Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | ||||||
| EA04025 | CHRYSLER GROUP LLC | 08/26/2004 | 12/22/2005 | FALSE PARK | 05V462000 | |
| 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) | ||||||
| EA04025 | CHRYSLER GROUP LLC | 08/26/2004 | 12/22/2005 | FALSE PARK | 05V462000 | |
| 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 | ||||||
| EA04025 | CHRYSLER GROUP LLC | 08/26/2004 | 12/22/2005 | FALSE PARK | 05V462000 | |
| 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 date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 04/14/2009 | 55000 | 1 | |
| I took my 03 ram in for service and the service adviser found a clip that had broken in the rear end. total cost to repair up to $2000.00. i was told that this is a common problem with the ram. should be a recall for this problem before someone has a rear end to lock up and cause a accident. *tr | |||
| 06/11/2006 | 59378 | 1 | 09/10/2005 |
| The truck was taken in to be looked at because there was a vibration. i told them it was a u-joint or bearing going out. the truck had been in the same shop 4 times, for the same thing -the u-joint or bearing. the mechanic at the shop said that the tires needed to be balanced but they did not do that at thier shop. i tokk it to another place, they looked at it and said the tires did not need to be balanced,but they balnced them anyways. so i had two opinions on the truck. the next night i picked up the guys i work with and we went to work. on the way home the drive shaft, drive line,yolk, and transfercase came apart and tried to come up through the floorboard, causing holes in the floorboard, and it pulled the electrical wiring out which caused all the warning lights to come on. anyone could have been hurt. i got the the truck to a nearby convienent store and i called a tow truck to tow my truck to the shop. i called my wife and we went and picked up all the parts off the highway. the truck, which is still under warranty. they took pictures and sent them to their reps. their reps in another state said it was in 4 wheel drive in 4 low under extensive torque in a mud hole. it had not rained here in over a month. so the dirt road i was on was dry and smooth. i did not have it in four wheel drive. why buy a 4 wheel drive if you are not going to use it. they said i was driving fast causing extensive torque!? i was driving the speed limit and people drive fast and their vehicles don't fall apart. they said they wouldn't cover the damage, even though their mechanic made a wrong diagnosis. it is their fault and they should take the responsibility to fix it, with no money coming out of my pocket. i get paid to drive to and from work. now i don't have a truck to get me to work. the shop says they will pay half the cost to fix it and i can pay the other half. they say they are doing me a favor by doing this. *nm | |||
| 06/26/2004 | 32500 | 2 | 09/15/2003 |
| I own a 2003 dodge ram 1500 4x4 quad cab slt vin 1d7-hu18n53s-188168 assembly point, warren, michigan. the truck stalled while in traffic making a 10-15 mph right turn. the second occurence was july15, 2004. very close call here. i was in the smokey mountains camping. the six hour drive home towing my popup was nerve racking to say the least. especially, since my 13, 6 and 3 year old were in the truck. i mentioned that the truck runs extremely rough intermittently to the dealer morgan dodge durham north carolina on at least two occasions. i am also experiencing an intermittent shudder that seems to be coming from the transmission, also mentioned to the dealer on at least two occasions. the dealer simply said that they could not reproduce the shudder or stall. i also had a severe brake pulsation. they did replace front pads and calipers and cut rotors. they were supposed to follow up with me regarding the shudder and stall but as of this date, 7/18/2004 i have not yet receive a call back. | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - CONTROL MODULE (TCM, PCM) | |||
| 12/16/2003 | 500 | 8 | 10/03/2002 |
| When going from reverse to drive, at times engine idles rough and rpm's drop to about 350-400 rpm. approximately 75% of the time it happens the engine quits. the other 25% of the time it happens the rpm's increase after a short period of time (20seconds to 1 minute) and if still in gear the truck will lurch forward when rpms increase. pressing the accelerator to increase rpm's does not affect rpm's when engine is stumbling and truck will not move. dealer has been notified, known problem with engine programming. problem has existed since truck was new.*ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY | |||
| 05/24/2005 | 3 | 06/06/2003 | |
| Rear differential has been making a grinding noise since day of purchase. pinion seal has had to be replaced by dealer. the noise and loss of power has become unbearable. dealer refused to fix under warranty because of unprofessional assesment of axle. professional repair shop said i was lucky to have made it as long as i did without it locking up and causing me to crash.still has over 6000 miles left on factory warranty. what good does that do when i live 50 miles from dealer and have to drive home because of an unconcerned, unproffessional and absolutely wrong assessment of my axle ???? failure was due to premature axle bearing wear. assessed by a real professional. | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY - AXLE SHAFT | |||
