Dodge Ram Complaints (1996)

1,362 consumer complaints on file.

#10441012December 22, 2011
STEERING
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 DODGE RAM 3500. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH, THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO SHAKE VIGOROUSLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING WHERE THE MECHANIC PERFORMED REPAIRS TO THE STEERING ASSEMBLY. THE CONTACT WAS UNAWARE OF THE EXACT REPAIRS PERFORMED. APPROXIMATELY TWO YEARS AFTER THE REPAIR, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT FURTHER REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 45,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10424689September 12, 2011
WHEELS, TIRES
THIS REPORT IS REGARDING THE FAILURE OF A GOODYEAR WRANGLER ATS TIRE, LOAD RANGE D, SIZE 305/70R16. FOR SEVERAL MONTHS THE VEHICLE HAS HAD A MILD TO MODERATE TIRE SHAKE OR IN-BALANCE. A GOODYEAR DEALER RE-BALANCED THE TIRES, BUT THERE WAS NO CHANGE IN THE SHAKE. WE RETURNED THE VEHICLE TO THE SAME DEALER WHO THEN STATED THE TIRES WERE OUT OF ROUND AND COULDN'T BE BALANCED. THEY DID NOT ADVISE US TO REPLACE THE TIRES OR TO STOP USING THE VEHICLE. TWO MONTHS LATER, AFTER AN HOUR AT HIGHWAY SPEED, THE TIRE SUDDENLY DELAMINATED. THE VEHICLE SUSTAINED OVER $3,000 IN DAMAGE FROM THE TIRE EXPLOSION. CONTROL WAS NOT LOST. LOOKING AT THE TIRE, IT'S VERY OBVIOUS THIS WAS THE RESULT OF A MANUFACTURING DEFECT. HALF OF THE STEEL BELTS ARE COVERED WITH A LAYER OF BONDED RUBBER. THE OTHER HALF OF THE BELTS ARE EXPOSED. THE SEPARATING LINE IS RIGHT DOWN THE CENTER OF THE TIRE. THE SMALL PORTION OF TREAD THAT REMAINS IS SEPARATED FROM THE BELTS, BUT IS STILL BONDED ON THE OTHER SIDE. IT APPEARS TWO STRIPS OF RUBBER WERE PLACED LATERALLY ON THE FACE OF THE TIRE AND ONE OF THEM DID NOT BOND PROPERLY. I DON'T SEE ANY SIGNS OF PATCHES. ALTHOUGH NOW RUSTED, THE STEEL BELTS WERE BRIGHT WHEN THE TIRE FIRST SEPARATED. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10424001September 6, 2011
STRUCTURE
DASH PANEL CRACKED WHICH SEEMS TO BE INDICATIVE OF DODGE PICKUP. THIS FLAW SHOULD BECOME STANDARD RECALL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. CHRYSLER, DODGE, SHOULD STEP UP TO THE PLATE. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10419319August 13, 2011
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
1996 DODGE RAM 1500 4X4 5.2 LTR. 318 CI. ENGINE. THROTTLE STUCK FULLY OPEN WHEN PULLING INTO CUSTOMERS DRIVEWAY HAULING SMALL UTILITY TRAILER. I PUT TRUCK IN NEUTRAL AND SHOT OFF ENGINE. AFTER 10 MINUTES I RESTARTED TRUCK AND IT SEEMS FINE NOW. THIS IS AN ISOLATED INCIDENT AT THIS TIME. I INSPECTED FUEL LINKAGES FROM PEDAL TO THROTTLE BODY AND ALL APPEARS WELL. THERE IS MINIMAL CORROSION AND I WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THIS PROBLEM MANUALLY. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10412246July 14, 2011
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
TRANSMISSION KEEPS SLIPPING. IT SHIFTS REALLY HARD THEN IT DOESN'T WANT TO SHIFT LATER ON. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10408957June 26, 2011
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
BRAKE LINE CORROSION, CAUSING LINE FAILURE. CORROSION OCCURS AT REAR, BEHIND THE FUEL TANK. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10399485May 8, 2011
STEERING
1996 DODGE 3500 4X4 DUALLY HAS A FRONT END SHAKE AT ANY SPEED HAVE PUT NEW BALLJOINTS IN PUT A NEW TRACK BAR IN THAN PUT A DOUBLE FRONT STEERING STABILIZER ON AND THE TRUCK STILL SHAKES AFTER IT DOES IT ONCE AND YOU HAVE TO TRY AND GET OUT OF HIGHWAY TRAFFIC AND STOP IT WILL JUST RANDOMLY KEEP DOING IT BUMP OR NOT JUST A ROUGH ROAD. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10393082March 28, 2011
TIRES
ON MARCH 26TH 2011 WHILE TRAVELING WESTBOUND ON I 76 IN COLORADO OUR DRIVERSIDE FRONT TIRE BLEW OUT. THE TIRE WAS A TEMPRA TRAIL CUTTER RADIAL RT LT 255/85R16. AFTER A LOUD SHOTGUN TYPE NOISE, OUR VEHICLE WENT OUT OF CONTROL. WE REGAINED CONTROL AND BROUGHT THE VEHICLE TO THE SIDE OF THE INTERSTATE AND STOPPED. WE CONTACTED COOPER TIRE WHO MANUFACTURES THIS BRAND ON 03/29/2011 AND WE WERE TOLD THAT THIS TIRE WAS NOT CURRENTLY UNDER RECALL. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10381351February 9, 2011
