Power Train. Review the 231 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Electrical System. Review the 97 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Engine. Review the 50 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

29 crash reports2 fire reports18 injury reports

Equipment complaints

9 reports

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50,000 miles · Aug 17, 2017

EquipmentSteeringVisibility

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 DODGE RAM 1500. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY, THE HEATING SYSTEM AND THE DEFROSTER STOPPED WORKING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE WINDOWS WOULD NOT DEFROST AND THE HEATING SYSTEM BLEW COLD AIR IN THE WINTER OF 2015. A DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED ABOUT THE FAILURES. IN ADDITION, WHILE DRIVING 75 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL BEGAN TO VIBRATE VIOLENTLY. AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC REPLACED THE FRONT DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDES OUTER TIE RODS TO CORRECT THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURES. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS RECALLED PER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 09V158000 (EQUIPMENT) PRIOR TO PURCHASING THE VEHICLE IN REGARDS TO THE HVAC SYSTEM FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 50,000.

NHTSA ODI #11016066

Mileage unknown · Aug 27, 2015

EquipmentPower Train

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 DODGE RAM 1500. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBERS: 09V158000 (EQUIPMENT) AND 13V038000 (POWER TRAIN); HOWEVER, THE PARTS TO DO THE REPAIRS WERE UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER …

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NHTSA ODI #10759681

12,000 miles · Jun 1, 2015

Equipment

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 DODGE RAM 1500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR CONDITIONER BECAME INOPERABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 12,000.

NHTSA ODI #10722710

17,005 miles · Jul 6, 2014

EquipmentVisibility/wiper

AIR CONDITIONING AND OR HEATER BLOWS AIR INSIDE HEATING COOLING SYSTEM BUT DOORS TO DIRECT IT TO ITS DESTINATION DO NOT OPEN, DEFROSTER AND HEATING SYSTEM DOES NOT WORK, ICE AND SNOW BLOCK WIDOW VISION. REPAIRS HAVE BEEN FRUITLESS. THIS SITUATION BEGAN AT THE SAME TIME AS THE RECALL ON IT AND HAS PERSISTED SINCE 2009. MY LATEST …

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NHTSA ODI #10608424

64,077 miles · Apr 12, 2014

EquipmentVisibility

HEATING AND AIR WILL NOT BLOW AIR ON WINDSHIELD OR PASSENGER WHICH IN A HIGH HUMIDITY SITUATION(RAIN) WOULD CAUSE THE WINDOWS TO FOG OVER AND NOT CLEAR UNLESS THE VEHICLE IS STOPPED AND THE WINDOWS ROLLED DOWN. *JS

NHTSA ODI #10579331

60,000 miles · Jun 19, 2012

Equipment

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 DODGE RAM 15000. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH WITH THE DEFROSTER ACTIVATED, THE AIR BEGAN TO SUDDENLY CIRCULATE ONLY FROM THE FLOOR VENTS. THERE WAS A RECALL RELATED TO THE FAILURE UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 09V158000 (EQUIPMENT: ELECTRICAL: AIR CONDITIONER). THE DEALER REFUSED TO HONOR THE RECALL DUE TO A PREVIOUS INSPECTION PERFORMED UNDER THE SAME RECALL. AT THAT SPECIFIC TIME, THERE WAS NO INDICATION OF A DEFECT. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE REPAIR FOR THE RECENT FAILURE WOULD BE AT THE OWNER'S EXPENSE. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000.

NHTSA ODI #10462243

31,000 miles · Jun 4, 2011

Air BagsEquipmentSeat BeltsCrashInjury

AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. SEATBELTS DID NOT RETRACT/WORK. WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONTAL DRIVER SIDE COLLISION IN WHICH MY 2009 DODGE RAM 1500 WAS TOTALED. I RECEIVED HEAD TRAUMA INJURY PER AIRBAG AND SEATBELT NOT WORKING. CHRYSLER/DODGE DENYING ANY RESPONSIBILITY W/ THEIR DEFECTIVE PRODUCT. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10404435

