The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. While driving on a highway at approximately 65 mph, the vehicle stopped suddenly. The vehicle was coasted to the side of the road. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed as differential failure. The manufacturer was notified. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 149,000. Updated 01/11/2017 the consumer stated while driving, the rear axle locked up causing the drive shaft to snap. Updated 01/26/17.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. Upon slowing down at approximately 10 mph to turn into a fuel station, the gear assembly fractured and the rear differential failed. The contact heard a loud noise as the failure occurred. The vehicle was towed to a repair shop who provided an interim repair of the gear assembly and inspected the differential and noticed that it fractured prematurely. The vehicle was driven back to the contact's residence and parked due to the noise continuing from the rear. The contact was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V796000 (power train). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 15V313000 (air bags), but was unable to determine when the part would become available to schedule the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided no remedy. The approximate failure mileage was 164,000.

- Redford, MI, USA

Clutch pack retainer clips in 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. These clips failed in my rear differential leaving large pieces of metal in the housing.the dealership fixed it under warranty but I'm concerned it will happen again.my main worry is that if they fail at highway speeds it could lead to rear end lock up without warning.I belong to a Dodge enthusiast group online and about 80% of people who own the 1500 with a limited slip differential have had clip failure, sometimes completely destroying the rear end. I really feel like something needs to be done about this as Chrysler has chosen to turn their backs on the problem.

- Collinsville, IL, USA

Subj: Rear differential failure dear sir or madame, several months ago, I purchased a used 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 that was out of the warranty period. On Dec. 7, 2006 I had my rear differential serviced by an ase certified facility after reading numerous postings on several online forums discussing rear differential failures for this vehicle and after I experienced a loss in general performance of the truck. As suspected and as documented by other owners, the clutch retainer clips of the rear differential fell apart in the differential housing causing the entire rear end to fail. I am in process of having all moving parts in the housing to be rebuilt by a drivetrain specialist and will cost in excess of $1000. I was also told by the technician servicing the vehicle that it is quite possible that this problem if not caught in early stages, can create a catastrophic failure of the rear end eventually leading to lock up. In speeds in excess of 50 miles per hour this can cause vehicle roll overs and total loss of total vehicle. The fact that daimler-Chrysler has yet to issue a service bulletin for this issue is aggravating and shows their lack of sympathy for their owners and as well as other drivers on the road. Thank you, kenneth mosley.

- Houston, TX, USA

On all 2002-2005, and maybe 2006, Dodge Ram 1500S equipped with the 9.25" rear limited slip differential. The retaining clips on the lsd fail and begin grinding a ring into the housing. When enough grinding has occurred the clips can become free destroying the rear differential. In some cases it cans cause the rear differential to lock up. If this occurs at a high rate of speed you can imagine what it would be like to have your rear tires lock up going 75 mph down the freeway. Myself and many others have called into Dodge to complain about their faulty lsd's. since no one has died I guess they don't care. I know it is cheaper to only fix the ones that get caught within the warranty, then it is to fix every single 9.25" lsd on the road today but it is wrong. I asked the Dodge representative on the phone if Dodge would cover the differential again if it fails out side of the warranty since it was a known problem on my vehicle and had to be replaced. I was told no. I would have to call in a see if they could do a good will coverage. This is a major issue and it is a wonder, and pure luck, that no one has died from having their rear-end locking up on them doing 75 mph down the freeway. I have pictures of the beginning stages of this problem if you would like to see them. I also know a large number of people who have been stuck with a bill to replace the failed unit themselves only a few thousand miles after the warranty. Even if Dodge does repair it the same junk lsd goes right back in. This is a very simple problem to identify during scheduled maintenance if the dealerships were told to look and Dodge had a better item to replace them with. I hope you can do something before someone does get injured or killed by Dodge.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

At approximately 10,000 miles our 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 began pulling hard to the right. At highway speeds, the vehicle will cross 4 lanes of traffic within seconds if the driver is not pulling to the left in order to compensate for the right pull. We have had the vehicle aligned several times by different dealerships as well as at alignment shops, and the issue persists. Daimler Chrysler claimed the issue was tire related, and we had the tire dealer move tires around repeatedly trying to make the problem go away. We have also replaced tires with no change in the pull. Recently, we noticed the pull is far worse when the vehicle has a full tank of gas, which leads me to suspect weight or weight distribution is a factor. We had steering rack and differential failure at approximately 25,000 miles. Both were replaced and the problem continues to exist. Also, alignment numbers go from within specification to wildly out of specification each time the truck is placed on a rack. This vehicle control issue is 100% repeatable.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

Ram 1550 with 19" tires has experience 2 successive rear-end failures. Replacement parts include case, bearings and ring/pinion. Failures occurred at slow speed. Had they occurred at high speed and the differential locked up the vehicle would most likely roll over and injure/kill the occupants. There is anecdotal reports of such failures in internet user groups and elsewhere. I have suffered 2 failures in 2 000 miles (30 000 and 32 000 miles) and I am surprise to seee no action on this topic.

- Mims, FL, USA

(1)rearend differential and pinion seal leaking fluid (2)rearend almost locked up, days without transportation (3)parts replaced and new fluid, they have worked on it twice!

- Fredericksburg, VA, USA