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.
My Ram 1500 began having issues with the air ride suspension in the winter of 2017 and finally started to where it wouldn't raise back up when it was cold. I had the entire compressor replaced January or February of 2018. Now in November of 2018 I'm having the same issues again. The compressor is making a weird noise as well as the driver side suspension sounds like it's rubbing or something not good. It only does this once the temperature gets in the 30S or lower. Once it goes down and won't raise back up there's only about a half inch between the tire and wheel well. Not a cheap fix and definitely not worth keeping the truck if this is gonna happen every winter. Was replaced at mchugh Dodge Jeep in zanesville, Ohio.
The contact owns a 2014 Ram 1500. While driving various speeds, the rear differential made a loud abnormal noise. There was no warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rear differential needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in any recalls and referred the contact to NHTSA. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.
The contact owned a 2014 Ram 1500. While driving 74 mph, an abnormal noise was heard. The contact stopped the vehicle as the front suspension exploded. The contact noticed flames under the hood. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The fire department was called and extinguished the fire. A police report was filed and the report indicated that the front suspension caused the fire. The contact sustained a burned hand, but no medical attention was required. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot and deemed destroyed. The manufacturer was notified and did not assist. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
I live in northern Minnesota. The air suspension began having problems the first winter I owned the truck. The suspension would not operate properly during negative temperatures. I brought it in to get serviced several times, and I was told it is normal during negative temperatures. This past winter, the 40 amp fuse for the suspension started blowing. It has now blown three times this winter, and the last two times as barely been below freezing. It has blown twice in the last 24 hours. When the fuse blows, the truck, dangerously, lowers to the stops. It does not handle properly or safely under these conditions.
In cold weather the air suspension fails and the front passenger side falls down to bump stop creating zero suspension and major safety issue. The truck failed at the airport 60 miles from my home. In trying to get home I was driving 50 mph in a 75 mph zone and hit a patch of rough road and some snow and the truck went side ways 7/8 times before I was able to regain control. The truck has 33,000 miles and the bill to repair the compressor for the air suspension was $2,600. No help from fort collins Dodge.
- Fort Collins, CO, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
This is the third event or incident surrounding this air ride suspension system: 1. the first incident was in Jan 2017 after getting up to Alaska. This time almost caused a major accident. Without warning, the vehicle fell while driving and slid out in traffic. The seatbelt locked in place and malfunctioned. Gene's Chrysler ended up changing out some of the hardware and parts. 2. the second incident was not as bad on November 2017, this time the warning lights came on. After allowing the truck to sit a few days waiting for Chrysler to provide an appointment, and changing all the fuses, the suspension raised up again. 3. time number 3 was on January 31, 2018. This time, the truck was towed to gene's Chrysler on February 01, 2018. The vehicle fell to the ground again and was not moving the speed limit because of slower traffic conditions. Right now, the truck is still in the shop because more parts need to be replaced and the dealership is waiting on the manufacturers' recall for this air ride suspension system. We are very concerned about our team out there in Alaska but now, this is happening to vehicles all over the country during real cold weather. It's like a national crisis now and needs everyone in the transportation department to please do something before someone dies because of these malfunctions and the defective air ride system. Now that it has been 40 days without our ministry having their vehicle in Alaska, what will NHTSA do to help our pastor and ministry up there" it is so sad that no one seems to care until all these reports of injuries and even deaths, will the government step in and help the people now? also, will you please call the fca and the dealership service people to ask how much longer, another 10 days is too long" thank you for allowing us share what's going on & hope we will hear back from you more sooner than later
Rference multiple reports forwarded to your office surrounding Ram's air-ride suspension systems'. these major concerns were first reported in early 2017 after returning to Alaska. An official letter was sent to the fca group-italy, fca CEO, & their board of directors surrounding these life threatening incidents. While commuting on an arctic alaskan day "-40 degrees+" my Ram instantly dropped while in motion, all safety equipment became unresponsive leaving me to skid in traffic to a stop. Thank god no one was hurt during this experience. The vehicle was immediately taken to gene's Chrysler, after sitting for days (being told there is no fix for this), fca was officially notified. Gene's Chrysler servicing agents stated that these issues where reported to fca but they don't know what to do about it. I asked why we were not informed by all the dealership servicing agents from Colorado to Washington to Alaska when our Ram was taken in for the many recalls? after days of sitting, the dealership servicing agents stated that a technician team had visited Alaska a few months ago and they wanted to try something. A list of parts where exchanged, fuses replaced, and codes reset. After a few test drives they stated the vehicle should be good for awhile but they were not sure if this would permanently fix these issues. Asking if the vehicle was completely safe (vehicle Transport personnel for school & ministry) to operate, we were told they were not 100% sure but if the issue returned, bring it back to them immediately. Time and time again, the dealership servicing team stated that fca was not too concerned because Alaska is only a small population of their consumer base. We contacted fca again to remind them winters' arctic weather would return soon, that we needed dire assistance for safety reasons. Jan-Feb 2018, we'd relive this experience again!
