Skip to main content

Ram truck tailgate danger prompts Fiat Chrysler to expand its recall

If you’re driving along in your Ram pickup truck with a load in the back, the last thing you want to happen is for your tailgate to suddenly fall open. With the risk of objects falling from the truck onto the road, any drivers following behind won’t much like it either.

A fault with the tailgate’s power-locking functionality that could lead to such an incident has prompted its maker, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), to expand an existing recall to an additional 693,128 Ram trucks.

Recommended Videos

FCA’s first recall regarding the issue came in 2018 and involved 1.1 million Ram pickups, but this was expanded earlier this year to include an additional 410,000 trucks.

Now, nearly 700,000 Ram 1500, 2500, and 3500 trucks manufactured between 2013 and 2018 have been added to the recall, with most registered in the U.S. and Canada. It brings the total number of Ram vehicles recalled in relation to the issue to more than 2 million.

“Unintended opening”

“An unintended opening of the tailgate while driving may result in a loss of unrestrained cargo from the truck bed,” FCA said in correspondence seen by the Chicago Tribune. “Lost cargo may create a road hazard to operators and occupants of other vehicles, and can cause such vehicles to crash without prior warnings.”

The FCA told Digital Trends that it’s unaware of any related injuries or accidents occurring as a result of the fault, adding that the recall expansion follows a review of customer data carried out by the automaker.

Customers affected by the Ram recall expansion should receive notification by mail by the end of October 2019, FCA told Digital Trends. If you believe you have a Ram pickup truck that falls under the recall notice, the automaker advises owners to take extra care to secure loose cargo on the truck until the repair work has been carried out, though such a procedure should be normal practice anyway.

Anyone with concerns about the issue should contact FCA’s customer service.

Ram recalls

Ram trucks have been hit by quite a few recalls in recent years, and for a range of issues, too. In 2017, for example, the automaker recalled 1.8 million Ram pickups after a fault was discovered that could cause the vehicle to roll away in some circumstances, while in May 2018 it was one of many FCA vehicles recalled to fix a fault with its cruise control technology.

Despite the problems, the Ram brand continues to perform well for FCA. Last year, for example, sales of the pickup reached a new annual record of 597,368 vehicles, helped mainly by sales of the Ram 1500, which increased by 15% year-on-year to 377,286 vehicles.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
The week in EV tech: From sky-high dreams to ground-level drama
tesla robotaxi feud alef in transition flight

