This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The dash board has finally fallen apart after years of trying to keep it together. The obd connection has never worked fuse is good and several different scanners but no communication.
During the first year we bought the truck it had to be towed in to the shop because it would lose power and just "turn off" and could not be started about 6 times. After the truck was returned to us after one of these episodes, we had hooked up our camper to leave for the weekend, went into the house for some more stuff, and noticed that the gas tank had fallen off the truck and was sitting in the driveway under the truck. So much for camping that weekend and another tow to the dealer. We also purchased an extended "bumper-to-bumper 100,000 mile, 5 year warranty that covered rust. I brought the truck into the dealer to show them the rust around the rear wheel wells and lower body in the 4th year into the warranty and they said they made a record of it and would take care of it. They put if off with promises after numerous calls and trips to the dealer until the dealership sold to another party and the warranty had expired (years, not miles). The body is rotten, the passenger front window was never fixed, and it still occasionally stalls. I'm told that the stalling and body problems are engineering defects, and internet searches confirm this.
Started up and the ABS dash indicator light stayed on. I took the truck to my mechanics and noticed the speedometer wasn't working. My mechanics found the problem with the ABS right away. They said that a fire had occurred and the entire truck could have caught fire. The ABS controller was burnt and the wires leading from it.
Have done research online and found out that this is a major problem in Dodge Ram trucks, 1500, 2500 and 3500. This is a severe problem and could cause the whole electrical system to go out while driving these trucks. This has been documented in posts online. These trucks should be recalled before a serious accidents happens with the owners of these trucks. This is my college student son's truck and I am very concerned for his safety in this truck. These models should definitely be recalled by Dodge and the dashboards replaced at no cost.
- Frankfort, KY, USA
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I have had two different problems with my vehicle. On or about 19 Apr 2006 my dashboard started cracking, and a years later there is a short somewhere in the electrical system, because my windows and door locks only work when they won't to, and my radio volume changes whenever it wants to. I purchased my vehicle Jan 2006 with only 34,000 miles. I have searched several websites to find our individuals with the same issues, and low and behold there are several individuals on several different websites with the same issues. However, surprisingly there still aren't any investigations or recalls started.
Having several electrical issue with my Dodge truck. Not all power windows and autolock work and have to replace the bulbs for the brakes and turning signal about every 6 months. Already replaced the bracket where the bulbs go. Plus seen several complains on the dashboards cracking like my truck has and Dodge won't have a recall nor fix this issue.
Dash is cracking in numerous place and falling in. This is causing wiring harness to be exposed to sunlight and to break down. The vehicle has since developed electrical issues due to the insulation on the wires breaking down.
The ventilation system failed as is common with these vehicles. Due to weal parts, the, "doors" that control air flow through the ventilation ducts broke. I have slowly replace each of the four doors as they failed. As they went out it affected every aspect of ventilation, including the defrost. After doing some research it is evident Dodge was fully aware of this issue but made no improvements to the system, continuing to sell these vehicles to an unsuspecting public for several years.
The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that the entire dashboard was separated from the vehicle causing the wires to shorten. As a result, the horn and exterior lighting failed intermittently. The air bag was also exposed. In addition, the vehicle stalled intermittently while driving. The dealer had not been notified. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who informed the contact that the electrical wires were compromised due to the electrical system malfunctioning since the fragments were tampering with the wires. The manufacturer was aware of the failure; however, did not offer any assistance since there were no recalls. No repairs were performed. The current mileage was 97,643 and the approximate failure mileage was 82,000.
The problem began with the ignition remaining on with the key out. The next thing was the headlights not switching between bright and dim.third came the wipers not turning on all the time.now the turn signals are working improperly.
The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Ram. The contact stated the wire connecting the ignition wire melted causing the windshield defroster to malfunction. The wire melted due to the size of the terminals to the connector. The lack of a defroster made driving very difficult for the contact. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer stated the wire that connect the ignition to the blower motor needs to be replaced. The contact stated the vehicle was unsafe to to drive due to the impaired vision. The failure mileage was 137,000.
2003 Dodge Ram 1500 1. started to have some electrical issues, power windows and heater blower motor would work intermittently. Also occasional smell of melting plastic. 2. after some time blower motor totally quit. Went online to trouble shoot problem and learned of recall on 2002 Dodge Ram for identical problem. That was caused by melting ignition switch. So I took apart steering column and found plug for my ignition switch melting and wire burnt and corroding. After finding problem and putting the plug back together blower motor started working intermittently again and when it is on wire gets extremely hot. Consequences would by loss of visibility if windows fog up and or potential fire hazard. 3. nothing has been done to fix the problem yet. Chrysler wanted me to bring my vehicle in and pay to get the problem diagnosed at their dealer. Then they would work with me to get the problem fixed, not guaranteeing they would cover any or all of the cost. So I will probable fix the problem myself with used parts because I don't have money to pay Chrysler to fix a problem the are very aware about. Since they issued a recall on the 2002 Ram that uses the same ignition switch as mine.