The air suspension freezes up when it gets below zero. I do a lot of ice fishing, the reason I bought this truck, and I've had to drive with various corners of the vehicle having no suspension. One time, it happened while driving down the interstate at 75mph, the whole front end dropped to the frame and I almost crashed because I didn't know what was going on right away. It has been happening since I bought the truck a year ago. To date it's been in the shop 5 times and the compressor finally burnt out.
The vehicle defaults to the entry/exit mode in the air suspension system in cold weather and is undrivable. Dodge is away of the issue and to fix the problem you have to purchase a new air suspension control module for $1100. If this is a known issue that is a factory defect why isn't this a recall?
I took my 2014 Dodge Ram 1500 2wd crew cab into the dealership for oil change. Previously I had complained about a popping and clicking noise in the front end when I turned the steering wheel. The noise came from the front wheels. I mentioned this today at my scheduled oil change and they checked for a problem once again. This time they found that the driver side control arm bolt (1 of 2) was almost completely out. The nut that is supposed to hold it in place is gone. Picture attached. Not related but just as bad was a passenger side ball joint boot that was cracked and leaking, causing me to have to replace that ball joint. I bought the truck new and have never wrecked it or had any reason to remove the front suspension arms. In my opinion this is a severe safety defect(s) and could have resulted in a bad accident. Most of my time is spent in the truck at highway speeds as I have a job that involves a lot of time on the road. The original problem started before the truck had 50K miles. The problem was identified by a technician at the dealership today on 8/29/17, while the truck has approximately 88K miles on the odometer.
The contact owns a 2014 Ram 1500. While the vehicle was at a shop for an oil change, an independent mechanic noticed that the ball joint was faulty and needed to be replaced. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The dealer was contacted (franklin Chrysler/Dodge in farmington, Maine) and informed the contact to bring the vehicle in for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact also stated that he did not receive the recall notification for NHTSA campaign number: 17V302000 (air bags). The failure mileage was 32,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
Vehicle air suspension engages to raise and/or lower vehicle at random intervals after the vehicle is stationary, in "park", and the engine is turned off. The vehicle key fob nor any other owner prompts are used to cause the issue. The interval period between when the vehicle is parked and turned off and the air suspension engagement to raise and/or lower the vehicle can range from several minutes to hours.
The contact owns a 2014 Ram 1500. While the vehicle was stationary, the air suspension warning indicator remained illuminated. In addition, the transmission malfunctioned while in the fourth wheel drive position. The vehicle overheated without warning. The vehicle was taken to be repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 85,819.
I believe our truck should be part of most of the recalls listed fo Ram trucks. Our tires are wearing on the outside, they won't fix. The transmission was replaced at twenty some thousands miles, and my wife being the primary driver said that when you come to a complete stop the truck sometimes jumps forward. The rear differential seal was replaced. I'm afraid that we might lose our wheels on the road. There is also a chemical smell coming from the engine that everyone can smell but the dealer. Currently working with Chrysler and been driving a rental for almost a month.
The contact owns a 2014 Ram 1500. The contact stated that the vehicle made an abnormal noise. Upon further inspection, the contact noticed the front driver rotor's calipers moved while being inspection. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed as the front hub and the bearing units needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the vehicle. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 07V038000 (suspension) however the vehicle was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Zanesville, OH, USA