1997 Dodge Ram 3500 problems
NHTSA has received 153 complaints about the 1997 Dodge Ram 3500, and 18% of them involve lighting. Next are brakes (14%) and transmission (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 153 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Lighting 18% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 12
- Injuries and deaths
- 11 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 108,000 miles 47 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 | 2 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 4 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 0 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 6 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 8 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 6 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 6 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 7 |
What the data shows
Of the 47 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 108,000 miles. For lighting specifically, the median reported mileage is about 99,000 miles (14 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 12 complaints mention a fire; 11 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 14th most-complained-about out of 20 model years of the Dodge Ram 3500 with enough data (69 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
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.
While driving under 50 MPH, another driver cut consumer off, and consumer hit a pole, and sustained head and neck injuries. Vehicle's frame bent up like a piece of aluminum foil. Consumer felt frame was too thin. Consumer states cab of truck and floor panels buckeled. *slc
While pulling a trailer with vehicle on it consumer started to smell something funny, consumer rolled down the window and black smoke rolled in, then consumer pulled over and vehicle burned up.
At engine oil change, serviceman noticed fuel tank hanging by aft fuel hanger strap only. First failure of the fuel tank hanger strap assembly. Had the tank completely failed on the road, the 35 gallons of diesel fuel could have caused a burned up vehicle and or injury/ loss of life.
I have owned a 1995 dodge 2500 and a 1997 dodge 3500. I have some concerns with a steering problem with these models. If a pothole or railroad tracks are hit at a speed of at least 55 MPH the steering wheel shakes uncontrollably. When this happened with my 1995 I spent over $400.00 in just parts replacing almost all of the steering parts. Now this is happening with the 1997.