21,000 miles · Mar 14, 2011

EquipmentUnknown Or Other

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THE PROBLEMS THAT WE ARE HAVING WITH OUR 2009 DODGE SLT 1500 IS 1...THE RECALL ON HEAT AND AIR...DEALER FIXED! GREAT! 2....YALL READY FOR THIS! OUR TRUCK STARTED SMOKING AND STALLING OUT WITH NO POWER YES SMOKING OUT THE TAIL PIPE SOLID WHITE SMOKE AND YOU COULDN'T EVEN SEE THE TRAFFIC BEHIND YOU! HOW EMBARRASSING IS THAT....SOOOO THE DEALER LEAD US ON FOR 6 MONTHS THAT THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS WRONG AND THEY WHERE DOING THIS AND THAT AND FINALLY THEY BROKE DOWN AND PUT...REBUILT HEADS, BRAND NEW SHORT BLOCK(IS WHAT THEY SAID) AND EVERYTHING ELSE WAS REBUILT OR USED..AND CALLED IT A NEW MOTOR!!! NOW THE PROBLEM IS EVEN WORSE THEN WHAT IT WAS BEFORE. WE ALMOST GOT HIT BY 2 SEMI'S TRYING TO CHANGE LANES IN TRAFFIC HEADING BACK FROM GAINESVILLE LAST WEEKEND BECAUSE THE TRUCK STALLED WHEN WE SLOWED DOWN SLIGHTLY. WE TRIED TO PICK UP SPEED AGAIN AND THE TRUCK WOULD NOT GO NO POWER! WHAT A PIECE OF CRAP...THE DEAL SAID THAT THEY HAVE TO GO TO ATLANTA ON OUR TRUCK ALONE BECAUSE THEY HAVE NEVER HEARD OF ANYTHING LIKE IT! DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE THIS PROBLEM!!!!!!!!! EVEN AFTER A SO CALLED REBUILT MOTOR. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10390175

16,500 miles · Sep 28, 2010

EquipmentStructureTires

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WE OWN A 2009 1500 DODGE TRUCK AND WERE STRANDED IN THE HIGH DESERT FOR WELL OVER TEN HOURS UP OFF OF HIGHWAY 377 IN NORTHERN ARIZONA WE HAD A FLAT WE PROCEEDED TO TAKE THE JACK THAT WAS BRAND NEW WE WERE JACKING THE TRUCK UP WHEN THE FIRST EXTENSION END TORE LIKE IT WAS SOFT METAL SO WE DISCARDED THE FIRST EXTENSION AND PROCEEDED TO USE THE SECOND WHICH ALSO TORE SO I USED THE LAST EXTENSION AND THEN THE HOOK THAT WAS CONNECTED TO THE JACK BECAME TWISTED AND COULD NO LONGER BE USED THIS STRANDED US IN A PLACE THAT WHERE WE COULD NOT BE LOCATED WE CALLED ROADSIDE EMERGENCY SERVICE AND WAS TOLD BY DISPATCHER THAT HE HAD PIN POINTED US AND THAT THEY WOULD SEND OUT A TOW TRUCK BUT THEY STILL COULDN'T FIND US WITH THE COORDINATES THAT WE GAVE HIM . SO WE TURNED TO TRIPLE A WHO WE BELONG TO WE ALSO CALLED 911 . WE WERE TOLD BY TRIPLE A TOW TRUCK DRIVER THAT WE SHOULD DRIVE ON FLAT TIRE TO HIGHWAY 377 IF WE WANTED HELP SO WE PROCEEDED TO DO SO AND WAS THIS TOW DRIVER WRONG IT CAUSED MAJOR DAMAGE TO THE TRUCK AND IT TOTALLY STOPPED RUNNING AND IS NOW AT POWER DODGE IN PHOENIX AZ . WE WERE FINALLY FOUND BY THE HOLBROOK SHERIFF DEPARTMENT SERGEANT PRICE AND THE NAVAJO DISPATCHER FOUND US BY THE COORDINATES THAT WE PROVIDED FROM OUR GPS WHICH WAS SOME TIME THE NEXT MORNING WE ARE BOTH DISABLED AND DID NOT HAVE OUR MEDS UNTIL TWO DAYS LATER WHEN WE GOT HOME ALL BECAUSE OF THIS DEFECTED JACK THAT WAS PROVIDED WITH TRUCK . EXCUSE THIS IF IT IS CONFUSING BECAUSE I'VE HAD MY MEDS BUT AM STILL CONFUSED SLIGHTLY. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10358018

