2025 Battery Issues

[Jack M.]

My batteries also failed at just over 3k miles. Way back in the day when sears was a thing and diehard was a decent battery johnson controls used to make their batteries. A google search appears to confirm my suspicion that very few companies actually make batteries nowadays and it's a crap shoot what you actually get.

 

[TheJRC]

Update for all, I have NOT had any issues with the battery or starting the truck after it sits for two days, since getting the firmware update from Dodge back when my last comment was posted.

I still have hot phone (iPhone 17) when charging using the charge pads under the screen.

No idea if that’s ever gonna be fixed but it helps keep the phone alive on long trips.

In case I didn’t indicate…. It’s a 2025 Laramie with 9 K miles.

 

[MotorcycleBoy]

JRC, on my previous truck (ltd 2022), the smartphone battery got very hot, and the same thing happens on this new one.
I think it's normal but to preserve battery, I take out the phone from the slot when it is 80 per cent of charge.

Inviato dal mio SM-F766B utilizzando Tapatalk

 

[nekit]

Add one more to this list. I’ve had my 2025 Bighorn with Hurricane motor since mid May, 5,000 miles. It worked great with no problems until five weeks ago. Was out and made a stop for about 15 minutes and it wouldn’t restart. Battery was dead. I charged the battery up and took it for a ride and the voltage seemed to be jumping all over from 12 to 14.4 volts. I took it to the dealer and they had it for two days. They said they had it fixed and it was a programming problem. Went to leave the dealer and Voltage showed 15.8 V and check engine light came on as I pulled out of the dealer lot. They had it for another three weeks said they replaced the auxiliary battery, reprogrammed the truck eight times and said the fuse array between the two batteries had blown the fuse. This is where it gets interesting. They said RAM said they aren’t covering the fuse array under warranty and I would have to pay $275 for it to be replaced. They said that ram says people are incorrectly, jumping the truck and that’s what’s making the fuse go out. I said BS I’ve never jumped the truck only charged it. After a bunch of pushback, they finally agreed not to charge me. I took the truck home on the drive home seemed fine. The next day went to start the truck and it barely started. Drove at 60 miles and the whole way the voltage said 15.8 V When I got to where I was going I shut it off and tried to restart it and the battery was dead. Showed 10 V. Put a charger on it and charge the battery up all day and drove it back to the dealer. After being without a truck for four weeks the dealer kept saying they didn’t have a loaner, but finally gave me one. Now they’ve had it for another week and I still don’t think they figured out anything. They said the fuse array is blown again. This is my work truck and we have a fleet of rams, but I don’t think we’ll be buying anymore. It’s too bad. I really liked this truck.

Update: After 7weeks at the dealership and Stellantis factory techs getting involved. Hopefully it's fixed. They ended up replacing the BCM, in the paperwork it talks about replacing the PCM also, but I can't find any parts on the paperwork for that. Replaced both batteries and the 150A fuse array.

 

[Peterhenric]

Update: After 7weeks at the dealership and Stellantis factory techs getting involved. Hopefully it's fixed. They ended up replacing the BCM, in the paperwork it talks about replacing the PCM also, but I can't find any parts on the paperwork for that. Replaced both batteries and the 150A fuse array.

The BCM is a computer. Accordingly, it ca be replaced of the hardware itself is faulty but it can be re-flashed with current or updated software. I had the BCM re-flashed on my truck just a couple weeks ago.

 

[tech97elec]

Odd occurrence for me -
2025 Big Horn, 14000 miles on the odo.
My primary and secondary batteries were replaced around 10,000 miles.

Went shopping this morning, no issues.
Came back home, 30 minutes later, opened the door, and no lights came on - dead as a doornail. No lights, or sign of life.
Got my key and tried to restart.
it did restart.
All seems normal as of now. The voltmeter on the truck showed 12.5 to 13.7 V

not sure what the heck is going on.

Very strange because the 12 volt battery under the hood is for starting w key and the 48 volt battery behind seat is for the auto start only, thinking you have a E tourque? So, not sure how it started at all.

When my battery was dead many times there were no lights, no ignition, nothing... wouldn't start or make a sound.

These trucks have issues and there has to be a common problem that is causing this to happen. All my issues were overnight, not within 30 minutes. Make sure you carry long jumper cables and a jump pack. My battery was so dead that jump pack wouldnt turn it over much till I jumped it with cables connected to my 13 year old Nissan van. Go figure

 

[Canadian_Guy26]

Uggghhh I hate reading all these comments as I am going through this with my 2025 rebel with 900km on it. Had this problem since I took over ownership of the vehicle. I have replaced the Aux battery already and was hoping that was the fix but couldnt start it again this morning.

 

[BowDown]

I honestly think the batteries that RAM is putting in these trucks is junk. Now that im out of warranty, 30k miles, im getting a good name brand battery.

