Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
SERVICE BRAKES, AIR
510/31/1997
 Front brakes have repeatedly shown excessive wear. five repairs have been made - 5 sets of linings, 2 sets of rotors, and 2 sets of brake calipers. all repairs have been made between 1000 and 22000 miles and a 7 month period.
SERVICE BRAKES, AIR - ANTILOCK
03/08/1997
 Brakes fail in sudden stops at any speed. pedal goes to the floor.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
04/01/2001105/10/2000
 Brake failed which resulted in an accident. no air bag deployment. the seat belt saved the consumer's life. mr ph. also the spare tire was bald and it took 3 months to get it replaced. *jb
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - ANTILOCK
12/14/2005111422101/01/2001
 On december 14 2005 my son was driving my dodge ram 1500, he tried to stop and the abs system locked and he rear ended the car in front of him. the engine stalled and he had no control over the vehicle. the truck slid approximately 20 feet. there was a child injured in the car that he hit. *jb
01/04/1999410/01/1996
 The braking system does not stop the truck as it should. when you make an emergency stop the pedal feels as if the master cylinder piston bottoms out, metal against metal. i checked to see if there was a brake pedal stop and there were none. when i had to make my first emergency stop i had plenty of distance to stop. my speed was 35mph with about 50feet of clearance. i had to swerve and run thru a yard causing $200.00 damage. i took the truck over to the dealer and was told nothing was wrong. i went home and did a planned emergency stop in front of my house. at 30mph, it took 30 -35 feet to stop. my brother has a 1992 dodge truck of the same weight and he can stop in 12- 15 feet at the same speed. before the warranty ran out i took the truck back to the dealer and had the service mgr to test drive the truck and he felt ther was a definite problem. he ordered a more aggressive set of pads and chrysler cancelled the order and sent a kit with instructions to install the kit instead of the pads. to me. that tells me they know of a problem, but do not want it to get out causinf a recall on all 1997 trucks. the dealer stated there were no recalls or bullentins on brake problems. i asked them is it going to take a fatality due to faulty brakes before they fix the problem. after the installation of the kit the brakes work a little better but far from being safe as to pulling a 4 wheeler and trailer or a boat and trailer. last week i had to execute another emergency stop. 50 mph with approximately 150 feet of distance. i ended up in the middle of the intersection.my police cruiser at 30 mph can stop in 10 -14 feet . even my brother's truck with a 1000 lbs of weight in the bed stops in a shorter distance than my truck. are there any other victims of brake problems besides myself?*ak
01/01/1997
 When driving at any speed and applying the brakes, the abs system kicks in, and the brake pedal goes straight to the floorboard. *ak
07/28/1998305/01/1997
 Intermittently when brakes are applied the pedal goes to the floor, resulting in extended stopping distance. the dealer has repaired the vehicle twice prior. consumer took vehicle to dealer a third time and stated that pedal goes and vehicle slowly stops, master cylinder and front brake pads were replaced, but problem still exist, consumer took vehicle to another independent dealer and was told that a problem does exist probably with the hydraulic fluid flowing to the back brakes. *ak *tt
07/17/19980
 While driving and attempted to stop, anti-lock brakes did not catch, and consumer ran into the back of another automobile.driver sustained some injuries. *ak
10/01/1997404/01/1997
 Anti lock brakes failed several times.
