Vehicle Data Hub

2003 Dodge Ram 1500 air bags problems

458 complaints about air bags have been filed for the 2003 Dodge Ram 1500, which is 34% of all its NHTSA complaints. It is the most reported problem area for this model year.

At a glance

Complaints
458 34% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
113,000 miles 94 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
35 and 1
Injuries and deaths
47 and 1

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When air bags problems show up

Air bags complaints by mileage, 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 113,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 3 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 7 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 8 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 15 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 8 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 12 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 8 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 10 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 11 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 4 complaints 200k+ miles: 8 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 113,000 miles
Based on 94 complaints that include mileage. 19% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles3
20k to 40k miles7
40k to 60k miles8
60k to 80k miles15
80k to 100k miles8
100k to 120k miles12
120k to 140k miles8
140k to 160k miles10
160k to 180k miles11
180k to 200k miles4
200k+ miles8

What the data shows

Of the 94 air bags complaints that report mileage, the median is about 112,000 miles, and 19% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 35 crashes, 1 fire, 47 injuries, 1 death.

What owners wrote

Tl* takata recall. The contact and the deceased driver owned a 2003 dodge ram 1500. While driving at a high rate of speed, another vehicle crashed into the driver side of the contact's vehicle. The driver lost control and crashed head on into a utility pole. The air bags did not deploy. The driver was fatally injured from the impact of the crash and the failure of the air bags. A police report was filed.

September 2006 CrashInjuryDeath

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 1500. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle, the doors on the front passenger and the rear passenger side failed to open. Also, the contact mentioned that the windows and the locks would not operate. The contact stated that this was a recurring failure. The vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The technician stated that the vehicle was working up to specifications. The vehicle was not repaired.

Reported at 43,000 miles, October 2013 Crash

Other problems reported for the 2003 Dodge Ram 1500

Air bags problems in other years

Air bags problems across all Dodge models