Recalls


CampaignManufacturerManufacturing dateType# of units affectedDate Owner notified MfgRecall Initiated byManufacturers of recalled vehicles/productsReport Recieved DateRecord Creation DateRegulation Part NumberFMVSS Number
POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - LEVER AND LINKAGE - COLUMN SHIFT
05V462000DAIMLERCHRYSLER CORPORATIONfrom 06/01/2002 to 07/31/2005V (Vehicle)25043303/20/2006ODICHRYSLER GROUP LLC10/06/200510/06/2005
Defect SummaryOn certain pickup trucks equipped with diesel engines and automatic transmissions, in an attempt to exit the vehicle quickly without shutting off the engine and removing the key, the driver may inadvertently leave the automatic transmission shift control in indicated reverse.
Consequence SummaryThis error is an unintended action that may result in a lack of transmission park pawl engagement and possibly delayed rearward movement of the vehicle.
Corrective SummaryDealers will perform a software modification to equip these vehicles with an out-of-park alarm. owners may contact daimlerchrysler at 1-800-853-1403.
NotesDaimlerchrysler campaign no. e17.this action is deemed a safety improvement campaign and is not being conducted under the safety act.the company has informed nhtsa that it will provide the modifications described above free of charge.

Investigations


NHTSA IDManufacturerDate openDate closeSubjectRecall campaign
POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
EA04025CHRYSLER GROUP LLC08/26/200412/22/2005FALSE PARK05V462000
 The subject vehicles are heavy duty pickup trucks with diesel engines and automatic transmissions commonly used for commercial and work purposes.a column mounted shift lever is used for gear selection and an electronic prndl on the instrument panel provides gear position information to the driver.the subject vehicles are also equipped with a brake-transmission shift interlock that prevents the shift lever from being moved from the park position (when the engine is on) unless the brake pedal is depressed and an ignition-shift interlock that prevents key removal unless the transmission is in the park position.complainants generally report that the vehicle was being operated in a forward gear and brought to a stop through brake application on alevel surface, at which time the operator moved the shift lever to engage the park position.the operator then opened the driver side door and, without verifying park engagement (e.g., prndl gear indication), securing the park brake, or turning the engine off, exited the vehicle.initially, no vehicle movement was apparent, however, a short time later, typically reported as 10 to 30 seconds, the vehicle moved rearward under engine power.the incident often ended in a vehicle crash, and sometimes involved serious injury.two fatalities are alleged.odi
POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL)
EA04025CHRYSLER GROUP LLC08/26/200412/22/2005FALSE PARK05V462000
 The subject vehicles are heavy duty pickup trucks with diesel engines and automatic transmissions commonly used for commercial and work purposes.a column mounted shift lever is used for gear selection and an electronic prndl on the instrument panel provides gear position information to the driver.the subject vehicles are also equipped with a brake-transmission shift interlock that prevents the shift lever from being moved from the park position (when the engine is on) unless the brake pedal is depressed and an ignition-shift interlock that prevents key removal unless the transmission is in the park position.complainants generally report that the vehicle was being operated in a forward gear and brought to a stop through brake application on alevel surface, at which time the operator moved the shift lever to engage the park position.the operator then opened the driver side door and, without verifying park engagement (e.g., prndl gear indication), securing the park brake, or turning the engine off, exited the vehicle.initially, no vehicle movement was apparent, however, a short time later, typically reported as 10 to 30 seconds, the vehicle moved rearward under engine power.the incident often ended in a vehicle crash, and sometimes involved serious injury.two fatalities are alleged.odi
POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - LEVER AND LINKAGE - COLUMN SHIFT
EA04025CHRYSLER GROUP LLC08/26/200412/22/2005FALSE PARK05V462000
 The subject vehicles are heavy duty pickup trucks with diesel engines and automatic transmissions commonly used for commercial and work purposes.a column mounted shift lever is used for gear selection and an electronic prndl on the instrument panel provides gear position information to the driver.the subject vehicles are also equipped with a brake-transmission shift interlock that prevents the shift lever from being moved from the park position (when the engine is on) unless the brake pedal is depressed and an ignition-shift interlock that prevents key removal unless the transmission is in the park position.complainants generally report that the vehicle was being operated in a forward gear and brought to a stop through brake application on alevel surface, at which time the operator moved the shift lever to engage the park position.the operator then opened the driver side door and, without verifying park engagement (e.g., prndl gear indication), securing the park brake, or turning the engine off, exited the vehicle.initially, no vehicle movement was apparent, however, a short time later, typically reported as 10 to 30 seconds, the vehicle moved rearward under engine power.the incident often ended in a vehicle crash, and sometimes involved serious injury.two fatalities are alleged.odi

