10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
28,732 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

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problem #15

Jan 022020

3500

  • 140,000 miles
The def gauge does not show the correct amount of def fluid that is actually in the tank, it is always showing full.

- Florence, AL, USA

problem #14

Jun 072018

3500

  • 60,000 miles
The issue of the "dead pedal" needs to be fixed. This has left me stranded in the middle of an intersection on several occasions. This has left me on the side of the road hauling a 40" fifth wheel trailer and now today at lunch I stop at a drive through and had to park my truck there as I have a dead pedal. You give it gas and nothing happens. Google it, its a huge issue and could very easily cost someone there life.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #13

Jan 282015

3500

  • 6,700 miles
On Dec. 15, 2014 I received a recall on my 2013 Dodge Ram 2500 diesel. The recall was for a inline fuel heater that may catch fire, it had no apparent fix, no parts, no instructions and no timeline as to when it would or could be fixed. I called the dealership and spoke to the service manager about my concerns, he told me that it was a remote possibility next to none, that the vehicle would catch fire. I asked him if I could park it inside and he said yes, and that the recall was just being sent out as a precaution. On the evening of Jan 28th 2015 at approximately 0:920 pm smoke detectors alerted my dog and he woke me up. I woke my wife up yelling (fire) I panicked I took in a deep breath covered my mouth with my forearm, opened the personal entry door and stepped inside the garage not realizing how bad it was. The amount of heat being generated from the diesel fuel and the structure was so hot the back draft pulled the door out of my hand trapping me in the garage and because it was a schlage combination style there was no turning back, all I could see was complete black and red, red flames was shooting out from under my truck. My neighbor was kicking on my garage door yelling to wake up. I panicked again and hit the up button on the main garage door hoping to make a run for it, the garage door went up about a foot and fell hard because it pulled the door motor from the mounting brackets. I knew the only way out was the front door I used the side of the Dodge as a guide and burnt my left hand, made it out the door and my neighbor handed me the garden hose hanging on the fence. All fire reports indicate the fire started under the hood of the Dodge, the fire investigator from Chrysler said in front of laramie county arson investigators that it originated at the fuel heater. State farm may have settled with Dodge. Please read attachment.

- Cheyenne, WY, USA

problem #12

Nov 022015

3500 4WD 6-cyl

  • 24,000 miles
The new Dodge Ram equipped with cummins diesel experience a dead pedal, or pedal delay when pressing the gas pedal 3/4 to full throttle. This poses a serious risk when needing to get out of the way, or move the vehicle under emergency circumstances. This happens under all conditions: Stopped, rolling, under acceleration etc. If you push the pedal too far the truck will not respond to operator commands and will take 1.5-2 seconds to start picking up speed. This is a seriously dangerous situation and someone is going to get killed or seriously injured. There is not excuse for a vehicle not responding to driver input. Manufacture claims "turbo lag", this is simply not true. You can build turbo boost, monitored on the vehicle gauge, then press the pedal to the floor, the truck will not respond for 1.5 to 2 seconds. Please look at further information on the cummins forum below, it has numerous articles about this issue. Here as a link to just one of them. www.cumminsforum.com/forum/2013-general-discussion/1836593-very-slow-throttle-response.html please, help fix this issue before someone gets hurt or killed due to the inability to move the vehicle out of harms way. This tsb somewhat addresses the problem, but only fixes it partially, not to the point that it is safe. Tsb 18-041-15 I believe the manufacture knows this is an issue, but is not fixing it due to emissions related programming on the vehicle. There are aftermarket solutions to this problem, however they void the manufacture warranty, and im not willing to lose my warranty on a new vehicle. I will be submitting another one of these for my 2015 as well, since they both have the same issue. Thank you.

- Redmond, OR, USA

problem #11

Oct 012014

3500

  • miles
The contact owns a 2013 Dodge Ram 3500. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign numbers: 14V635000 (engine and engine cooling, fuel system, diesel) and 15V541000 (steering); however, the parts to do the repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

- Columbus, IN, USA

problem #10

Oct 152015

3500

  • 60,000 miles
My vehicle is in the shop for a 5th time for the same issue of the engine light comes on, message said error with def system, call dealer. Then message came up and said in 200 miles truck will shut down to only 5 mph. The dealership and now warranty is refusing to fix it again basing their case on "contaminated def" fluid as the cause. I was told this is an issue on these trucks and to fix would be $1700 out of pocket even though it is still under warranty. Once the def was called "contaminated", everyone starting calling me asking for $ to repair the system saying it was my fault the fluid got contaminated. Distance driven from def error code 3 repair at the dealer to def error code 4, less than 100 miles and no def fluid was added since it left the dealer. The problem is recurring and no one wants to fix it. Truck is sitting at the dealer and cannot be driven due to the 200 mile shut down safety issue.

