IllustrationSEAT BELT CONTROLLER FAILED AND CAUSED MY BATTERIES TO DRAIN. LEFT US STRANDED IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. ONCE WE RECHARGED OUR BATTERIES WE HAD TO UNPLUG THE SEAT BELT CONTROLLER THAT WAS CAUSING THE DRAW ON THE BATTERIES. WE COULD NOT USE OUR SEAT BELTS.
1998 Dodge RAM 2500
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1998 Dodge RAM 2500 do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 275.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all RAM 2500 years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
70–25K
925–50K
1450–75K
1575–100K
15100–150K
19150K+
79 reports with mileage · 146 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 37 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 29 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Steering. Review the 24 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
19 crash reports3 fire reports14 injury reports
Seat Belts complaints
10 reportsTL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 DODGE RAM 2500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER AND DRIVER SEAT BELTS WOULD NOT RELEASE OUT OF THE BUCKLES AND THE SEAT BELT WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED PERIODICALLY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER OR INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING OR REPAIRS. TH…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 DODGE RAM 2500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER AND DRIVER SEAT BELTS WOULD NOT RELEASE OUT OF THE BUCKLES AND THE SEAT BELT WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED PERIODICALLY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER OR INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING OR REPAIRS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 55,000.
VEHICLE PARKED IN DRIVEWAY. UPON GETTING IN VEHICLE, I FOUND BOTH THE DRIVER'S SIDE AND PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELTS LOCKED IN THE RETRACTED POSITION. I STOPPED AT A LOCAL DEALERSHIP FOR PART #P56043003AD AND WAS INFORMED THIS PART ON NATIONAL BACK ORDER. THIS SEAT BELT TIMER CONTROL MODULE IS NECESSARY FOR THE SEAT BELTS TO FUNCTI…
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VEHICLE PARKED IN DRIVEWAY. UPON GETTING IN VEHICLE, I FOUND BOTH THE DRIVER'S SIDE AND PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELTS LOCKED IN THE RETRACTED POSITION. I STOPPED AT A LOCAL DEALERSHIP FOR PART #P56043003AD AND WAS INFORMED THIS PART ON NATIONAL BACK ORDER. THIS SEAT BELT TIMER CONTROL MODULE IS NECESSARY FOR THE SEAT BELTS TO FUNCTION AS DESIGNED. TRUCK CAN ONLY BE DRIVEN WITHOUT SEAT BELTS IN USE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 DODGE RAM 2500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SEAT BELTS WOULD NOT EXTEND OR RETRACT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE THE SEAT BELTS WERE TIED TO THE AIR BAG AND SEVERAL ELECTRICAL SENSORS IN THE VEHICLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 105,000. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED.
FRONT SEAT BELTS WILL NO LONGER RELEASE THEREFORE CANNOT BE USED ANYMORE. REQUIRES REPLACEMENT OF SEAT BELT CONTROL MODULE AND IT IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE AT DEALERS OR ANYWHERE ELSE. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE IF YOU CANNOT USE YOUR SEAT BELTS ANYMORE. CHRYSLER SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO ISSUE A RECALL ON ALL DODGE TRUCKS WITH THE …
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FRONT SEAT BELTS WILL NO LONGER RELEASE THEREFORE CANNOT BE USED ANYMORE. REQUIRES REPLACEMENT OF SEAT BELT CONTROL MODULE AND IT IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE AT DEALERS OR ANYWHERE ELSE. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE IF YOU CANNOT USE YOUR SEAT BELTS ANYMORE. CHRYSLER SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO ISSUE A RECALL ON ALL DODGE TRUCKS WITH THE SEAT BELTS MOUNTED IN THE SEAT BACKS THAT USE THIS MODULE FOR PROPER OPERATION. THERE ARE A TON OF PEOPLE POSTING ON THE INTERNET HAVING THIS SAME SEAT BELT LOCK UP PROBLEM. PLEASE HELP!!!! *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 DODGE RAM 2500. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE FRONT SEAT BELTS WERE LOCKED. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN INSPECTED OR REPAIRED AT THE TIME OF THE COMPLAINT. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 89,655.
HIGH SPEED HIGHWAY CRASH (65 MPH) NEITHER SEAT BELT HELD FRONT SEAT OCCUPANTS - BOTH OF WHOM WERE HURT. AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. 2 VEHICLES TOTALED. *JB
THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER SEAT BELT WAS NOT WORKING AT ALL. THE SEAT BELT FAILED TO PULL OUT. THE SEAT BELTS MODULE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *JB
THE PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT LOCKED UP, THE DEALER FOUND THAT THE SEAT BELT SOLENOID SHORTED OUT. *SLC
WHILE GOING DOWN THE ROAD SEAT BELT LIGHT CAME ON, AND BELTS ON BOTH DRIVER'S SIDE AND PASSENGER'S SIDE LOCKED UP. WENT TO DEALER, DEALER TRIED 7 TIMES TO REPAIR DEFECT, BUT WAS UNABLE. SEAT BELTS DIDN'T RELEASE UNTIL VEHICLE WAS SHUT OFF OR DOOR WAS OPENED. *AK
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.