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.
Park position with ignition key in the lock position, vehicle shifter moved out of park, knocked owner down and ran over me, continued to roll back hit second car, continued to keep going until it hit a curb. This was a very dangerous and could have caused other accidents. Consumer sent in a fax copy of the internet voq.
Transmission will shift through all gears approaching 30mph... it will then need to be almost floored to get the truck to down shift so I can begin to move at a quicker rate of speed. Overdrive slips everytime you press the pedal and sometimes won't go into overdrive. From what I understand the torque converter has faulty clutches causing them to break down. The debris clog up the check valve out of the cooler blocking flow of fluid to the transmission... therefore causing severe damage as early as 20miles within check valve clogging. Dodge needs to understand this problem because I'm going to loose a trans soon and thousands of other people already have. Dodge replaces the transmission leaving the clogged check valve this causes the second transmission to go etc. I believe you get this gist of it. Someone needs to do something about this why is our government blind to the cheap, dangerous and faulty assembly of this vehicle. Someone please force a recall on these powertrains!!! the Dodge owning citizens are tired of being taken advantage of day after day.
- Washington Crossing, PW, USA
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My fiance is the owner of a 1997 Dodge 1500 4X4 pickup. The problem is that we have had the transmission repaired/change 4 times since we have taken possession of the vehicle in 2002. I check the defects for that vehicle on your "defect information" & sure enough there it is. We have had nothing but trouble with this truck since we purchased it. The hood latch is always loose & finally cause the hood to fly up while driving down the road with me & my 2 children. The tail gate has fallen off in the middle of traffic. The drivers door has been replace because the it sags. And finally, the bumper has just about completely rusted away since we've owned it. I feel we got the biggest lemon. I emailed Dodge directly with this same issue & received no response. Hopefully, your Agency can help. Thank you for your time. Angela sayre.
Seats will not recline nor flip forward. This has caused a back seat passenger to fall getting out of the 1997 Dodge Ram becoming injured. Vehicle misses, stutters and engine pulses at 50 mph. Has been doing this since first onwer. Transmission rebuilt and still does it. Dealer can not find problem after spending $900 on a tune-ep and diagnostics. Check engine light stays on. Doing since first owner. Dealer checks, charged hundreds of dollars and within 8 hours of use light comes back on and stays light. Occasionally it will blink then remain on. Taken to dealer again and they stated this vehicle is sensitive even a gas cap not tight will trigger the check engine light. This light remains on, what is wrong with my engine - nothing!
I own a 1997 Dodge Ram 1500 w/93,000 on it the problems began the radiator $250 just for the part went bad then transmission went out Dodge is infamous for the transmission problems I had to pay $1900 to get it fixed after that was done the fuel rail & O ring started to leak another well know defect on Chrysler vehicles my truck was visibly losing gas & obviously dangerous there is no way to repair the defective cap you have to buy the whole fuel rail from the dealer for $300 just for the part. I think that is not only ridiculous but dangerous & an obvious problem with other chyrsler vehicles & yet nothing has been done.
Early transmission failier. 1997 Dodge Ram 1500 slt. Mileage: 62823. Automatic transmission dealership requested transmission replacement. Torque converter lock up and metal in fluid pan was diagnosis.
While driving at 35-45 mph vehicle suddenly stopped accelerating. The vehicle felt as if it was in neutral. Transmission burned fluid, causing it to fail. A mechanic ant the transmission repair shop indicated that this was due to the coolant not circulating through the transmission when vehicle was idling in the park gear. Transmission needed to be rebuilt. Consumer was told by two different mechanics that rear wheel drive Chrysler vehicles if in park with the engine running, coolant doesn't circulate to the transmission. Consumer phoned Chrysler customer service and they advised her to contact NHTSA for a possible recall. Consumer learned of the trans coolant connect recall. Then she recalled that part being replaced prior to the failure. The fluid was checked before the vehicle was towed, and it was thick and brown as a result of being burnt. The consumer feels a fair resolution would be for Chrysler to reimburse her at least half the cost of the transmission repairs.
Transmission failed two weeks after routine service (fluid change, new filter, band adjustment). Had no previous driveability problems before service. Fluid level and condition checked monthly since truck was purchased (new) in March, 1997.
This is the second complete transmission failure on this vehicle. The first failure was at 66174 miles. So the factory replacement lasted only 1335 miles. This truck is used primarily for transportation and driven primarily on the highway. It has rarely been used for other than very light duty use and even then the manufactures recommended limits have never been exceeded. The first incidence of transmission failure was reported due to the inability of the dealer to diagnose the problem after four repair trips and until catastrophic failure of the transmission. The replacement transmission also completely failed and had to be replaced within 1335 miles.
Continuous transmission trouble:minor slipping, searching for a gear, surging, not going into passing gear, when it does it does not stay there, clunks hard when put in rev. Vibration at start up(moving) heat shield or rear-end, @time of original trade, when they changed the oil they eiter didnt put any in or very little I had to add 5qts now there is a ticking noise on the pass, side of engine, the salesman lied to me about the truck I asked him "has this ever plowed or towed anything before?" he said "no" after talking to prev.owner they were towing a big boat with it.at this time I have a complaint with the me. Atty gen, Dodge, file#9921927 on 4-18-02, may I please have a copy of this with your letterhead as well as a reply so I can foward this to the atty gen. Thank you!!!!
While pulling onto a ramp rear wheel locked up. Vehicle taken to a repair shop, and informed consumer that pinion gear sheared off in rear end. Dealer and the manufacturer were notified. The vehicle made a noise when accelerating uphill, the heat shield broke and was fixed. The transmission locked up.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Pawnee, IL, USA