2006 Dodge Ram 3500 problems
NHTSA has received 350 complaints about the 2006 Dodge Ram 3500, and 22% of them involve steering. Next are electrical system (15%) and lighting (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 350 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Steering 22% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 19 and 6
- Injuries and deaths
- 6 and 4
- Typical mileage
- 80,000 miles 283 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 | 26 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 25 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 37 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 53 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 41 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 29 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 23 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 6 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 24 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 13 |
| 200k+ miles | 6 |
What the data shows
Of the 283 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 80,000 miles. For steering specifically, the median reported mileage is about 98,000 miles (60 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 19 complaints mention a crash; 6 complaints mention a fire; 6 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 2006 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 20 model years of the Dodge Ram 3500 with enough data (171 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 8 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.
A young child was able to enter the vehicle and start the ignition without the clutch depressed. The vehicle then moved forward striking another child and resulted in a fatality. The clutch interlock safety switch had not been tampered with and was in its original condition but did not function properly. The vehicle started without the clutch depressed. The switch has been tested and found to be defective....updated 01/07/15
A possible mechanical malfunction in the front drive shaft/front suspension possibly caused the vehicle to veer into oncoming traffic and cause a fatality crash.
When I use the switch to brighten or dim the headlights the windshield washer turns on and stays on for 3 to 5 seconds. Lately when I try to use the windshield wipers they work only sporadically. When I pull a trailer the left blinker or brake light will not work. I drive a 2006 dodge ram dually with the cummins engine.
Driving approx 50MPH northbound; heard a loud "bang" - truck started uncontrollable shaking and steering veered into oncoming (southbound) traffic; hit brakes hard and pulled steering to right - did not respond at 1st and then was able to pull off to the right as oncoming traffic had to stop for me - had to then turn steering wheel all the way to left to get truck to quit going right. Exited vehicle, looked under front of truck and right tie rod end was wedged up against inside of rht side tire..