general problems of the 2003 Dodge Ram 1500

My daughter got about 300 feet from the house and said the "brakes felt funny" so she decided to turn around at the corner. Well, she simply turned the steering wheel and the passenger side front wheel broke clean off at the hub. I thank god she was going less than 5mph. Her route that day would have put her on the highway and if this had happened then. . . . . . I can't even think about it. The repair shop took pictures and said they'd provide whatever info I needed. Well, what was needed for Chrysler to recall this a long time ago. I understand the truck has some miles on it but I was shocked to go online and see how many people have experienced the exact same problem. If anybody has one of these vehicles, they should immediately have the hubs checked. . . . Especially on the front passenger side as that seems to be the main issue from what I've read.

Rims on truck rusted out under the chrome covers to the point that one came apart while driving. You can't see the rusted till you pry and tear the rim apart.

The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500. While driving approximately 5 mph, the front passenger wheel detached from the vehicle independently. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the wheel hub, calipers, brake pads, and brake hoses needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact was unaware if the vehicle was repaired per NHTSA campaign number: 10e040000 (wheels). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 175,000.

The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500. While driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle shook abnormally and a grinding noise was heard. The contact stated that the wheel hubs became detached while driving at a low speed. In addition, the contact stated that the rear glass shattered after being involved in a minor rear end collision. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was approximately 145,000.

My son was driving home from work turning left and the right front tire just came off. After looking at the part itself the medal just snapped off, broke clear, this is dangles.

The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, a grinding noise emitted from the front driver¿s side wheel hub. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 99,000.

The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign numbers: 15v312000 (air bags) and 14v770000 (air bags); however, the part needed to do the repair was not made available. In addition, while driving approximately 60 mph, the front driver side wheel failed without warning. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, who diagnosed that the wheel assembly fractured. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

Chrome clad steel wheels rusting excessively fear of wheel face (lug) separating from wheel (proper). It has progressively gotten worse from June of this year to now October. To the point that it is affecting all four wheels now, in different stages of decay. I am afraid to drive the vehicle.

While drive at the posted speed limit, the drivers side front wheel separated from the vehicle. I lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle crossed the center line, crossed over the on coming lane, hit a mailbox, went airborne, crossed a driveway, hit a tree, rolled, hit another smaller tree and came to rest on the drivers side door facing the opposite way I was originally traveling. At the time the hub assembly separated from the vehicle, I was traveling downhill. My daughter was able to crawl out of the vehicle while I had to be cut out using the jaws of life. I was transported to a local trauma one hospital via life air medical rescue. My daughter was transported by ground. She had five chipped teeth while I sustained a tbi and broken knee cap. The vehicle was a total lost but there was no loss of life.

I own a 2003 Dodge 1500 ram, with 79000 miles. The past three months I have had a noise and vibration in the front of the vehicle. A local dealer diagnosed the problem as a bad front wheel bearing. He change the bearing, which I then disassembled and inspected. The bearing looked sufficiently fine, except for a lack of grease. Two days later I removed the remaining front wheel bearing, with the thought of getting grease into it. But upon removing the bearing, I found radial free play and excessive end play, the bearing was beyond a safe usable condition, and also had to be replaced. I have since found out that there were reports of insufficient lubrication, in Dodge truck wheel bearings, and would like to add my problem to the list.

The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500. While driving the spare tire fell off of the truck. Upon further inspection he noticed that the cable that secured the spare tire had fractured. The manufacturer was notified, and he was promised a response. He was still awaiting a response. The dealer was also notified, but the vehicle has not been inspected. The current and failure mileages were approximately 133,000.

I purchased a 2003 Ram 1500 hemi with 20" chrome wheels. At about 11,000 miles I noticed the chrome had some small delamination bubbles. I notified the dealer and they replaced the wheel. I now have 34,000 miles and noticed that all the wheels have little bubbles of delamination in the chrome. They are replacing all the wheels only because I caught it before I reached the 36,000 mile mark. Make sure to check your 20" chrome wheels. They are a chrome plated plastic insert on an aluminum wheel and the chrome tends to delaminate from the plastic as they age.

2003 Dodge ram quad cab 1500 4x2 vehicle, about 5 months since build and 3 months since purchase with about 4,700 miles on the odometer. In a swerving maneuver to avoid another vehicle at 40-45 mph the left rear tire/wheel assembly separated from the vehicle resulting in substantial damage to the vehicle. Tire/wheel assembly is to include a broken axle shaft, broken brake caliper mount, broken brake caliper, broken rotor back plate, broken emergency brake cable, broken brake line, damaged 20" wheel, and damage to the axle shaft housing. Dealership, autoway Dodge, is strongly urging the vehicle be turned in as an insurance claim and being difficult about the pursuit of a warranty claim. Other attempts to contact the daimler Chrysler manufacturer rep who looked at the truck on 11/11/2003, as well as don armstrong, DC customer service orlando have yielded more reluctance to look at the problem as well. So far we have found some others who experienced a similar failure and were likewise denied warranty coverage while being pressured to pursue it as an insurance claim. One at a reported speed of 3 mph in a u-turn.