| 03/19/2005 | 34126 | 1 | 03/04/2003 |
| (rear axle sheared) at 4:00 pm on march 19th 2005, i was driving this vehicle south bound on california state highway 71. when all of a sudden the right side rear axle sheared, causing the vehicle to go into a forced left handed 360 degree spin. i tried to correct the spin, but the vehicle would not respond or stop. the vehicle crashed into the center median. also, the engine rpm's went up when the axle shaft broke. the insurance company said the vehicle is a total loss. the dealer would not repair it or admit to the defect. however an employee at the dealership showed me another shaft from a crashed 2003 truck. the axle shaft was identical to mine, the center part of the axle shaft was crystalized. see odi 10116454 also. dsy. *ak | |||
| 03/19/2005 | 34126 | 1 | 04/10/2003 |
| (rear axle shear), t 4:00 pm on march 19th 2005, i was driving this vehicle south bound on california state highway 71. when all of a sudden the right side rear axle sheared, causing the vehicle to go into a forced left handed 360 degree spin. i tried to correct the spin, but the vehicle would not respond or stop. the vehicle crashed into the center median. also, the engine rpm's went up when the axle shaft broke. the insurance company said the vehicle is a total loss. the dealer would not repair it or admit to the defect. however an employee at the dealership showed me another shaft from a crashed 2003 truck. the axle shaft was identical to mine, the center part of the axle shaft was crystalized. see odi 10116455 also. *dsy. *ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE | |||
| 05/12/2004 | 2038 | 3 | 09/21/2003 |
| I have a terrible launch shudder in the drive line of my truck, which the dealer has been unable to repair. i bought the truck sept 03 and returned it to the dealer may 04 with 2027 miles on it. the truck would shake at approximately 20 mph on a hard acceleration the dealer said he went back to the dealer several more times for the same complaint but they couldn't duplicate the problem so there was no fix. finally, on july 25, 2005, at 9028 miles a service tech went for a ride with me and felt the shudder. the dealership replaced the driveshaft and said the vehicle was fixed. i drove off the dealer parking lot and the shudder started as soon as i hit the public street. i drove right back into the dealership and told them the problem hasn't been corrected. the dealer has since removed and reinstalled the exhaust system, removed and replaced 2 bearing in the rear end, an entire rear axle assembly and the engine motor mounts. none of these have worked. jeff kosiba, from chrysler engineering, company phn# 313-493-3359, called the dealer and told him that the rear brakes were hanging up at will and that the following should be removed and replaced: the rear brake hubs, brake pads, calipers and rotors. this repair hasn't been completed as of this date. please investigate asap, this is a dangerous vehicle. *nm | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DIFFERENTIAL UNIT | |||
| 07/21/2007 | 37500 | 1 | 04/01/2006 |
| The rear end in my 2003 dodge ram burned up. i first noticed a burning smell like propane gas which started to make me and the family sick. pulled over to the side of the road found nothing. then after driving 20 minutes longer the abs light came on. next i observed orange sparks coming from the back of the truck. pulled over again and climbed under truck and burnt my arm instantly when touching the rear pumpkin. sat on the side of the road for 3 hours to let cool down. then drove to the dealer 30 miles away. engine light came on and speedometer gauge was jumping all over the place. truck was also shifting improperly. dealer said the rear got so hot that it melted the rear abs sensor and the speedometer sensor. *jb | |||
| 08/25/2005 | 92505 | 3 | 02/01/2003 |
| We have had the rear end of our 2003 dodge ram 1500 replaced in our vehicle three times in the 2 years. the ring and pinion was shattered the first time we took it in. the replacement parts did not solve the problem and had to be replaced again in may 05. we had to pay 219.00 and again the rear end went out in aug 05. *nm | |||
| 06/01/2005 | 30000 | 1 | 07/02/2003 |
| I just had my 2003 dodge ram quad cab 1500 series truck in the dealership for its 30,000 miles service and the dealership told me that they found the differential locking clip had fallen off and had done damage to the inside of my rear. they said that i was very lucky that they found it now since it could have cased a serious accident if it the rear had locked up at highway speeds. i have done some homework on this issue and have seen that there is a very high failure rate on this problem. i am very concerned as i do a lot of towing with my camper and family. i have also seen where there has been a very high failure rate on the rear axles breaking. my dealership did not replace my rear differential but had rebuilt it. i wanted a new one but they told me it was an isolated incident and haven't heard of many differentials failing. what can your organization do to help me? | |||