Front Suspension Upper Ball Joint problems of the 2007 Dodge Ram 1500

I was driving on a highway and got off the exit. I stopped at a gas station for a drink and the road I had to get on, I couldn't make a left turn out of the parking lot, so I had to go to the next traffic light and made a u-turn. I went though a dunkin donuts parking lot and when I was about 20 feet from exiting the parking lot, it felt like my front passenger side tire went flat. I pulled into a parking spot, got out and looked at it, and to my surprise, the tire was leaning at a 45 degree angle. I had it towed to a Dodge dealer and called Chrysler/Dodge and spoke to a case management person. I didn't get anywhere with him, but weeks worth of leaving voice mails and getting no return calls. I finally spoke to a supervisor and she called the dealer where my truck was, while I was on hold. Finally, after 20 minutes, she returns and tells me there is nothing that they will do. They will not pay to fix it, or help pay for the repair and they will not pay my deductible to fix it and they will not compensate me in any way whatsoever. Her reasons were for one, the warranty on my truck was over and I said, yes, I know and if there was, I wouldn't be calling you, and for two, she said that the broken part which was a broken upper ball joint, is a normal wear and tear item. I said are you kidding me? this truck is in like new condition and very well taken care of and it only has 56,000 miles on it. How do you consider that normal wear and tear? I said if it had 150,000 miles on it, then yes, that's normal wear and tear, not with 56,000 miles. I said you are crazy, she said , well sorry you feel that way, but we are not doing anything for you. I said this will be the last time I buy a Chrysler/Dodge product ever again and she said that's your perogative. I said nice to see that Chrysler/Dodge does not stand behind their products. . . . Updated 07/19/12.

As I went through an intersection, the right side upper ball joint failed causing the truck to drop onto the tire/wheel. After I slid to a stop (without hitting anything), I got out and looked at the damage. It bent the tie rod, pulled the 4wd shaft apart, etc. The dealer looked at the truck on Friday and said it would be aprox. $2k to repair it but the left side was also loose. I called Chrysler customer service and was told, "nothing we can do, it's after the factory warranty". I found an online complaint form and filled it out. Chrysler and the dealer talked and as of 1/19/2012, the total estimate was sent to Dodge in the amount of $3000. 00. Customer service called on 1/23 and said that the dealer has agreed to drop the price by $500 and that Dodge would pay an additional $500 leaving me to pay $2000. I told them that it was unacceptable based on the condition of the truck, the year, and the miles. I have never had a ball joint failure at 56,000 miles (I. E. -since '94, I have had over 300,000 miles on gm vehicles and ball joints have never been replaced). The truck is still sitting at the dealer without any repair done yet. I emailed customer service today and received a response saying that the offer stands as is. In my opinion, it is a manufacturer issue. I have contacted an attorney to see what my next step should be. Even if it gets replaced, oem parts will be installed and I will have to worry about the front end failing again possibly causing serious injury. All I would like is to have Dodge/Chrysler pay the whole bill. As far as I know, Dodge has not looked at pictures that I have provided nor has a factory rep. Looked at the truck. I'm to a point where I want to trade the truck in as is for a different brand.