Besides heat not working, numerous gas cap replacements, numerous shorts in brake light, radio cutting off, my dash has cracked in several places which could cause injury if touched by youngsters. Apparently numerous complaints on all of the above!!
We own a 2003 Dodge quad cab pickup with 99000,00 miles on it. We were having the heater core and blend door replaced and notice D the blower was not working. The mechanic thought it was the resistor but come to find out it was the ignition switch wires that go to the blower motor were burnt at the contact points on the ignition switch. Due to the looseness of the connection prongs this has been going on for some time. I do believe this is a safety issue that if left unfixed would have caused a fire in the vehicle. I did keep the old part for your viewing. I also contacted Dodge to let them know about the problem and asked them if they were at least going to issue a tsb for this problem. Their reply was no. That's when I contacted you. We went ahead and had the mechanic replace the part due to the safety concern.
HVAC blower intermittently working due to bad connection to the ignition switch. Window is constantly fogging. I do not feel that NHTSA recall no. 03V078 covered all vehicles affected as my vehicle falls 6 months short of the recall and will have to get the repair done at my cost. Looking up this problem on the internet and speaking with repair services this is very common past the 2002 manufactured trucks.
Poor reliability of electrical control and distribution system causes numerous and sometimes intermittent failures of exterior safety-related lighting such as headlamps (low beam and high beam), taillamps, turn signals, brake lamps, and trailer lamps. Problems seem to be exacerbated if vehicle is not operated for a few weeks. Dealer is quoting repair cost in excess of $2000 for replacement of the power distribution center, which is reportedly not a serviceable unit. This high repair cost will undoubtedly cause owners to "take their chances" and continue operating vehicles in an unsafe condition because the repair is so costly and the problems are intermittent. Some users have reported needing to complete this repair more than once over the vehicle lifetime, which further confirms there is an inherent reliability problem with this vehicle's electrical system. Other users report similar issues with windshield wipers reportedly due to the same unit failure. Because Dodge Ram pickup trucks have at least ten different model categories and multiple model years for reporting in the NHTSA online reporting structure, the complaints are spread out and the concentration of problems endemic to this vehicle may not be readily apparent to ODI investigators. Complaints may be reported under "1500", "2500", "3500", "Ram", "Ram 1500", "Ram 2500", "Ram 3500", "Ram quad cab", "Ram pickup", "Dodge truck",..., all due to the same module failure. Complaints are also spread out among many different complaint categories, further diluting the recognition that there is one fundamental root cause of a dozen or more different failure modes.
We have a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup. We are having problems with our brake lights, turn signals and trailer lights and took our truck into a Dodge dealer. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. we were told we need a new pdc block (power distribution center). We were told it would be $500. They couldn't order the part because they say they are back ordered with almost 200 orders. It would take anywhere from 2 - 12 weeks to get the part it. Seems to me that there are a lot of problems with this vehicle having electrical problems with the pdc, which is non repairable and needs to be replaced. Maybe someone should look into this. Part #68005475aa. Please let me know if you decide to D a recall on this vehicle.
Shortly after purchasing our Ram new from dealer, I experienced a small slight shock when getting in and out of the driver seat coincidentally I hold onto the inside door handle to do this. We have 20" wheels, and I am only 5'4. mentioned this to the dealer at regular maint. In their service shop. Nothing done. Now this has gone on for 5 years. After appx. 3 years (just after 3/36 warranty expired) my driver door power window/door lock switches are not working correctly. Intermittently they will work for the other doors, but not very often. Also, if driver door is open, the switches don't work at all. I am and have been out of warranty for many miles, they say it's not a known issue, I say it is now! this is unsafe, I would not be surprised to find my vehicle on fire due to the electrical problem they refuse to acknowledge.
I started the truck one day, and I noticed the speedometer going crazy, and I had yet to put the truck in gear. At that same time the ABS and brake lights both lit up. I did notice with the truck not even running and the ignition turned to the on position, the speedometer still goes crazy, moving from 0 to 120 mph. At this point, all I have done so far is to take it to a shop for evaluation, and they were unable to diagnose the problem. I did some research on the NHTSA website, and found there were 5 other complaints with the same problem. The more I look into this, it appears to be a manufacturers defect.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Brownsville, TX, USA