Tl*the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, there was a loud abnormal noise. In addition, the tires seized and the drive shaft fractured. The vehicle was not able to be driven due to the failure. The vehicle was towed to a dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.
2003 Dodge RAM 1500 transmission complaints
Page 3 of 5: complaints 41 to 70 of 125, newest first, as owners wrote them.
My wife, kids and mother in law were driving north in miami heading to fort lauderdale the truck made a loud whining noise and then suddenly the rear wheels locked up and there was a huge bang and smoke rose from the rear of the truck. The aluminum driveshaft was split in 2 and there was oil all over the underside of the truck and on the ground. The truck would not roll at all and a flat bed needed to be used to bring the truck back to potamkin planet dodge. The mechanic that did the tear down on the rear axel said he initially thought it could be rebuilt but I was contacted later and I was told that it was so frozen they couldn't free up the gears, I had to buy a new axel. The rebuilt replacement axel cost me $4334.01. The reason I'm now sending this in is because I just saw the recall notice that went out for the 2004 and up trucks and when I read the descriptions from the people that had submitted all of the complaints I realized how similar everyone's story was and that my situation may not have been just dumb luck due to a simple mechanical failure. The mechanics that worked on my truck were not surprised at all and made it seem like this is a pretty common failure on these trucks and I didn't even think at the time that it may have been a manufacturing or assembly defect. If my 2003 dodge ram 1500 axel had the same lot number or series serial number or came from the same factory then this recall should be expanded further back to cover all impacted parties. I owned the truck since it was brand new and it was not used as a work truck or any tough duty truck, it was our daily driving truck and I still own it today. I take care of my vehicles and people don't believe the truck is 12 years old when I tell them.
Driving down interstate 60 MPH, drive shaft fell out from under truck, rear wheels locked up. Mechanic said the pinion broke off. Truck rear wheels would not turn. Couldn't roll the vehicle off the interstate. Some one pulled it off with a chain.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 1500. While making a right turn at approximately 10 MPH, the driveshaft suddenly detached from the rear of the vehicle and caused the rear wheels to seize. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 200,000.
Vehicle jumped as if something was struck but nothing was, and started to whine within the rear differential.
Rear axle pinion became loose and dropped to the bottom of the case. The u-joints on the drive shaft broke and the drive shaft separated from the vehicle. The back end locked up. Dodge made no previous attempt to notify me of a problem with the pinion in my 4 wheel drive truck nor did they do anything to fix it prior to the vehicle breaking down. It is now an expensive repair. Would like to be reimbursed for the repair.
Rear axle locked up while driving and snapped bolts to the drive shaft then drive shaft fell off onto the road. Truck came skidding to a stop. Rear axle will not turn at all.
There was not an accident but could have been. The clips in the differential fall out and could cause axles to lock up which could be very dangerous at speed. When changing my fluid I found these clips in the bottom of the case. This is a very common and dangerous problem. If these clips were to get caught in the ring and pinion gears it would have been scary. Dodge should be recalling these.
Tl* the contact stated 2003 dodge ram 1500. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle made a loud thumping sound and immediately after the check engine light illuminated. The contact was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the clutch assembly and transmission would have to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 33,000 and the current mileage was 36,000.
When I was pulling on the highway from entry I was depending on my cars engine when I was trying to accelerate car first jump then shut of completely and as a busy highway route 80 I was almost got run over by a trailer good thing I'm experience driver car stall out and didn't start for easy 1 minuet at this time I was on side of the road after that day car randomly stalls out I try to understand what's the problem it doesn't give me any related code also cruise control is when u set a speed and you slow down with the button but sometimes car will take off faster engine has multiple design errors that makes the engine fail out of nowhere.
Rear pinion nut came off of rear end causing the rear end to lock up completely. Driveshaft broke off and rear tires locked up causing a total loss of control. *tr ...updated 01/07/15 *bf updated 06/2/2015
I had just stopped my truck in front of my garage and, with my foot on the brake, shifted into the park gear position. Suddenly the engine began to race and my foot on the brake peddle went to the floor as if I had no brakes at all. I took my foot off of the brake peddle and the engine leaped forward through my garage door. I hit the brakes immediately and came to a screeching stop. I put the truck in reverse but it would not engage. A neighbor came and asked if I needed help. I asked him to try backing out of the garage for me. He took my place behind the wheel and shifted into reverse with the same result. He asked me if I had the emergency brakes on because the truck would not move. I told him no and when he attempted to use reverse again the gears engaged and he backed the truck out of the garage for me.
