The door lock on the driver's side remains in the locked position. It cannot be opened from the outside using the key fob or the key, it also cannot be opened from the inside by pulling up on the lock plunger. It can only be opened from the inside using the handle.
2004 Dodge RAM 1500: doors won't lock, open or latch
15 of the 1,099 complaints about the 2004 Dodge RAM 1500 describe doors won't lock, open or latch.
- owner complaints
- 15
- of this car's complaints
- 1%
- typical mileage
- 58,000
- 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
When stationary and no key in the ignition: the electronic automatic door locks disjunction. Sometimes, when the vehicle is not intentionally locked, the doors will lock on their own without a person pressing the lock button on the door or the key fob. At other times, when the door is locked then after returning to the vehicle at a later time, the doors will be unlocked. This happens on a fairly regular basis. This could be a real problem for theft of items in the vehicle. On occasion, when driving the vehicle in motion or stopped with the engine running, with the headlights on and the lights on the dash panel all lit the truck randomly has all the lights turn-off and blink a few times and then, normally, come back on within seconds. This has happened during the evening hours in heavy traffic. This is a huge safety issue that could cause an accident. There is some sort of issue with the electrical system.
Driver's door lock stuck on locked. Can be manually opened from the inside but will not unlock with keyless or keyed entry.
Faulty instrument cluster fails, shorts out causing door locks to constantly unlock cycle kill battery & electrical failure causing engine to die. I have read countless stories of others with the same problem in 2004-2005 dodge ram pickups. Dealership charges $1000 dollars to fix & admits it is a manufacturing defect but refuses to help. Fiat chrysler automobiles customer service also refuses to help.
Door lock will only open from inside.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 dodge ram 1500. The contact stated that the front driver's side door lock failed numerous times and he had to use extreme force to get the door to open. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure and current mileage was 43,000.
Drivers side door lock is stuck in the down position and cannot be unlocked from outside even with key. Remote does not work either to unlock door. Very dangerous with possible children and/or pets inside the vehicle in 100 degree texas heat!
The drivers door lock just stuck in the locked position. I got out of the vehicle, locked it and walked into work, when I came out, the door would not unlock. It can not be opened by the remote key fob. It can not be opened by pulling the door lock latch. With substantial force you can turn the key enough to release the latch. The door will open from the inside handle only.
The driver door lock will not open except by the inside handle on the driver door. The tailgate lock has failed to open at the same time as the driver door lock, and the tailgate can not be disengaged to open.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 dodge ram 1500. The contact stated the drivers side front door locked automatically and failed to open properly. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not contacted and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 115,600. And the current mileage was 115,616.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 dodge ram 1500. The contact stated that the front driver's door would not unlock. The contact also stated that he could only enter the vehicle using the remote entry on the remaining doors. The vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 94,000.
The door lock actuator has quit working. This prohibits any of the power door locks from working and the fob wont work. Cd player has a cd stuck in it and will not eject. These issues are well documented on websites as prominent problems.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2004 Dodge RAM 1500 door locks
Is doors won't lock, open or latch a common problem on the 2004 Dodge RAM 1500?
15 of 1,099 owner complaints about the 2004 Dodge RAM 1500 (1%) 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 2004 Dodge RAM 1500?
There is no recall or service bulletin for this area of the car on record.
Other symptoms on the 2004 Dodge RAM 1500
Stalling 178No deployment 37Loss of power 37Engine failure 34Power steering loss 33Check engine light 27Fire or smoke 21Grinding brakes 20ABS 19Airbag light 18Wipers 16Ball joint 14Headlights 12Adaptive cruise 11Whining noise 11Premature wear 10Fuel pump 9Jerking 7Shudder 7Tire blowout 7Fuel smell 6Overheating 6Steering lock-up 6Pulling 6Won't start 5
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