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.
Driving truck in town approx 35 - 40 mph. Can give exact detail / location. Vehicle transmission in "drive". vehicle has center consul. As vehicle was climbing gradual hill, transmission automatically downshifted. Vehicle immediately went to full throttle uncontrollably. Engine RPM jumped to 6K - 7K. Vehicle speed still increasing. Stepped on gas pedal several times thinking it was stuck with no effect - RPM remained constant. Then put both feet on brake pedal - RPM remained constant. Then shifted transmission into neutral position. Check etc / red lightning bolt message now on in message center located between tach & speedometer. RPM's now at a constant 4K with vehicle in neutral and coasting. No place to turn off without blocking traffic. Stopped at lighted intersection - vehicle still at 4K RPM. Shifted back into "drive", tires chirped and truck lunged forward still at 4K RPM. Parked vehicle in safe place adjacent to gas station and shut off - transmission still either in gear or neutral. Engine off - shifted into "park". waited 3-4 minutes and attempted to restart vehicle. Engine icon, ect icon and red steering wheel with explanation point icon where all on. Vehicle cranked, but acted like no fuel / spark and would not start. Vehicle towed to dealership on flatbed. No word back from dealer yet. Mileage 5,443 - mostly highway. Note: No floor mats just factory rug and cruise control was not "on" or in use in any way. Only modifications to vehicle are the addition of a spray bed-liner and topper. I was born and raised around cars and have good mechanical ability including ground-up restorations of pre 1970 vehicles. This is a real and tangible example of a 2013 Dodge Ram 1500 4X4 bighorn with unintended acceleration. This is unacceptable for any vehicle, but especially for a new, $46,000 vehicle. I am lucky that I did not hurt anyone or end up dead.
2013 Dodge Ram. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle rear differential failure. The consumer stated while driving, the left rear wheel locked up. The rear axle sheared off, and the brake caliper broke off, at that point the vehicle had no brakes. The wheel and tire were punctured by the caliper bracket, and went into an uncontrollable spin. The vehicle finally came to an abrupt stop against the freeway cement center divider. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The consumer believed that some gears either in the rear differential or transfer case broke before the axle sheared off of the vehicle. According to the technician, the transfer case was noisy and locking up, the transmission was also noisy and not functioning properly. He also stated the rear differential was making a howling noise and had extensive vibration. The technician believed the damage to the vehicle was caused by some type of gear failure. The broken axle showed stress fractures/cracks due to possible metal fatigue. The dealer stated the damage to the vehicle was caused by the driver.
The contact owns a 2013 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving various speeds, the transmission failed to shift and the anti-skid warning lamp illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that the transmission was defective and needed to be replaced. The failure recurred three miles after leaving the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 12,000 and the current mileage was unknown.
The contact owns a 2013 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while making a left turn to exit highway traffic, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle resumed normally after being restarted. In addition, the headlights and panic alarm would activate independently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who performed a diagnostic but was unable to locate a failure code. The vehicle was also test driven, but the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 3,000 and the approximate current mileage was 5,000.
After driving on snow and slushy roads I couldn't get the vehicle to shift into the reverse or park position. I couldn't even move the selector into those positions.
- Rapid City, SD, USA
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This was the third time in the two weeks I owned this Ram 1500 truck after purchasing it new that I have experience a failure of the torqueflite 8 spd transmission and/or electronic rotary shifter. A week earlier I reported to Ram and to NHTSA a repeated failure of this truck on a boat ramp to engage in park even with the engine off as the truck was "slow rolling" down the ramp. This time I was able to document the failure by video on my cell phone. This incident occurred while traveling at about 30 mph on a side street in 2 wheel drive. I slowed the truck to a routine stop at a stop sign coming to a complete stop. When I then tried to pull onto the intersecting highway, the engine rpms increased as expected when I touched the accelerator pedal, but the truck would not move, acting as if it was in neutral, even though I had not touched the rotary shifter on the dash nor any of the 2wd/4WD option buttons. There was not any perceptible sound or feel indicating that the transmission had "popped" out of gear. I then noticed that the "D" light on the shifter was oddly flashing on/off while the 2wd light was illuminated solid as expected. I tried the accelerator pedal two more times with no change. After whipping out my cell phone to video this failure I was able to reset the drive engagement by moving the shifter to park for 2 or 3 seconds and then back to "D". the truck then responded normally and I was able to drive away.
The contact owns a 2013 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving 10 mph, the vehicle stopped accelerating. The contact shifted into reverse, then back into drive and the vehicle resumed normally. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis and the contact was informed that the transmission module would need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure recurred within 1,000 miles. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The failure and current mileage was 5,300.
On a steep grade (boat ramp with an empty 700 lb trailer in tow) while backing in 2 wheel drive with the vehicle front facing up hill I placed the torqueflite 8 speed electronic dial transmission on my 4X4 truck into park, set the parking brake, turned off the ignition, let my foot off the brake, and the truck started slow rolling (creeping) down the steep grade. I then started the truck and pulled up the grade 2 feet and performed the same operation again with the same results. I then switched from 2 wheel drive to 4 wheel lock, put the dial to park, set the parking brake, turned off the ignition and after about 45 seconds the truck once again starting slow rolling down the hill and would have rolled into the river had I not jumped in and hit the foot brake. The last time it was rolling I could see both the front and rear wheels rolling and not sliding. It appears that the transmission never actually shifted to the park position even though the dial and dash light indicated that the transmission was in park.
It has snowed hard enough here in Virginia this year to leave snow on the roads. Three times now since buying my 2013 Ram 1500 with pentastar engine in December 2012 I have been unable to put the transmission into park and remove the key. The dealer says they cannot help me. It sounds ridicules to say that "when it snows I can"T drive my full size Ram 1500 that should be fully capable in all weather conditions". as I understand it when driving in snow or slush snow is thrown at the transmission, this results in snow packing around the shift linkage. The result is very clear, you can?T put your truck in park and remove the key. If you don"T have the equipment or ability to crawl under your truck and melt the snow then the only other choice is to sit there with the engine running until the snow melts. Unfortunately if you drive through mud, well mud does not melt.
This is a new vehicle. Four times I encountered the display of the message vehicle not in park while driving on the road. This is a very confusing and dangerous message since it appears to be related to a door not being fully closed. I reported it to the dealer on March 11th. The manager appeared to be aware of a problem with this message and said he will report it to an engineer when he visits the dealership. The reason for reporting this is I am not sure this problem will be corrected for my vehicle.
After driving on snow and slushy roads I couldn't get the vehicle to shift into the reverse or park position. I couldn't even move the selector into those positions.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Colorado Springs, CO, USA