- Hockley, TX, USA

problem #9

Sep 112015

3500

  • 80,000 miles
While driving on the highway the truck starting shaking violently, the speed was reduced the shake ceased but the front driver side tire came off. When taken in a Dodge dealership to inquire about repair, was told they could not repair it. This vehicle has lost power when driving on the interstate highway due to faulty fuel system.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #8

Jul 012014

3500

  • 13,000 miles
Truck loses power when accelerating from a dead stop. As the accelerator is depressed or feathered, the engine loses all power for 2-3 seconds leaving the driver helpless. If I allow the accelerator to return to idle position and then depress the accelerator again, the engine regains power and the vehicle accelerates. This is a very unsafe situation as I was towing a 12K pound trailer and was attempting to pull onto the highway. When the vehicle lost power, I was in jeopardy of being hit by oncoming traffic. This issue has occurred several times. I took the vehicle to the dealer but they were not able to duplicate the fault. I explained that this issue happened while the vehicle was under a load. The dealer never placed the vehicle under a load during their testing.

- Grovetown, GA, USA

problem #7

Nov 292014

3500 4WD 6-cyl

  • 8,000 miles
I was on pa turnpike attemping to merge from a service plaza, when an opening in traffic was available I applied power to merge into line. As I did this my truck did not respond !! I was pulling a 36' fifth wheel trailer at the time and my merge into traffic became very perilious! after what seemed like a very long delay ( and some braking by other motorists ) my vehicle finally started to accelerate. Once the motor responded I had plenty of power to achive speed with traffic. I have told dealer about dead pedal and was told " never heard of it " this has happened to me more that once!

- Detroit, MI, USA

problem #6

Jul 052013

3500 4WD 6-cyl

  • 750 miles
Randomly, while attempting to avoid hazards and/or collisions and while merging onto motorway, gas pedal becomes unresponsive for up to 5 seconds. This usually happens from a dead stop; however, has occurred while traveling at highway speeds also.

- Oakwood, GA, USA

problem #5

Aug 252014

3500

  • 20,000 miles
Engine light came on, message said error with def system, call dealer. Then message came up and said in 200 miles truck will shut down to only 5 mph. Took it to dealership and was told this is an issue on these trucks. They could not get a new part for 2 weeks. I was 3rd on list and 5 more behind me. They're having to order so many that they're back logged. This problem needs fixed fast! surely, they will do a recall.

- Broken Arrow, OK, USA

problem #4

Oct 092013

3500

  • 25 miles
My truck has been plagued with a terrible delay in throttle response. When trying to merge into traffic there is a severe delay between imputing throttle and the truck actually accelerating. It's almost like the truck takes 3-6 seconds to realize throttle input. This has become very dangerous when attempting to merge or turn across traffic. I have taken my truck into the dealership but there is nothing available to rectify this. I am clearly not alone on this, many of us having been having lengthy discussions on the forums in hopes of a fix.

- Baker City, OR, USA

problem #3

Jul 012014

3500 6-cyl Diesel

  • 6,500 miles
When letting off the gas pedal and then pressing again, (like merging or a rolling stop) there is a lag of 1-2 seconds. Very dangerous when pulling out in traffic. Ram says that is normal. This need to be investigated. Thanks

- Magnolia, TX, USA

problem #2

Oct 162013

3500

  • 6,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Dodge Ram 3500. The contact stated that the odor of diesel fuel was present inside the vehicle. The contact indicated that the odor was present when the weather temperature was below 50 degrees. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who could not diagnose the defect. The contact also indicated that while driving and releasing the throttle, the vehicle would continue to accelerate. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Additionally, the transmission became stuck in 4th gear and the vehicle would not accelerate over 5 mph. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but he was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of all failures. The failure mileage was 6000.

- Gretna, LA, USA

problem #1

Oct 162013

3500

  • 6,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Dodge Ram 3500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 mph, she smelled an extremely strong odor of diesel fuel inside of the vehicle intermittently. The failure recurred only when the fresh air control setting was activated. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer twice however, they were unable to duplicate the problem. The manufacturer was notified of the detect. The approximate failure mileage was 6,000.

- Gretna, LA, USA