10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
53,515 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.

2008 Dodge Ram 1500 steering problems

steering problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2008 Dodge Ram 1500:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2008 Dodge Ram 1500 Owner Comments (Page 4 of 5)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #37

Jan 062014

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • miles

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

My complaint regards the unreasonable length of time it is taking Chrysler to resolve recall N49. This is a tie rod issue. Pretty important, considering the ball stud could fracture and cause the loss of steering while customers are on the road. As instructed by the notice, I called our local dealer January 6, 2014 to schedule an appointment. I was told to call back the following week. I did so promptly and was told I would be put on a list for repair. I was #130 and parts were expected to be shipped by Chrysler just once every two weeks. I called again April 30. I am now #120. I'm told that, even if the parts were coming in at a faster pace, the dealership is not adequately staffed. It appears to me that this safety issue - one that can, and probably will, result in loss of lives -- is not an urgent matter to Chrysler. If it were, it would be sending the replacement parts to the dealers in a timely manner and footing the bill to temporarily staff the dealership to get this resolved.

- Casper, WY, USA

problem #36

Apr 042014

Ram 1500

  • 111,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 mph, there was a sudden loss of steering control without warning. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the front drivers side tie rod was fractured and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 13V529000 (steering). The vehicle was repaired. The failure and current mileage was 111,000.

- Pillager , MN, USA

problem #35

Mar 282014

Ram 1500

  • 90,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph, the brakes were applied with force when the air bag warning light illuminated. The steering wheel also become difficult to maneuver and would exhibit an abnormal noise when turned. The vehicle was taken to the authorized dealer, who diagnosed that the clock spring and the driver's side tie rod needed to be replaced. The vehicle was scheduled to be repaired by an authorized dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign id number: 13V529000 (steering) or 13V528000 (steering) but the contact stated that the vehicle exhibited the same failure as stated in both recalls. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 90000. Kmj

- East Islip, NY, USA

problem #34

Mar 272014

Ram 1500

  • 93,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while having the tires replaced, she was notified that the front driver side tie rod was fractured and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 13V529000 (steering). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 93,000.

- Oklahoma City, OK, USA

problem #33

Mar 122014

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • miles
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that he attempted to have the vehicle repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 13V529000 (steering) but was informed that the parts were not available and that the dealer was only receiving one part per week. The contact felt that since the failure was reported in November of 2013, there should have been a remedy available before March of 2014. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable time for repair. The contact had not experienced a failure.

- Oberlin, KS, USA

problem #32

Mar 122014

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • miles
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that he attempted to have the vehicle repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 13V529000 (steering) but was informed that the parts were not available. The contact felt that since the failure was reported in November of 2013, there should have been a remedy available before March of 2014. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable time for repair. The contact had not experienced a failure.

- Oberlin, KS, USA

problem #31

Jan 062014

Ram 1500

  • 0 miles

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

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign id number: 13V528000 (steering) and called the dealer to make an appointment. The dealer informed the contact that there were no parts available to remedy the recall. The contact called the manufacturer and they also confirmed that parts were not available to remedy the recall. The contact had not experienced a failure.

- Gunnison, CO, USA

problem #30

Jan 022014

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • 125,000 miles
Went to check my tire pressures and took valve stem cover off and it snapped the top of the valve stem off even with the top of the valve stem....2 other valve stem covers are also seized on the valve stems on the truck.. called dealer and they informed me that Dodge knows about this problem and they have replaced hundreds of them and the only way to replace them is to put another sensor in for 75 bucks cause they can not put regular valve stems in vehicles that have TPMS sensors in them...they have not heard of any recalls to date nor could I find any online...this is a obvious problem with many Dodge vehicles with this metal valve stem and needs to be corrected.

- Robertsdale, PA, USA

problem #29

Sep 192013

Ram 1500

  • 69,068 miles
My vehicle was taken in for an oil change, at this time we found that it was driving funny. The inspection that was performed during routine service found a leak of failed seal in the steering unit. Also noted around quarter panels rust bubbles are appearing under the paint.

- Waltham, MN, USA

problem #28

May 132013

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • 44,000 miles
Steering angle sensor--- when vehicle is steered left the ant-skid and ebs lights on dash light up for no reason. Vehicle only has just over 44,000 miles, in excellent condition. Vehicle is only used to commute to and from work and to daughter's softball games. Please help, thank you

- Leland, NC, USA

problem #27

Apr 192013

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • 28,562 miles

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

Mechanic showed me that tie rod ends are loose and must be replaced. Several Ram 1500S have had a recall on tie rods but a call to Chrysler recall office turns up negative for my truck. I propose that 2008 should be included in Ram 1500 recalls too. The rod has worn out at low mileage.

