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.
Death wobble at different speeds and bumps I have replaced some parts and nothing has changed and the more I research this problem the more I learn there are many just like me with the same issue.
@ roughly 30,000 mi I hit a pothole on the freeway (I-80) at highway speed. Immediately got a severe front end shimmy/bounce. Had to slow to about 30mph to get it to stop. I took it to the Dodge dealer ([xxx] in reno) who said it wasn't covered by (50,000 mi) warranty and wanted $2300 to fix it. Took it to a 4 wheel drive specialist who replaced the track bar. About 10,000 miles later it did it again. This time they replaced the upper and lower ball joints. Recently (70,000 mi) it happened again so I took it back. They checked and tightened everything & rebalanced tires and wheel and said they could find nothing wrong. Two days later I got a violent freeway shimmy and it did it again today. I could have easily lost control of the vehicle and been in a serious wreck in either instance. This is dangerous and Dodge doesn't seem to give a [xxx]. I need the truck but I am afraid to drive it. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Truck will go into "death wobble at or around 60 miles an hour, and wont stop until it reaches 30 to 35 mph. This is a recipe for disaster!!!! I urge anyone reading this to file formal complaints with any one who will listen!! im contacting my state rep. On this matter. Just like the corvair, unsafe at any speed.
When I was driving back from a trip I hit a rough patch in the highway and the truck immediately started violently shaking from side to side as though it were bouncing from one front tire to the other in the front end. As I slowed down to pull over the shaking eventually stopped. We checked the car and there seemed to be nothing wrong, but the truck seemed to do the shaking to smaller and smaller bumps on the road and the passenger side tire started to show a marked amount more wear than the others. We replaced the shocks, the outer tire rod, stabalizer shocks, tires and the shaking went away for about a year before it came back. This is very dangerous as the car is very hard to control when it happens and you have to break immediately. When I was called in for a recall, for a seperate issue, by Dodge I tried to talk to the men in the service department about it and they pretended to no nothing about the "death wobble" that I have read about all over the internet and when discussing it with a friend found out he had the same experience with it. It is definately a defect or design flaw in these Dodge trucks, and while I was hoping that Dodge would step up and do a recall, the very least I would have hoped for was an explanation of what I can do to fix it from the dealer rather than a denial of there being a problem at all. I cannot afford to replace this truck and cannot afford to replace the complete front end suspension every year. Someone needs to make Dodge step up and investigate this problem so that people like myself can fix the problem and know that we will have a safe truck to haul with.
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500. The contact stated that while driving over bumpy road surfaces, the front tires would shake excessively. In order to regain control of the vehicle, the contact would have to come to a complete stop. The dealer did not offer any assistance and the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 240,000 and the current mileage was 250,000. The VIN was unavailable.
- Crocket, CA, USA
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I have a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 4X4 5.7 at highway speed of 60 to 65 mph the truck goes into a "death wobble" from any bump in the road it is almost impossible to control my truck is all stock and only has 67,000 miles on it why does Dodge not recall and fix this problem before it hurts or kills some one?
When the vehicle was approx 4yrs old it began the death wobble while on the highway. For the next two years, it seemed to occur only while towing a horse trailer. The vehicle would hit an uneven area, especially on overpasses, and the entire front end of the truck would bounce from side to side becoming unstearable. Stopping on the side of the road was the only way to stop the bouncing. As time went on the wobble occured more frequently and then without towing a trailer. I have replaced the bushings in the track bar with no appreciable improvement. I am now looking into steering stablilizers and heavy duty track bars. This is definitely a manufacturers defect. Dodge should be paying for this fix regardless of age of vehicle.
2004 Dodge Ram. Consumer states problem with front end of truck. Consumer describes a shimmy and shaky motion the consumer stated when she drove over a rough spot in the road or a bump going off a bridge in cruise control mode, the entire truck would shimmy and shake. Once the consumer tapped the brake to disengage the cruise to slow the vehicle down, the shake and shimmy would cease. The consumer took the vehicle to the dealer where they performed maintenance to the front end, but the fix only lasted for a few months. The consumer was informed the vehicle needed U-joints, a damper and the fittings needed to be lubricated. Also, the drag linkage which was recalled needed to be replaced as well.
I have a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup 4X4. When going about 60 mph and hit a bump in the road or a bridge, the truck shakes so violently that I have to pull over to the side of the road. We bought this truck 3 mos ago and the problem described has happened approximately 20 times. I have replaced the stabilizer shock. I have made sure everything under the front & rear end is tight.
