2,038 of the
16,087 complaints filed about the Dodge RAM 1500
are about the body and structure —
13% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2001.
The gas tank fell onto the road while driving to pick up my daughter from the bus. I immediately pulled over due to the sound. I then saw the front of the gas tank on the ground , half a mile down the road I was traveling there are alot of pit holes and that could of ended in a fire or worse with my tank dragging the ground. I have taken it to the dealership that would help repair the recall but they have yet to repair or give me information about what the manufacturer has said on what to do. They told me it is to rusty underneath to repair and contacted manufacturer. I am without a vehicle its been almost 2 weeks and I have a 6 year old child and my own health issues that inquire dr appointments. I have no money for a rental and no family or friends who can help with rides. I am unsure of what to do next I just know this is extremely frustrating considering I had purchased this vehicle only a few months ago.
NHTSA complaint #11662759 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Rear fenders are rusted such that wiring harness falls off from underside if fenders and rubs on tires. Middle of frame rusted through on right and left side and dealer's floor lift went about half-way through both sides when the technician. tried to raise truck to check wiring under truck. The lift only crunched about halfway through near the middle of the frame. That was the point when the technician noticed the truck was lifting unevenly and making a crunching sound when he started trying to lift it. He left the truck as it was - with two wheels on the floor and two wheels about an inch off the floor He hollered for th shop supervisor to look at, who came and got me in the waiting room to show me what happened. The dealership could not repair the frame, but said there was a welding shop a couple of miles away down a back road in Zachow, WI where I could safely drive to if I went really slow. I don't know when the frame started rusting or the date the dealer's hydraulic lift broke through the frame. The truck's rear fenders were starting to significantly rust when it was about 3-4 years old. It was purchased new. I don't know how badly the frame had rusted at that time. I'm fairly certain the truck had less that 100,000 miles on it when the dealer found that the frame was rusted through. It's 22 years old now and was bought new in 2003. It has 147,000 miles on it today. Assuming that the miles/year were roughly the same at 6,682, and the tail lights started acting "funny" (the reason we brought the truck to the dealership),happened the year after we bought our new 2013 Lund boat (2014), that would put the mileage on the truck at 73,502. This type of dangerous deterioration should not happen with a low-mileage vehicle like ours.
NHTSA complaint #11640702 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The frame/chasis rusted through and dealer could not raise truck because lift went through frame. If it had not been noticed at dealership, we and others could have been killed if the frame had broken through on the highway. The dealership and repair shop can confirm. The box and other body components are severely rusted. The body around the gas filler cap is so rusty that I have to hold the gas dispenser just so as to prevent gas leakage from the filler apparatus going into the gas tank. The gas tank fell off the truck twice and the truck was towed into the dealer to be fixed. The truck has less than 150,000 miles, and was purchased new. The incidents occurred between 2004 and 2020 - approx. No police reports or injuries, but no help from dealer.
NHTSA complaint #11617781 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2011 Ram 1500. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing electrical failures. The contact stated that while approaching the vehicle with the key fob, the doors would unlock independently, and the windows would roll down independently. The contact also stated that the front driver's side window had failed to roll down while using the power window switch. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring intermittently. Additionally, the contact stated that he had noticed moisture in the storage compartments underneath the rear passenger's side and rear driver's side seats. The contact stated that he also noticed that the rear driver's side floorboard was wet. The contact stated that upon retrieving items from the storage compartment underneath the rear passenger's side seat, he noticed that there was approximately 1-inch of water in the storage compartment and there was mold behind the rear passenger's side seat. The contact stated that he vacuumed out the water out with a hose, and then used a towel. Additionally, the contact stated that upon inspecting the vehicle after it had rained the following day, he noticed that there was water in the storage compartments underneath the rear driver's side and passenger's side seats. The contact also noticed that the floorboard on the rear driver's side and passenger's side was significantly wet, and there was a water mark on the ceiling. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
NHTSA complaint #11567983 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My husband was driving about 20mls per hrs when our truck cought fire the whole front of our truct cought fire. The front mirror and everything if distroit due to the fire .
NHTSA complaint #11561723 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Significantly rusted out truck bed framing. I purchased the truck from a private seller a couple of years ago, and the bed had a rubber mat and plastic side panels in the bed. I was unaware of what was underneath at that time. On 06/28/2023, I removed the rubber mat, and side plastic panels to reveal major rusting with the truck bed. The bed is at major risk of separating from the frame. If this issue is not resolved, the truck bed will experience separation from the truck frame; causing the bed to separate at highway speeds, causing property damage, injuries, or even death. Upon searching for a good used bed from salvage yards, none exist that are in good condition in a 500 mile search radius and/or they are $800.00 to multiple thousands in cost to obtain. Multiple beds on the search have major rusting/wasting of the bed frame as well. This should constitute a major safety defect with poor rust proofing.
NHTSA complaint #11529694 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2009 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that upon inspecting the vehicle, it was discovered that the fuel tank was not completely secured to the vehicle and was hanging down from the subframe. The failure was caused by a corroded subframe attaching the fuel tank straps to the vehicle. Both fuel tank straps had failed due to the subframe corrosion. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the VIN and vehicles from the state of Kansas were not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V160000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 149,000.