STRUCTURE
THE PAINT IS COMING OFF IN BIG SPOTS. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10377933January 19, 2011
STRUCTURE
1996 DODGE RAM 1500 SLT: I BOUGHT THIS TRUCK BRAND NEW AND APPROXIMATELY 5 YEARS AGO, THE DASHBOARD STARTED CRACKING. IT HAS BEEN CONTINUOUSLY CRACKING INTO LITTLE PIECES AND NOW I HAVE NO DASHBOARD AND I DON'T KNOW IF THE PASSENGER AIRBAG IS OPERABLE. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10375312January 9, 2011
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
ABS AND BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON WITHIN 7 MINUTES HAD NO BRAKES DUE TO DRIVER SIDE BACK BRAKE LINE CORROSION. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO MANY DODGE RAM 1996 VEHICLES. THERE NEEDS TO BE A RECALL. *TR
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10371708December 20, 2010
POWER TRAIN
PULLING LOADED CARGO TRAILER ON A HOT DAY IN HEAVY TRAFFIC KIN SAN ANTONIO, TX. ALL A SUDDEN TRUCK STARTED SLOWING DOWN AND SMOKE STARTED COMING OUT FROM UNDER THE TRUCK. STOPPED AND LOOKED UNDER AND TRANSMISSION FLUID WAS COMING OUT OF TRANSMISSION ON TO HOT EXHAUST. THE HOT TRANSMISSION FLUID MELTED THE PLASTIC/NYLON MATERIAL AT THE FLUID LINE OF THE TRANSMISSION AND CAUSED FLUID TO SPRAY ALL OVER THE EXHAUST AND UNDER SIDE OF TRUCK AND ONTO THE PAYMENT. TRANSMISSION AND LINES HAD TO BE REPLACED. I WAS NOT AWARE OF THIS RECALL AS I HAD NEVER BEEN CONTACTED. I WISH I HAD, I WOULD HAVE SAVED ABOUT $4000.00!!!!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10370072December 6, 2010
WHEELS, WHEELS:LUGS/NUTS/BOLTS/STUDS
1996 DODGE RAM 1500 LOST LEFT REAR WHEEL AND THE WHEEL STRUCK ANOTHER VEHICLE. BF (OHIO TRAFFIC CRASH REPORT # 10-0569-91.*JB UPDATED 12/10/10 *BF
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10367298November 23, 2010
STRUCTURE
MY DODGE RAM 1500'S DASHBOARD IS COMPLETELY FALLING APART. IT STARTED 5 YEARS AGO AND HAS ACCELERATED OVER THE PAST THREE, NO MATTER HOW PROTECTED THE DASH BOARD IS FROM THE SUN. IT HAS MULTIPLE CRACKS WHICH ARE CAUSING THE DASH BOARD TO COLLAPSE AND BECOME LOSE AND IS BECOMING A SAFETY HAZARD AS WELL AS VERY UNAPPEALING. I PURCHASED THIS TRUCK NEW AND HAVE TAKEN EXCESSIVELY GOOD CARE OF IT. THERE IS NO REASON THAT THIS PROBLEM OCCURRED DUE TO MY ACTIONS. IT IS A QUALITY OF MANUFACTURE AND MATERIALS. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10366981November 21, 2010
STRUCTURE
DASHBOARD FOR 1996 DODGE RAM TRUCK. CRACKED UNTIL NOTHING BUT PIECES OF SHARP EDGES AND EXPOSED WIRING AND METAL SUPPORT BELOW . *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10362860October 28, 2010
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
I WAS TRAVELING TO TOWN AND AS I ENTERED THE TOWN AS I STARTED TO BRAKE I COULD FEEL THAT MY BRAKE PEDAL WAS FEELING SPONGY AND THE PEDAL SEEMED TO BE GOING TO THE FLOOR. I FELT AS THOUGH 90% OF MY BRAKING WAS GONE. I WAS ABLE TO STOP SAFELY THOUGH I HAD VERY LITTLE BRAKING. I FELT THAT I COULD NOT STOP SAFELY IN AN EMERGENCY. I RETURNED HOME VERY CAREFULLY AT SLOW SPEEDS. AFTER LOOKING MY VEHICLE OVER I SAW THAT ALL THE BRAKE FLUID WAS GONE FROM BOTH THE FRONT AND REAR COMPARTMENTS OF THE MASTER CYLINDER. UNDER MY VEHICLE IT SEEMED TO BE WET FROM BRAKE FLUID BETWEEN THE FUEL TANK AND FRAME RAIL WHERE THE BRAKE LINES RUN. THE BRAKE LINES HAD RUSTED THROUGH AND LEAKED OUT ALL FLUID. I FEEL THERE MAY BE 2 DANGEROUS ISSUES. 1 THAT IF THE FRONT OR REAR LINE LEAKS, THE REMAINING CHAMBER OF THE 2 CHAMBERS IN THE MASTER CYLINDER SHOULD NOT LOOSE ITS FLUID. THIS ALLOWS LIMITED BRAKING WITH THE BRAKE SECTION THAT HAS NOT LOST ITS FLUID. THE 2ND ISSUE IS THAT THE REAR BRAKES LINE RUNS IN THE FRAME RAIL BETWEEN THE FUEL TANK. THE FUEL TANK IS CONSTANTLY SWEATING ON HUMID DAYS WHICH SUBJECTS THE BRAKE LINES TO CONSTANT RUSTING. UNTIL THEY RUST THROUGH. I MAY TAKE SEVERAL YEARS. WITH THE BRAKE LINE RUNNING IN THE VEHICLE FRAME RAILS VERY CLOSE TO THE FUEL TANK YOU CAN NOT EASILY SEE IF ANY RUSTING HAS OCCURRED UNTIL ITS TOO LATE. I HAVE ALSO HAD ANOTHER VEHICLE OF ANOTHER MANUFACTURER ALSO RUST COMPLETELY THROUGH LOOSING ALL BRAKES. I FEEL ANY VEHICLE THAT HAS A FUEL LINE IN THE FRAME NEXT TO A FUEL TANK WILL ALSO RUST THROUGH. BECAUSE OF THE FUEL TANK SWEATING. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10359084October 4, 2010
