Dodge RAM 3500 brake failure problems

Filed Nov 22, 2025 · Brakes · IN

The frame is completely rotted from wheel well to wheel well on both sides of vehicle frame was completely rotted thru with judge holes completely rusted thru The vehicle was sold with no brakes sold to me and with dog chain holding the gas tank in place because fuel straps were rotted thru and bad wheel bearing that was ready to seize or will fall off vehicle purchased on 11/06 /25 and returned a couple days later within 7 days took it to repair shop to have brake lines repaired and they said they would put truck on lift because frame was rotted so bad they were afraid truck could break in half . Truck is supposed to be a 1 ton heavy duty truck capable of pulling a $15,000 lb fifth wheel trailer safely and no way shape or form could the truck barely pull itself it ran perfect shifted perfect but the frame and structure was completely rotted in half I am a senior citizen with two artificial knees and was incapable of crawling under the truck was told salesman put brake fluid in which breaks worked halfway home and all the brake fluid got pushed out of the brake lines because of the massive hole in the brakes had to drive the rest of the way home with no brakes endangering my life and others on the road in my opinion there's no way to repair the frame unless it is completely replaced the whole frame

Filed Jun 8, 2021 · Brakes, Electrical · LA

While pulling a trailer, integrated trailer brake controller stopped working and disabled the trailer brakes. All trailer lights worked, just no brakes. Showed red warning in dash and "CF" on brake controller after failure. No warning before failure. Checked connections and tested with another trailer. Even with no trailer, warning is on and trailer brakes are not functional. Created hazard to driver and other motorists by spontaneous loss of brakes. Online forums indicate this is not an isolated incident. More recently, now the trailer running lights have failed. Brake and turn signal lights work, but no running lights. No police report of inspections. Not yet repaired. Available for inspection.

Filed Jul 1, 2019 · Brakes · 120,000 miles · WA

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 dodge ram 3500. The contact stated that the ABS warning indicator illuminated and two pins detached from the brake control module. The vehicle was unable to be driven safely due to the brake failure. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.

Filed Jul 5, 2017 · Brakes, Steering · 170,000 miles · TX

Lost my brakes and steering while driving down the hwy doing 65. Lost all brake power and power steering.the motor runs but have no brakes and power steering. Looking at it I'm not the only one who has had this problem. I have 2 young kids and they could have been badly hurt if I wasn't able to man handle the truck. Definitely a safety issue that needs to be looked into. Not sure what is causing it. Is there anything you can do to look into this cause now I'm scared to drive my truck. Especially with my kids in it. I'm not sure what can be done about this but I would really hate to see something bad happen to a family for a issue like this. I thank you for your time and I hope to hear a response back from you about this issue.

Filed Jul 13, 2016 · Brakes, Steering · 168,000 miles · AZ

Ever since we purchased the truck used from dodge dealer in tucson arizona we have had concerns with suspension and steering of the truck. When driving the truck steering is bouncy and unstable. We thought it was alignment so we took it in and truck continues the same. When pulling out 34' 5th wheel steering is very shaky and vibrates a lot. After years of bringing up concern with dodge dealer we took to another shop where they gave us a huge list of things needing too get fixed. We went back to dodge dealer where they gave us a 2nd opinion and came up with additional concerns with truck. We have changed shocks, struts, be all joints and other things with the suspension and truck continues to run the same way. But recently we got brakes, drums, and master cylinder since we ran out of brakes while pulling out 34' 5th wheel. All this things were recommended so that the truck would run well. We have spent thousands of dollars and issue is still unresolved. We would like someone to help us since all the recommended repairs have been done and still having same problem. We travel quite a bit with our animals and would hate to have a deadly accident due to truck problems. Please let us know what would be the best step to repairing our truck to safe conditions. Steering shaky and brakes failure even after all recommended repairs. Thank you [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Oct 14, 2015 · Transmission · 122,000 miles · GA · fire

