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.
Dodge death wobble. I have a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 that has the death wobble. I see not many have been reported, but everyone ends up with it at one point. Read message boards. They all talk about their experiences. I have to pay 300 bucks to replace parts that are recommended to possibly solve the problem. It is not deadly if handled correctly, but it causes you to have to stop immediately. I had to stop 3 times on the pa turnpike over the weekend. Just got back from dealer. Only suggested to try changing the steering dampener. That is not the issue though.
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500. While driving 60 mph he struck a pothole, and then the front end of the vehicle began to shimmy. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. The technician replaced all four tires. After the repair the failure resurfaced. The technician recommended the replacement of the tie rods, ball joints and steering damper. No repairs were made. The failure mileage was 27,000. The current mileage was 35,000.
When driving my 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 and I hit a bump in the road the truck shakes uncontrollably. This is has happened before and I took it to the dealer who says there is nothing wrong with it. We have replaced all parts in front end that might have been bad and it still continues to happen, this truck only has 40,000 miles on it. We have a friend with a 2005 that has the same problem.
We own a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500, they had a recall on it was H46, which was a steering linkage, we took it our dealer and they said that it was ok, but the steering shaft was about to fall out. Failure is imminent, they said vehicle is unsafe for the road, I tried to buy the lower shaft, but I can't get it without buying the upper shaft, because of a design change. Why would they change the design if there wasn't a problem, we ask this question to Chrysler and they couldn't or wouldn't answer our question. We drive this vehicle daily and could not feel any play or difference in the wheel. If not for the recall H46 we could have had an accident. Why do these companies wait until somebody get seriously hurt or die before they decide to take action with a problem they know they have. Why we are sending this to you because they redesigned apart and no explanation why.
- Windsor, NH, USA
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Steering column has clicking noise. Dodge said it needs to be replaced. The truck only has 47K miles. (already had to replace computer because truck would shut off while going down the highway). I'm concerned I will just lose steering. This truck has been nothing but trouble.
I have had several problems with the front end of my 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 3/4 ton four wheel drive ranging from poor ride (shaking and shimmying), tire wear, and several gearboxes being replaced. I originally took it in with 35,000 miles on it to the dealership and they told me the problem was due to the tires being out of balance and that the tire were wore wrong causing the shimmy feeling. Now, two years later the tires on the right side are destroyed, so I took it back to the dealer and they told me it needed an alignment. I took it to local tire company to have new tires and an alignment done and they informed me that the upper and lower ball joints the need to be replaced along with one tie rod at 52,000 miles, costing $1,500 for the work on the front end and $900 for tires. For a vechicle that has never been abused or seriously taken off-road this is ridiculous.
When truck is at highway speeds - 65mph and above, and hits a bump, pot-hole, or other in the road, it develops a severe shimmy/shake (aka death wobble) in which the truck becomes out of control and has to be brought to almost a complete stop in order for the driver to regain control.
I too have recently experienced the violent shaking/shimmy or death wobble"with the 2004 Ram 2500, the first time at 75-80 mph and could do nothing to stop the problem, . I figured I was going too fast and hit a bump at a weird angle. Then, it happened again at 60-65 mph with the same results. You have to just hang on and slow the truck down and hope people get out of the way. The third time it was the final one. I took the truck to the dealership, and they replace the steering damper, that was accomplished with no help. The problem actually got worse and occurred again at much lower speed. I will be replacing the inner and outer right tie rods, and will try again once they arrived. Until then I would be confined to city driving. Dodge needed to wake up and see that this was an extreme safety problem that must be looked into before someone gets killed.
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500. While driving approximately 75 mph under normal driving conditions the vehicle began to vibrate violently. The contact was able to reach his destination, but had to drive approximately 55 mph to prevent the vibration. The vehicle was currently being inspected by the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 60,000. The consumer stated the vehicle is company property and assigned to him. The dealer to the consumer the steering stabilizer had worn out. Updated 07/06/07.
I will be driving along in my truck when it completely shuts off. The steering wheel locks up and I am unable to brake. The truck has already landed in a ditch and posted a major traffic hazard when these episodes occur. In addition, many times my five year old son is with me.
Vehicle is in for a third time for same violent shaking at 65mph as reported to this site before. This vehicle is bound for a fatal head-on! I have found numerous complaints of the same problem nationwide on the internet. Dodge bought back 32 vehicles from the state of Maine for the same reason. Is anyone at the NHTSA looking into this? I have video of the problem showing a violent high speed wobble and bounce of the front-end. The video was taken from a second vehicle as I traveled at about 70 mph.
At less than 4000 miles on my '04 Dodge Ram 2500 I experienced violent shaking in the front-end at about 70-75 mph. I had to slow to about 35 to recover. This occured on a poor stretch of interstate therefor I avoided this stretch for sometime. At about 13000 miles I experienced the same problem and had to come to a complete stop to recover. This occured three more times on that trip and each time the onset occured at a slower speed. The shake is so violent that there is no steering control and slowing to abruptly enhanced the problem. I have seen several similar complaints on the internet yet only five reported to the NHTSA. There are currently three other pickups with the same problems being serviced at the same dealership I took mine to. I was told by the mechanic that they haven't tracked the problem and Dodge has been of no help. I currently have 600 miles on it since the repair and the problem is back. This problem without a doubt will cause a fatal crash. I am currently restricted to town driving until this problem is solved. Note: The date noted below for the date and mileage of occurence is only an estimate.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Greensburg, PA, USA