While driving under normal conditions truck began shaking violently while traveling about 60 mph and striking bump in road. Truck began to shake so violently that items were falling from visors and items were falling from various storage locations in vehicle. I attempted to gradually slow down and problem actually became worse, until I achieved about 25-30 mph. This is commonly called the "death wobble" and to my understanding Dodge is aware of this. This has occurred on 3 occasions and has caused me to nearly loose control of truck. The first occurrence was so severe I actually called 911 center and asked them to come and check highway, due what I had thought was a to buckle in the pavement. The truck at that time had 30K miles or so. After this occurred I assumed it was due to road condition. Recently when it has occurred again and I began investigating its cause, now realizing its the vehicle, and not the road causing the shaking. This could be deadly as vehicle becomes uncontrollable.
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.
I own a Dodge Ram 2400 and it definitely has the death wobble. When I heard about this problem on the radio and heard them call it the death wobble, I was completely aware of what they were talking about. This is a very good way to describe what happens while you are driving. I have had this problem since 2006. I reported the problem to my local dealer-greenway Dodge in orlando fl. Greenway attempted to fix the problem on 11/24/06 and 12/26/06. If they cannot mimic the problem, they say it does not exist. I have the truck shaking violently on video. After greenway supposedly fixed the problem, we went on a family vacation. Within the first hour of the trip, the truck was shaking violently and my husband had to do whatever he could to control the vehicle. I took the camera out and recorded what was going on. Greenway did not even want to see the video. I told them they returned the truck to us without fixing it and that it was a deathtrap for our family and others on the road. I have made complaints to Dodge customer assistance center and received no help. I contacted the news back in 2007 and received no help. I printed out many many complaints regarding this truck at the www.complaints.com website. This Dodge Ram truck has had this problem for many years. It is not just the make and model that I have. Dodge and Chrysler know of this problem and they are leaving these deathtraps on the road. The entire truck should have been recalled! I am amazed that this company does not care about its customers and does not care about anyone on the road. Everytime we get into the truck we risk our lives and the lives of anyone on the road. Not every truck will stop wobbling when you slow down either. We have to actually pull off to the side of the road, turn off the engine and then start all over again. If we are in the left lane of a 3 lane highway and have to pull over to the side, we have to go across all the lanes and hope that we make it.
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 quad St/slt. The contact stated that the front end of the vehicle shakes violently while driving approximately 70 mph. He took the vehicle to the dealer and they replaced the front stabilizer rod at the cost of $1,000. The failure recurred and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer. The dealer stated that the tires needed to be replaced. The failure mileage was 109,500 and current mileage was 109,900. Updated 10/06/09. The consumer stated the tires were worn out on the outside only. Even when the vehicle had an alignment and the tires rotated the problem still remained the same. The fuel pump module was replaced. Updated 10/09/09.
1. normal driving and operation 2. front hub failures. First at 35,000 miles, second at 42,000 miles (mileage approximate). Potential for front wheel separation from vehicle. No accident. 3. replace front hubs. Failed components are available for inspection if desired.
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.
Vehicle has an uncontrollable shimmy or wobble sometimes at speeds above 40 mph. It seems that there is no rhyme or reason as to when it might occur but is usually precipitated by only minor highway bumps or dips. It will not come back under control until the vehicle slows down considerably. I have had times when I have had to pull over to the side of the road.
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.
: the contact stated while driving at highway speeds of 60mph over bumps, the vehicle violently vibrates intermittently until the brakes are depressed and released. The vibration can be felt through the steering wheel. When the vehicle was taken to the dealership, they determined the upper and lower ball joints on both sides were replaced due to excessive play. However, the replacement of the ball joints did not correct the problem. The vehicle was returned to the dealership on 5-03-06 where the steering damper was replaced. The contact is unsure if this repair has corrected the problem because of its intermittence nature of this defect.
Vehicle dies while driving and has no stopping power. Consumer has taken vehicle to service department and it has been fixed twice. The last time he took it in they didn't want to put it on the machine to check to see if anything was wrong. This happened at least once every week. There was a problem with the front suspension making a clicking/popping noise. Even though dealer could not get it to duplicate they tightened the suspension bolts.
This vehicle is subject to violent shaking of the left front suspension upon hitting a bump at highway speeds. The shaking is so violent that it causes the truck to jump out of it's lane. This has now happened for the third time in 10,000 miles. There are no modifications to this suspension system. I drove directly to the dealer who inspected the truck but report "nothing is wrong" with it. I have since found many complaints describing this phenomena on the internet. All describe this the same way - as violent shaking - and all report the same "cause" ie., highway speeds and small bump or break in the pavement such as a expansion joint etc.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Mena, AR, USA