2001 Dodge Ram 1500 problems
Owners have filed 1,370 complaints with NHTSA about the 2001 Dodge Ram 1500. Body & structure is the most reported problem area, at 40% of complaints. After that come air bags (6%) and electrical system (6%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 1,370 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Body & structure 40% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 84 and 58
- Injuries and deaths
- 100 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 70,000 miles 882 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 | 43 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 116 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 181 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 167 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 145 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 87 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 63 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 28 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 24 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 12 |
| 200k+ miles | 16 |
What the data shows
Among the 882 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 70,000 miles. For body & structure specifically, the median reported mileage is about 75,000 miles (381 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 84 complaints mention a crash; 58 complaints mention a fire; 100 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2001 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 19 model years of the Dodge Ram 1500 with enough data (710 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
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.
Truck was traveling at approx 70 to 75 MPH and slid causing lost controls. As truck hit head on into embankment and rolled at least once. Neither airbag deployed. This is a very sorrowful event for anyone and could cause problems for others in such situations. Please contact everyone and let them know of this type of incident. *nlm
On 9/1/2003 at approximately 8:40 p.m. My son was driving our 2001 dodge ram pick-up on us 23 south between omer, michigan and standish, michigan. I was in the passenger seat in the front and my husband was in the back seat. All of a sudden there was a loud screeching noise and we went into the oncoming lane of northbound traffic. My son kept saying he could not control the truck. He was able to get the truck back in the southbound lanes and the truck kept fishtailing.
The 01 ram 1500 "t" boned a mid sized passenger car at approximately 50 MPH and the air bags did not deploy as a result of the accident the vehicle was totaled.
I turned the key to start the engine and as it started cranking smoke started coming out of the defroster and then fire started coming out the engine hood. Luckily I had a fire extinguisher handy and opened the hood and put out the fire. Wondered where the fire started so tried starting again and fire started immediately at the rear of the engine or on top of the bell housing. I also smelled fuel. The truck was next to my garage and had been driven a few days earlier.
Both fuel tank straps rusted through and tank fell from the truck causing fill hose to disconnect from its connector and leaked gas on pavement. I had just filled the truck and driven it aproximately 9 miles when I came to a full stop at a busy 4 way intersection and heard strange noise, pulled forward a couple of inches at most and more noise. Put transmission in park and stepped out of vehicle and saw fuel tank on the ground with a small spot of fuel where it was leaking for the fill hose.