While the vehicle was sitting in the driveway not running, the back of the headlight caught on fire. There wasn't any incedents (e.i. any collision, repairs) prior to the indecent. It is available for inspection. No dealership report yet, but have an appointment with local dealership Tuesday to get an itemized estimate for the repairs.
Dodge RAM 1500 headlights problems
318 of the 12,420 owner complaints about the Dodge RAM 1500 describe headlights failing or too dim, most of them for the 2012 model year.
- owner complaints
- 318
- worst model year
- 2012
- typical repair cost reported
- $1,000
- typical mileage
- 68,000
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
Often reported together
Wipers 37Fire or smoke 13Stalling 11Overheating 8Loss of power 8Warning lights 7Won't start 6Check engine light 6
What owners say
My headlights (specifically on the driver side) keeps going out randomly. I have replaced the high and low beam bults 3 times and the wiring harness twice. I can be driving down the road and they it will go out and 10 minutes later it will just come back on all on it's on. I looked on all of the Dodge discussion forums and this seems to be a very common issue with this make/model of the Dodge Ram 1500 I recieve no error messages on my dash console telling me that this has occurred. However, every other bulb that has ever went out gave an error on the dash.
The contact owns a 2011 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH at nighttime, the headlight turned off independently. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact also stated that the taillight turned off intermittently and the rear driver’s and the front passenger’s turn signal light was flashing quickly. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the Totally Integrated Power Module (TIPM) to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that several weeks later after parking the vehicle and returning a minute later to restart the vehicle, the contact heard an abnormally loud sound and the vehicle turned off. The contact exited the vehicle, opened the hood, and saw battery acid all over the hood. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact called a tow truck company and was provided a temporary battery. The contact took the vehicle back to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with an electronic failure and the contact was informed that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 174,380.
The headlights no matter what bulbs I buy are extremely dim making it unsafe to drive at night. Now truck will not start for some unknown reason. It tries to turn over but will not crank. The mileage flashes NO BUS. I was literally only getting at best 8 miles per gallon.
Drivers side low & high beam headlight doesnt work. Bulb tests good, ground confirmed good. No power to high or low beam. Passenger side operates properly.
I'm always having issues with the airbag light coming on while driving it goes away then come back when there is a sudden move and causes something to trigger. also, I'm having issues with my headlight low mode not working I did a lot of research stating that many people are having the same issue and the problems have to do with the fuse box close to the battery. I'm also having an issue with the brake lamp going off on my dashboard not sure what that could be tried so many repairs and nothing seems to work.
Mechanic said TIPM went bad. All gages guit working, check engine light stays on wind shield whipers turn on & off, engine stalls,all lights randomly turn on and off head lights turn signals exc. Transmission and 4 wheel drive say repair. Anti lock breaks acting up. Mechanic said this is happening alot for 2004 Dodge Ram trucks.
Intermittent fault from the TIPM module. When slowing to a stop, or slowing to make a turn, the engine dies without warning resulting in loss of power steering and operability while in traffic. The only indication that the engine has died is the tachometer reads 0 RPM, loss of power steering, and the excelerator becomes inoperable. The radio, headlights, and A/C stay on during this. Coming to a complete stop and putting the truck into park (P) and turning the ignition to OFF and then restarting the truck resolves the problem, but on the highway this is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. This has been diagnosed as an intermittent fault derived from a faulty TIPM module and involves multiple RAM 1500, 2500, 3500 owners. Various issues of similar nature reported to dealerships and on forums.
I went out to start my truck and there was only one headlight working. After replacing the left driver's side bulb multiple times and it still didn't work I had a mechanic look at it and he figured out it was a wiring connector problem.
In march/ 2020 my truck shut off 3xs going down the hwy with me and my kids in it . all without any warning. Upon the third event it caused my truck to began losing power to my headlights and tail lights and no hazards as well ? Which i thought was a very concerning matter especially at night... Very dangerous and it could have had one of us hurt or even killed . i payed 150 for a wrecker and hauled it to a mechanic that night . over the course of the next few days they checked it and no signs of the same thing recurring while at the shop . payed another 75 dollars amd drove truck for another couple months and then the same thing happening again . yet this time i was lucky enough to be just pulling out of my driveway . took to mechanic again paying a friend 75 to carry by tow dolly . only to be told nothing was wrong . its like my truck is possessed . later on the truck ended up shorting my fuel pump and my tipm costing me alot of money 1400 to replace the tipm. And 535 to replace the fuel pump . then 1 yr later again the security light on dash came on and bam it burnt my fuel pump up again , thus causing me to fork out another 535 plus a by pass relay harmess for 135. Luckily i have had no more issues out of the fuel pump . knock on wood ... But the truck still shoots the security light on and causes all my lights to stop working and puts me in harms way whenever the truck feels like acting up . this is ridiculous and dangerous bc might i add me and my family were in the vehicle in almost every instance that occured. And thats not safe . i thought highly of dodge but now im starting to wonder if its even safe to have me and my family. In this truck again . luckily the last two time the incident occured i was leaving my house so i was able to have help getting it back in my drive way when it unlocked from its lock down mode. But there has 5o be some type of issue that can be resolved after the amount of money payed for the repairs and the cost of truck as well
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Dodge RAM 1500 headlights
Which Dodge RAM 1500 years have headlights failing or too dim problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2012 (43 complaints), 2001 (35 complaints) and 2006 (31 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix headlights failing or too dim on the Dodge RAM 1500?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $1,000 (median of 19 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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