general problems of the 2008 Dodge Ram 1500

Was driving home going 35 the rear end spider gears decided to lock up completely cause loss of control of my vehicle.

My rear driveline separated from the rear differential causing the rear differential to seize up. It is available for inspection. This occurred while driving down a highway at 45 mph, there was some humming noise then it shook for a second and then load pop sound and send me fish tailing down the highway and then sliding sideways being stuck blocking the lane of traffic. I just contacted the dealership, and they cannot look at it under a recall situation because my VIN is not listed on the preexisting recall. I was told to contact the manufacturer directly. As of today 11/26/25, the vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives. There were no warning lamps or messages. Symptoms were only morning of the incident 11/24/25 after leaving my house halfway down the road approximately half a mile I started to hear a slight humming came to a stop sign didn't hear anything drove forward a block and a half to a stop light did not hear any humming in that time, as I took a right to head north on highway 9 I noticed the humming again and right as I was trying to pull off on the shoulder I hear a loud pop sound and temporarily lose control of the truck fish tailing I was able to get it back under control enough to steer a little and come sliding sideways to a stop stuck halfway on the shoulder and halfway into the oncoming traffic lane.

Vehicle diagnosed September 5, 2025 with failed front driver-side cv axle. Covered under factory lifetime powertrain warranty. Manufacturer (stellantis) has been unable to supply replacement part for over seven months due to “tooling issue” and no eta. Vehicle continues to operate with worsening vibration and noise from front axle. Concerned about potential driveline failure while driving. Warranty repair delay exceeds reasonable timeframe for safety-related component.

Missing 2 bolts on drive shaft almost had a accident.

The cv axle on the passenger side has gone out 3 times in the last 6 months. That's not just coincidence. And there is no extreme driving conditions or unnecessary turning going on.

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph and descending down a hill a loud banging noise was heard and the rear wheels suddenly locked up causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle crashing into a ditch. During the crash no injuries were reported. A police report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was towed away. The vehicle was examined by an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the pinion nut had failed. The local dealer and manufacturer were not notified. The failure mileage was 160,000.

I was driving and I started to hear a loud noise and the truck didn't feel right. So I took it to have it checked out and they told me that my rear end was messed up. I had to replace the pinion bearings, rear wheel seals and all the bearings in the rear end. Then after all that was finally fixed I was on my way to work and I start to hear the same noise again so yet again I took it to have it checked out and yet agian they tell me that the rear end is messed up. So I did some research and found out that my truck was under recall for this problem . My entire rear end is messed up because of this and I have spent thousands of dollars trying to have it fixed because the mechanics had no idea that it was under recall.

The gear shift cable is very common problem in multiple Dodge cars, trucks, and SUV's the gear shift cable breaks easily, and the parts for repair are not available anywhere in the USA. The cable is currently being redesigned fca/ram for the 5th time, with a one month or greater time frame until they are available for dealers.

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500. While driving approximately 75 mph, the vehicle started to make an abnormal sound. The contact merged to the shoulder of the road and noticed that the pinion nut detached from the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 239,000.

I just purchased this vehicle and within a week the key wouldn't go into the ignition and once in wouldn't come back out. The vehicle shuts off randomly locking the power steering and brakes. My right turn signal now doesn't go off and when I try to put it off my self the left turn signal activates! this went on back and forth a good eight times before both shut off. My front headlights (mostly right but cannot really see the left while driving) the lights shakes and bounces when I go over anything uneven. Upon coming to a sudden stop the truck pulled hard to the right causing me to swerve into the grass. This vehicle just doesn't drive right. The whole front end seems loose. I cannot drive over 50 or the rear end comes off the ground when I brake to make my turn. I'm taking it to the dealer this evening. My dealer 30 day warranty expires tomorrow. The 3 year 36000 manufacturer warranty is up since three years are gone - although the vehicle only has 31864 miles now. I cannot afford to make repairs while still financed. I'm a single mother of four and always have my four year old in the truck. It's to the point I no longer trust driving this truck.

