10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 10
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
64,688 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2004 Dodge Ram 1500 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2004 Dodge Ram 1500 Owner Comments (Page 3 of 5)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #41

Aug 032009

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • 23,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My 2004 Dodge Ram driver side stop working my keys got lock inside the only way to open is by using the remote and climb through one of the other doors which now it is impossible since none of my doors open anymore specially the driver door that it is supposed to open either with the original key or the remote which I can't do either, this is very frustrating because I am an older woman and can't be climbing through my window to do perform this. Please help

- Orange, CA, USA

problem #40

Oct 012011

Ram 1500 4WD 8-cyl

  • miles
2004 Dodge Ram 1500 power distribution center or front control module for no reason is bad. The dealership said it just corroded.

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #39

Aug 122008

Ram 1500 4WD 8-cyl

  • 65,000 miles
About 30 percent of the time, my turn signals and flashers do not indicate the signal I want to give. During those times, when I indicate right it doesn't flash at all. If I indicate left, it indicates right. Also if I put on the hazards, it either corrects the problem or it indicates left. This is very frustrating and provides a big safety incident on the road. I have noticed that I am not the only person that has had this before as it is a very common occurrence on the web. It increases substantially during the fall and winter months and is almost not existent during the summer months. It also affects my wipers that when I have the lights on I can see that my vehicle is acting up because the wipers are at 1 detent less than what I am trying to provide. This makes it so I can't use the fast wiping position. Thanks for your help.

- Eastampton, NJ, USA

problem #38

Nov 052011

Ram 1500

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The door lock actuator has quit working. This prohibits any of the power door locks from working and the fob wont work. Cd player has a cd stuck in it and will not eject. These issues are well documented on websites as prominent problems.

- Alpine, AL, USA

problem #37

Jul 082009

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • 40,000 miles
My truck stalls as I come to a stop. This happens probably about 4 times a month since the date above. The dealership hasn't been able to find the problem. I have read on forums online that a ton of other people are having the same problem. Some say it has to do with erg valve and it should be recalled. They said they replace the egr valve and the problem is fixed.

- Queen Creek, AZ, USA

problem #36

Apr 012010

Ram 1500

  • 70,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that all of the lights on the instrument panel illuminated as the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure but advised replacing the speed sensor, which appeared to be defective. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but offered no further assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 88,000.

- Fall River , MA, USA

problem #35

Apr 192011

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • 66,945 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2004 Dodge 1500 Ram hemi 5.7 quad cab with faulty cruise control. Turning on cruise control and off functions normally. Selecting "set" on the left hand side of the steering wheel fails to engage cruise control desired speed with cruise control on. This happens 10-15 times out of 75-90 times selected during a period of a month. Also, periodically during the 10-15 times a month, cruise control will be engaged with a current speed "set, " and while driving the truck slows down and prevents re-engagement of "set" on the left hand controller of the steering wheel while cruise control is still on. Changed battery with no effect. Throttle body is functioning normally. No blown fuses. Seems that temperature extremes of 45 degrees or below and 90 degrees and higher heightens the effects of this deficiency. When turning ignition from off through intermediate to on position (not start) with trip button held in greater than 15 secs, C-code displays 67 15 then displays 00 00. Truck has 66945 miles currently.

- Ridgecrest, CA, USA

problem #34

Feb 042011

Ram 1500

  • 68,000 miles
Tail lights and park lamps on my 2004 Dodge Ram keeping failing do to I defect in the power distribution center/fuse box almost caused to get hit by a tractor trailer at night cant even order part because I've been told it's on backorder and dealer keeps denying fault or Chrysler wont replace unit this is happening on thousands of 2004 2005 and 2006 Dodge Ram.

- Lynwood, IL, USA

problem #33

Mar 082011

Ram 1500

  • 68,762 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram. The contact stated that the vehicle instrument panel, brake lights and headlights were failing. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where the failure was diagnosed as a defective fuse box which would need replacing. The manufacturer was not contacted and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 68,762.

- Porter Corners , NY, USA

problem #32

Feb 162011

Ram 1500

  • 62,500 miles
My 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 pick up with a 5.7 liter engine began to stall upon braking and coming to a stop. The engine would lose RPM and die (stall) leaving me with no brakes or steering. It would restart easily but occur again frequently. Took the vehicle to a repair shop and after extensive and expensive diagnosis was found to have a failing throttle body and associated electrical failure. A new throttle body was obtained from Dodge (different part number from original) and installed. Total cost for the work was approximately $2,500. My research shows that this problem is extensive in this model and is dangerous.

- Belmont, CA, USA

problem #31

Oct 012009

Ram 1500

  • 45,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The turn signals, wipers, and high beams on my 04 Dodge Ram 1500 have been giving me issues for the last year. This started out as an intermittent problem and has gotten worse over time. At first it was just the turn signals. When I would signal left the right blinker would come on, or visa versa. Then sometimes it would work fine, and other times it would not come on at all. It's gotten worse over time and now I am at the point where only when I signal left will the right signal come on; nothing else works. My hazard switch at one time would work the left signal, and the left clicker would work the right signal but now that does not work either. At this point my hazard switch and left clicker now only work the right blinker and I have no way to work the left. As for the high beams, sometimes I am un-able to disengage them which is very dangerous for on-coming traffic. At this point I do not risk it and just don't use them, which can be dangerous to myself at some times. The wipers have a mind of their own. Sometimes when I have them on full speed/fast in heavy rain they will all of a sudden reduce to the lowest or middle setting. Sometimes they will just not turn on at all. I almost got into a major accident because of this and now just avoid driving in the rain if at all possible.

