P0301 on a Ram 1500
P0301 means cylinder 1 Misfire Detected. On the 1500, a few causes come up far more than others.
What P0301 usually means on a 1500
P0301 isolates a misfire to cylinder 1 on the Ram 1500. The first checks are the coil and plug on that cylinder, easily done with a swap test. On the 5.7 HEMI, cylinder 1 is one of the cylinders that deactivates under MDS, which makes it a candidate for the collapsed-lifter and worn-cam problem the engine is known for, so a cylinder-1 misfire with a tick deserves a mechanical look. On the Pentastar the same ignition-first logic applies.
Most common causes on the 1500
- Coil or plug on cylinder 1
Swap-test the coil to a neighbor; if the misfire follows, the coil is the culprit.
- HEMI MDS lifter or cam lobe on cylinder 1
Cylinder 1 deactivates under MDS, so a collapsed lifter or flat lobe there is a known cause with an accompanying tick.
- Cylinder 1 fuel injector
A clogged or failing injector starves that cylinder and mimics an ignition fault.
- Low compression on cylinder 1
A burnt valve or lifter-related damage shows as a mechanical misfire a leak-down will confirm.
What P0301 costs to fix on a 1500
If it is a coil or plug, the fix is inexpensive, well under two hundred dollars. If a leak-down or inspection points to a HEMI lifter and cam on cylinder 1, the repair climbs into the four figures because of the labor to reach the valvetrain. A swap test and, on a HEMI, listening for a tick should come before parts.
Year, engine and mileage change the answer. Start a case and Redline weighs these causes against what your car shows, then names the check that would settle it.
Other codes on the Ram 1500
Related symptoms
Based on widely reported patterns for this model; individual causes vary by year, engine and history. Generic P0301 behavior is covered on the main P0301 page. Confirm with a scan tool before buying parts.
P0301 on your 1500?
Every problem becomes a Case. Tell Redline what your 1500 is doing: it shows what the evidence supports, what’s still missing, and what to check next, before you approve a repair.
“Inner pad ~1 mm. Outer pad 3 mm.”
Next: check the slide pins move freely before buying parts.