Dodge Ram jerking problems

Filed Jul 10, 2023 · Transmission · 200,000 miles · CA · crash

The contact owns a 2005 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH the vehicle had nearly come to a stop as if the brake pedal had been depressed. The contact stated that his foot had been on the accelerator pedal and he had tried to accelerate but the vehicle was not responding. The contact stated that the steering wheel jerked to the left as the contact heard an abnormal grinding, popping, and bang sound had come from the rear. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle had crashed into a concrete street divider with the left front wheel which had burst on contact. There was minor damage to the exterior and driver's door, however the contact said that there was damage to the driver's side rear wheel to the wheel well. The contact was unhurt and had called a tow truck. The contact located his drive shaft on the roadway approximately on city block to the rear of his vehicle. The police were not contacted. The contact had the vehicle towed to his residence. The vehicle had not been taken to a dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The contact had researched online and saw that he had two recalls associated to the VIN, one recall, the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 16V-352000 (Air Bags) and the recall the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V796000 (Power Train). The contact related the failure to 14V796000 (Power Train). The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.

Filed Aug 26, 2002 · Acceleration · OK

When vehicle is at a complete stop at idle, vehicle will quit running or rev up to 1000 rmps, and lurch forward. Contacted dealer, who informed consumer they were aware of the problem, and their quick solution was to leave air conditioner on.*ak

Filed Apr 22, 2002 · Suspension · WI

While driving and hitting a railroad track front wheels of vehicle will start jumping. Left and right front wheels will jump to the left or right jerking steering wheel, causing consumer loss of vehicle. Took to dealer, and had repairs done, but problem still exits.

Filed Mar 25, 2002 · Tires · PA

I was traveling on the highway at about 65 miles per hour when the steering wheel was jerked out of my hands. The truck began to swerve and vibrate, and I realized a tire had blown out. I did not see anything I could have hit on the road nor did I feel like I had hit anything. I changed the tire and took the blown tire to my local goodyear dealer who examined it and confirmed that the tire had not been cut or punctured and concluded that I was running low tire pressure and therefore, even though there is only 17% tread wear I was entitled to only a 50% adjustment on the tire. Numer one I check my tire pressures on all my vehicles regularly and keep at least 40 to 42 pounds of air in at all times, and number two what happened to my manufacturers warranty that states a full replacement during the first twelve months of ownership. I have been in the car business for over 25 years and am a pennsylvania state inspection mechanic and I understand the importance of tire pressure, and that is why I check my regularly. I know in my heart that the tire pressure was not low on this tire and it worries me that it could happen again to another tire on this truck, maybe this time with more dire consequences. I have lost faith in goodyear, dodge, and the dealer, and feel totally out of control when driving this vehicle with goodyear wranglers. By the way this my first blow out in over 32 years of driving, no matter what my tire pressures were????*ak (dot number: m670 jcor tiresize: 245/15r16)

Filed Mar 13, 2002 · Brakes · PA

I do not have exact mileage intrevals but the rear brake drums have had to be cut twice already and need it again. The truck just turned 44000 miles and is not used for work or heavy hauling. Normal driving has caused this problem which I feel should not happen. Since this is the third time the drums are out of round, I have to buy new drums as they can only be cut down a couple times and keep their safe thickness. Not only is this a costly item but a very unsafe condition as the rear brake shoes are not in contact with the drums as they should be, and the truck jerks and jolts when the brakes are applied due to uneven braking surfaces.

Filed Dec 6, 2001 · Steering · KY · crash · 1 injury

While traveling at highway speed, at anytime the steering would become inoperable. On the first 3 incedents a hard jerk of the steering wheel would break it free from its extremely tight condition. The truck would once again return to normal as if there was never a problem. After the first incedent I gave the truck's steering system a thorough check. Nothing seemed wrong or out of place.I tried to contact my local dodge dealer however the service department was not open on saturdays. Since the truck now seemed fine I attempted to go to my house in it. I drove 40-50 miles toward my home without a problem. Within 6 miles of home it occured again, just as it did the first time once again a hard jerk freed the wheel. Another check of the steering system revealed nothing, everything appeared to be fine. 1.5 miles later it happened again, I repeated the same process again. At this time I decided to slow down my speeds to 35-40mph to help avoid danger just to make it home and monday I would contact the local dodge dealer and have it towed back to town. However, upon approaching the next bend in the road I was unable to negotiate the curve resulting in a collision with a cluster of trees. I suffered only minor injuries common in that type of accident. Since then I contacted chrysler making a formal complaint, resulting in a independent investigator looking at my truck. I stress looking at it because that is all he did besides taking pictures of it. He never removed any component. I receive a letter from chrysler stateing that after a thorough investigation they concluded there was no manufactering flaw of any kind. My insurance company is doing next to nothing to help me in this matter. As of today (12-6-01) the truck is still in its wrecked condition at a local body shop. The truck should be totalled but the insurance adjuster wants to fix it despite a $22,000 estimate from a chrysler collision center.

Filed Oct 15, 2001 · Brakes · TX · crash

Abs braking system would jerk badly when applied. Problem became worse when towing a trailer. Have taken vehicle to dealership. Mechanic indicated nothing wrong, but had carriage bearing replaced 5 times. Was test driven with service manager and problem reoccurred. Was informed to remove ABS fuse. Problem existed without fuse, and caused extended stopping distance. Accident occurred due to lack of ABS power.

Filed Sep 19, 2001 · Suspension · IN

Dodge ram trucks have a known history of "self sustaining vibration" or "shimmy" after striking a small bump, or offset in the road. See dodge tsb 19-05-96 and other steering related issues. We have had our vehicle worked on twice due to extremely violent shimmying that has nearly caused complete loss of control of the truck on 6 seperate occassions. Only by incredible luck and skill has there not been serious accidents and fatalities. The tsb I just referenced suggests that the service personnel "test drive the vehicle over a road that duplicates the customer complaint and if shimmying is felt perform ..." this is woefully inadequate in that this problem can not be replicated by such a procedure. The fact remains that one can drive hundreds if not thousands of miles over the same road and the problem will not reproducibly appear. But, with absolutely no notice, and at random, the violent self sustaining and propagating shaking will suddenly occur and one will nearly wreck. During the last such episode which occurred last week, the violent shaking was so great that a 140 pound cardboard box about 18 inches high was nearly thrown out over the side of the truck. This incident occured at a speed of about 65 miles per hour on a curve on the interstate when the front tire of the truck hit a hole in the road that was about 4 inches wide, 1 foot long, and maybe an inch deep. In other words, the bump was nothing. Fortunately I was in the middle lane on the interstate and all of the other cars around me hit their breaks when they saw the truck bouncing and leaping down the road. To further complicate things the violent bouncing only gets worse when you apply the brakes. The only quick way to restore control of the vehicle is to violently jerk the steering wheel back and forth, unfortunately this requires both lanes of the road and the emergency lanes. There does not appear to be an adequate "fix" to this problem from dodge.

Filed Aug 13, 2001 · Acceleration, Transmission · GA

Vehicle downshifted from a low gear to a high gear normally between speeds of 55-60mph. Vehicle jerked back and forth and lurched consumer forward. Vehicle has been to dealer 4 times for a problem that they cannot fix.consumer barely got home after returning from dealer.

Filed Apr 23, 2001 · Acceleration, Fuel system · GA

Vehicle will act as if out of gas and start jerking. Rpms will go up and vehicle seems as if it is going up hill. Sometimes driver will put foot on gas from a stopped position and vehicle will go nowhere. Dealer has seen vehicle twice and had no solution.