Official recalls

13V038000 · Power Train:driveline:differential Unit

Feb 6, 2013

Chrysler is recalling certain model year 2009-2012 Ram 1500 trucks manufactured from February 27, 2008, through June 30, 2009, and from December 1, 2009, through October 20, 2011; model year 2009-2011 Dodge Dakota trucks manufactured from February 27, 2007, through June 30, 2009, and from December 1, 2009, through September 30, 2011; model year 2009 Chrysler Aspen trucks manufactured from January 3, 2008, through December 18, 2008; and model year 2009 Dodge Durango trucks manufactured from January 3, 2008, through December 18, 2008. The rear axle pinion nut may loosen due to an undersized pinion spline that can allow relative motion between the nut and companion flange.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the rear axle pinion nut loosens, the axle can lock up and cause a loss of vehicle control and/or a vehicle crash with little warning.

Remedy: On November 7, 2013 Chrysler notified owners that dealers would install a pinion nut retainer, free of charge. In July 2015, and under a consent order with NHTSA, the company agreed to offer owners three options for remedying their vehicles: perform the original remedy, offer to repurchase the vehicle at the fair market value plus 10%, or offer an additional incentive offer towards the purchase of a new Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, or Fiat vehicle. Chrysler will notify owners of the new recall options in a letter expected to be mailed on August 31, 2015. Owners may contact Chrysler at 1-800-247-9753. Chrysler's recall campaign number is N08.

12V474000 · Power Train:driveline:differential Unit

Oct 2, 2012

Chrysler is recalling certain model year 2009-2010, Ram 1500 and Dodge Dakota trucks, manufactured from July 1, 2009, through November 30, 2009, because the rear axle pinion nut may loosen due to a lack of adhesive.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the rear axle pinion nut loosens, the axle can lock up and cause a loss of vehicle control and/or a vehicle crash with little warning.

Remedy: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will install a pinion nut retainer, free of charge. The recall began on June 17, 2013. Owners may contact Chrysler at 1-800-247-9753.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

DP14004 · Totally Integrated Power Module Failure

Opened Sep 25, 2014 · Closed Jul 24, 2015

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Electrical System

In a letter dated August 21, 2014, the Center for Auto Safety (CAS) petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to initiate a defect investigation of alleged failures associated with the Totally Integrated Power Module (TIPM) installed in Chrysler SUV?s, trucks, and vans beginning in the 2007 model year. The petitioner alleges that TIPM defects may result in engine stall, airbag non-deployment, failure of fuel pump shutoff resulting in unintended acceleration, fire, and other symptoms. On September 25, 2014, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened DP14-004 to evaluate the petition for a grant or deny decision. ODI analyzed complaint data provided by CAS as well as complaints submitted to ODI from consumers. In total, there were 296 complaints submitted by the petitioner in the original petition and five supplements, including 271 complaints related to the subject vehicles equipped with TIPM-7. Approximately 3 percent of CAS complaints are related to vehicles equipped with TIPM-6 and ODI?s review of these complaints did not identify any safety defect trends. ODI conducted a detailed review of complaints narratives submitted by CAS and consumers including careful analysis of vehicle repair histories, warranty claims obtained from the manufacturer and any available Customer Assistance Inquiry reports (CAIR). Analysis of the field data indicated that MY2011-2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango vehicles exhibited significantly higher complaint rates related to fuel pump relay (FPR) failures than other subject vehicles. In a September 3, 2014 letter to NHTSA, Chrysler submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) identifying a defect in the FPR within the TIPM-7 which can result in a no start or stall condition in approximately 188,723 model year (MY) 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee (WK) and Dodge Durango (WD) vehicles manufactured from January 5, 2010 through July 20, 2011 (14V-530).In a February 24, 2015 letter, Chrysler submitted a second DIR expanding the scope of the FPR defect condition to include an additional 338,216 MY 2012 through 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles manufactured from September 17, 2010 through August 19, 2013 and MY 2012 through 2013 Dodge Durango vehicles manufactured from January 18, 2011 through August 19, 2013 (15V-115).ODI analysis of the CAS allegations of TIPM defects resulting in stall while driving, airbag non-deployment, unintended acceleration, fire and other faults identified a single defect condition related to 1 of over 60 different circuits in the TIPM assembly. The most common effect of this defect condition, related to the fuel pump relay, was a no-start concern, but it could also result in stall while driving (76 complaints). No valid evidence was presented in support of claims related to airbag non-deployment, unintended acceleration or fire resulting from TIPM faults and these claims were found to be wholly without merit based on review of the field data and design of the relevant systems and components.Except insofar as the petitioner's contentions relate to the defect condition addressed by the Chrysler recalls, the factual bases of the petitioner's contentions that any further investigation is necessary are unsupported. In our view, additional investigation is unlikely to result in a finding that a defect related to motor vehicle safety exists or a NHTSA order for the notification and remedy of a safety-related defect as alleged by the petitioner at the conclusion of the requested investigation. Therefore, in view of the need to allocate and prioritize NHTSA's limited resources to best accomplish the agency's safety mission, the petition is den

