2005 Dodge RAM 1500
This year drew an ordinary 1,206 complaints for a Dodge RAM 1500 — the model's median is 566. What they were about is the unusual part: 31.7% of them mention train, against 1.6% across the model's other years.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 1,206 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 566 |
| Involving a crash | 113 |
| Involving a fire | 17 |
| Recalls | 7 |
| EPA combined | 14 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- train — 31.7% of this year's complaints, against 1.6% across the model's other years (20.3×). Owners wrote it as: train, power train, train however, timeframe.
- part needed — 9.5% of this year's complaints, against 2.2% across the model's other years (4.2×). Owners wrote it as: part needed, needed unavailable, perform repair.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
What owners wrote
NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V796000 (POWER TRAIN) AND STATED THAT THE PART NEEDED WAS NOT AVAILABLE WITHIN A REASONABLE TIMEFRAME TO SCHEDULE THE RECALL REPAIR. THE DEALER DID NOT GIVE A SPECIFIC DATE FOR WHEN THE PART WOULD BECOME AVAILABLE. THE…
NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBERS: 14V796000 (POWER TRAIN) AND 15V313000 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PART NEEDED WAS NOT AVAILABLE TO SCHEDULE A RECALL REPAIR WITHIN A REASONABLE TIMEFRAME. AS THE FAILURE PROGRESSED, A NOISE AT THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE ASSOCI…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 14V796000 POWER TRAIN Fixed free of charge.
- 14V770000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 16V352000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 15V313000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 07E104000 VISIBILITY Fixed free of charge.
- 10E013000 STEERING Fixed free of charge.
- 10E040000 WHEELS Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Dodge RAM 1500 was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2005 Dodge RAM 1500? What happened to yours?
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