Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||
| 05/15/2004 | 45000 | 4 | 10/19/1998 |
| Steering problems wondering needed new steering box rod and pin and tie rods on front also paint is all coming off. *jb | |||
| 03/08/2005 | 58000 | 1 | 08/08/2003 |
| My girlfriend's son was driving our 1998 dodge ram 1500 going about 35 or 40 miles per hour (he and his girlfriend were taking a ride waiting for a pizza) so just mosing along thank god . he rounded a curve and lost steering he tried to jerk it back and said it made a cracking noise and he had no steering ability. he ran off the road striking trees, knocked himself out by hitting his head on the drivers side window. when he came to, his girlfriend was knocked out. he got her alert and called 911. she was life flighted, 5 broken ribs, major concussion and he had cuts and scratches and a concussion. he was treated and released. i asked the insurance adjuster to check it but he looked at it (never tore the steering column apart) and said it looked ok. they moved it to a salvage yard. since the accident 3 people have told me they had the same problem with their ram 1500. now her son is being fined for driving too fast around the curve..guess it is always a fine never a true accident anymore, but i am just thankful that the kids are both alive as the truck was totaled from the trees and stumps they hit. her son feels he may have leaned on the gas pedal when he was knocked out but knows he was only going 40 mph tops prior to the steering failing. *jb | |||
| 03/21/2003 | 17 | ||
| From the day i saw that 96 dodge truck rolling down the street i fell in love. i saved every way possible to purchase the big bad 1500 4x4 5.9(98)with every option avail. had everything and from week 1 had problems. front windshield cracked while driving due to frame stress it about 2 weeks into it. brake failure cause serious assault on guard rail, and dodge said i must have been driving to fast (@ 30 mph). they refused any warranty because nothing can touch the wheel and since the incident occurred after 93 days lemon laws did not apply so after (2) $900 brake jobs two weeks apart everything was fine. not to mention damage to body i paid for out of pocket. now i just go through an entire set of brakes every 6 months. but i stop until then.. i replaced the transmission at 38 k miles, note the warranty on that is 36 k miles. i have had steering linkage become so loose instantaneously (or 3 separate occasions) that it felt like i was running over my own axle, which is another $1000 each time. for the past three emissions inspections the on board computer fails so i have to take it to the dealer while they charge $200 to fix it, but will not give straight answer to what is problem. and to night as i type, i spread the grime of engine crud across my keyboard as i try to figure out why the fuel filter suddenly stopped. amazingly i have had this truck for 5 years because it has kept me too broke to buy something else. any legal suggestions on what can be done would be appreciated. i recognize i have spent more than $15,000 trying to keep this thing running right, and that is too much for a late model truck. i would love to blame a dealer but i have been to just about all of them around here and with the smiles on there faces i hear that will be another $950 sir.. good grief. *nlm | |||
| 06/26/2002 | |||
| Hearing noises in steering column can result in a vehicle crash. cause unknown. dealer notified.*ak | |||
| 06/28/1999 | 1 | 08/01/1998 | |
| Sudden loss of steering control arms caused the vehicle to run into a ditch resultling in majior damage for the vehicle. yh | |||
| STEERING - COLUMN | |||
| 2 | |||
| Consumer noticed while shifting vehicle out of park into drive gears position were switched around, making it impossible for consumer to shift to correct gear. vehicle was serviced, technician noticed steering column needed to be replaced. *ak | |||
| 1 | |||
| Gear selector shaft broke inside steering column housing, 3 dealers could not fix the problem because the entire steering column has to be replaced. *tt . zlso, steering column/track bar for front axle, and catalytic converter malfunctioned. *ak | |||
| STEERING - GEAR BOX (OTHER THAN RACK AND PINION) | |||
| 06/06/1998 | 9 | 06/01/1998 | |
