nhtsa.gov/recalls for the full notice and affected VIN ranges.

What do owners report on the Ram ProMaster?

Across every Ram ProMaster year, not the 2016 alone — NHTSA does not split component totals by model year.

• Electrical System — 71 reports
• Steering — 50 reports
• Power Train — 49 reports
• Unknown or Other — 31 reports

If your 2016 is doing something now, these are the guides for that system — each opens with whether it is safe to keep driving:

• Won't start — clicking
• Won't start — silence
• Battery light on

Which other Ram ProMaster years should you compare?

← 2014 Ram ProMaster · 2018 Ram ProMaster → · All Ram ProMaster years

If you are deciding between years, the table above is the short answer and the Ram ProMaster page carries the full run with the component breakdown. Before money changes hands, run the VIN for open recalls and read the inspection checklist — ten minutes in the seller’s driveway finds most of what matters.