01/05/19970
 Abs brakes pulled to left and locked up, causing consumer to hit enbankment and went into someone's yard.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - ANTILOCK - CONTROL UNIT/MODULE
03/30/20051
 While driving driver applied the brakes and the pedal went to the floor. vehicle skidded and stopped when engaged on its own. driver took vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic informed determined that the brake pads/ abs control unit needed to be replaced. *ak
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS
02/02/1999
 When applying the brakes brake pedal goes to the floor ,and the vehicle does not register. consumer has contacted dealer. *ak
02/19/1997
 While driving at any speed and applying the brakes, the brakes are soft and go straight to the floorboard. when slowing down the pedal will slowly go to the floor. consumer has been having problems with brakes for a while, and can't detemine what the problem is. *ak
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DISC - PADS
03/30/20051
 While driving driver applied the brakes and the pedal went to the floor. vehicle skidded and stopped when engaged on its own. driver took vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic informed determined that the brake pads/ abs control unit needed to be replaced. *ak
08/28/2003010/05/1997
 Transmission problems headlight switch problems front hub assembly oxygen sensors paint chipping and fading burns oil worst than advertised fuel mileage excessive tire wear prematurely excessive brake wear prematurely
05/18/1998110/15/1996
 Premature wear of front disc brake pads.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
06/08/200695283105/26/2000
 1) events leading up to failure- normal operation. vehicle 9 years old. 2) failure and its consequences- steel brake tube supplying the rear brake system completely deteriorated from corrosion at the last clamp station prior to the connection to the rear brake hose assembly. premature corrosion of the steel brake tube at the last clamping station ruptured the steel brake tube resulting in 95% loss in vehicle stopping power when the brakes are applied. brake failure. 3) actions taken to correct the failure- steel brake tube will need replaced. *nm
05/28/200683000111/22/1996
 Metal brake line that runs from proportional valve to rear brakes was badly corroded and broke open. complete loss of brakes. incident occurred in driveway. no other metal lines or metal near broken line showed signs of corrosion. replacing line. *jb
09/18/200560180104/06/1999
 While driving my 1997 dodge ram 1500 on an interstate highway near philadelphia, pa at the 65 mph speed limit, traffic was slowing. i put my foot on the brake pedal and it went to the floor without warning. pumping it did nothing. i had total brake failure. fortunately, there were no vehicles in the two lanes to the right of me, i swerved and got the truck on the shoulder of the highway. if there would have been vehicles to my right, i would have rear ended the vehicle in front of me, causing a multiple vehicle chain-reaction type of crash. inspection of the vehicle along the highway showed brake fluid running out of the brake line that runs from below the master cylinder to the brake proportioning valve near the proportioning valve. i was not aware that brake systems could have a total, abrupt failure as this system did. the truck was towed to a repair facility. their diagnosis was that the steel brake line was severely corroded and had rusted through. all steel brake lines on the vehicle were replaced because they all were rust colored and showed corrosion. this truck has approximately 60,000 miles on it. it is used as a second vehicle and has always been garage kept and well maintained. the garage along with myself are amazed that the brake lines show this type and amount of corrosion. how many other failures have occurred with these trucks? this could have been a severe crash with excessive property damage and/or bodily injury. *jb
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - MASTER CYLINDER
01/04/1999410/01/1996
 The braking system does not stop the truck as it should. when you make an emergency stop the pedal feels as if the master cylinder piston bottoms out, metal against metal. i checked to see if there was a brake pedal stop and there were none. when i had to make my first emergency stop i had plenty of distance to stop. my speed was 35mph with about 50feet of clearance. i had to swerve and run thru a yard causing $200.00 damage. i took the truck over to the dealer and was told nothing was wrong. i went home and did a planned emergency stop in front of my house. at 30mph, it took 30 -35 feet to stop. my brother has a 1992 dodge truck of the same weight and he can stop in 12- 15 feet at the same speed. before the warranty ran out i took the truck back to the dealer and had the service mgr to test drive the truck and he felt ther was a definite problem. he ordered a more aggressive set of pads and chrysler cancelled the order and sent a kit with instructions to install the kit instead of the pads. to me. that tells me they know of a problem, but do not want it to get out causinf a recall on all 1997 trucks. the dealer stated there were no recalls or bullentins on brake problems. i asked them is it going to take a fatality due to faulty brakes before they fix the problem. after the installation of the kit the brakes work a little better but far from being safe as to pulling a 4 wheeler and trailer or a boat and trailer. last week i had to execute another emergency stop. 50 mph with approximately 150 feet of distance. i ended up in the middle of the intersection.my police cruiser at 30 mph can stop in 10 -14 feet . even my brother's truck with a 1000 lbs of weight in the bed stops in a shorter distance than my truck. are there any other victims of brake problems besides myself?*ak