I turned the key to start the engine and as it started cranking smoke started coming out of the defroster and then fire started coming out the engine hood. Luckily I had a fire extinguisher handy and opened the hood and put out the fire. Wondered where the fire started so tried starting again and fire started immediately at the rear of the engine or on top of the bell housing. I also smelled fuel. The truck was next to my garage and had been driven a few days earlier. If I had not put out the fire my whole house could have burned down. I donated the truck to wheels 4 vets.

- Canyon Lake, TX, USA

Dashboard falling apart; sharp/jagged pieces of dash cutting into electrical wiring causing shorts, failure of electrical equipment on board truck; while driving on street, highways in motion straight-line and turning.

- Springfield, MO, USA

I have a Dodge Ram 1500 truck. My entire dash is coming apart. A piece flew off and hit me in the face while driving I slammed on the brakes and my wife hit the windshield cracking it. My lights on my ceiling went out don't work

- Hartford, WI, USA

The dash is cracked bad and could cause a person to get cut from this.really cracked badly from the sun.poorly made from plastic.if you want photos, let me know, and I will send you some.

- Santee, SC, USA

The contact owns a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that the dash assembly for the instrument panel failed and caused the controls to collapse inward into the dashboard. In addition, the air bag on/off switch was attached to the panel, the headlamp switch, instrument cluster, and other controls. The contact was concerned that the failure could cause electrical issues and prevent the air bags from deploying or operating correctly. The dealer was no longer in business. The contact stated that the failure has been occurring since 2009 and was initially informed that it was a cosmetic issue with the vehicle. The manufacturer was informed again of the failure and stated that since the vehicle was sixteen years old with 240,000 miles, it could not be serviced by them. The failure mileage was 110,000. The consumer stated the failure had been ongoing since 2005. In 2005 the failure was not considered a safety defect, but now that it is the vehicle is out of warranty due to age.

- Plantation, FL, USA

Dash is falling apart and causing electrical problems. While driving

- Redwater, TX, USA

After about 11,000 miles the dash began to get cracks and fall apart. It gradually has gotten to the point that there are very large holes and pieces of the dash have gotten into the duct work of the vehicle. Also have been having electrical problems with fuses blowing. That is when I took the vehicle to vann Dodge in vineland NJ and reported the problem. They took photos and later called me and said the determined that the dash was failing because of exposure to sun!!! the vehicle is garaged or parked in the shade for most of its early life and cracks and chunks happened for no apparent reason, but this is probably their way out of fixing the problem. Now comes another problem or incident that happened to me because of this faulty plastic that was used to construct the dash. I was driving down the road and turned on my defroster and a piece of plastic blew out of the vent on the top of the dash or lack there of, and hit me in the face causing me to swerve and almost hit an oncoming car. I was lucky that the car avoided me or it could have been tragic. I went back to the dealership 2 months ago to have service on a different vehicle and questioned them on the status of any recall and they asked me for my VIN # of my Dodge Ram pickup which I provided and they said there is no record of me taking the vehicle to them for a inspection, which is totally false!!! they conveniently lost my records on my pick up!!!!! something has got to be done to prevent someone from being killed due to this fault of Chrysler Corp. I have put a replacement skin on the dash but there was not much left to adhere the skin to at a cost of nearly $300 but the pieces continually fall into the vents. Thank you

- Hammonton, NJ, USA

The contact owns a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500. While driving 30 mph, the power steering failed. The vehicle had a past failure with the brakes, corrosion of the frame, a cracked dashboard, and warning indicators illuminating since 26,000 miles. The vehicle was repaired for these failures, but not for the steering failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was approximately 41,000.....updated 01/04/2016

- Hopewell Junction, NY, USA

Blows fuse for dash lights and tail lights.

- Opelousas, LA, USA

My father bought this truck new in 2001, and I bought it from him in 2008. About 20000 miles on the unit when I bought it. In 2008, the dash started cracking and became very brittle, pieces began to break out and has continued to crack and break. It is now 2014, about 32000 miles on this unit, and I am going to have to replace the dashboard with an aftermarket product. Based on the number of complaints from other owners, I would believe that the materials used in the original dash were below acceptable quality. No front end zerk fittings for steering components- cheap design and construction. I had to have new front end assemblies with zerk fittings, at a cost of about $1400. (because Chrysler/Dodge went cheap in construction.) my last Dodge vehicle, I think I can do better.

- Stoneville, NC, USA

I have the same issue as thousands of others with the dash falling apart, this incident happened when the bezel just fell off of the dash onto the steering wheel while traveling down a busy highway. I had to try and steer with one hand while using the other to dislodge the bezel and hold it away from the steering wheel until I could safely pull over to the shoulder of the road. Since then my glove box has fallen off along with the drink holder. I am also concerned that if I am involved in an accident where the air bags may be deployed that the passenger side airbag will cause the dash to explode and send plastic schrapnel inside the cab. This could cause serious damage or death for the passenger and\or driver.

