1998 Dodge Dodge Truck problems
NHTSA has received 42 complaints about the 1998 Dodge Dodge Truck, and 12% of them involve body & structure. Next are fuel system (10%) and seat belts (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 42 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Body & structure 12% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 2 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 65,000 miles 13 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 3 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 0 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 3 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 4 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 2 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 13 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 65,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 2 complaints mention a crash; 5 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1998 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 10 model years of the Dodge Dodge Truck with enough data (24 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Was driving 35 MPH and road had icy spots. Hit one icy spot, but retained control. Then, hit another icy spot and lost control/ went into a ditch on passenger's front. Vehicle went air borne and hit front of vehicle on ground. It then rolled twice. Air bags failed to deploy. Vehicle landed on its passenger side. Driver was strapped in. Vehicle was totaled.
Notice a oil resdue on the inside of the front windshield. Possible coming from the A/C system, second opinion said it was coming from the evaperator coil. On the way to the dealer a lot of smoke came out of the dash and the A/C stop cooling.
At approximately 40,000 miles I had to have the ball joints replaced on my 1998 dodge dakota. My mechanic advised me that before change the ball joints that I should take my vehicle to my local dodge dealership and see if they would cover the cost. They responded by telling me that my ball joints were fine. The reason I went to my mechanic was because I had had my vehicle aligned four times in the first 30,000 mile and my truck still pulled to one side.
I, neal darstein, am a proud owner of a 1998 dodge ram 1500 slt laramie. I have a complaint regarding the ability to use my horn. Please bear with me as this is difficult to explain clearly without actually deminstrating exactly what I mean. Since the purchase of my truck the steering wheel pad (which is were the horn is located) is very stiff/solid making it impossible to "use" or "sound" my horn in the event of an emergency. I feel it's a safety hazard. Every vehicle should have easy accessibity and use of horn.
Defective driver and passenger seat belt, in 98 dodge ram. I have contacted the dodge headquarters, when the seatbelts failed the first time two years ago, hq stated that they would pay for labor only, and not replace the part. Dodge replaced the seatbelt sensor which is electronic under the seats, the wires get pinched off, when the seats are moved forward and back therefore creating a short in the wires, and thus the seatbelts fail b/c they are on an electronic weight system.