Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 06/19/2010 | |||
| Lines starting leading an burd transmission out dont pull at all antmore97 dodgeram 1500 sport | |||
| 67165 | 1 | ||
| Consumer called about having problems with the rear end that needs the rtp rebuilt. manufacture stated that there is nothing they can do. dealer stated that it needs to be rebuilt. *ph the rear pinion seal leaked differential fluid and the rear differential was very noisy. the dealer noticed that the carrier bearings and ring and pinion were worn. *scc *nlm | |||
| 07/16/2002 | 57000 | 1 | 05/01/2002 |
| Dodge has known about this problem when the manufacturer sent out a bulletin stating since april all transtec gasket sets and over haul kits have contained an updated seal for the direct(front) clutch. this seal has a wider base than previous seal this is to compensate for the groove that has possibly been machined incorrectly from the factory it has been proven in extensive field testing to correct delay in reverse slipping 2-3 and no 2-3 complaints transtec #28313 is made of viton to resist wear and heat deterioration all transtec kits with the date code of e99 or later contain the new part. *ts *nlm *dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12-12-02 cut over to artemis***769353 | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 01/15/2011 | 120000 | ||
| Replaced the transmission in a 1997 dodge ram 1500 and it is still screwing up. truck only had 12000 miles on it. | |||
| 06/19/2010 | |||
| Lines starting leading an burd transmission out dont pull at all antmore97 dodgeram 1500 sport | |||
| 09/01/2007 | 118000 | 1 | |
| Transmission failure in 1997 dodge ram 1500. transmission failed and would not shift into higher gears. would never go faster than 40 miles and hour. *tr | |||
| 02/15/2008 | 68000 | 1 | |
| Transmission will shift through all gears approaching 30mph... it will then need to be almost floored to get the truck to down shift so i can begin to move at a quicker rate of speed. overdrive slips everytime you press the pedal and sometimes won't go into overdrive. from what i understand the torque converter has faulty clutches causing them to break down. the debris clog up the check valve out of the cooler blocking flow of fluid to the transmission... therefore causing severe damage as early as 20miles within check valve clogging. dodge needs to understand this problem because i'm going to loose a trans soon and thousands of other people already have. dodge replaces the transmission leaving the clogged check valve this causes the second transmission to go etc. i believe you get this gist of it. someone needs to do something about this why is our government blind to the cheap, dangerous and faulty assembly of this vehicle. someone please force a recall on these powertrains!!! the dodge owning citizens are tired of being taken advantage of day after day. *tr | |||
| 05/01/2002 | 3 | 05/01/2002 | |
| My fiance is the owner of a 1997 dodge 1500 4x4 pickup. the problem is that we have had the transmission repaired/change 4 times since we have taken possession of the vehicle in 2002. i check the defects for that vehicle on your defect information & sure enough there it is. we have had nothing but trouble with this truck since we purchased it. the hood latch is always loose & finally cause the hood to fly up while driving down the road with me & my 2 children. the tail gate has fallen off in the middle of traffic. the drivers door has been replace because the it sags. and finally, the bumper has just about completely rusted away since we've owned it. i feel we got the biggest lemon. i emailed dodge directly with this same issue & received no response. hopefully, your agency can help. thank you for your time. angela sayre. *nm | |||
| 07/01/2006 | 11200 | 3 | 12/24/2004 |
| Seats will not recline nor flip forward. this has caused a back seat passenger to fall getting out of the 1997 dodge ram becoming injured. vehicle misses, stutters and engine pulses at 50 mph. has been doing this since first onwer. transmission rebuilt and still does it. dealer can not find problem after spending $900.00 on a tune-ep and diagnostics. check engine light stays on. doing since first owner. dealer checks, charged hundreds of dollars and within 8 hours of use light comes back on and stays light. occasionally it will blink then remain on. taken to dealer again and they stated this vehicle is sensitive even a gas cap not tight will trigger the check engine light. this light remains on, what is wrong with my engine - nothing! *nm | |||
| 120000 | 1 | ||
| Consumer complained about a transmission problem. transmission did not shift from second to third gear intermittently.*ak | |||
| 02/03/2003 | 3 | 04/01/1997 | |
| Transmission has been rebuilt three times since buying new. has 85000 miles on it. dodge will not respond to emails | |||
| 09/23/2002 | 1 | 03/01/2097 | |
| Transmission failed two weeks after routine service (fluid change, new filter, band adjustment). had no previous driveability problems before service. fluid level and condition checked monthly since truck was purchased (new) in march, 1997. mr | |||