NHTSA complaint #11523639 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The fuel strap frame bracket failure has occured on my vehicle and i'm wondering why it was not covered under the recall? ref: Safety Recall U04 / NHTSA 18V-160 Frame Bracket
NHTSA complaint #11523636 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 MPH, there was a banging noise followed by a dragging noise coming from underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was immediately stopped and upon inspection it was discovered that the fuel tank straps had failed and the fuel tank had fallen to the ground and was being dragged while the vehicle was being driven. The contact stated that the fuel tank straps were severely rusted. The contact stated that the fuel tank was filled with gasoline during the failure. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 158,000.
NHTSA complaint #11522802 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The frame has rusted thru, the fuel tank strap has failed and the fuel tank has dropped. If this had happened while driving, it could have killed him and many others. Upon researching for information, we found recall U04/nhsta 18v-160 which stated this document replaced service bulletin TSB# 1400218 - all for this exact problem. This was a regional recall/extended warranty and was not issued for vehicles in our region. But this document does state that should any vehicle meet the criteria described (make date range, model year, and problem) that that vehicle should be covered. My fathers truck meets all 3 criteria. Upon calling FCA (Fiat, Chrysler Automobiles), who issued the document, we were told that we aren't able to be included in this issue, since we don't have a recall listed and also because the recall turned from a recall to an extended warranty that expired in 2022. If this is a known issue why is there an expiration date on the repair of it? My father's truck only has about 67,000 miles on it, which is probably why the problem is only presenting now. And if we had known there was a possible chance that this could happen, why weren't we informed to check it? He is the original owner of the vehicle and we are appalled at the FCA repsonse. The document in reference is attached.
NHTSA complaint #11520746 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I'm currently having the Recall no.18V160000 problem on my 2012 ram 1500 slt 4.7 but since the vin number on my truck doesn't show this recall, the dealer doesn't want to fix it. My truck currently has the front fuel tank strap frame "T-Slot" bracket broken.
NHTSA complaint #11501022 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The tailgate fell open when accelerating after stopping at a stoplight. It had been securely closed for 4 hours of driving without stopping with no interaction.
NHTSA complaint #11498302 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Tailgate randomly unlocks and opens while vehicle is in motion. Cargo comes out. The dealer was shown the defective locking mechanism and refused to repair it.
NHTSA complaint #11497965 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Where the sway bar is bolted to the chassis has completely deteriorated causing sway bar to completely detach from both sides of the frame. This has caused it very difficult to steer and nearly impossible the more MPH the vehicle goes. I own another vehicle nearly exactly the same but a 1998 dodge ram 1500 vin number [XXX]. It to has the same exact problem. I believe that the quality of steel used in manufacturing the frame of these vehicles was not up to standards. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
NHTSA complaint #11482914 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
2003 DODGE RAM 1500 DASHBOARD CRACKED ALL OVER. IF INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT THE SHARP PCS OF HARD PLASTIC WOULD DEFINITELY IMPALE THE OCCUPANTS. DODGE STATES ITS ONLY A FEW TRUCKS BUT I HAVE NOT SEEN ONE 2003 DODGE RAM WITH A DASHBOARD ON ONE PC. ONCE I WAS FORCED TO BRAKE HARD AND MY PASSENGER REACTED BY SLAMMING HER HAND ON THE DASH AND A SHARP POINT OF A BROKEN PC STABBED INTO HER PALM WHICH BEGAN BLEEDING. DEFINITELY NEED TO LOOK INTO THIS MATTER AS IT'S A REAL HAZARD THAT COULD MOST PROBABLY RESULT IN A DEATH IF SOMEONE WERE TO GET IN AN ACCIDENT.
NHTSA complaint #11477986 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The truck was brought in to dealer to inspect/repair wiring for trailer outlet. When they and began raising the vehicle, the rear lift arms broke through the frame on both sides. When I drove it short way to the repair shop (about 5 miles), the frame on the left broke and sagged and I nearly lost control. The repair shop was in sight and I was able to make it at under 10 mph. The road between the dealer and repair shop was an old country road and I never exceeded 45mph. The rusted frame was first noticed by Witt Ford in Pulaski and the frame was reinforced/surrounded by welded plate steel. There was no warning of the defect. If I had been travelling at highway speed and this failure occurred, I would have lost control, the left side of the truck would have been dragging as well as fuel tank. There would have been a crash and probably a fire.
NHTSA complaint #11476666 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
18V160000 recall..Also, the entire bottom of frame is rusted out..its parked inside of garage.no repair shop can fix it..they stated due to rusted frame belt on gas tank is off and gas tank will fall..they told me to junk my vehicle. This is my transportation to work. I've had it towed to shops every one said dodge makes rusted vehicles and dont care...due to rust now right front tire turnt in..I dont know if that's bearings or tirerod.i just want my vehicle to run..can you please help please..
NHTSA complaint #11458475 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Ram 1500. The side step detached from the vehicle's driver side of the vehicle while the contact was attempting to enter the vehicle. The bolts that were attaching the component had completely rusted through causing the failure. As a result, the contact sustained a injured knee during their fall. Medical attention was not sought. The dealer was contacted but had not inspected the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed that there was no recall. There was a warranty related repair however the vehicle was not included. The approximate failure mileage was 148,000.
NHTSA complaint #11457636 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.