2003 Dodge Ram 2500 problems
Owners have filed 866 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Dodge Ram 2500. Steering is the most reported problem area, at 20% of complaints. After that come body & structure (17%) and air bags (16%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 866 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Steering 20% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 44 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 37 and 4
- Typical mileage
- 78,000 miles 633 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 | 85 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 73 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 71 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 93 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 78 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 56 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 58 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 40 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 32 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 25 |
| 200k+ miles | 22 |
What the data shows
Among the 633 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 78,000 miles. For steering specifically, the median reported mileage is about 83,000 miles (134 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 44 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 37 injuries reported; 4 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 21 model years of the Dodge Ram 2500 with enough data (297 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 6 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.
Vehicle is a 2003 dodge 2500, serial #x3g-790016 and it jumps from park into reverse. Vehicle has approx 10,000 miles and this happened the day before we were to leave for ellensburg, wa on central ave in great falls and then again in ellensburg at a goodwill store parking lot. I had a good friend killed by this happening on a ford truck so am very concerned that it be taken care of. The friend was woodrow mccracken in the late 60's or early 70's at conrad, mt.
Takata ?- on 7/15/2017 my son was involved in a single vehicle accident as he drove home on the freeway. Lost control of vehicle resulting in the vehicle spinning and impacting a guard rail post , ejecting him from the vehicle on to the freeway where he died. Upon examination of vehicle no airbags in the cabin deployed. *
Dash has been cracking for years as most do. Becoming a safety issue as pieces fly into your face everytime you use heat or AC. Also has jagged edges that could be an issue in an accident situation.
At highway speeds the truck will intermittently jerk violently until speed is reduced. This is so common the internet is referred to it as the "death wobble". It can do it multiple times in one trip and then not again for serveral others. Thankfully I was driving and not my wife. The vibration is so violent not many could control it safely.