| 03/27/2002 | 2 | 12/01/2096 | |
| This is the second complete transmission failure on this vehicle. the first failure was at 66174 miles. so the factory replacement lasted only 1335 miles. this truck is used primarily for transportation and driven primarily on the highway. it has rarely been used for other than very light duty use and even then the manufactures recommended limits have never been exceeded. the first incidence of transmission failure was reported due to the inability of the dealer to diagnose the problem after four repair trips and until catastrophic failure of the transmission. the replacement transmission also completely failed and had to be replaced within 1335 miles.*ak | |||
| 07/08/2002 | 1 | 10/01/1997 | |
| While pulling onto a ramp rear wheel locked up. vehicle taken to a repair shop, and informed consumer that pinion gear sheared off in rear end. dealer and the manufacturer were notified. *ak the vehicle made a noise when accelerating uphill, the heat shield broke and was fixed. the transmission locked up. *yh | |||
| 05/23/2002 | 1 | 01/01/2002 | |
| Why hasnt there been a recaal on the transmissions. *ak | |||
| 05/23/2002 | 1 | 01/01/2002 | |
| No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak | |||
| 01/22/2002 | 1 | 12/01/1996 | |
| Transmission slippage. transmission govenor replaced at a cost of $450 (included a transmission service which i didn't authorize but assumed was done as part of the repair). called chrysler regarding what i deemed an inappropriate failure and recieved a refund for parts & labor to replace govenor only. was not told by the dealership of the recall (#722) on the transmission coolant quick connect. was informed of the recall by chrysler when they called me to tell my check was being mailed. have since experience one episode of weird transmission noises when my vehicle was put into reverse (backing out of the driveway). have since researced this problem and found it endemic to 97 dodge rams. waiting any day now for total tramsmission failure. i agree with those of you who relate to this vehicle as a lemon -- will never again buy another american made vehcile until they begin concerning themselves with quality and reliability. nlm | |||
| 09/13/1999 | 02/01/1999 | ||
| My fuel pump quit working, had to have truck towed to dealer to fix,(under warranty) while there i complained about transmission (banging going into 3rd gear,drive shaft clunk), was told we serviced tranny, everything ok. truck was still acting the same.then at 33,000/34,000 mi.trany started shifting erratic from 2-3rd gear,had dealer check and reservice trany, scan system, they road tested vehicle, said everything is ok. now the next day,trany slips going into 3rd gear,(engine overreaves between 2-3rd gear). called dealer and was told they would charge me to look at it again. i talked to a couple of trany shops and was told dodge has defective transmissions, for my year vehicle.*ak | |||
| 12/01/1997 | 07/01/1997 | ||
| Engine has always pinged on regular gas - 5+ trips to dodge for service and they never fixed the problem. at one point, they poured fuel injector cleaner in the engine which is something they tell you not to do when you purchase the vehicle. air conditioning system completely shot at 50,000 miles in october, 2001. a month later, my rear-end went up at a cost of $1345. two weeks later, my transmission went up at a cost of $1700. in june of 2001, my fuel pump went up at a cost of $216. i did not have any of these repairs done at dodge although i purchased dodge parts because they have never fixed anything without either screwing up something else or just not properly repairing the problems. i called their service department for repair prices and they were much higher than independent service shops. i wrote them for assistance with these repair costs but they would not assist me because repairs were not done at dodge. they said i should have asked them for help first but i could not wait for a response from them because i needed my vehicle right away. i also did not trust them to properly repair my vehicle. of course, my truck was out of warranty for all of the problems. i even took them to small claims court for the engine ping they could not correct and they brought in 4 high dollar lawyers, so, of course, iost the case. i have not yet had my air conditioner repaired. i am going to contact them to see if they will repair it with some financial assistance although i am not sure if i should trust them at this point. i have spent a total of $3,331 in repairs over the past 3 months and am not finished yet. what a lemon! they also could not perform a simple oil change properly-they did not replace the oil plug and the oil was leaking.*ak | |||
| 11/27/2001 | 3 | ||
| While driving, engine check light remains illuminated, indicating a malfunction within the system. *ak the engine light came on again, the vehicle would not go over 40 mph. the dealer found out that the transmission had failed and replaced it, but it failed again after 6000 miles and was replaced on warranty. *yh | |||
| 09/13/1999 | 11/01/1997 | ||
