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.
On 9/20/2008 I noticed some small cracks in my dash. After about a week the dash had several cracks and the small ones were now large cracks going from the front of the dash all the way to the windshield. I feel this is a safety hazard as the dash gets worse pieces can fall in to the electronics in the dash and effect the operation of the vehicle. I have seen this same thing happen to the 2nd generation Dodge Ram from 94-02. Dodge has accepted liability for those dashes cracking, well this is the very same plastic used in those trucks. I don't think Dodge wants to have to replace all of these dashes for the reason of reputation and cost to the company. I don't think you can really put a price of safety. These car makers need to take responsibility for the vehicles they make, not just until the warranty runs out. That kind of thinking tells me that the car maker does no care about how long their vehicles last just that they can't wait for the warranty runs out so they can tell the customer....sorry, wish we could help. I am really disgusted in the fact that the us car makers have no pride in what they build. They wonder why the foreign cars and trucks basically sell themselves. I really hope we can resolve this issue. If Chrysler does not step up to the plate and fix these problems I will never buy another Chrysler product.
2003 Dodge Ram. The plastic mode door is broken and the vehicle will only blow out the vents. This is not a real big deal until its raining outside and you can't defrost the windows at hwy speeds.
Cracked dashboard on my 2003 Dodge Ram pick-up. Began one year ago, 2008 and now have two cracks on top from windshield towards the middle of the vehicle and passenger side. Per the complaint forums the cracks are from defective plastic material during the manufacturing process and will get worse to the point there will be jagged edges and a safety concern to passenger and driver.
- Auburn, CA, USA
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The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Ram 2500. The contact noticed that the paint began to chip abnormally near the drip rail. He took the vehicle to the dealer and they repaired the vehicle under warranty. Several years after the repair, the failure became progressively worse because the paint began chipping from various parts of the exterior of the vehicle. He took the vehicle back to the dealer, but they would not make any repairs because the vehicle exceeded its warranty. The manufacturer did not assist. The failure mileage was 22,000 and current mileage was 67,000.
My dashboard is very brittle, cracking bad and is continually getting worse. During our last cold weather, I turned on my heater and a piece of the plastic windshield defroster vent popped up and hit my windshield and fell into the vent. It does this when I turn on my A/C in hot weather when I can hear plastic pieces falling down into the dash. If that flying piece of plastic would have hit me or one of my family members, it could have caused an injury especially if it hit one of us in the eye. I have read in many online forums of other Dodge Ram owners experiencing the same issue but Dodge will not fix the problem. One of the posts stated the dashboards are made of cheap plastic which is not uv rated. If my vehicle is involved in a traffic collision, the brittle dashboard could shatter like potato chips and fly through-out the cabin and cause injury to the occupants! I can hear the dash cracking often and more pieces falling down into the vents which could cause damage to the fans or other components. Even after cleaning the interior of my vehicle on a regular basis with uv protectants, the dashboard is still deteriorating each week and is recently getting worse. We the customers have paid a lot of money for these vehicles, yet Dodge wont even replace a dangerous, brittle dashboard to make it safer for us? poor quality plastic is being used inside the Dodge Ram which cause the dashboards to become brittle and dangerous. It is also cracking bad around the passenger side airbag area which could also cause the dashboard to explode if the airbag deploys.
The dashboard in my 2003 Dodge 2500ram hd is breaking up into pieces which are now coming off; wonder if the passenger side air bag in danger of engaging.
I purchased a new 2003 Dodge Ram in early 2003. Within a year, the dash top cracked and started to cave in. I found out from the dealership that the dash was made from an inferior plastic material and even if I allowed them to do a warranty replacement, the dash would likely crack again and that it would be better for me to wait until Chrysler came out with a better oem dash replacement. I have done a lot of research since this time and have discovered that this is a very widespread problem that Chrysler has refused to do anything about until recently. I see where some people (on the www) are now reporting that they are getting some offers from Chrysler to replace their dashes with a newly improved dash at no cost to the customer. I have recently contacted my local Dodge dealership (big O Dodge of greenville, SC, 864 288 5000) as well as Chrysler (800 992 1997) and was told that the only dash issue that Chrysler would acknowledge was on the 98-02 model year trucks. After I made references to all of the internet research as well as to my initial discussion with the dealership regarding their recommendation for me to wait for a better dash to be manufactured (while the vehicle was still in the warranty period) I was placed on hold and the Chrysler rep contacted the local dealership and arranged for me to have my dash replaced at a discount, but not at Chrysler expense as it should be since this problem with the cracked dash stems from an acknowledged manufacturing flaw from day 1 as I reported to the dealer while the vehicle was still "new". my research has also led me to believe this is also a safety issue due to electrical component damage caused by the falling dash pieces cutting into electrical components causing people to loose their lighting at night, causing shorts and even smoke from melting wires which cause smoke to temporarily blind drivers as they try to pull over for safety. I want the dealership / Chrysler to acknowledge this as a recall or tsb and agree.
On or about 10/25/2008 we noticed a crack in the dashboard of our 2003 Dodge Ram pickup. The crack was approximately 8 inches long and was beginning to crack at different angles. On 10/28/2008 we contacted Chrysler customer assistance and were assigned a reference number: 18023982. We were advised to take our problem to a local dealer. We visited scott gould, service manager at venice Dodge in venice, Florida. Scott did not even look at our problem. He informed us that he knew where the dashes were cracking, was aware of the problem but could do nothing without approval from Chrysler. We called the customer assistance center 1-800-992-1997 and spoke to a suzy who refused to share her last name. Suzy talked to scott and then called us back and informed us that we could have our dash replaced for 250$. I asked her why we had to pay to replace the defective part. She informed us that there was no recall on the defective dashes because it was not considered a safety defect. On 11/18/2008 we had the defective dash replaced at venice Dodge. I have requested the old cracked dash but they have not yet honored that request. The dash material appears to be a hard plastic approximately 3/16 in thick. The visible cracks appeared jagged and sharp. Sharp enough that upon impact they could puncture an air bag or an individual causing injury, serious harm and/or death. The problem with the dashes is not an isolated one. It is extremely widespread. Let this not be the protective netting at the hockey arena. It's time for Chrysler to own up and recall their defective part before something bad really happens if it hasn't already.
I have a 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 with approx. 34,000 miles on it it is well kept over the past few weeks the dashboard has began to split in several places 1 resulted in me cutting my hand.
Several cracks have spread across the dash. No reason for these to have happened and the last one seemed to have completely formed in a day or so. Also have intermittent electrical problems, which from the many reports on the internet seem to be common.
2003 Dodge Ram dashboard cracking since the vehicle was 2 years old and Dodge has continued to ignore the fact that they have an issue with the dashboards cracking. How many do we need to get this issue resolved.
Overnight a crack appeared in my dashboard from the windshield all the way to the front of the dash right behind the steering wheel. The crack is on the driver side of the truck. I have been told that Dodge is not responsible. My vehicle is a 2003 and has been garage kept. I have not yet completed paying for the vehicle. Its a Ram 2500 4X4 cummings diesel and my 4th and final Ram truck.
I have an 03 Dodge 2500 48000 miles. The main dashboard is cracked front to back over the passenger airbag, when the dashboard falls in im afraid its going set off the air bag.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Clearwater, FL, USA