Seven problems related to ball joint have been reported for the 2003 Dodge Ram 2500. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
I was traveling at about 20 mph, slowing down to make a turn when I heard a loud cracking sound. I pulled over but could not determine the source of the sound. I decided to return to the house to investigate further. On my way home, I stopped at a coffee shop and when tried to back up into a parking space, the passenger front wheel broke off. It completely fell off!! I am very happy we were moving at about 1-2 mph instead of the 40mph on the road. Truck was towed to the dealer where I was told that the bottom ball joint had broken off. This is a very serious issue. Peoples lives are at stake here. I am the only owner of this vehicle and have all the repair/ maintenance records. The repair for this is over $3000. 00. Why hasn't the manufacturer recognized this as a problem?.
On vacation towing a 5000 pound boat the front and started shaking violently the so-called Dodge death wobble. Had to turn around and go homeat a much lower speed. Brought it to warwick Dodge in new york for recall on tie rod assembly. They had it for 2 days they said they looked at it and did absolutely nothing. No wonder Dodge had to pay billions of dollars this is how you remedy problems. I've spent thousands on front end parts every mechanic tells me something differenti've replaced ball joints stabilizer links u-joints calipersand still have same problem my wife is afraid to drive with me.
I had no control of the steering and the vehicle was violently shaking, I slowed down to a stop, composed myself and drove on, the steering was very hard to control but the shaking only started about 40 mph, I took the vehicle to two shops, had ball joints, u joints, tie rods, steering, shocks, upgraded mopar steering assembly, pitman arm , all replaced, shortly thereafter I received recall notice n62/ NHTSA 13v-528, the instructions stated to mail all original repair documents related to tie rod failure and I would be reimbursed, I received a phone call just simply denying any responsibility with no particular reason other than my mileage, I asked for an email outlining the reason in detail which had absolutely no content of any explanation as to why the claim was denied. I did not receive my original receipts back either.
Front axle shaking violently. Shakes consistently going over bridges. Shook so hard one time it broke the adjusting sleeve on the drag link leaving me with no steering and vehicle crossed into the oncoming lane and into the grass coming to a stop just before hitting the guardrail. Since this incident the ball joints and tie rods have been replaced along with the steering stabilizer. The front axle has been aligned and everything is to oem specifications and this vehicle will still shake going over bridges if your running 70mph. From the research I've done it appears there is a problem on these Dodge trucks if they are 4x4 with a straight front axle and short wheel base. I have seen kits on the internet that claim to fix the "death wobble" and the geometry of the "fix" is different than oem. I hope that you will investigate this issue and I would be more than happy to take you for a ride in my vehicle or let anyone inspect it.
Ball joints and tie rod ends wore out and rusted parts on a 2003 ram that almost resulted in the loss of a wheel.
The contact owns 2003 Dodge Ram 2500. The contact stated that he looses control of the vehicle while driving at any speed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the tie rod and ball joint was replaced, but failure was not corrected. The contact continues to loose control of the vehicle. The manufacturer took a report 21276257 and advised the failure was not recalled. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 90,000 and the current 100,000.
The contact owns a 2003 Dodge truck 2500 4x4. The contact stated that the vehicle shakes violently while driving 70 mph. The vehicle was taken to the dealer three times and they changed the cable stabilizer and replaced the ball joints. The failure mileage was 100,000 and current mileage was 117,000. Updated 03-27-09 updated 04/01/09.