| Dodge replaced the first transmission at 24000 miles, at 48000 the transmission failed again. they claimed it was aout of warranty and charged me $1500. the very day it left the dealership it began to act up again. they took another look and found that the transmission cooling system was sporadically clogging up. they replace the radiator and so far so good. transmissions like my model have been failing on many dodges. nobody has done anything about it. if you have a problem feel free to call me at 1-530-332-9565. ask someone who drives a 1997 dodge ram 1500 (gas) if they have had a problem.*ak | |||
| 01/22/2000 | 1 | ||
| After replacing transmission, transmission failed again. consumer was driving approximately 65mph and vehicle just gradually started slowing down. consumer coasted to side of road with engine still running, but not able to go in any gears. transmission was replaced 1-22-00. *ak vehicle experiences several transmission problems, there have been recalls amongst the repairs, driveshaft broke while driving, consumer states that chrysler corp has no records of a transmission being sent to new country dodge where the replacement took place, transfer case was retorqued, consumer had taken vehicle to dealer many times prior to complete transmission failure and dealer could not remedy problems. clunking noise under vehicle, dealer replaced front swaybar links. o2 sensor replaced. consumer stated at times he hadto hit the starter with a hammer to get it to work, ignition coil failed, and battery failed. vehicle stalls when coming to a stop, check engine light illuminated. excessive amounts of fuel used, distributor cap was replaced, vehicle also backfiring. brakes grinding, front brake pads were metal to metal, rotor was scored badly, dealer replaced front pads and both rotors. *slc | |||
| 02/26/2001 | |||
| Transmission was slipping out of gear , and transmisson would wind in reverse. vehicle taken to dealer, and informed consumer that transmission needed major repairs. please feel free to provide any further details on this matter. *ak | |||
| 01/28/2001 | 05/01/1997 | ||
| No mechanical problems up to this point. no safety defect. *ak | |||
| 12/18/2000 | 1 | 08/01/1996 | |
| Repairs were made to the transmission of this vehicle due to whining noise from cold transmission when in reverse. symptoms and repairs pertain to technical service bulletins 21-08-99 and 21-11-97 rev. a. repair shop is doing quite a number of these repairs. repair cost $500 and 4 days of down time.*ak | |||
| 12/01/2000 | 03/01/1997 | ||
| Premature failures on transmission on dodge ram pickups 1995-1997. redesigned parts by dodge because of know failure rate leads to high dollar repairs because of part compatiblity. *ak | |||
| 11/11/2000 | 1 | 12/01/1998 | |
| No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak | |||
| 07/01/2000 | 1 | 10/01/1999 | |
| Since january i have been having problems with it stalling when i put it in reverse if i had it idle for awhile or warming up. i took it back to auto nation and they could not find anything wrong. they took it to dickinson dodge (910) 864-2411 and they could not get it to duplicate. the problem continued periodically until april when the transmission started slipping. this would only happen when i was in reverse then would try to put it in drive. the transmission would hesitate and it was like i was in nuetral. after a few seconds the drive gear would kick in and it was fine. a few times i had to put it in d2 then pull out and put it in drive. i had dickinson dodge check this again and they could find no problem. in late june i took it in for service and told dickinson to check the transmission again and they could not find anything or get it to duplicate the slipping and stalling. they di replace the serpentine belt and told me that could have been the problem but it wasn't. two ddays after on july 1st i was driving around fayetteville and the check engine light came on. i contacted dickinson dodge again and on 5 july took it in. initially they said the fault registered as a drop in rpm's. they could not find the source of the problem and thought it was electrical initially. then on 6 july they decided to drop the transmission pan and found the torque converter was separating and putting metal fragments in the transmission. they said this ate away the seal for the gear box and allowed oil in the clutches. that was causing the slippage and the transmission would have to be rebuilt. they also said my overdrive gear was already out. they said it would cost approximately $1500 to rebuild it. i have already spent $95 for testing which showed nothing and another $80 for the serpentine belt replacement. i would think a truck with only 48,000 miles on it the transmission would be in excellent condition. i am suspecting it may be a flood vehicle.*ak | |||
| 08/12/1997 | 4 | 06/01/1997 | |
| No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak | |||
| While driving at normal speed transmission gear slips into neutral and vehicle will stop accelerating. to get it back into gear, driver has to put indicator into neutral and shift it back to drive. dealer has been contacted. *ak | |||
| 01/15/1998 | 6 | 10/01/1997 | |