PE12021 · Rear Differential Failure

Opened Jul 19, 2012 · Closed Mar 5, 2013

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Power Train; Power Train:automatic Transmission; Power Train:axle Assembly; Power Train:driveline; Power Train:driveline:differential Unit; Power Train:driveline:driveshaft; Power Train:transfer Case (4-WHEEL Drive)

In a letter dated October 2, 2012, Chrysler Group LLC (Chrysler) submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) to NHTSA identifying a safety defect in approximately 48,058 vehicles built with an axle pinion nut that can loosen, which could result in lock-up of the rear axle and/or separation of the rear drive shaft from the rear axle (NHTSA Recall No. 12V-474).The vehicles involved in this recall are model year (MY) 2009 and MY 2010 Dodge Ram 1500 (46,677) and Dodge Dakota (1,381) vehicles manufactured between July 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009 built with 9.25? rear axles built at Chrysler?s Detroit Axle Assembly Plant.Chrysler stated it determined during this time frame there were instances of 9.25? axles built with rear axle pinion nuts that were missing the adhesive patch.The remedy for these vehicles is to install a pinion nut retainer.In a review of data in its complaint database and data submitted by Chrysler, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) identified 194 reports (including 3 crash reports) of rear axle lock up and/or drive shaft separation outside of the scope of recall 12V-474.In a letter dated February 5, 2013, Chrysler submitted a second DIR to NHTSA identifying another safety defect in approximately 278,150 vehicles built with 9.25? rear axles and outside of the scope of recall 12V-474 that could also result in lock-up of the rear axle and/or rear drive separation (NHTSARecall No. 13V-038).Chrysler stated that analysis of field return parts from this vehicle population, undersized pinion splines were found as the likely factor contributing to the loosening of the pinion nut.The vehicles involved in this recall are:266,091 MY 2009?2012 Dodge Ram 1500 vehicles manufactured from 2/28/09 through 6/30/09 and 12/1/09 through 10/20/11 (including 183,421 MY 2009-2010 subject vehicles); 8,475 MY 2009?2010 Dodge Dakota vehicles manufactured from 2/18/07 through 6/30/09 and 12/1/09 through 7/9/10; 2,346 MY 2009 Chrysler Aspen vehicles manufactured from 1/19/07 through 12/18/08; and 1,238 MY 2009 Dodge Durango vehicles manufactured from 1/17/07 through 12/18/08.The remedy for these vehicles is the same as for 12V-474.The failure counts in this resume are for the subject MY 2009-2010 Dodge Ram 1500 vehicles only.The recalled vehicle counts are based on current estimates from Chrysler and may differ from estimates in the original DIR's.This Preliminary Evaluation is closed.The ODI report cited above can be reviewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification (ODI) numbers:10489593,10489091,10488952,10485174,10485096,10484596,10484490,10483394,10483370,10482853,10482816,10482438,10479806,10479352,10478724,10477460,10477354,10476923,10476691,10475939,10475241,10475158,10473147,10472488,10470655,10470516,10470231,10470152,10469969,10469548,10469435,10468759,10468024,10467819,10467805,10467683,10467196,10466630,10464240,10448778,10445208,10443542,10439902,10375394,10362531,10353440

Additional source detail variants (14)

Power Train:automatic Transmission

Power Train:axle Assembly

Power Train

Power Train:driveline

Power Train:driveline:differential Unit

Power Train:driveline:driveshaft

Power Train:transfer Case (4-WHEEL Drive)