2004 Dodge Ram 3500 problems
NHTSA has received 276 complaints about the 2004 Dodge Ram 3500, and 16% of them involve transmission. Next are air bags (16%) and steering (15%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 276 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Transmission 16% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 52 and 5
- Injuries and deaths
- 28 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 69,000 miles 192 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 | 49 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 18 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 18 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 20 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 26 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 22 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 14 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 8 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 5 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 10 |
What the data shows
Of the 192 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 69,000 miles. For transmission specifically, the median reported mileage is about 15,000 miles (36 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 52 complaints mention a crash; 5 complaints mention a fire; 28 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 82% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 7th most-complained-about out of 20 model years of the Dodge Ram 3500 with enough data (121 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 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.
2005 dodge 3500 extended cab 4x4, I stopped with a passenger in truck on level ground and placed it in park w/engine running. Then, I removed my seat belt and exited the truck. I walked about 10 yards away and started to talk to a neighbor. I heard the passenger yell that the truck was rolling. I turned and ran to the truck as the passenger tried to exit the truck, but the shoulder harness tangled around her arm, and the truck was rolling in reverse.
2004 dodge ram 3500 cummins diesel. I got out of my truck to help wife shut gate, it was 25 feet from truck on flat ground- I was talking to wife-looked back and truck had shifted from park into reverse and was coming towards us at 3-4 MPH- I pushed wife out of the way and the truck hit me slammed me against the gate-broke the welds on a double steel pipe gate and r4an over me. This caused severe injuries to both persons.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 dodge 3500. On march 21, 2007, the vehicle automatically shifted from park into reverse. The vehicle rolled for almost 100 yards into his neighbor's brick house. The crash caused extensive damage and shifted the house five inches. The contact has a police report that stated the vehicle was defective. There is safety recall # 05v462000 (power train:automatic transmission). The engine size was unknown. The current mileage is 17,000 and failure mileage was 14,600.
I own a 2004 doge ram 3500 with an automatic transmission, I have found that on some occasions the transmission will not engauge in park even though it says it is in park. When this happens it will go back into reverse, usually when you have exited the truck and it starts going backwards.