- Humble, TX, USA

The dashboard has been cracking for over 2 years. Large pieces are breaking off and falling into the dash area where there are many electrical wires and vacuum hoses. The pieces that are breaking off are large and have sharp edges that may cut into the wires and hoses and may start fires or electrical failures/shorts. I researched and found out this is a common failure in this vehicle year due to manufacturing. Sometimes as I'm driving, the broken pieces pop out towards passengers in the vehicle. I'm also concerned that a short may deploy the airbags.

- Ventura, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving 5 mph, the vehicle caught on fire without warning. The fire department extinguished the fire and a police report was filed. The contact was not injured. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The mechanic stated that the cause for the fire was unknown. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 227,000. The vehicle was destroyed.

- Omega, KS, USA

The dashboard get destroy to easly and the debries flies to the face making drive insecure because the plastic parts were hiting the face. The powers train gets very easly damage by rocks and debris on the street making it to vulnerable to get destroy (and that happen to me). The charging regulator gets brokes for nothing anytime and you need to be changing the computer or ading an external one and solder it to the principal cables that goes to the alternator, and relays.

- Washington, DC, USA

I am an owner of a 2001 Dodge 1500 truck that was in perfect condition up until 2 days ago, that was when my dashboard caved in. I took my truck to my mechanic for a summer tune-up. I live in Arizona and when those triple digits start rolling in you want to be sure your ac is blowing cold and mine seem to be having some airflow problems. When my mechanic got through inspecting the truck he discovered that my dashboard was slowly "caving in" causing some electrical problems. He decided to take the dash off to get a better look and when he took the screws out the whole dashboard just broke into many pieces. I am very concerned because that dash has many electrical components behind it which could potentially cause some major problems. I am also in favor of a recall, because the dashboard inspector must of been on vacation in 2001 when they let this truck leave the factory with issues like that. Recall that dash!!!

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

Dash had began to crack and cracks have progressed to point of they reach the trim bezel. Initially dealer said to just wait they felt Dodge would recall because it was very common problem. They didn't advise to replace because it would just happen with new one as well. But nothing was ever done and after contacting Dodge customer assistance I was told because of age of truck and mileage now (60,000) nothing could be done. My concerns are if involved in an accident the dash could just crumble and send sharp pieces flying throughout interior. As well as interior of dash being exposed and causing operational issues while driving.

- Chandler, IN, USA

My 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 has had the dashboard disintegrating since 30,000 miles as I was informed by the previous owner. It only had cracks but since I have owned it the dash has literally disintegrated with sharp objects flying about the cab when windows are down. My research suggest that Chrysler used inferior products as a cost reduction, did not acquire the proper manufacturing temperatures which results in cracking, and the dash is inadequately mounted causing flexing. This is a very dangerous situation.........and not a cosmetic issue as Dodge has hidden behind!! when the dash breaks, sharp objects are in flight throughout the cab. When it breaks near the air bags, I believe they will deploy themselves and that alone is a serious event while driving in traffic! Dodge has a history all the way back to my first purchase of a brand new 1973 Dodge Ram, ignoring warranty and making excuses of why things aren't their fault! it's high time this company assumes it's responsibility especially after tax payers bailed them out!!!! I have fought many battles with this company concerning warranty issues as well where a brand new 1976 Dodge Ram I purchased spun the races in the rears as a result of defective manufacturing!!! the time for making excuses is old, it's time for action and assuming responsibility for an inferior product!!!

- Lehigh Acres, FL, USA

My 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 4X4 keep stalling when decelerating. The engine will start right up again when I turn the key but unless I keep my foot on the gas it dies again and again. It's always at low speeds like in a parking lot or approaching stop signs or red lights. This is very dangerous in traffic. I have had it to 3 different mechanics and we've replaced the alternator and the battery (twice on the battery) and it is still doing the same thing. Sometimes it runs fine and then it just starts quitting on my.

- Halifax, MA, USA

Headlights were on high beam and dimmed lights and lost all of the headlights. It was early morning but there was enough light for me to slow and pull over to the side of the road. I kept moving the dimmer switch back and forth between high and low beam until the lights finally came back on. I left them in low beam and drove the rest of the way to work on low beam. When I got home later after work I waited till night time and pulled my truck into my car port and repeated what had happened on that morning. On about the fifth try the lights went out again, I then repeated flipping the dimmer switch back and forth between high and low beam and after many attempts was able to get the headlights back on. The next day took it to the dealer for repairs, they replaced the dimmer switch and the mechanic who worked on my truck told me that was no the first one he had replaced and told me I was very lucky. If it had failed in heavy traffic on a two lane highway and under darker night conditions and at a higher rate of speed I probably would have wrecked. I believe this is a design flaw.

- Cordova , AL, USA

The dashboard started falling apart shortly after I purchased the truck. Pieces of the dash keep falling down into the area where the wires are at.

- Lithia, FL, USA