10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
100,136 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2004 Dodge Ram 1500 brakes problems

brakes problem

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2004 Dodge Ram 1500 Owner Comments

problem #16

Oct 032022

Ram 1500

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Mechanic said TIPM went bad. All gages guit working, check engine light stays on wind shield whipers turn on & off, engine stalls, all lights randomly turn on and off head lights turn signals exc. Transmission and 4 wheel drive say repair. Anti lock breaks acting up. Mechanic said this is happening alot for 2004 Dodge Ram trucks.

- Knoxville , TN, USA

problem #15

Aug 032015

Ram 1500

  • 157,000 miles
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the brake, the check engine, the ABS and the front passenger's side air bag warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to diagnose or repair the vehicle. The VIN was included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 15V313000 (air bags) and 16V352000 (air bags). However, the parts needed to repair the vehicle were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 157,000. Parts distribution disconnect and VIN tool confirms parts unavailable.

- Fredricksburg, VA, USA

problem #14

Nov 252015

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • 175,000 miles
While applying urgent braking at full pedal force due to another vehicle changing lanes in front of the vehicle at a much lower speed, the ABS system failed to function, causing the vehicle to skid for two to three seconds over an unknown distance. After approximately two to three seconds applying full force to the brake pedal and skidding, the pedal suddenly released all resistance against the driver's foot and was able to become fully-depressed against the floorboard/firewall of the vehicle. At the moment of the event, the vehicle gave a violent shudder and all braking power was lost. The vehicle continued forward without brakes until striking another vehicle and coming to a full stop, resulting in multiple injuries and a total loss of the vehicle. Post-collision, the vehicle's brake pedal was able to be pressed completely to the floorboard/firewall of the vehicle with very little resistance. The approximate speed when braking was initiated was between 45 and 50 miles per hour. Police responding to the collision estimated that the vehicle was traveling at approximately 15 miles per hour at the final point of collision with the second vehicle involved according to the police report.

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

problem #13

Aug 042015

Ram 1500

  • 60,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

This truck has only approximately 60,000 miles. I noticed that my brakes were acting strangely -- spongy and not braking properly. They were the original brakes. On 8/4/2015, I took the truck into a local dealership to have recall work done for airbags. I received a call from the dealership indicating that something was wrong with the brakes and needed to be replaced. I agreed to the work. When I went to pick up the truck, I was advised by the service department that they had a great deal of difficulty even putting the brakes back together and that something was installed incorrectly on my truck when it was built! since this incident, I spoke with someone who owns the "same" truck as mine -- 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 hemi -- and his brakes completely failed in his driveway yesterday! I thought it might be a good idea to make "officials" aware of this in the event that there is an unknown, ongoing problem with the braking systems of 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 pick-up trucks.

- Orange Beach, AL, USA

problem #12

Nov 252014

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • 165,000 miles
When I purchased this Dodge Ram 1500 hemi 5.7 it had a bad engine. After the engine was fixed, I notice the truck would just stop running or stall and no engine light. I would start it back up and it would kill at anytime I would slow down to turn or slow down to stop. This would happen 2 to 10 times a day. Then not for a day or two. When I looked online there are a lot of people with this problem. The dealer is not fixing the problem. This can kill someone and I had to stop my son from using this truck. Because I was afraid he would get killed or kill someone else. There should be a recall for this matter. Updated 9/15/15.... updated 09/30/15

- Metairie, LA, USA

problem #11

Apr 102015

Ram 1500

  • 156,156 miles
Popping and grinding in rear end popping in the cv axle front tires leaning in and wearing on inside with new tires and front end alignment have added new calipers rotors brakes 2 new cv axles and the problem still not fixed

- Oneonta, AL, USA

problem #10

Apr 152015

Ram 1500

  • 47,500 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Driving down the road at about 35 mph and all of a sudden I had no power to my brakes or steering and the engine stopped. I managed to pull over placed it in park and it started right up. All electrical components remained working at the time of the incident. This scenario has happened multiple times and is a major safety issue. On a different occasion I was sitting at stop light and it turned green took my foot off of the brake and pushed the accelerator the and the truck rolled backwards and almost hit the vehicle behind me since there was a slight decline towards the rear of the truck. Again all electrical was fine, but the engine quit. For all scenarios I did not even know the engine stopped besides the brakes and steering had no power. The engine just simply stopped running,

- Moscow Mills, MO, USA

problem #9

Oct 282014

Ram 1500 6-cyl

  • 135,000 miles
The contact owned a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. While driving at 60 mph, the brake pedal was depressed and did not effectively stop the vehicle. The vehicle veered across the roadway and ended up in a ditch. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained bruises to the body and medical attention was not required. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 135,000. Updated 11/18/15 updated 1/12/16 updated 01/26/16.

- Walterboro, SC, USA

problem #8

Apr 012015

Ram 1500 4WD 8-cyl

  • 172,000 miles
As I was driving on the freeway at 70 mph, I heard a loud "smack!" before the engine stalled and I lost power steering and power brakes. Luckily, I'm pretty strong and was able to pull off to the shoulder. The engine would start but not turn over with 4 or 5 attempts. It started on the fifth or sixth try but would not idle. I was finally able to get it to start and on my way to the mechanic, I could tell something was broken in the engine. After inspecting the engine and looking into it, it's been determined that a valve spring broke and sent the valve through the piston and into the cylinder, effectively ceasing the engine while the vehicle traveled at freeway speeds.

