Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 03/15/2005 | 91500 | 2 | 10/12/2003 |
| Transmission no longer has reverse. this was repaired once at dealership in february 04 at cost of $2135.41. now, to rebuild for same problem 13 months and 22k miles later is $3064.47 at same dealer. they blame increase in cost of parts. contacted dodge consumer help line and was told that there was nothing they could do due to 12/12 warranty expired. they blamed increase cost on increased labor rate at dealership. both suggest remanufactured transmission at cost of $3857.95. called local transmisison repair shops and was quoted $1100 - $1700 for same repair, and both offer same or better warranty. second shop told me what my problem was by just knowing year and make of my truck. there is a manufacturer's problem with this transmission !!!!!!!!!*ak | |||
| 02/02/2003 | 62000 | 1 | 02/02/2003 |
| At 35 degree or colder orjust rainy days with warm temp.transmission will not shift into overdrive ,can drive 15 miles on highway in 3rd gear. when it does shift into overdrive and i hit a bump in road it will go out of overdrive. also the engine will rev as if it is trying to switch out of overdrive. all of these factors are resulting in increased fuel usage, which at $2 a gallon is becoming an expensive problem. i was told at time of purchase,this was a normal fuction of the transmission, bought truck feb. 2003 and brought truck back 2 times to a chysler dealer and was told same story, dealer is now no longer in business and my warranty has expired, but still have problem. *jb | |||
| 12/02/2001 | 50000 | 1 | 12/15/2002 |
| Transmission slippage 1998 dodge ram 1500 at 49,000 miles . please recall, this problem is present with everyone i know that ownes a dodge with an automatic transmission, thank you for your time.*ak | |||
| 10/29/2002 | 60000 | 1 | 10/24/1999 |
| I own a 1998 dodge ram 1500. the transmission went out on me and the pickup only had 61000 miles on it. there was actually fire inside the transmission, you could tell when the mechanic dropped the pan, there was nothing left every thing was fried. that could of started the whole pickup on fire and i could of been killed or badly hurt. i have talked to some other guys and they owned 1998 rams and the same thing happened. now this is a big safety thing and there was not a recall on the faulty transmission. i contacted chrysler to see if they would pay for a new transmission and they said no, they wouldn't even help me out. this could of been a big law suit if i would of gotten hurt. *jb | |||
| 04/29/2001 | 1 | 06/01/1998 | |
| Transmission failed in overdrive which caused failure to the rest of the transmission which required the transmission to be rebuilt.*ak | |||
| 4 | |||
| While driving consumer shifted indicator and it failed to work properly. could not locate what gear transmission was in. pops out of gear intermittently when gas pedal pressed. also, whenever applying brakes, vehicle would constantly increase in speed. took to dealership & each time test driven, but nothing could be found. transmission was replaced 3 times for faulty gear shifting. in addition, fuel tank assembly was replaced due to problem with transmission. ongoing problems. *ak *ml | |||
| 12/16/1998 | 1 | ||
| Transnmission out of adjustment causing shifting problems. mjs | |||
| 06/09/1998 | 1 | ||
| Transmission leakage at the band adjustment. mjs | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL) | |||
| 1 | 02/01/1998 | ||
| Gear shift lever bownces from drive to nuetral when hitting bumps fairly hard. yh | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - PARK/NEUTRAL START SWITCH | |||
| 08/18/1999 | |||
| Vehicle was parked in driveway and engine running with children in back seats;.all of a sudden a loud sound was heard and the vehicle rolled out of driveway into a tree. three injuries were sustained, including minor cuts & bruises. dealer notified. can nhtsa provide additional information. *ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY | |||
| 09/15/2003 | 98600 | 1 | 08/16/2003 |
| 98 dodge ram 1500 quad cab - the bearings in the rear end axle assemblies of these trucks fail prematurely. i have found many inquiries over the internet about this problem. all of the vehicles have low mileage (less than 100000 miles) and the bearings have worn out. there is a loud whining noise from the rear end assembly. *jb | |||
| 05/25/2003 | 68200 | 1 | 10/21/2000 |
| Have experienced failure in passenger side rear axle 1998 dodge ram. going to open rear end on 5/26/03 for inspection. have approx. 1/4 in horizontal movement in axle. from checking site conclude that this may not be isolated failure as first suspected but may be failure in heat treat of axle or bearing not set correctly. vehicle has 68,200 miles. *nlm | |||
| 09/19/2002 | 2 | 10/01/2098 | |
| Rear right axle seal has failed for the second time in less than 2 years. rear right brake is rendered useless hence was a factor in an accident the 1st time the seals failed. corporate rejects the claim as well as the dealership which repaired the seals last time. customer is left to eat the cost. nlm | |||
| 03/28/1999 | 2 | 08/01/1998 | |
| Previously reported by the owner. i am a metallurgical engineer investigating the failed components. both rear wheels came off of the truck while driving on a 2 lane road at an estimated speed of 70 mph. no other vehicle involved. did not hit a pot hole or any object in the road. axle appears to be 1050 steel normalized and induction hardened to a depth of about 7/32 inch. possible fatigue. part id, drivers side, mfg. mw, code y19 metal stamped 23133, passenger side, mfg. mw, code y70, metal stamped 21142. obtaining information on a similar accident with another dodge ram 1500 made in 1998. | |||
| 03/28/1999 | 1 | 08/01/1998 | |
| Rear wheels popped off axle while traveling at 60 mph. *ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY - AXLE SHAFT | |||
| 02/10/2001 | 1 | ||
| Consumer heard a humming sound from rear of vehicle. dealer found rear wheel bearings were all chewed up, mechanic stated they were too tight.*ak evaporator core failed. bearings, pinion bearing, and axle seals were replaced due to possibly being put on too tight at the factory. *slc | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY - AXLE SHAFT - SEAL | |||
| 10/05/2001 | 1 | 12/01/1997 | |
| Rear axles seals leaked lubricant on the brake shoes causing loss of braking. this problem a very serious safety concern when towing a trailer due to loss of braking and could cause a possible accident. the second issue is the fuel sender in the fuek tank failing.the fuel gauge reading willindicate zero to full randomly, thus you never know how much fuel reserve you have. this has been replaced once before under warranty. upon inspection the the sending unit the wiper mechanism appears to wear out prematurely and sending erroneous signal to the fuel gauge in the dash.*ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE | |||
| 01/26/2004 | 1 | 10/23/1998 | |
| Horn is hard to blow. rear end makes whining noise and it started using 5 quarts of oil between oil changes. i only have 36000 miles on it. they replaced manifold intake gasket at my expense. the fuel gauge does not work right. luckily i didn't ruin the engine that i know of. i understand there have been a lot of problems with intake gaskets. how long does it take to get a recall on defective parts? *jb | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DRIVESHAFT | |||
| 03/25/2001 | |||
| While driving 5-10 mph consumer heard loud noise. vehicle lurched forward, and rear end locked up. consumer pulled over, and looked underneath vehicle, and noticed driveshaft was missing.*ak | |||