Eight problems related to differential unit have been reported for the 2008 Dodge Ram 1500. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500. While driving 50 mph, the rear driver and passenger side wheels locked and the vehicle stalled. The contact pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road by shifting the gear into all wheel drive. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rear wheel differential needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer stated that the VIN was not included in a recall. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.
Rear differential is noisy after being repaired several times. Vehicle has 73,000 miles.
Rear differential seized up while driving at 30 mph nearly went off road.
I was pulling my 19ft. Boat, and I was stopped at a red light. The light turned green, and I hit the gas. There was a knock in the rear end and a loud pop. I looked under the rear end, and I noticed that the rear end was leaking at the rear differential. When the tow truck arrived the rear wheels would not roll. The rear end locked up. This will be the second time my rear differential has went out. The first time was at 34,000 miles. The first time the rear end was making grounding sounds before I took it in. The Dodge dealership replaced it under the original service warranty. When they took the rear end apart, they found metal shavings in the oil. This time the truck now has 94,000 miles. Both differentials are currently averaging 45,000 miles each.
The truck started to make scraping noise and intensified in about 2 miles of driving a loud grinding noise with vibration sounding like a eco inside the cabin faster you go louder it gets then while in motion the truck made a louder sound and felt like the truck move back for 2 seconds and keep then moving foward still the loud noise I toke it to a mechanic shop to be check and the owner told me that the differential oil has metal on it like a metal was loose inside I told him to stop so I can check for recalls and call the dealer online they show that this kind of issues happen before and that the tires can lock and cause an accident or put someone in danger pedestrian passenger or driver is a recall from Chrysler about this issue but I will contact the dealer for more information I been inside the forums online and is a lot of people with this same problem I hope this recall come thru to all those Dodge Ram 1500 buyers like me.
The vehicle in question is a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 quad cab 4x2 with approx 81450 miles. While servicing rear differential, found metal pieces stuck to the magnet at the bottom of the housing. No noticable indications of failure prior to service. Vehicle delivered to dealership service department who's service advisor expressed they don't see many of these failures. It was discovered during inspection of the damage that the "c" clips which hold the lsd in place had failed. When the vehicle was picked up after repair the service ticket stated "this happens all the time". Service advisor also stated that the mechanic that performed the repair has over 30 years experience in the repair of rear differentials however, I should expect to see this happen again. The repairs were covered under the "limited lifetime powertrain warranty".
The truck started hopping and skipping while driving. After having it looked at the rear differential was full of metal gear teeth and filings.
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, a popping noise was emitted as the rear wheels seized. The contact noticed that the rear differential became detached from the vehicle and that the bolts were missing. The vehicle was not inspected by the dealer or repaired. The failure was reported to the manufacturer. The failure and current mileage was 120,000.