- Long Valley, NJ, USA

problem #26

Mar 242013

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • 35,300 miles
Driving at a speed of 45 mph the truck--2008 Dodge Ram 1500 5.7 hemi-- died. I had no power steering. I was able to shift into neutral and stop. Very thankful I was on a country lane and not on a freeway because there was no warning and I could have been in a horrible accident. The check gauges light icon was flashing as I tried to re-start it. It would crank but not start. After waiting for 15 minutes it did start up again. The engine icon light was showing and it said that an oil change was needed. The oil change wasn't due yet for another 1000 miles, or, two weeks on my three month schedule. I get the oil changed every three months. It tried to stall from then on as I accelerated from a stop, on my way to to the dealer. The diagnostic showed a code for the egr valve, which was replaced. This was fixed four days ago and so far so good, but am very anxious when I drive now, worrying that it might happen again, especially after seeing so many posts online with others experiencing the same problem with their Dodge Ram trucks.this truck has 35,300 miles on it. This truck was serviced six weeks before this incident with: A 16 cylinder hemi tune-up; a throttle body service, fuel induction flush and fuel system treatment; transmission service with filter change; machined front and rear rotors; and tire rotation.

- Richmond, TX, USA

problem #25

Mar 142013

Ram 1500 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 52,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was being serviced, the left front tie rod was found to be fractured. The left front tie rod was replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure and current mileage was 52,000......updated 05/09/13 updated 05/24/2013

- Morristown , NJ, USA

problem #24

Oct 062012

Ram 1500 6-cyl

  • 75,000 miles
Complete loss of power to vehicle, including powertrain, steering. Power loss occurred previously when driving and hitting a bump (pot hole). Last event happened during normal steering into driveway. Speeds varied during occurrences. Top speed was approximately 55 mph.

- Angleton, TX, USA

problem #23

Sep 082012

Ram 1500

  • 51,000 miles
We were driving our Dodge Ram 1500 mega cab (51,000 miles) on interstate 25 just South of douglass Wyoming. We were going approximately 77 miles per hour and in an instant I lost all control of the steering and we ended up off the side of the road after a very frightening experience. I bought this truck just over a year ago from a dealer outside denver, co. When the tow driver arrived, he immediately told me that my tie rod probably broke as my right front tire went completely sideways and was now rendered useless. He mentioned that we were very lucky as most times he sees these types of things, the truck rolls over. He also mentioned there was a recall on these tie rods. We had it towed to a dealer in douglass and are waiting to hear what they have to say on Monday. I ran my VIN# on Dodge's web site to see if its a recall, but its telling me that my truck doesn't have any on it. Candidly, after talking to mechanics locally, they said a tie rod should never bust like that and with so little miles on the truck. To say this is dangerous is clearly an understatement. This type of "defect" is going to kill people as it almost did us. I sure hope Dodge does the right thing with our truck. I have had nothing but issues with this truck since the day we took it off the lot. Within a month, the transmission went out and once again, Dodge said it wasn't their fault - 40,000 miles and a transmission goes out? after fighting with them for another month, they did repair and pay for the fix...

- Denver, CO, USA

problem #22

Aug 222008

Ram 1500

  • 100 miles
After speaking to several 2008 Dodge Ram owners (on Dodge forum & face to face) we all have the same concerns with this vehicle. There is a severe handling issue at highway speeds that causes an uncontrollable rear suspension hop. This in turn results in severe handling issues that have led in some cases to spin outs and fishtailing. The newer Dodge Ram models are equipped with sway bars or anti sway bars so it shows that the engineers recognized the problem. I've spent numerous dollars and time having the tires balanced, rotated and rims checked as well as buying new tires in trying to eliminate this dangerous condition.

- Belleville, NJ, USA

problem #21

May 182012

Ram 1500

  • 56,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500. While at a tire shop for routine maintenance, the contact was informed that the drivers side outer tie rod end was fractured. There was a recall under NHTSA campaign id number: 11V350000 (steering:linkages:tie rod assembly) that may be related to the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 56,000.

- Ablong, IL, USA

problem #20

May 072012

Ram 1500 4WD 8-cyl

  • 51,000 miles
There is a safety recall on certain Dodge Ram tie rods (recall #L16) but for some reason my VIN was not included in this recall. Sure enough the tie rod was near failing and I had it replaced before a catastrophic failure could occur. Why was my VIN left off of this recall? the signs and conditions of my faulty tie rod are identical to all of the documented failures.

- Chesterfield, MI, USA

problem #19

Dec 022011

Ram 1500 4WD 8-cyl

  • 54,000 miles
Failed state inspection due to bad left tie rod.

- Orange, MA, USA

problem #18

Nov 052011

Ram 1500

  • 23,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 quad cab. The contact was having the tires rotated when he noticed that the front driver side tie rod end was loose. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was contacted and they confirmed that the VIN did not qualify for repairs under NHTSA campaign id number:11V350000(steering:linkages:tie rod assembly). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 23,000 and the current mileage was 25,120.

- Silverbay, MN, USA

Read the next 17 complaints »

Not what you are looking for?