10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
75,862 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 engine problems

engine problem

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2004 Dodge Ram 1500 Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #23

Sep 202018

Ram 1500

  • 301,932 miles

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

The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving out of the driveway, an abnormal squeaking noise occurred coming from the steering wheel. The contact also stated that when making turns, an abnormal scraping noise occurred coming from the steering wheel. There were no warning lights illuminated. In addition, the contact also stated that while the driver was at a stop light and to go the vehicle jerked, then failed to accelerate. The contact coasted to the side of the road powered off the engine. The vehicle was restarted and was able to drive normally. No warning lights illuminated. The contact called hayes Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of gainesville ((770) 535-2835, 3115 frontage rd, gainesville, ga 30504) where it was determined that the VIN was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 301,932.

- Gainesville, GA, USA

problem #22

Jan 222016

Ram 1500

  • 130,000 miles
Turn signal, winshield wipers, and speed control has a mind of their own. Half the time not working the rest of the time the when signaling to turn right the right dont work then when signaling left the right side blinks instead of the left. The winshield wipers just randomly swipe sometimes when not even cranked and keys not even in the ignition.

- Birmingham, AL, USA

problem #21

Sep 232014

Ram 1500

  • 77,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled, the cruise control failed, and the speedometer failed to function properly. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was 77,000.

- Plattsburgh, NY, USA

problem #20

Nov 062015

Ram 1500

  • 101,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. While driving 60 mph, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the failure occurred numerous times. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle would not accelerate for a brief moment and then accelerated rapidly without warning. The vehicle was taken to be repaired, but the mechanic could not find a failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 101,000.

- Levitown, PA, USA

problem #19

Jun 192006

Ram 1500

  • 16,200 miles
While pulling out of a parking lot to proceed on a main road the vehicle died when I attempted to pull out and cross multiple lanes of on coming traffic. I pushed the accelerator and the truck briefly accelerated and then just died. I was able to put it in neutral and restart the engine. I purchased this vehicle with approximately 6500 miles on it and now I have 204000. This is the 4th occasion it has stalled while at low speed for no reason. The latest occasion just occurred ON08/11/15 while I was going threw a round about. I entered the round about turning slightly to the right, half way around coming out of the turn as it was straightening the truck just shut down. In all the occurrences I have been traveling at lower speeds 30 mph or less. 2 almost causing a crash with another vehicle. On the last occurrence I was able to restart the truck while coasting in neutral, even though the side of the dash that the gear range is burnt out so you cant actually see what gear you are in. All the times it has stalled it has been during summer months hot outside and no precipitation. At times the truck will hit a low RPM while at an idle but will recover. The vehicle has gone years in between stalls first 2 when the truck had less than a 80K, and the last 2 stall outs about a year apart. No codes stored in the computer. Totally random events.

- New Palestine, IN, USA

problem #18

Aug 162015

Ram 1500

  • 133,000 miles
My family and I was driving down the road. (we had just had the truck serviced about 4 days prior at our local dealership.) all the sudden the truck makes this sound. I slowed down, rolled my window down trying to figure out if it was my vehicle or not. Very faint at first and increased with a loud boom. I get out to find my drive shaft on the ground. And the pinion nut nowhere to be seen. Gone. Luckily we were on a country road and my family is safe.

- Henderson, KY, USA

problem #17

May 292015

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • 80,000 miles

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

Was driving at about 25 mph had just made a left turn, and out of no where my truck went side ways heard a screeching tire sound then a bang, then the whole truck started to shake very violently. I braked immediately and the banging continued, I was in the middle of the roadway and tried to give it gas to get to the edge of the street but the banging go worst, turn off and exited the truck, noticed a big piece of metal in the middle of the road along with a lot of oil, ran up to it to only notice it was half of my drive shaft, it had snapped in two still attached to a piece of the rear end, along with fragment pieces all over the floor of the differential housing, seemed like something blew up in the differential. I looked under the truck and noticed the banging noise and violent movement was coming from the other half of the drive shaft that was still attacked to the transmission that was still spinning when I had it in gear. The car behind me had to avoid the drive shaft that snapped off since he said it flew out the rear of my truck as I was driving. Had to get towed home and have the differential oil cleaned of the road way. I went home and notice there was a recall for this very same thing at it covered trucks manufactured January 28 of 2004 through August 3, 2005, my truck was manufactured April 2004 so it should be covered but the dealer and manufacture are giving the run around. Please help!

- Reseda, CA, USA

problem #16

Nov 222014

Ram 1500

  • 198,000 miles
While coming to a stop, the truck lost all power and stalled. I immediately restarted the truck and proceeded to the next intersection, and it lost power and stalled again while braking to a full stop. I was able to make it two miles closer to my home, came to a stop and the engine revved up slightly, and then idled low to the point where I thought it was going to stall again. I got it home and had it towed to my mechanic. The truck was checked out, the truck did not stall after repeated testing for the next week. I picked it up, got a quarter mile down the road and it lost power and stalled again. I immediately returned it to the mechanic and, again, the truck did not duplicate the stalling, but the mechanic did see it rev up when coming to a stop. The mechanic replaced the idle positioning sensor and I picked up my truck only for it to stall on my way home. My mechanic has had my truck more than I have over the last two months and the problem remains undiagnosed. After basic research on Dodge forums, this is a problem that many other people are dealing with and nothing has been done to address this issue. This is a major safety issue considering that the truck loses power and stalls without warning in the middle of turns and coming to a stop. Please help resolve this issue before it costs someone their life. I am not the only person having this problem.