Differential/ rear end has gone out on me twice now. The first time was after camping, where I was towing a light truck bed trailer with camping stuff. Noise developed and increased over a few months. Took it in before it failed. Had to have it rebuilt - clips coming off, etc. The 2nd time was about two years later - I was on city streets , going only 5mph since it was busy, when I stopped at a light. I felt / heard a clunk. My rear differential had totally lost the clips, and coils broke. Thank god I was not going fast. I had it totally rebuilt again. I know from facebook and the web that it is known that ram 2002 to 2005 rear end c-clips are bad, and have caused many accidents, some at high speed. I don't understand why this is not a recall!!! I have spent my own money 2x to get this fixed and I do not tow even though I bought a truck that was supposed to be a work / towing truck.
My son (16) was driving his 2003 dodge ram 1500 up to a stop light before turning onto our street, when truck made a loud noise and it felt like someone ran into the back of the truck, he lost control of truck while all this going on, but managed to keep in the lane he was in. Truck finally stopped and when he got out the drive shaft had fallen off and the rear wheels are locked up. Some men pulled him off the main road and we called for a tow truck to tow us to our house, until I could find out where to take the truck to on monday. The rear wheels just skid across the road while being pulled to a safe spot and I am hoping I don't need new tires, since the tires we have on were just bought in july/august 2013.
I own a 2003 dodge ram 1500 v8 with 4.7 now with 155k miles, I had truck since 2005 . I always took great and still take great care of it. The following event has happen twice to me , one year apart from each other . The first time 2011 truck has about 120k miles, I was doing 30 mile an hour when a loud grinding started I was able to slow down to 10 miles an hour before the big bang noise occur and drive shaft felt off in the middle of a very busy intersection in stpete florida ( 49th st and ulmerton ) the rear end had lock up my tires , even the big flat bed tow truck had hard time picking me up , the second time 2012 it happen in tampa florida 140k miles also in a very busy hwy (veterans express) . Second time the grinding noise was less louder when I first heard it , or I heard it way early jeje I knew what it was already so I let off the gas and let truck slow down but the big bang happen , lucky this was the second time this happen I knew what it was and I was already getting off the right shoulder , the second event happen with a second set of drive shaft and rear end, both time the rear end lock up my rear tires . Due to pinion and pinion nut malfunction and costly repairs I write to you today . The truck runs today , but the grinding noise is back. Is their recall or new better parts .
I was driving my dodge when I heard a grinding popping noise coming from the rear end. I immediately pulled over. And a local mechanic shop. They said bring it in so I did my pinion nut backed off and I needed a whole new rear end for the second time something needs to be done cause im only 17 and cant afford to keep putting $1000 + in a truck for the same thing.
While reverse parking at approximately 10 MPH; the accelerator stuck to bottom of vehicle floor (sending vehicle to speed exceeding 70 MPH) and it accelerated out of control. In an attempt to stop and avoid hitting pedestrians and building behind me; I hit the brakes, but the brakes would not stop the vehicle. I was forced to place the vehicle in park shift position while hitting brake, in order to stop vehicle. At first the shift control stopped in 'd' and the vehicle shot forward, but I kept hitting the brakes. And eventually; I managed to get it in the park position and it stopped the vehicle.
While driving, heard a loud noise and lost control as the back wheels locked up and back end fishtailed. Turns out the drive shaft dropped because of a sudden rear differential failure. Apparently there is a known flaw in the manufacturing \ design of the rear differential and sadly, chrysler\dodge is doing nothing to resolve the problem and insure the safety of their customers and vehicles. It is only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured ....... Chrysler\dodge's profits should not be allowed to grow at the expense of public safety . . . .
Truck stalls every time I start slowing down for a stop sign or red light and sometimes when I turn corners. When idling it shuts off immediately unless I throttle to keep rpms up. Also stalls when I put it in reverse. I've been almost hit several times when pulling into an intersection. Replaced all known causes and nothing has fixed the issue. I have read in some sites I may need a software update from dodge dealership.
While pulling out into busy traffic my truck lost power and I had no acceleration. After about 30 seconds the vehicle kicked back in and took off. This has occurred multiple times, at random, with no warning. I have had it in the shop and repaired the throttle positioning sensor, and treated it for water in the gas. Neither one of these solved the problems, and they have no answers for what else may be wrong. This is a dangerous situation that is not unique to my vehicle. I have read many other cases online for the same problem. I do hope that dodge issues a recall and finds a remedy before someone is seriously injured or killed.