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 DODGE RAM 1500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH, THE HOOD SUDDENLY FLEW UP, BUCKLED AND FRACTURED THE WINDSHIELD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER TO HAVE THE VEHICLE REPAIRED UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 01V040000 (LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH). THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED BY A REPRESENTATIVE SENT FROM THE MANUFACTURERS OFFICE HOWEVER, THE REPRESENTATIVE DECLINED RECALL REPAIRS AND WOULD NOT PROVIDE ANY ASSISTANCE, STATING THAT THERE WERE TWO PRIOR RECALL NOTICES SENT TO OWNERS OF THE RECALLED VEHICLES TO PREVENT A FAILURE. THE CONTACT HAD NEVER TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR RECALL REPAIRS WHEN NOTIFIED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 116,064 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 116,267.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10355895September 16, 2010
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
BRAKE FAILURE, DUE TO BRAKE LINE TO REAR WHEELS RUSTED OUT IN FRAME CLIP BEHIND FUEL TANK. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10327519April 26, 2010
TIRES:TREAD/BELT, TIRES
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 DODGE RAM 3500 EQUIPPED WITH GENERAL TIRE HIGHWAY SCOUT (NA) TIRES. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE MADE SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO LOCATE THE TIRE MANUFACTURER AND WAS UNSUCCESSFUL. THE TIRE SIZE WAS 215/85R16 AND THE DOT NUMBER ADOP1LD1204 WERE LISTED ON THE HIGHWAY SCOUT TIRES. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, WHEN BOTH REAR TIRES BLEW OUT AND THE TREAD SEPARATED. THE FAILURE CAUSED DAMAGE TO THE REAR FENDER. THE FAILURE OCCURRED TWICE; SIX TIRES BLEW OUT AND THE TREAD SEPARATED WITHIN THREE MONTHS. THERE WAS ONLY A QUARTER INCH OF TREAD DEPTH REMAINING ON THE TIRES. THE CONTACT CALLED THE TIRE MANUFACTURER BUT DISCOVERED THAT THEY WERE NO LONGER IN BUSINESS. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CURRENT MILEAGE ON THE TIRES WAS APPROXIMATELY 18,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10323521April 2, 2010
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 DODGE RAM 3500. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALERSHIP FOR A THROTTLE CABLE REPAIR MARCH 2010 BUT THE DEALER ONLY REPLACED THE THROTTLE CABLE AND NO OTHER REQUIRED PARTS THAT WOULD KEEP THE CABLE FROM FAILING. AS A RESULT, THE CABLE BECAME LOOSE TWICE AFTER THE REPAIR WHILE THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP. THE DEALER REPLACED THE FAILED THROTTLE TWICE. THE CONTACT THEN TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP AS THE DEALER WAS NOT ABLE TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. THE MECHANIC AT THE REPAIR SHOP INFORMED HER THAT THE FAILURE WAS CAUSED BY THE THROTTLE ROD BALL, THE BALL STUD, THROTTLE CABLE STUD, THE THROTTLE ROD THREAD (LEFT AND RIGHT) AND THE THROTTLE RETURN SPRING. IN ADDITION TO THE THROTTLE FAILURE, CONTACT STATED THAT THE HEADLIGHT REPAIR PERFORMED JUNE 2009 DID NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM; THE HEADLIGHT PLASTIC AND SWITCH MELTED EVEN AFTER THE REPAIR. SHE CALLED THE MANUFACTURER AND FILED A COMPLAINT; THE MANUFACTURER EXPLAINED THAT THE THROTTLE FAILURE WAS NOT DUE TO A MANUFACTURERS DEFECT BUT INSTEAD TO THE DEALERS POOR WORKMANSHIP. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 221,010. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 221,061.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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