Five problems related to steering gear box shaft pitman have been reported for the 2005 Dodge Ram 2500. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
I was driving home from the store with my 3 year old son traveling approximately 45-50mph and there was a spot in the road that we ran over which was a repair so it was raised up a bit from level. After running over the repair the infamous Dodge death wobbled started. Once the shaking started I immediately started slowing down but unfortunately for us the death wobble sheared the tie rod end that is connected to the pitman arm completely off of the truck so I had no steering control over the truck and we flew in to the next lane and wound up on the shoulder hitting the curb. This is completely ridiculous that a manufacturer would allow this issue to persist for years. Dodge had this issue starting with 2003 trucks. I have spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars trying to fix this issue and Dodge always says "well maybe it is this" and wants more money. Why should I have to pay for their [xxx] product. It almost killed my son and I. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).
The contact owns a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph, the power steering assist failed and the brakes would not respond effectively. The vehicle traveled into a walkway and independently decelerated to a stop. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was not able to be restarted and was towed to the dealer, who replaced the steering linkage and damper pitman arm. The contact later received notification of NHTSA campaign id number 13v528000(steering). The manufacturer was not notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 123,896.
While backing out of a typical driveway, the left tie rod suddenly failed (described by our mechanic as 'sheared off at the pivot connection/knuckle'. ) the tie rod had been replaced, as part of "updated front tie rod kit", along with steering damper, pitman arm and all ball joints in August of 2010 (91382 miles on vehicle at that time) as the solution to severe 'death wobble. ' it should also be noted that all ball joints had already suffered sever wear and required replacement in March of 2011, with about 126223 miles on the truck.
Tl-the contact owns a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500. The contact stated while driving 80 mph the vehicle drove over a bump and the vehicle began to wobble. The contact applied the brakes and gained control of the vehicle. The contact took the vehicle to a local mechanic for a diagnostic test. The mechanic notice ware in the tie-rods but stated the wobble was not caused by the tie-rod. The mechanic stated the vehicle can be driven. The contact tried to order tie-rod parts to repair the vehicle but the pairs were unavailable. The contact stated the pitman arm connecting to the spindle needed to be replaced. The contact did repair the vehicle. The failure mileage was 139,000. Jo.
The contact owns a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 quad. While driving approximately 50 mph, the contact noticed that the steering wheel shook intermittently. The dealer was notified and they advised the contact that there were no recalls. The manufacturer, was informed who referred the contact to the dealer for repairs. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who informed the contact that the pitman arm joints and ball joints were wearing. The vehicle was not repaired. The current mileage was approximately 135,000. The failure mileage was approximately 5,000.