Ten problems related to diesel fuel system have been reported for the 2004 Dodge Ram 2500. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Lift pump failed during normal operation while traveling at highway speed. Lost all power to steering and brakes creating very difficult to control vehicle. Dealer would not replace failed part and instead put whole new pump assembly inside fuel tank. This means they know the current method of mounting on engine block is a design defect. Reviewed online and found other comments have a similar story. Since this is a re-engineering of the fuel delivery system that they know is defective and because losing fuel stops the engine creating an extreme hazard for such a large vehicle, Dodge should be recalling trucks with this configuration immediately to prevent injury and remedy an obvious defective design. In my case, I have had the truck serviced with the same dealer since it was new and they never warned me about this, but clearly are aware of this problem.
2004 Dodge 2500 truck. Consumer states problem with lift pump the consumer was informed by a mechanic that the lift pumps fail with 50,000-60,000 miles because they were mounted on the port side of the engine by the fuel filter by the heat motor. When the pump failed, the engine had no way to get fuel up from the fuel tank. The consumer stated the vehicle had to be towed.
Fuel lift pump failure.
While exiting a highway off ramp at highway speeds (60-65mph) truck died with no warning or alarms in a curve. I lost all power steering and most braking. As I approached near edge of embankment with no steering or rapid braking, I was able to refire motor for about 5 seconds which gave me power steering back and I was able to avert going off of a steep embankment, and avoided accident. After towing to local dealership it was determined that my fuel lift pump had failed. Dodge has been aware of these problems for sometime with these trucks. Repair was over 700 dollars. Truck had around 54k miles.
There was no symptoms that there was going to be a failure. Fuel lift pump stopped working and truck cut off while going 55mph leaving a 6000lb truck with no power steering or power brakes. Happened with 62326 miles on truck. Had this pump failed 30 seconds later my truck would have been going through a red light because I would not have been able to stop. Dodge and cummins do not supply a pump in this location for 2003-2004 Dodge ram trucks anymore. When they did supply it was approximately $350. 00, they have retrofitted a new pump in the fuel tank that cost $1000. 00. There are many complaints on diesel truck forums about the same problem with this truck. Dodge will not put old factory style fuel pump on these trucks anymore for a reason.
The truck lost power on the on-ramp to a freeway, two days later it died in the middle of the highway and I had to push it off the road. Took it into the shop and it indicated a lift-pump failure. When it was repaired (under warranty - I had to pay the deductible and the computer upgrade fee) the dealership put in what they told me was a "mandatory" retro-kit, moving the lift-pump from the firewall into the fuel tank. If they are making modifications when they repair under warranty shouldn't this be a recall? I noticed that it is a recall for fire-trucks, ambulances and etc. . . So it should be a recall for regular trucks too.
I am concerned with my 2004 Dodge p/u 2500 diesel. On 1/17/08 I had to have my transfer pump (fuel pump) replaced. When it went out I was driving and had no prior warnings that it was going out or was bad. When it went out I was stranded and had to be towed but was luckily in a situation where I could maneuver my truck to the side of the road safely. When I called the dealership later that day to see if they had a chance to diagnose the problem the service guy I talked to said he hadn't looked at it, but was positive it was the fuel pump due to the amount of them they have had to replace. It seems to be very common for this year truck and previous year Dodges to have this problem. The dealerships are very aware of it and are now replacing them with the new style that seem to not have the problems of the pre-2005's. I checked with the dealership to see if my transfer pump had been replaced with the new style pump and was told no that it been replaced with the old style that have all the problems. My truck is still under warranty and I feel that due to the safety issues that could come from your pump going out while driving they should be recalled and replaced with the new style pump whether your under warranty or not. It seems ridiculous that the Dodge dealerships are very aware of the problems of the pre 2005 trucks yet Dodge is not recalling and replacing them with the new ones. Thank you for your time. Jeremy fraijo.
I was driving on interstate 20 in a 2004 Dodge 2500 diesel pickup at 70 mph when, as I found out later, the lift pump went out leaving me with no power and no warning, with the truck immediately slowing with loss of power steering. I was in the left lane passing a line of trucks at the time with a line of traffic behind me. One of the trucks that I was passing saw the trouble, slowed and allowed me to cut through to the right shoulder, avoiding an accident. I later found out from dealership personnel that this part has a history of going out and that the factory will not allow the part to be replaced but requires a retro fit of a different system to solve the problem. There was no notification of the problem from Dodge warning of this possibility. They will not even acknowledge that this part is a problem even though they will not allow dealerships to replace it. It would appear that someone will have to die to get anything done. If this continues to happen , with no warning, I feel certain that someone surely will. If this part has this type of failure, that appears to be well known to them, then it should be recalled and fitted with the retrofit.
I own a 2004 Dodge 2500 with cummins engine and it stalled and would not restart. Dealership said the diesel fuel transfer pump went bad which they said was a very common problem. Service department said it was a design flaw and have to put a kit on it to fix the problem (totally relocate the fuel transfer pump from the engine to the fuel tank). Also said it was a possibility that it ruined the injector pump because it was not receiving fuel from the transfer pump. This is a very common problem and service departments admit it and is widely documented on the internet, why has a recall not been issued.
: the contact stated while the vehicle is parked on an incline and there is less than one third tank of fuel, the vehicle will not restart. The dealership determined this was how the vehicle was manufactured.
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