- Palmdale, CA, USA

problem #15

Mar 282014

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • 86,400 miles
While driving in my neighborhood at 25 mph vehicle lost power and didn't want to take the gas then cut off. Would not restart, engine would rotate but not start. Pumped the accelerator then engine restarted and ran rough with no power. Had vehicle towed to dealership to be check. I was told that the engine was blown. When I check the dash the throttle elec. Light was on.

- Fayetteville , NC, USA

problem #14

Nov 052012

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • 95,000 miles
In the fall of last year the check engine light came on in my 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. The code that came up was misfire in cylinder 8. I took it to a mechanic and they said it was the fuel injector which they replaced. A few days later after getting my truck back the light came on again. This time the code was misfire in cylinder 6. I took it to a very trusted mechanic who stated it was a rocker arm that had come off due to junk in the engine. Once it was fixed again the light came on saying misfire in cylinder 8. the mechanic said it was the rocker arm on that cylinder and replaced it. This happened 4 more times in the next month. The mechanic, who is very reputable, believes this is a manufacturing defect that will continue to occur no matter how often it is repaired. He also stated he has seen this in many many Dodge trucks and most notably in the 474 engine. It is an engine and safety issue due to loss of throttle which occurs very often when the problem is on going and is definite risk of causing an auto accident. This code is coming up every other day now and I believe it needs to be recalled.

- West Valley City, UT, USA

problem #13

Feb 252013

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • 49,500 miles

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

Vehicle stalls when slowing down for a stop sign, traffic or red light or when turning.

- West Mifflin, PA, USA

problem #12

Feb 032012

Ram 1500

  • 30,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact was driving 55 mph when the vehicle began to jerk abnormally. The electronic throttle control light illuminated and the vehicle would not shift into any higher gears. The vehicle was maneuvered to the shoulder and shut off. Upon restart, the failure continued. The vehicle was taken to an authorize dealer and they were unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 30,000.

- Lusby, MD, USA

problem #11

May 042011

Ram 1500

  • 104,857 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph the electronic throttle control went into limp mode and the warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was stopped and shut off. Upon restart, the vehicle operated as normal. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on several occasions where it was repaired. The failure continued. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 104,857 and the current mileage was 105,909.

- Adairsville, GA, USA

problem #10

Apr 192011

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • 66,945 miles
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 #9

Mar 182011

Ram 1500

  • 115,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. While driving at any speed, the contact stated that the accelerator pedal would continuously become stuck in the open throttle position causing the vehicle to abnormally accelerate more than 85 mph. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact did not inform the manufacturer nor was the vehicle repaired. The current and failure mileage was 115,000. The VIN was unavailable. Updated 05/04/11 updated 1/11/11

- Pasadena, CA, USA

problem #8

Dec 192010

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • 50,000 miles
2004 Ram 1500 5.7 hemi stalls at low engine speeds, often at stop signs, traffic lights, or parking lot maneuvers. Will usually start immediately back up, sometimes requires slight accelerator pressure when cranking in order to obtain self-sustaining engine speed. During decelerations, engine RPM is erratic and will often encounter a transient drop in RPM's to approximately 400 RPM before engine dies. Issue seems to be more common and severe in cold weather, or when engine is cold, but has occurred under all conditions. This has been a persistent problem for about two years, happening anywhere from once a day to a dozen times. Multiple dealerships and mechanics have looked at this, without result. The computer has been updated, the sensors, egr valve, and intake manifold cleaned, and the throttle body has been replaced. Still not fixed. Vehicle has been well maintained and has less than 55K miles. This is an expensive, dangerous, and frustrating condition.

- Stone Mountain, GA, USA

problem #7

Mar 152009

Ram 1500 8-cyl

  • miles
2004 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup, engine RPM's surge consistently with no consequence other than the truck shutting down. Starts back most of the time with no problem but there has been instances where the truck does not want to restart. While driving the RPM's run fine but when you decelerate for turning or parking or intersections the truck is slow to gear down and the RPM's surge again shutting the truck down. This is a constant problem with the truck.

- Gruetli Laager, TN, USA

problem #6

Mar 232010

Ram 1500

  • miles
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram. The contact stated that while driving 20 miles per hour, the vehicle accelerated. The failure previously occurred during rainy weather conditions. The accelerator pedal was not the cause of failure since no pressure was applied to the accelerator pedal. The police were contacted due to the property damage and a report was filed. The contact stated that the vehicle was involved in an crash in 2005 when the brakes did not engage. The contact had not spoken with the manufacturer. The vehicle was under investigation with the insurance company. The vehicle will be towed to the dealer for assessment. The current and failure mileages were not available.

- Port Saint Joe, FL, USA

problem #5

Feb 022009

Ram 1500

  • miles
The driver owns a 2004 Dodge Ram. While driving approximately 60 mph, the vehicle began accelerating and slowed down on its own without the brake pedal being depressed. The vehicle was driven to the dealer for diagnostic testing and they stated that the accelerator pedal position sensor was defective. The vehicle has not been repaired and the manufacturer was not notified. The current mileage was 75,705 and the failure mileage was unavailable.

- Mauldin, NC, USA

problem #4

Feb 262007

Ram 1500 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 58,000 miles
Vehicle was traveling at a slow speed and the engine quit without warning. The engine stalling usually occurred S in low speed situations, like in town driving. When the engine stalled power steering failed without warning. Since that date the engine has quit a number of times, more than 10 times. It will restart after key was switched to off. I took the truck to a dealer on 2-28-07, and I was told the problem was with the throttle body. There were enough throttle bodies failing for these trucks that the supplier was out of units until almost a month later. Also, I was a told that this part wasn't under warranty. The truck ran erratically at low throttle settings.

- Caledonia, OH, USA

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