My battery has a made in Malaysia sticker on it, I've had no issues yet but when it does fail, I'll get an East Penn made battery

 

[nkmjo]

I had both batteries replaced on my 2025 Rebel back in December of 2024, delivery date. On Dec. 2 2025 my truck was completely dead. Jumped it and noticed the proximity wake up feature was working for the 1st time when I got home. Next day the dealer replaced the aux battery. 3rd one in just over 1 year. No worries hah

 

[vtcats]

With so many trucks with battery issues (and even if not), it’s REALLY unfortunate there is no true way for the owner to test a battery to know before hand if your battery is going bad. I’ve read many people who get their battery tested, even by a dealership for it to be tested okay, then completely fail right after. I known there are many ways to test a battery but nothing so definitive, and easy, that owners can use. Disappointing.

 

[BowDown]

With so many trucks with battery issues (and even if not), it’s REALLY unfortunate there is no true way for the owner to test a battery to know before hand if your battery is going bad. I’ve read many people who get their battery tested, even by a dealership for it to be tested okay, then completely fail right after. I known there are many ways to test a battery but nothing so definitive, and easy, that owners can use. Disappointing.

I wonder if it's the proximity settings keeping the truck awake and eating batteries. This, battery issues, is happening across all oems

 

[hogger]

With so many trucks with battery issues (and even if not), it’s REALLY unfortunate there is no true way for the owner to test a battery to know before hand if your battery is going bad. I’ve read many people who get their battery tested, even by a dealership for it to be tested okay, then completely fail right after. I known there are many ways to test a battery but nothing so definitive, and easy, that owners can use. Disappointing.

I've had the dealer test the battery and it "tested ok" even though it wasn't. A lot of them don't know how to test or anything about batteries. I came into the dealer this weekend. After 45 minutes on the highway, the truck was at 11.4V when we turned it on for the advisor to try to download the computer. I say try because he insisted it needed to be in accessory mode. I told him I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be in Run mode to bring up the interface. After a few minutes of it not downloading, we went ahead and did it my way and put it to Run (not started). Sure enough it started downloading immediately. Meanwhile, the battery voltage was down to 10.8V. (One of the issues for the visit was the constant run down of the battery). Told him at rate, you're gonna need to jump it to get it out of the service lane. The advisor told me oh it's normal, it's not about the voltage, it's about the cranking amps. Not a clue about them being related. Sure enough, they had to replace the battery (and do some software updates that address run downs). Just checked and after 3 days it's sitting at 12.3V. So either they gave me a crap battery (different advisor when I was picking up said they probably did), or there's still some drain going on (also likely given how much ghost draw there seems to be on these things)
Aside from interrogating the computer (it tracks battery capacity and state of charge), you can just look at the battery voltage on the dash when you first turn the truck off, or after it's been sitting for a few hours. A well functioning, fully charged AGM should be 12.8-13.2V right after you kill the engine. After a few hours in comfortable temperatures, it should be above 12.6. If you're below that you either have drain and/or the battery's on the outs.
After the recall update last winter, mine would drain it down to 11.8V within hours. There was an mid summer update that slowed that down to 12.2V, but still within a week down to 11.5. That's pretty much dead. Barely enough to turn the engine over.
Another indicator is to watch the voltage climb when you first start the engine. Good battery can absorb everything the alternator can throw at it, so you'll see it tick up to >14V. If it instantly gets there, battery's not able to absorb charge == bad battery.
Problem is the software can get OTA at any time. And if they push a bad update, it's bye-bye battery. Batteries do not like to get drained.

 

[MotorcycleBoy]

Have you noticed that when you stop and leave the truck in the evening, maybe in the dark, not all the indicator lights go off ? (*)
Sometimes I open the doors again and then close (even three times) to see everything off.
What about yours ?

(*) I refer to the lights around the USB sockets, or the top right button lane assistant, or the start-stop button (random and not all bright together).

 

[vtcats]

I've had the dealer test the battery and it "tested ok" even though it wasn't. A lot of them don't know how to test or anything about batteries. I came into the dealer this weekend. After 45 minutes on the highway, the truck was at 11.4V when we turned it on for the advisor to try to download the computer. I say try because he insisted it needed to be in accessory mode. I told him I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be in Run mode to bring up the interface. After a few minutes of it not downloading, we went ahead and did it my way and put it to Run (not started). Sure enough it started downloading immediately. Meanwhile, the battery voltage was down to 10.8V. (One of the issues for the visit was the constant run down of the battery). Told him at rate, you're gonna need to jump it to get it out of the service lane. The advisor told me oh it's normal, it's not about the voltage, it's about the cranking amps. Not a clue about them being related. Sure enough, they had to replace the battery (and do some software updates that address run downs). Just checked and after 3 days it's sitting at 12.3V. So either they gave me a crap battery (different advisor when I was picking up said they probably did), or there's still some drain going on (also likely given how much ghost draw there seems to be on these things)
Aside from interrogating the computer (it tracks battery capacity and state of charge), you can just look at the battery voltage on the dash when you first turn the truck off, or after it's been sitting for a few hours. A well functioning, fully charged AGM should be 12.8-13.2V right after you kill the engine. After a few hours in comfortable temperatures, it should be above 12.6. If you're below that you either have drain and/or the battery's on the outs.
After the recall update last winter, mine would drain it down to 11.8V within hours. There was an mid summer update that slowed that down to 12.2V, but still within a week down to 11.5. That's pretty much dead. Barely enough to turn the engine over.
Another indicator is to watch the voltage climb when you first start the engine. Good battery can absorb everything the alternator can throw at it, so you'll see it tick up to >14V. If it instantly gets there, battery's not able to absorb charge == bad battery.
Problem is the software can get OTA at any time. And if they push a bad update, it's bye-bye battery. Batteries do not like to get drained.