I am concerned with the rear pinion retaining nut problem I have seen and heard about on these vehicles. I feel it should be an expanded recall as I don't want to be driving down the road and have my rear diff lock up or explode internally if its something that can be fixed.

Front output shaft(axel) on truck failed at 68,768 miles replaced with oem part, front shaft failed again at 92,440 miles replaced again.

On 2/19/2015, I was driving my 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 slt at approx 40mph when loud bang came from the rear of the truck, the truck lurches sideways and proceeded to come to a grinding halt. The truck would not move in either drive or reverse. I then had the truck towed back to the dealer since it could not be driven. Upon inspection by the dealership, it showed that the pinion gears were destroyed and all of the metal shavings cause the rest of the failure of the rear. The result was the entire rear needed to be rebuilt. It is very disheartening since Chrysler acknowledged the same issue and recall the following model year of my truck (2009) if this catastrophic failure of the rear had happened while on the highway or in higher volume traffic, the safety results could have much worse or dire. With 63k miles, a failure like this, especially with absolutely no warning of impending failure, should never had happened.

As I was driving on a highway in three lanes of traffic at approximately 70 m. P. H. The rear end made a loud noise and without warning seized up and started grinding extremely loud causing my rear end to lock up at 70 m. P. H. Almost causing a pile up. I avoided a collision by pushing the accelerator to the floor allowing me to change lanes and exit the highway to the first parking lot I could find right at the exit. When I drove into the parking lot the vehicle had a strong odor of hot oil and would not move because the rear end was destroyed. I find it hard to believe Dodge is not responsible for the 2008 year trucks having a rear end failure since they have recalls on every year truck except 2008. Now since none of this will be covered by the manufacturer or dealer I am left replacing the rear end of my truck with one from a junkyard and I am out almost three thousand dollars.

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 mph, the axle pinion nut became lose. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the pinion nut needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacture was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage and current mileage was 144,000.

At 1750 driving in the 4th lane to the left of a 5 lane highway at 65mph heading west I suddenly felt like I had been struck from behind, the rearend of the truck lifted up into the air. I was out the windshield looking down at the pavement and the rearend swung left turning the truck 180 degrees into the middle lane of 5 lanes, now facing east into oncoming traffic. When the police officer finally arrived he asked me what had happened. I described this exactly to him adding that I was struck from behind and the vehicle that struck me did not stop. The officer walked around the truck and stated that there was no damage to the rearend of the truck. Then the officer looked under the truck and stated the powertrain was lying on the pavement unattached at the rearend. . Updated 06/25/14 updated 06/30/2014.

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that the gear shifter would not properly shift. The contact had to continuously pump the brakes before the shifter would respond. The vehicle was not taken for inspection or diagnosis. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 38,000.

While driving at 75 mph, the issue became apparent as entry into a curve began. The steering of the vehicle (2008 Dodge ram quad cab 1500) became less responsive with a great amount of vibration. As the curve in the road straightened out a loud pop came from driver side front and rear axle areas. Witch also created a large uncontrollable body roll and sway. Howling noise is greatly apparent at higher speeds. With this issue the vehical feels un-solid and constant body roll feels as if you were traveling on a boat. Many items recalled on other Dodge vehicles during same year, but not on the vehicle in question, have the ability to caise the same issues. This could create a tragic and catastrophic loss of life in the vehicle of failed parts or the family next to them on the road. "drive safe, because today could be the day you save your familys life".

Truck stalls out for no reason. Tends to happen when slowing down and at lower speeds. Loose power steering and control. I have since changed the throttle body. Truck still stalls.

Started to drive and the rearend locked up luckly no speed this truck was manufactured on March 24th 2008 same time as the 2009 model recall.

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500. While driving at 25 mph, the vehicle failed to shift into gear and stalled without warning. The contact mentioned that the vehicle restarted and the transmission warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The technician diagnosed that the transmission seized. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. In addition, the contact mentioned that the steering wheel was vibrating and excessive pressure was needed when depressing the brake pedal. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 96,000.