- Leonardtown, MD, USA

problem #30

Oct 112010

Ram 1500

  • miles
While using a tire inflater the plugs into my cigarette lighter of my 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 the truck caught fire behind the dash. Turns out the fuse did not blow heating the circuit until it started burning the plastic in the dash the fuse that was in the dash I purchased from harbor freight a couple of years ago I had not known there was a recall on the fuses. Now what?

- Lynchburg, VA, USA

problem #29

Aug 012010

Ram 1500

  • 84,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500. After starting the vehicle, the contact noticed that none of the electrical components would function. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic where the contact was informed that the wiring harness needs to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The current and failure mileages were approximately 84,000.

- Mulberry, KS, USA

problem #28

Aug 252010

Ram 1500

  • miles
2004 Dodge Ram. When pressing down the left turn switch to turn left, the right turn signal flashes...the opposite happens when you press the turn signal switch up to turn right. Also, the windshield wipers randomly stop working while in operation. This is a very very frequent problem with Dodge, please address!

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #27

Aug 252008

Ram 1500

  • 45,000 miles
2004 Dodge Ram 1500 hemi. Fuse box gets water inside and corrodes the circuit board resulting in loss of parking lights, dash lights, more. 2. the rear ends go out prematurely. 3. air bags don't go off in accident 45 mph 4. front rotors warp. 45,000 miles.

- Mission Viejo, CA, USA

problem #26

Nov 202009

Ram 1500

  • 47,000 miles
I contacted Chrysler and voiced my frustrations at a problem I had been having since November 2009 wherein my truck arbitrarily stalls and misfires. To date, the technicians at rothrock in allentown, pa have not been able to find out what is causing this problem. Heads were replaced cylinders were swapped coils were swapped plugs and wires replaced computer checked wiring harness replaced....still the 1, 3, 5, and 7 cylinders stop working and the truck becomes unsafe. Rothrock has had it for 8 weeks. I am without a truck, they can not figure out what is wrong with it, and I will not take it back while it is in this condition as it is extremely unsafe. It had stalled at least half a dozen times while I was driving it, plus it stalled in my driveway on numerous occasions. Needless to say, I was aghast to find the following bulletins that showed this is an ongoing problem that Chrysler minimized and closed- NHTSA defect investigation #EA05018 engine stall: Power train:automatic transmission:control module (tcm, PCM) ** closed no recall issued ** this defect investigation is filed under 2 related vehicle components. 2004 Dodge Ram -- analysis of the complaint, field report and warranty data shows that the majority of stalling incidents in the subject vehicles appear to be related to the engine calibration concerns that DaimlerChrysler addressed with service bulletins releasing revised PCM software. Analysis of the complaints and ODI's survey of owners of vehicles that received engine management software updates under tsb #18-013-05 show that these stalling incidents have the following characteristics: - they occur at low speeds, often during parking lot or driveway maneuvers; - they occur during decelerations, such as braking for a stop sign or traffic signal; and - the operator is almost always able to immediately restart the vehicle.

- Kunkletown, PA, USA

problem #25

Jul 282009

Ram 1500

  • 50,000 miles
My truck 2004 Dodge 1500 Ram does not start., it does it once an a while., not often. It does open all switches and if I bypass the starter., it does crank but never starts it does works back either in 15 minutes or two days at the most so far. This is a bizarre problem where many times appointments., got lost I have to pay for tow truck.

- Oxnard, CA, USA

problem #24

Apr 012009

Ram 1500

  • 53,000 miles
Speedometer moves in 5 mph increments when it's not stuck; it also shows vehicle speeds of 5 - 10 mph when stopped and in park. Dealer says the entire instrument cluster needs replaced at a cost of approximately $800.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

problem #23

Feb 102009

Ram 1500

  • 55,000 miles
The anti-lock brake controller in my 2004 Dodge Ram pickup truck caught fire and burned. The wiring harness completely melted through wires and all, and the brake control mechanism itself melted and burned. The part was inspected by Chrysler but in their determination since I am the second owner of the vehicle they are not responsible for any repairs. The service manager at my local Chrysler dealer has told me that he has seen this problem before, and I have been told by independent service tech's that this is definitely a manufacturers defect. That the braking controller is drawing more amperage than it should be. Chrysler has told me that there is nothing more they will do in this situation.

- Coldwater, MI, USA

problem #22

Mar 022009

Ram 1500

  • 68,600 miles
About 1 month ago the dash board lights and gauges started to act up so we carried it into the local dealership where we purchased the vehicle. They stated that there was condensation in the fuses. They said it was repaired and charged us about $100. Then a few days ago it started to do it again. Before we could take it back to be looked at it burst into flames in our driveway at 2 am on 3/2/09. Fire dept. States that the fire started under the hood. I've been searching on the internet for an explanation and I've found that there was a recall on 2004 Dodge Ram's, a short circuit in the generator harness can cause "under the hood fires"! I've contacted the dealership and Dodge customer service. They say that my VIN # is not included in this recall. It seems like it should... our vehicle was purchased brand new, it had 5 miles on odometer when we left the lot. It had 68000+ miles when it burst into flames.

- Liberty, TN, USA

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