The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Ram 3500. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was a clunking sound coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact who is a certified mechanic, inspected the vehicle. Upon expecting the vehicle, the contact determined that both upper control arms had completely rusted and needed to be replaced. The upper and lower ball joints and suspension had been replaced by the contact. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 225,000. The VIN was unavailable.
2003 Dodge RAM 3500: ball joint or control arm failure
22 of the 286 complaints about the 2003 Dodge RAM 3500 describe ball joint or control arm failure.
- owner complaints
- 22
- of this car's complaints
- 8%
- typical mileage
- 67,000
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
Ball joint or control arm failure by model year
What owners say
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 3500. While driving 40 MPH, the driver side tie rod ball joint fractured. The vehicle was not diagnosed and was repaired by the owner; however, the failure continued intermittently. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
As with many of the other complaints about 2003 dodge ram 3500's this ram 3500 has had all suggested steering component upgrades and recall upgrades (change steering to 2008 steering) and the tie rod recall for the 2008 steering. The 2008 steering upgrade seemed to exacerbate the tire wear issue. Additionally, ball joints and shocks have been replaced. The ram death wobble and excessive tie wear is still present. The last set of tires lasted 8,000 miles (I am putting a new set on today). The tire wear on my last trip of only 360 miles was very noticeable - so much so a trip of 1,000 miles or more would have caused dangerous tire wear and potential catastrophic failure. Dodge has tried to fix the problem by only skimming over the issue with minor fixes. As a retired law enforcement officer with hundreds of thousands of miles of driving experience - the steering and excessive tire wear is unsafe. Since I am getting new tires and an alignment today - I will be more than happy to track mileage, driving conditions, note steering issues, and photograph tire wear - if you wish.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 3500. The contact stated that the steering wheel was not operating properly and became loose. The contact mentioned that the driver side tie rod ball stud fractured without warning. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who replaced the driver side tie rod ball stud associated with the steering linkage assembly. The vehicle was repaired. The contact was later notified of the federal safety agency campaign numbers: 13v528000 (steering) and 15v312000 (air bags), but was unable to determine when the parts would become available to receive the recall repairs. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 325,500.
I got a letter last year 2014 about the recall and went back a month later, and they verbally said that there's a recall on the recall. The recent one, I took it to turlock dodge and they put me on the list and I'm at the bottom and it has been a year, but I want it fixed asap. The recall says: "the problem is the left tie rod ball stud on your truck may fracture under certain driving conditions. This could cause a loss of directional control and/or crash without warning. The dealer will repair your vehicle free of charge. To do this, your dealer will inspect the steering linkage on your truck and replace steering linkage component/s if required. The inspection will take less than 1/2 hour. If linkage replacement is required, the work will take an additional 1 hour to complete..etc" this was copied from the recall notice. So when are you going to fix it?! Fix this asap, I'm frustrated since it has been a year and no one has gotten back to me except the letter!
2003 dodge ram 2500. Consumer writes in regards to outer tie rod ends and steering linkage recall issues. *smd the dealer informed the consumer, he would be placed on a list, as they were only receiving 1 part a week. When the consumer called the dealer again, he was informed the part was no longer being manufactured.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 3500 hd. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle began to jerk without warning. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where it was diagnosed that the upper ball joints, lower ball joints, inner and outer tie rods needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 11v350000 (steering). The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 152,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 3500. The contact stated that while having the vehicle serviced, the mechanic noticed that the driver's side tie rod was fractured. The contact referenced the federal safety agency campaign number: 11v350000 (steering), but was informed that the vehicle was not included in the recall campaign. The vehicle was repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 67,000. Updated 11/19/13
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 3500. The contact stated that while driving in reverse approximately 1 MPH, an unusual noise emitted from the vehicle after turning the steering wheel. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that the front driver's side tie rod bolt was fractured. There was a recall associated with the federal safety agency campaign id number 11v350000 (steering), however the contact's VIN was not included. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 160,000.
I have the death wobble in my front end. Hit a bump at 55 MPH + and the front end shakes so bad your forced to almost come to a stop. The dealer stated my drag link /tie rod assembly,steering gears and pittman arm are bad. I have never pulled carried an rv,never driven off road and keep my vehicles maintained per the manufacture. Specs. Why are these parts defective at 99k miles. Check the dodge forums and you'll find a great many other owners in my position with way less miles. This is a defect,plain and simple.
The death wobble has happen several times- the last time was aug 2nd, 2009 on the freeway going 75mph passing a semi trailer, we hit a bump in the road the truck began to shake violently, my husband was trying to control this shake while going 75mph- it would not stop until we slowed down and pulled off to the side of the road. We almost cause an accident but thanks to my husband excellent driving skills he was able to avoid an accident. We have replace tierods, ball joints, steering box, tires, shocks, and more. I am afraid to get back into this truck.
Upper and lower ball joints have been replaced 6 times. During the most recent replacement mechanic determined the problem to be an irregularity in the machining process which prevents the upper ball joints from tightening properly, thus causing the failure of the new ball joints and universal which as also been replaced twice. I consider this an extremely serious safety concern which could result in a serious accident or death if it were to occur on a major highway at 55 MPH.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2003 Dodge RAM 3500 ball joint
Is ball joint or control arm failure a common problem on the 2003 Dodge RAM 3500?
22 of 286 owner complaints about the 2003 Dodge RAM 3500 (8%) mention ball joint or control arm failure. The model year with the most reports is 2012.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2003 Dodge RAM 3500?
There is no recall or service bulletin for this area of the car on record.
Other symptoms on the 2003 Dodge RAM 3500
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