Driving at a speed of 45 mph the truck--2008 Dodge Ram 1500 5. 7 hemi-- died. I had no power steering. I was able to shift into neutral and stop. Very thankful I was on a country lane and not on a freeway because there was no warning and I could have been in a horrible accident. The check gauges light icon was flashing as I tried to re-start it. It would crank but not start. After waiting for 15 minutes it did start up again. The engine icon light was showing and it said that an oil change was needed. The oil change wasn't due yet for another 1000 miles, or, two weeks on my three month schedule. I get the oil changed every three months. It tried to stall from then on as I accelerated from a stop, on my way to to the dealer. The diagnostic showed a code for the egr valve, which was replaced. This was fixed four days ago and so far so good, but am very anxious when I drive now, worrying that it might happen again, especially after seeing so many posts online with others experiencing the same problem with their Dodge ram trucks. This truck has 35,300 miles on it. This truck was serviced six weeks before this incident with: a 16 cylinder hemi tune-up; a throttle body service, fuel induction flush and fuel system treatment; transmission service with filter change; machined front and rear rotors; and tire rotation.

Complete loss of power to vehicle, including powertrain, steering. Power loss occurred previously when driving and hitting a bump (pot hole). Last event happened during normal steering into driveway. Speeds varied during occurrences. Top speed was approximately 55 mph.

We were driving our Dodge Ram 1500 mega cab (51,000 miles) on interstate 25 just south of douglass wyoming. We were going approximately 77 miles per hour and in an instant I lost all control of the steering and we ended up off the side of the road after a very frightening experience. I bought this truck just over a year ago from a dealer outside denver, CO. When the tow driver arrived, he immediately told me that my tie rod probably broke as my right front tire went completely sideways and was now rendered useless. He mentioned that we were very lucky as most times he sees these types of things, the truck rolls over. He also mentioned there was a recall on these tie rods. We had it towed to a dealer in douglass and are waiting to hear what they have to say on Monday. I ran my VIN# on Dodge's web site to see if its a recall, but its telling me that my truck doesn't have any on it. Candidly, after talking to mechanics locally, they said a tie rod should never bust like that and with so little miles on the truck. To say this is dangerous is clearly an understatement. This type of "defect" is going to kill people as it almost did us. I sure hope Dodge does the right thing with our truck. I have had nothing but issues with this truck since the day we took it off the lot. Within a month, the transmission went out and once again, Dodge said it wasn't their fault - 40,000 miles and a transmission goes out? after fighting with them for another month, they did repair and pay for the fix. . .

The transmission didn't want to shift into gear but did, carried to the local dealership, said the transmission gears are coming apart. Only 52000 miles on this truck can't believe this has happened $3100 to repair.

Consumer stated 2008 Dodge ram accelerated after removing foot from pedal. The consumer stated as she accelerated to pass a truck, the vehicle continued to accelerate. The rpm's reached 5000. She tried to place the vehicle in neutral, press the brake, but the vehicle continued to accelerate. Eventually, the vehicle started to slow down enough with her foot still on the brake. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, however they were unable to find a problem. The dealer stated they had never heard of an electronic control light, even though the light was on when the consumer arrived at the dealer. The shifting was erratic when first shifting out of park into reverse.

While driving with truck in 4 wheel auto I heard a pop and had some warning lights on dash flash on and off. Also had a burnt wire smell. Truck continued to run but after it was shut down it would not start nor would it come out of 4 wheel auto. This happened on 23 Dec 2008. As the truck was repaired and troubleshooting was completed it was determined that the electronic portion of the 4 wheel drive had burnt out the "integrated power distribution module" under the hood. I was also told by the Dodge repair facility that Nissan and Chevrolet were also experiencing the same problems. My truck was finally repaired and returned to me on the 29th Jan 2009.

4 wheel drive shifting/switching. Unable to shift between 4wd and 2wd. Visual indicator on electron switch changes status but vehicle is not in 4wd. Erratic behavior, four trips to dealer without resolution of problem. Dealer has reset electronic control but problem recurs. Chrysler contacted with no additional solutions. Vehicle operation is otherwise unaffected.