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
POWER TRAIN
02/12/20101040001
 Was driving about 70 mph and the transmission and transfer case fell off the truck. *tr
08/06/19981
 Not sure if this is a safety problem. 90 percent of the times that i attempt to start my vehicle, i have to readjust the gear swift. it appears to have swifted to neutral or drive. i start noticing this in august, 2008. *tr
10/07/2003108/28/2003
 Poor fuel mileage in comparison to several other dodge's of the same year. *ph while pulling a trailer at 63 mph the vehilce had a low of 6.85 mpg. on average the vehicle got 7.5-8.0 mpg loaded and 12-14 mpg empty. the dealer reflashed the computer. the vehicle was returned to the consumer but now it was missing. the vehicle was taken to another dealer. the truck was left there for a week but they were unable to determined the problem. the vehicle was ereturned to the consumer. the dealer contacted the cosumer to bring the vehicle back to the dealer to perform service suggested by the manufacturer. on the way to the dealer the truck started blowing transmision fluid through the radiator overflow. the dealer had to rebuild the transmission, replace the radiator and transmission cooler. the u-joint at the rear axle snapped which caused the drive shaft to collapse onto the highway. the fuel lift pump failed which caused the vehicle to stall while driving. transmission cooler line leaked.
POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
07/01/20065200020006/01/2003
 Tl*- the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 3500. the vehicle was serviced for recall 05v46200 concerning the power train automatic transmission. the dealer installed an out of park alarm system. the alarm system will activate if the vehicle door is open while reverse gear was engaged. the alarm caused the horn to blow, and the lights to flash. the contact stated he did not want this system in this vehicle. the dealer stated they were unable to remove the out of park alarm system because it was mandated by nhtsa. the vehicle currently had 52,000 miles. *ak updated 05/21/07 *tr
05/15/200637000106/01/2003
 Dt*: the contact stated after exiting the vehicle, with the engine still running in park, it began to reverse down the boat dock. this damaged the boat trailer and the dock. the contact received recall letter #05v462000, for the automatic transmission. although the recall work has not been performed, the contact believes this will repair the problem.
04/19/200635000105/01/2003
 Dt*: the contact stated while the vehicle had been parked on a boat ramp for 10 to 15 minutes with the engine off, after the boat was loaded the vehicle rolled into the water. the vehicle was submerged in the water over the front tires. it was driven out of the water and to the contact's residence 2 miles away. the dealer and manufacturer were contacted and there is a nhtsa recall, # 05v462000, regarding the power train: automatic transmission. however, both refuse to repair the vehicle. the manufacturer is sending a representative to inspect the vehicle.
09/13/200550000105/01/2005
 Dt: the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 3500 one ton. the warning lights kept coming on. the dashboard lights came on and off. the contact cited a recall on manual transmissions, and his vehicle had automatic transmission. he noticed this on 9-13-05. *ak
07/15/2004230001
 Vehicle vibrates when it reaches 20 mph in gear or not in gear. it vibrates so hard that the mirrors on the exterior shake like they are coming off.*ak
12/09/20031311811/22/2003
 The transmission keeps slipping into neutral while driving and sometimes upon pulling out. the truck is 10 weeks old and has been in the shop for this condition 4 times, with the malfunction light on 3 of those trips, once it went in on a rollback because it would not move at all. it has also downshifted into a lower gear, barked the tires and slung us forward so hard it almost snapped our necks twice now. this has been reported also. they now say since i am requesting a full refund for the truck that there is no mechanical problems or damage only a software problem with the computer. they say michigan is aware of it, but there has not been a program written to correct it yet, but they will notify me when there is. the vehicle is not safe to drive, you can't merge into traffic for fear of it not moving, you are afraid of it downshifting, but they assure me it is safe to drive, and the rep won't call me back like he was supposed to. they are trying to ignore me completely since i asked for a refund under the tennessee lemon law, of which the 4 unsuccessful repair attempts have been made, with notification by certified letter to the dealer after the 3rd attempt. they say now they can't duplicate the problem, when before i asked for a refund they could.*ak
POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - LEVER AND LINKAGE - COLUMN SHIFT
01/15/20045000311/25/2003
 My 2003 dodge ram 3500 diesel has been jumping into reverse from park. this has happened three times. the first time was in the middle of january. i parked at mini mart at 6am to get a cup of coffee. it was cold so i left the engne idling to warm up. i came out to find my vehicle gone. i looked across the street and found it smashed into a building. the truck had minimal damage, but extensive damage was done to the building. i thought maybe i mistakinly put the lever in reverse at first, but but you cant get out of the door without the vehile taking off when you leave it in reverse, if you take your foot off the brake it takes off. this hapened again in mid march. i left the vehicle to check a field, i herd a klunk and turned around to find my pickup backing down the road. at this point i had the dealer check the transmisson. the found nothing wrong. in mid i june was checking rice boxes on a canal bank when it happened again. this time the pickup went into the canal and filled 1/4 full of water, as will as body damage. i again took it to the dealer. they had a represenative from diamler-chrysler come out and check the vehicle. he did a whole series of tests. they later sent me a letter stating my claim had been denied. they are doing nothing! these vehicles are unsafe. i dont know where to go from here.*ak
POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION
05/15/200668000110/23/2005
 Dt*: the contact stated while going over a hill at 5 mph the vehicle jumped out of gear and accelerated without warning. the dealership was unable to duplicate the problem. the manufacturer has been alerted.
09/15/200420000206/15/2003
 The vehicle lurched forward in every gear except in neutral when depressing the clutch when starting the engine. the dealer replaced the clutch, but problem recurred. *ak the transmission was hard to shift, the clutch control was defective due to the slave cylinder bleeding back into the master cylinder. this caused the vehicle to lurch unexpectedly. *sc
POWER TRAIN - TRANSFER CASE (4-WHEEL DRIVE)
03/07/2006140001
 Dt*: the contact stated when the vehicle was parked, the vehicle engaged into reverse gear. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection. they replaced the transfer case because of the calibration set points. the vehicle now operates correctly.