On july 21, 2015 while driving on I-40 near newport tn. There was a loud noise that came from my 2011 dodge ram 3500 truck. After the loud noise the transmission was unresponsive and there were no brakes at all. My friend, who was driving and has cdl, gently pressed the emergency brake and safely pulled off to the side of I-40. Once the truck came to a stop a fire erupted from underneath the vehicle. A tennessee state trooper soon arrived and called for the newport fire dept who arrived within a few minutes to put the fire out. After the fire was put out one of the firemen noticed smoke in the cab. Upon further investigation he found a hole about the size of a golf ball in the drivers side floorboard. That was the loud bang. They also noticed a lot of metal hanging from under the truck and concluded the drive shaft had fallen out of the vehicle. I called aaa and had the truck towed to the closest dodge dealership which is in newport. It was 5 weeks before they even looked at the truck and then the service manager said it was a mechanical failure like nothing he had ever seen. It seems as though the drive shaft failure caused a chain reaction of events, in a matter of seconds the front drive axles, the transfer case for the 4 wheel drive, the main drive shaft, the transmission, and possibly the rear end were destroyed. I filed a complaint with chrysler on aug 27th and they had an independent investigator look into the matter. His findings stated that when the transmission flew apart it crushed the brake lines and also the fluid hitting the hot exhaust was how the fire was started. It was determined that one of the front drive axles penetrated the floorboard allowing smoke into the cabin. I received a letter from chrysler on september 18th that states they " respectfully decline any assistance" in the matter. The truck remains at the dealership awaiting repair.

Filed Jul 28, 2015 · Steering · 149,312 miles · CO · crash · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owned a 1999 dodge ram 3500. While driving at 35 MPH, the vehicle started pulling to the left. While attempting to stop the vehicle, the power steering and brakes failed. As a result, the vehicle left the roadway and crashed into a retaining wall. The air bags deployed, knocking the contact unconscious. The contact sustained lacerations to the nose and face, a concussion, bruising of the left shoulder, a head injury and a wrist injury that required medical attention. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was destroyed. The failure mileage was 149,312.

Filed Jul 15, 2015 · Steering, Transmission · 4,200 miles · MO

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 dodge ram 3500. While driving approximately 20 MPH over a bump in the road, the vehicle bounced up and down approximately twenty times. In addition, the power steering and the brakes failed. The contact maneuvered off the road and shut off the vehicle. The contact was able to restart the engine. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the failure could not be diagnosed. The failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering bar fractured and the four wheel drive failed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 4,200.

Filed Jun 21, 2015 · Brakes · 117,000 miles · PA

Both brake lines between the master cylinder and the anti lock controller ruptured when stopping for a light. The pedal went to the floor and I was only successful in stopping using trailer brakes.both lines looked in perfect condition except where they ruptured under a plastic retaining clip that encased the lines making them not visible for inspection. The lines coming out of the controller have an anti corrosive coating the two going in that ruptured do not. I still have the old lines and pictures can be sent if needed. The plastic retaining clips were lost during the roadside emergency repair in a thunder storm.

Filed Oct 10, 2014 · Fuel system · 66,305 miles · CA

Driving my diesel, 1 ton, 2004, 4x4 truck with 66,000 miles, turning left across traffic into a business. Engine stops, no brakes, no steering, no warning, nothing. Never had a problem with this truck before this event. Traffic is coming at us and I am headed into a ditch as I cannot turn vehicle. Frantically trying to get vehicle started, will not start, but able to roll forward and make it into business barely missing ditch. People come out to help push vehicle into safe spot. Called tow truck, they get there about 1.5 hours later. He got truck started, said to drive it down the street that probably something clogged the diesel tank inlet, but ok now. Truck seemed ok, so we hooked up our boat that was in this business, proceeded home. Got about 1 mile away on twisty mountain road, truck again dies, no brakes again, cannot hardly steer and cannot stop boat and truck and proceed down hill holding on trying to stay on road. I managed to get it stopped. Had it towed to dealer this time. Dodge dealer explains that the "lift pump" that pulls diesel fuel from tank to engine had gone out, they state "this is common problem that dodge knows about." they refuse to replace the "lift pump" that is fairly inexpensive saying that dodge knows there is a problem and the consumer has to pay to have a "fuel pump" put into the fuel tank as the fix. This cost is over $1400. Upon hearing that I cannot have the "lift pump" just replaced, I went to the internet forums on cummings diesel "lift pumps" turns out there are lots of pages showing this is a common problem with the cummings diesel and most all will experience it. If dodge knows there is a problem and people can be killed due to how the truck suddenly dies, they should be responsible for addressing the problem!