I was driving the truck at approximately 45 MPH when suddenly their was a loud bang and the rear wheels completely locked up. This caused the vehicle to skid about 60 feet before coming to a stop in the right lane of traffic. Upon examination, it appeared that the rear differential had locked up, causing the drive shaft to separate from the rear differential. I was sitting in the right lane of traffic, unable to move the truck from the road way. We had to direct traffic until the tow truck arrived. Fortunately no one was injured. Total repair bill to replace the faulty rear differential: $2,681.31.
Was driving our vehicle 2003 dodge ram 1500 p/u in normal conditions, suddenly there was a whining noise from the rear end and a lot of drag. Shortly after a loud thud, the driveline had disconnected from the rear differential. The repair shop said the differential had seized, most probably due to a bad pinion bearing. After conducting research, both by myself and the shop owner, we both have found that it is a defect common to dodge, as even acknowledged by the local dealership and that it is extremely difficult and/or expensive to locate replacement parts for the problem.
Tl*the contact owns 2003 dodge ram 1500 quad st (na). While driving at an unknown speed, the contact stated that the rear end of the vehicle locked up, causing the vehicle to come to a stop without warning. The dealer and manufacturer were informed and they both stated that there was no warranty on the vehicle and that the rear end needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The current and failure mileages was approximately 100,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 1500. The contact was driving 5 MPH and attempting a turn when the rear driver side wheel fractured from the axle causing the contact to be involved in a single car crash. The contact sustained minor injuries and the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer for diagnosis. The contact was informed that the wheel had fractured from the axle. The dealer advised that the failure could potentially have derived from the contact striking something from under the vehicle to cause the failure. The rear axle was replaced. The failure and current mileages were unavailable. Updated 11/16/10.
Driving on highway in 2004 & 2008, engine quit running(dodge calls it a stall). Dodge trouble shooting database does not include this problem. Other independent data bases point to loss of crankshaft or camshaft pulse. There are no codes for this event, therefore no corrective action was taken after several scans at dealers. Safety hazard: possible multiple rear end collisions and possible fires. Ref. Dot / the federal safety agency vehicle owner's questionnaire no. 10251962.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 1500. The consumer stated from time to time, the vehicle would not engage in reverse for 10-15 seconds. The dealer replaced the transmission oil sump, cooler bypass and torque converter. Since then, he has had to return to the dealer several times for the same problem. The dealer then stated they could not find a problem with the transmission. The failure mileage was 59,000. Updated 2/22/10 *cn updated 06/25/10.
Hydraulic clutch went out, unable to shift gears (standard trans) odom under 60,000 could cause crash due to low speed. And inability to safely stop vehicle.
2003 dodge ram 1500 laramie (5.7l hemi). Vehicle passed warranty, began to hear a low hum upon acceleration and deceleration. Hum/whining noise became increasingly worse, LED to catastrophic failure of the rear end. Dodge engineers have determined that the rear end in the 2003 dodge ram 1500 - 3500 truck has an engineering flaw which causes the "c" pins in the rear end to break off and destroy the rear end. This damage has cause some of these vehicles rear ends to seize up and other to literally shear off the rear wheels. Repair consists of total replacement of the rear end in these vehicles. Although there have been numerous injuries and wrecks due to this failure and because dodge does not recognize this as a major problem, there has never been a recall on any of these vehicles to correct the deficiency. Dealerships will not honor warranty, or accept liability for this catastrophic failure of one of their systems, for full or partial repair costs.
03 dodge ram 1500 was in for service, mechanic found clip broken in rear end. Service adviser said the broken clip was problem seen many times, I was glad it was found at this time, rear end could have locked up at high speed and caused a accident. Rear end was replaced with 70,000 mile warranty for $100.00. I have talked to people that had this problem more than once. The dealer replaces the rear end with the same defective parts. There should be a recall before someone gets hurt or killed.
This is an update to the complaint I filed due the incident with my stepfather. That complaint is #10246879 wherein I reported a failure in the ignition/parking system that caused his 2003 this is an update to complaint odi 10246879 wherein I reported the failure of the ignition / parking system of his 2003 dodge ram 1500 truck. The failure caused his truck to roll over him, catching him up under the truck and dragging him over a curb where it jumped the neighbors fence before coming to a stop. At first it was thought he would survive his injuries but he died from complications of his injuries after a long and painful hospitalization. I am updating that complaint to advise of his death. This appears to be a not so unusual occurrence with this vehicle and I note that the 2002 models were recalled for a similar problem.
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