- Cottonwood Heights, UT, USA

problem #7

Feb 282015

Ram 1500

  • 130,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. While driving at 35 mph, the contact heard an abnormal noise and the rear end seized, which made the vehicle slide. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the driveshaft, the rear brake cables, and the rear passenger shocks needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.

- Valparaiso, IN, USA

problem #6

Nov 012013

Ram 1500 4WD 8-cyl

  • 60,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I bought this truck about 2.5 months ago used with 59xxx miles on it. This incident has happened a few times now. The first time I was coming off the freeway approaching a stoplight. As I was slowing down when I hit about 20 mph my truck completely stalled. All power was on after stall, but I had no brakes, no steering, and no engine. Luckily im a strong guy and had plenty of room to keep a straight line and very forcefully apply the non powered brakes. It started right back up so I kind of shrugged it off. It happened a few more times since then, same symptoms: Slowing down for a turn or a stop.... engine dies, no steering, no brakes, dead truck, starts right up. However last night christmas day it stalled on me a quarter of the way through a left hand turn at about 15 mph. I couldn't turn the wheel hard enough to finish my turn, I couldn't apply the brakes hard enough to stop in a safe amount of time, I died in the middle of the oncoming traffic lane. I had to quickly apply my emergency brake. Stopping just in time about 1 foot short of driving into a guardrail with a steep embankment on the other side. I am literally scared to drive this truck now, scared for my life and other peoples lives. Apparently there seems to be a common problem with these trucks stalling, but no recalls to my knowledge or definitive problem has been diagnosed... please help! respectfully, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Aromas, CA, USA

problem #5

Jun 112014

Ram 1500

  • 126,865 miles
ABS light comes on then stays off and then comes back on after so long.

- Sevierville, TN, USA

problem #4

Apr 072014

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • miles
I had the truck off, in park and E-brake engaged. A friend of mine was watching my child while I was pulled away and she had let him play with steering wheel (he loves playing with steering wheels). All of a sudden I hear the sitter screaming and turn around and saw my truck rolling down the inclined driveway with my toddler still in drivers seat and door open. I did what any sane mother would and tried to run to jump in and hit brake but ended up being dragged by the truck after it hit a pothole before crossing into a major road. When the truck finally came to a rest after crashing into a large fence with trees behind it, I managed to get my child out of truck and noticed the E-brake was still engaged. The truck has not been taken to a shop yet but will be soon. This is the only incidence of this malfunction with my truck that I know of and ive had it since 2009. However, I have previously had brake system issues where my brake lines popped off while I was driving down the highway. This really needs to be checked out. I now have a cervical spine injury, sprained wrist, sprained ankle, severe road burn where I was dragged, and multiple bruises, knots and scrapes. We were just lucky it happened after 5 O clock traffic had cleared out. There is a police report filed and my doctors have told me I need to look into getting an attorney.

- Ruston, LA, USA

problem #3

Nov 232013

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • 37,900 miles
While driving Saturday, 11/23/2013, I noticed a vibration and humming noise coming from the front of my vehicle. Also, when I turned the car would croak or moan. I could tell something was wrong because my brake pedal became very spongy and had to be pressed in fully in order to stop the car. I began to head home with the truck as I did not want a safety hazard where I could not stop the vehicle. I also noticed that in order to steer straight, I had to hold my steering wheel approximately 30 degrees left. Upon getting the truck home I immediately saw my problem. My front passenger tire was sitting in the wheel well on an angle. Large amounts of smoke were pouring out of the undercarriage, and rubber goo was leaving a trail where I drove. I jacked the car and removed the wheel, and could see even more. My wheel hub assembly was separated and broken. This caused my tire to sit on the hub crooked and lean against my control arm. The heat from this friction was so intense that it melted my cv boot, which is why I had a rubber goo trail. It also melted the ABS sensor on the wheel hub itself. Causing my ABS to go out. The hub itself had a piece completely fallen off, as if a weld broke. The heat also warped my rotor, and cracked my brake pads in that side. Luckily, I did not have any wheel separation or total failure of the braking system, causing crash or injury. I was barely able to utilize braking and drive home at about 20mph with hazards on. The wheel hub assembly has been recalled in several year Dodge Ram 1500S, including 2004, 2006, and others, for bearing issues. However Dodge claimed it was only a faulty part in 2wd applications. Now we know this is not true. I have a 4WD Ram that had the hub assembly fail and a partial braking failure. I am out of room, but I have pictures of the parts broken on the car, and pictures of the removed parts as well.

- Massillon, OH, USA

problem #2

Jul 052013

Ram 1500

  • 137,093 miles
Hub assembly failed and brakes gave out which allowed vehicle which resulted in crashing into a tree.

- Shreveport , LA, USA

problem #1

Oct 182012

Ram 1500 4WD 8-cyl

  • 42,656 miles
Began to slow down for a traffic light and my truck stalled while moving almost causing me to rear end the person ahead of me since I lost all control of my brakes and power steering. From what I'm reading this had happened to many people with the same year, make and model vehicle without any type of recall and its too dangerous of a situation.

- Harper Woods, MI, USA

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