Extreme rust and corrosion above both sides of the rear wheel wells. Door locks will randomly lock by themselves while driving, stopped or in park. Has locked me out after stepping out to open a gate, had to go get a spare set of keys to unlock.
2003 Dodge RAM 1500: doors won't lock, open or latch
5 of the 1,171 complaints about the 2003 Dodge RAM 1500 describe doors won't lock, open or latch.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 0%
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
Doors won't lock, open or latch by model year
What owners say
I have had two different problems with my vehicle. On or about 19 apr 2006 my dashboard started cracking, and a years later there is a short somewhere in the electrical system, because my windows and door locks only work when they won't to, and my radio volume changes whenever it wants to. I purchased my vehicle jan 2006 with only 34,000 miles. I have searched several websites to find our individuals with the same issues, and low and behold there are several individuals on several different websites with the same issues. However, surprisingly there still aren't any investigations or recalls started.
2003 dodge ram 1500 quad-cab. During normal use and care the dashboard has cracked in two places. A piece has broken off the dash and fell down into the area behind the dashboard. Subsequently, the heater stopped blowing hot air. The heater failure appears to be due to the broken piece of the dash interfering with the heater mechanism behind the dash. No repair or replacement has been attempted at this time. The plastic inserts in the door handles have also failed. This includes the components that hold the window, mirror, and door lock controls.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 1500. The contact stated while attempting to enter the vehicle through the passenger side door, he noticed that the upper door handle fractured from the door without warning. The dealer advised that the door handle would need to be replaced. There were no recalls for the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The current and failure mileages were 55,000.
Shortly after purchasing our ram new from dealer, I experienced a small slight shock when getting in and out of the driver seat coincidentally I hold onto the inside door handle to do this. We have 20" wheels, and I am only 5'4. Mentioned this to the dealer at regular maint. In their service shop. Nothing done. Now this has gone on for 5 years. After appx. 3 years (just after 3/36 warranty expired) my driver door power window/door lock switches are not working correctly. Intermittently they will work for the other doors, but not very often. Also, if driver door is open, the switches don't work at all. I am and have been out of warranty for many miles, they say it's not a known issue, I say it is now! This is unsafe, I would not be surprised to find my vehicle on fire due to the electrical problem they refuse to acknowledge.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2003 Dodge RAM 1500 door locks
Is doors won't lock, open or latch a common problem on the 2003 Dodge RAM 1500?
5 of 1,171 owner complaints about the 2003 Dodge RAM 1500 (0%) mention doors won't lock, open or latch. The model year with the most reports is 2004.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2003 Dodge RAM 1500?
There is no recall or service bulletin for this area of the car on record.
Other symptoms on the 2003 Dodge RAM 1500
Stalling 30Airbag light 29No deployment 27Premature wear 23Grinding brakes 22Engine failure 17Check engine light 15ABS 13Loss of power 13Ball joint 10Whining noise 9Knocking 8Fire or smoke 8Power steering loss 8Seat belt 7Brake failure 6Headlights 6Wipers 6Shudder 5Pulling 5Tire blowout 5Won't start 5
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