| We started to have problems with the van since it was purchased, we went back to the dealer rigth after we noticed a few problems with the van, such as car pulling to the rigth and a loud thump sound coming from the rigth rear side every time we pass those speed bumps. and when they inspected the van they (the dealer technicians), told me that a shock absorver needed to be replace and alignment was needed as well. after this two things were done, everything went down the hill....when i drove home the van i noticed that van was pulling still to the rigth and a noise was coming from the left front suspension when braking, is more like a cracking noise, i'll mention that this was't happening all the time, but the pulling to the rigth was. we went back with them, they aligned again...but, this time the van was not pulling to the rigth but to the left instead, this happend when driving straigth or when braking as well, we went back to the same dealer, but after some attempsof fixing this problem and a very unpleasent experiences with their (customer representaives) at desplaines dodge dealer, not to try again wih them, we contacted chrysler representatives, and told them about the very dumb comment the customer representative of desplaines dodge dealer, that they suggested to take the van to a 5 stars shop the comment the customer representative made was (that the van was pulling to the rigth because it was a safety feature build in the van to prevent people wander to the to the left in case the fell sleep, this was a very dumb thing to said. so finally we went to that 5 stars dealer, and a (big) inprovement was achieve, the van was pulling less but on this occasion instead of pulling to rigth it started to pull to the left and the steering wheel was not straight, it was croocked to the left and before was to the right. i noticed more play on the steering wheel. i'll mention that ever since we have this van in our possession the steering wheel never th. *ak | |||
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST - HOSE, PIPING, AND CONNECTIONS | |||
| 03/01/1998 | 1 | 02/01/1998 | |
| Power steering hose failed. yh | |||
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||
| 07/22/2002 | 1 | 12/01/2097 | |
| On july 22nd 2002 i was stopped in traffic, a ford truck hit me from behind doing 35mph. the impact pushed me into the car ahead of me it ended up being a 5 car pile up. in which my truck front and rear bumper was smashed in. i was thrown forward into the steering wheel causing severe pain days later. i was really surprised the air bags did not deploy. the rear drivers panel bent and also the transmission coolant radiator was smashed in.. it caused 3700.00 damages to my truck and 2500.00 to the car(honda) in front of me.*ak | |||
| 06/07/2002 | |||
| Lost control while driving /struck a phone pole, and rolled over. upon impact, neither air bag deployed. feel free to provide any further information.*ak | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES | |||
| 09/06/2007 | 81650 | 1 | 09/10/2004 |
| Lower steering column separated from the upper steering column. upon inspection bolt on the universal joint of the lower steering column, bolt was never seated properly from the factory. it was cross threaded in the aluminum u joint. the bolt was never seated all the way, there is black paint on the bolt were this is evident. *jb | |||
| 01/01/1998 | 1 | 11/01/1997 | |
| Steering bushing collar failed. mjs | |||
| 12/02/1998 | 1 | 04/01/1998 | |
| 3500 at 45 mph. if truck hits a pot hole or other road deflection steering wheel will shake from left to right 4 each way and continue until you slow to 15 mph. shake is violent and driver can only go straigth as wheel will not turn. a bad thing in a curve. | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES - TIE ROD ASSEMBLY | |||
| 51000 | 1 | ||
| Consumer states that the vehicle is shaking and shimmering due to defective tie rod ends. dealer has been contacted.*ak | |||
| 07/13/2003 | 53379 | 1 | 09/25/1998 |
| Brokent tie rod at 53,000 miles. *ak | |||
| STEERING - WHEEL AND HANDLE BAR | |||
| 03/18/2002 | 2 | 05/01/1998 | |
| I had to replace the steering column and cockspring at 62237 miles in oct 2000. my first indication something was wrong was drifting at speed and a grinding noise from the steering column. my choice the first time according to the dodge dealer was to let it go and risk complete failure of the steering or replace it. i replaced it. now 17 months later in mar 2002 the grinding has returned. while i face the prospect of replacing the steering once again it is not normal for frequent wear and tear of a steering system. i purchased the vehicle in sc, but have since moved to utah. i do not use the vehicle for off-road recreation or for heavy loads. i have only used the vehicle on 3 occasions for towing. any assistance would be greatly appreciated. *ak | |||
| 08/31/2001 | |||
| Vehicle was in reverse, attempted to drive back in reverse, but vehicle was still in drve. consumer slammed on brakes, and went back to reverse, and drove. but vehicle was stil the same. consumer had to turn vehicle off to get it correctly into gear. service manager referred the consumer to to another mechanic, who had to replace steering column.*ak | |||
| 4 | 11/01/1998 | ||
| Cronic problems in saftey related items: steering, tires, mirrors fuel system | |||
| 01/01/2000 | |||
| Any time when turning vehicle would make noises. when making a sharp turn and going slowly it will continue to make noises. contacted dealer, they replaced the steering column. *ak | |||
| 2 | 12/31/1997 | ||
| Steering column failed twice. yh | |||