| This problem is in regards to the electrical system:ignition:electronic control unit. summary of problem: intermintent surge,buck,driveline clunk, or transfer harshness. the exact same problem as described in service bulletin # 96-40, nhtsa item # sbo49106. i have been esperiencing problems with this for some time i have approached 2 different dealers ,hendrick dodge and bumpous dodge. they received my truck with 29,000 miles on it continued to drive till warranty expired and claimed nothing was wrong. as a result of this problem it has loosened the the rear shackles causing the rear differential to become loose and cause extreme wear on the passenger side tires. i have had absolutely no satisfaction with the either dealership this vehicle is a lemon. in the past i had to return it 7 times to have a water leak fixed, of course no documentation was given to me, at the time it never occured to me that this would be useful. smart on their part. i would like some help dealing with this matter, as i am one individual with very little power and recourse. thank you kevin carlson | |||
| 04/19/1999 | 4 | 10/01/1997 | |
| Transmission dosn't shift, it bounces in and out of gear between 45-60 mph. this is the fourth time going back for service. *ak | |||
| 03/17/1998 | 3 | 06/01/1997 | |
| No summary listed for this vehicle. *ak | |||
| 05/28/1998 | 2 | 03/14/1997 | |
| Transmission failed, replacement experiencing same failures, excessive vibration resulting in components loosening. | |||
| 09/01/1998 | 09/10/1997 | ||
| Driver was making a left turn when the transmission started slipping, causing the driver to stall in oncomming traffic. | |||
| While driving vehicle over bumps vehicle jumps out of gear. dealers have changed linkage 3 times but problem remains. *ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - COOLING UNIT AND LINES | |||
| 08/19/1997 | 72002 | 1 | 10/02/1996 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 1997 dodge ram 1500. while driving 55 mph, the transmission failed. the vehicle was towed to an inspection station and the transmission was repaired. the mechanic stated that the repair was previously performed by the dealer on august 19, 1997 under nhtsa campaign id number 97v084000 (power train:automatic transmission:cooling unit and lines). the dealer failed to use a stainless steel retainer for the repair as stated in the recall notice. instead, the original plastic part was still on the vehicle. the failure mileage was 72000. updated 05/06/08 *bf the consumer stated the dealer did not make the repair and the transmission eventually failed. | |||
| 2 | 11/01/1997 | ||
| Transmission cooling system failed... two transmissions later they discover the problem. the first failure at 24000 was under warranty, the second failure at 48000 they claimed was out of warranty and cost me $1500... this problem is prevelant in most 1997 (1500 dodge rams,gas). just ask a stranger driving one. feel free to call me 1-530-332-9565. no one is doing anything about it. | |||
| The oil transmission lines causing all the fluid to leak over the exhaust system. the dealer has been contacted. *ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY | |||
| 04/10/2004 | 49600 | 1 | 02/17/1998 |
| Right rear axle assembly sheared causing engine to stall/loss of steering/control of the wehicle. truck bed was empty and traveling at approx. 60mph; upon occurence vehicle rolled 3 times on busy highway; both driver and passenger injured | |||
| 06/13/2003 | 1 | ||
| Wheels were locking up and almost caused an accident. he took it to the mechanic, had to have axle bearing s replaced.*ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY - AXLE SHAFT | |||
| 11/01/1999 | 1 | 06/01/1997 | |
| Bearings in the differential failed, required replacement. *ak | |||
| 09/24/1997 | 1 | 09/20/1996 | |
| Axle shaft snapped, resulting in a vehicle fire. | |||
| POWER TRAIN - CLUTCH ASSEMBLY | |||
| Clutch assembly failed within two months after purchase of vehicle. dealer has been contacted. | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DIFFERENTIAL UNIT | |||
| 1 | |||
| Consumer was informed not to drive on the highway due to the possibility of the rear differential locking up. *slc | |||
| 07/08/2002 | 1 | 10/01/1997 | |
| While pulling onto a ramp rear wheel locked up. vehicle taken to a repair shop, and informed consumer that pinion gear sheared off in rear end. dealer and the manufacturer were notified. *ak the vehicle made a noise when accelerating uphill, the heat shield broke and was fixed. the transmission locked up. *yh | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DRIVESHAFT | |||
| 3 | |||
| Consumer states that the transmission has broken down three times, two of which the transmission had to be rebuilt, consumer also states that there is grinding in the driveshaft. *slc | |||
| POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION | |||
| 3 | |||
| Consumer states that the transmission has broken down three times, two of which the transmission had to be rebuilt, consumer also states that there is grinding in the driveshaft. *slc | |||
| 03/21/1997 | 08/10/1996 | ||
| Brakes, rotors, transmission, and alignment malfunction. | |||