I laughed out loud when you spoke about actually doing something with an advisor. Even if they were wrong. My dealership turns their advisors over every 3-6 months and their “knowledge” is less than any person off the street about the trucks. They give you watered down versions of what the actual mechanics say is the problem. I caught a conversation one time on my dash cam because, when started it picks up video of the front and back along with audio. This was back last year when they found I had a broken piston at 7k miles. But they were discussing it after the guy mechanic had a tantrum because I had a “guard” over my emergency brake release. You need a torque screw bit to remove. Takes less than 1 minute but the guy lost it!! LOL.
Interesting comments about OTA battery updates.

 

[MotorcycleBoy]

@vtcats , I have the same confidence (for new models ONLY). In fact, I've personally listened to some (fantastic) solutions about why my OEM LiFePo battery of the BMW GS 1300 2024 motorcycle left me on foot for the fourth and then again for the fifth time.
The batteries always have been replaced, but it was a real nuisance.
At each visit, I found a different specialist who told unwise things. The truth was that on a totally new model, no one knew the solution.
Now it's okay, but nobody knows if it is because of the last update that fixed things or if the last battery is better quality.
In any case, tomorrow the dealer will replace my AUX battery on the Rebel 2025, in fact the start stop has never worked.
Your start-stop work correctly ? FOR ME it could be an indicator of the wellness of the AUX battery which in the long run also causes the death of the starter battery.

Sent by SM-F766B on Tapatalk

 

[Rammy1201]

Does anyone know the long term aux impact on the AUX battery by having auto start/stop turned off?


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[hogger]

Have you noticed that when you stop and leave the truck in the evening, maybe in the dark, not all the indicator lights go off ? (*)
Sometimes I open the doors again and then close (even three times) to see everything off.
What about yours ?

(*) I refer to the lights around the USB sockets, or the top right button lane assistant, or the start-stop button (random and not all bright together).

Yup, I've noticed that. Had to purchase faraday bags to keep the fobs in when we sleep in the back on camping trips. The infotainment system is powered up the whole time the doors are open (about 10A), and then stuff remains on even after the door closes. 5 minutes after the doors are locked, the current draw falls off, but it doesn't reach a low until about an hour after. And then there's the nightly wake up cycle even if I have the keys in the faraday bags, at the back of the house.

 

[vtcats]

@vtcats , I have the same confidence (for new models ONLY). In fact, I've personally listened to some (fantastic) solutions about why my OEM LiFePo battery of the BMW GS 1300 2024 motorcycle left me on foot for the fourth and then again for the fifth time.
The batteries always have been replaced, but it was a real nuisance.
At each visit, I found a different specialist who told unwise things. The truth was that on a totally new model, no one knew the solution.
Now it's okay, but nobody knows if it is because of the last update that fixed things or if the last battery is better quality.
In any case, tomorrow the dealer will replace my AUX battery on the Rebel 2025, in fact the start stop has never worked.
Your start-stop work correctly ? FOR ME it could be an indicator of the wellness of the AUX battery which in the long run also causes the death of the starter battery.

Sent by SM-F766B on Tapatalk

My start stop ‘works’ but as I intended it to work. I installed a start stop eliminator a month or so after purchase early in 2024. I think it was the one from 4D tech but I’ve used one from the Start stop eliminator on other cars as well. All it does is default off. I can push the button if I want it to turn on if I want. I supposed people could say THUS CAUSED my battery issue but I know many others with the same device, same year without issues. The entire conversation about this drives me crazy actually. It seems like they created a massive system all originally predicated because of a stupid button most people never wanted. It’s fine if you DO want this, but it should have been an OPTION when ordering the truck.

 

[retire561]

I am amazed that the OP was given and delivered a loaner vehicle, and for such a long time on one occasion. I would expect dealers to always say "no loaner available, sorry!" That one they bought from should be commended

 

[Peterhenric]

I had several occasions where the truck would die after 10 minutes with the flashers on ( I work construction). After this happened twice I purchased 2 battery jumpers for these occasions. Ultimately, I got both batteries replaced as they were both bad but the truck was less than a year old. Advisor said they replace bad batteries frequently. Not sure if the batteries that were in the truck when it was new were actually old or if they were just crappy batteries. They also did a DCM updated and I haven’t had an issue since. KNOCKING ON WOOD.
In a different thread it was mentioned that they can check if the DCM is up to date or not. LINK