Horn does not sound when depressed; backup lights lens cover is tinted.
1998 Dodge Ram electrical complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 48, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Horn is very hard to locate on steering column, and it is very hard to depress to get it to blow. *ak this vehicle has narrowly missed being involved in 2 or 3 accidents because the driver could not use the horn.
Horn is located on top of steering wheel where the airbags come out. Consumer cannot place entire hand on the horn to make it work . Only a single point he can press with his finger on the steering column. That is the only way he can hear the horn. *ak
Headlight wires melted. Replaced by dealer. Problem renturned on second set. Please provide further information.
The horn is very difficult to apply. Owner has to add excessive pressure to get horn to function. Dlr says it's normal.
The design of horn button hardens in cold weather causing difficulties locating horn in a emergency. Occasionally the horn fails to work properly. The cruise control would gradually decrease without brakes being applied. Taken vehicle to dealer to check.
Fuel pump had to be replaced due to engine dying out. Engine check light came on & then died out. Had fuse replaced due to blowing out constantly. Engine & catalytic converter affected.
Horn has two small buttons on both side of airbag cover which are too small to locate and hard to press, not allowing driver to communicate with other drivers. Manufacturer states there is no plan to revise horn.
Horn difficult to operate; trans shifts out of drive into neutral when driving over bumps and engine is under load
Many of my friends have the same problem with 1998 dodge trucks, chrysler says it is "normal" and will not fix. Horn button was re-designed for 1999 and does not have the problem.
Horn difficult to activate, requires extreme force in very specific location.
Horn sensor was difficult to locate in an emergency. It caused a collision in which someone was killed.
The passenger's or driver's side seat belt does not retract. Also, you almost have to punch the horn pad to get it to work. The dealership was not able to correct the problem with the seat belt or the horn. Owner has 2 other trucks with the same problems. Please list VIN #s for other 2 trucks.
The horn is very difficult to operate through the airbag. Many times it has failed to sound at all.
Within 3 days of buying the dodge truck, while traveling down the road the gauges would malfunction and the truck would die. You could put it in neutral and restart it. It was taken to the shop and nothing was found wrong. This continues. Then we started blowing breakers and fuses that run brake lights and blinkers. Took to the shop. Found nothing. Just replaced breakers and fuses 3 times in 2 weeks. Now the check engine light comes on and motor dies going down the road. We have now had to buy a new apps sensor which cost us 613.61 because truck is now out of warranty without ever being fixed. This electrical problem has been and still is a safety hazard to everyone. It could cause a serious accident which chrysler refuses to acknowledge. I know of another vehicle like mine in california that has had the same problems as mine and also one in fayetteville, ar. The man in arkansas was having his truck worked on at the same time mine was in the shop. This is too many problems for a new vehicle.
Horn can not be sounded in a quick emergency situation due to airbag configuration. Can only be sounded if thumb is precisely pressed exactly on two spots indicated while looking at those spots ie: can not have eyes on road..
Horn button difficult to press. Must be centered. Will not work in emergency situations.
The horn buttons are very difficult to locate/press. The resulting delay to activate the horn in an emergency situation ,could be potentially hazardous to driver/occupants or pedestrians.
The button seems very hard to push especially if cold. Too much plastic??
It is impossible to activate the horn, the cover for the air bag is a hard plastic and you really have to push to activate it. In an emergency, it is impossible.
When trying to use the horn, you have to push so hard that it is almost impossible to get it to work without going off the road. The rubber covering the steering wheel center is way to hard to operate the horn. I have been told by other people with '98 dodge truck, rams that the only way to fix the problem is to install a '99 ram airbag assembly. I am going to be going to my dealer in a couple of weeks and I am going to see what they can do about this problem. It would make it a lot easier if the federal safety agency would do something about this problem since I have heard that dealers refuse to fix the problem in many cases.
Horn very hard to operate ,air bag cover gets too hard in cold weather
Horn is almost impossible to blow, you have to take eyes off the road to find horn button
Horn is extremely hard to blow. Eccessive pressure required. Estimated 25 - 30 pounds.
The horn on the dodge ram p/u is almost impossible to engage or sound. A person has to push through the airbag to make the horn sound. I have had several people who have complained about this and have seen the problem in several vehicles. Any help you can get dodge to do in replacing the horn would be appreciated.
The horn is very hard to push to make it sound. In an emgerency situation it is very dangerous. The dealer is well aware of the problem.
Horn button hard to push in panic situation. Must use extream pressure to engage.
The truck we purchased had a towing package as ordered. What they didn't tell us is that the wiring isn't heavy enough for prolonged use. We tow a 50' trailer with our truck for a living. Right after we purchased it we had to replace the trailer relay switch and then many, many fuses. Then we started smelling hot wiring. The headlight switch was hot and lights inside started going light to dark. Then they went out completely. We lost all truck lights and trailer lights going down the highway at 55 miles an hour. We took it into the dealership and they had to replace the main truck wiring harness and the light switch and the short pigtail between them. Dodge knows this has been a common problem with rams used for towing. The consumer was experiencing wiring problem ( not heavy enough wires) with all three vehicles owned.
I think that a horn that requires so much effort that it is useless is a safety problem. Although the dealer and the company district representitive say that the all of the 1998 horns are like that. Something can be done. Chrysler says in their specs that the horn should operate at 2 lbs of pressure not, the 10 lbs or more that they really take. I would like to know why, if there is no problem (they claim) did they fix it for 1999. Same steering wheel and pad but it now works.
Consumer recived a letter from dealer saying that they had a recall on the enigine computer, recall #799, and also a recall on a defective fuel pump, recall #788. Consumer says that the dealer does not have parts yet .
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