Welcome to Digital Trends’ weekly recap of the revolutionary technology powering, connecting, and now driving next-gen electric vehicles. 
Buckle up, folks — this week we’re taking off with a look at the futuristic dream of flying electric cars possibly gliding above U.S. roads sooner than you think. But before we get carried away, let’s bring it back down to the bumpy road of present-day realities.
Even if you’re mostly interested about the tech powering the electric vehicle (EV) revolution, it’s become increasingly hard to avoid the politics around it: You guessed it, we’re talking about this week’s public feud between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump.
What does this have to do with EV tech? Well, quite a lot actually. For starters, the technology behind Tesla’s Autopilot and Full-Self Driving (FSD) modes may return in the crosshairs of regulators: Despite the names, these are still driver-assist features that require active driver supervision, and until Trump’s election, they had been under heavy scrutiny by safety regulators for several years.
Last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration  (NHTSA) launched an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD. Big questions remain about the driver-assist system's performance under adverse, yet naturally-occurring conditions such as fog, sun glare, rain, and snow.
When Musk, who spent about $275 million to help elect Trump, was appointed to head a newly-created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), it raised more than a few eyebrows about his power and influence over the regulators who are supposed to oversee traffic safety, and therefore Tesla.
It didn’t help that the Trump administration followed Musk’s recommendations and relaxed crash-reporting requirements put in place since 2021, while also relaxing rules to accelerate the deployment of fully-automated robotaxis.
The Trump/Musk clash takes place just as Tesla is due to launch its robotaxi pilot progam in Texas later this month. While Trump is now threatening to pull billions of dollars in government subsidies and contracts from Musk’s companies, it’s unclear whether he might pressure the Department of Transportation to again tighten the regulatory screws on Tesla. What is clear is that Trump has never been a fan of electric vehicles and is already trying to end federal subsidies on EV purchases and leases. And while he had made a big deal about buying a bright red Tesla Model S back in March, Trump now says he wants to sell it.
Back to the tech
Meanwhile, Tesla is still required to respond to information and data requests from NHTSA regarding the safety of its robotaxis by July 1. And ultimately, it should come down to the performance of the technology.
For Autopilot and FSD, Tesla has opted for less expensive navigational tech relying on multiple onboard cameras that feed AI machine-learning models. But especially for so-called adverse driving conditions, it’s the more expensive technology relying on a blend of pre-mapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar (a laser-light radar) which has received the nod of regulators.
Waymo, the sole robotaxi service currently operating in the U.S., and Zoox, Amazon’s upcoming robotaxi service, both use that blend of navigational tech.
For its robotaxis, Tesla is said to have upped its game in terms of autonomous driving with its Hardware 4 (HW4) technology, which does include radar sensors and promises enhanced environmental perception.
Will that be enough for Tesla to convince regulators, catch up with Waymo, or compete effectively with Zoox?
We’ll have to wait and see.
Flying cars
In a recent edition, we noted that while consumer confidence about robotaxi technology is on the rise, most people also want more data before they hop into a self-driving vehicle.
What about flying taxis? According to a recent survey by Honeywell, nearly all U.S. airline fliers, or 98%, said they would consider using a so-called electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle, or eVTOL, as part of their travel journey.
But while the buzz around flying electric vehicles has mostly focused on air taxis— like Archer Aviation’s Midnight, expected to fly athletes around the 2028 LA Olympics, or Joby’s slick air taxi, backed by Toyota — one California startup is shooting for something a little more... driveable.
Meet Alef Aeronautics, a Bay Area company that wants to put the “car” back in “flying car.” This week, Alef announced it has received over 3,400 pre-orders for its electric flying vehicle, the Model A — and get this: it’s not a futuristic prototype gathering dust in a lab. Alef says production could begin by the end of 2025, or early next year.
On the ground, the Model A operates like a low-speed electric car, complete with hub motors in the wheels and—wait for it—a real steering wheel. You can legally drive it at up to 25 mph on public roads, parking it in a normal garage like any other EV. It’s refreshingly manual in an increasingly hands-free world.
But when it's time for lift off, the steering wheel takes a backseat. For vertical takeoff and flight, the Model A transforms into a drone-like aircraft. Its cabin rotates sideways to create lift, and eight electric rotors—controlled by a flight system and joysticks—take over. No pedals, no yoke, just a bit of joystick magic (or autopilot, if you prefer).
The Model A has already received the nod from regulators for test flights.
While the $300,000 price tag won’t fit everyone’s budget, the company is clearly betting on a future where you don’t have to choose between a car and a flying machine—you can have both.

Read more
8 key things you need to know from Apple’s WWDC 2025 event
From a fresh look and updated names, to new features, more intelligence and live translation
iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and macOS 26 shown on devices.

The WWDC 2025 keynote ran for just over an hour and a half. For those of you who don't fancy sitting through the whole presentation, we've pulled out the key things you need to know from the latest Apple event.

1. Welcome to the 26 club

Read more
Tesla’s robotaxi service is almost here, but it’s not the car you want to see
Silver Tesla Model Y Juniper side

Tesla chief Elon Musk has said that the automaker is aiming to launch its robotaxi service on June 22, in Austin, Texas.

“Tentatively, June 22,” Musk said in a post on X on Tuesday, adding: “We are being super paranoid about safety, so the date could shift.”

Read more