IllustrationCONSUMER STATES WHEN BRAKING THE VEHICLE PULLS VIOLENTLY TO THE RIGHT. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. TS
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
What owners actually said
225 reportsI HAVE RECENTLY EXERIENCED WHAT I WOULD DESCRIBE AS A "WANDERING FRONT END" ON MY '98 RAM. I HAD A LOCAL DEALER LOOK AT THE PROBLEM. THEY SPENT 0.60 HRS DIAGNOSING A "SLIGHTLY WORN LOWER COLUMN SHAFT". THEY WERE QUICK TO POINT OUT THAT THIS MAY NOT FIX THE PROBLEM AND THAT PERHAPS I SHOULD CONTINUE DRIVING THE VEHICLE IN HOPE…
Read full complaint
I HAVE RECENTLY EXERIENCED WHAT I WOULD DESCRIBE AS A "WANDERING FRONT END" ON MY '98 RAM. I HAD A LOCAL DEALER LOOK AT THE PROBLEM. THEY SPENT 0.60 HRS DIAGNOSING A "SLIGHTLY WORN LOWER COLUMN SHAFT". THEY WERE QUICK TO POINT OUT THAT THIS MAY NOT FIX THE PROBLEM AND THAT PERHAPS I SHOULD CONTINUE DRIVING THE VEHICLE IN HOPE THAT THE SYMPTOMS WOULD BECOME MORE EVIDENT. I DECLINED ANY REPAIR. I LATER WENT "ON-LINE" AND WAS SURPRISED TO FIND A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN ON THE SUBJECT. (TSB 19-10-97 - "STEERING WANDER") IN ADDITION, I FOUND AN ENTIRE WEB SITE DEDICATED TO THIS PHENOMENA. (KEY SEARCH, DODGE RAM) THE STORIES ARE VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT I AM EXPERIENCING AND SOME ARE MUCH WORSE - SCARY! I E-MAILED DAIMLER CHRYSLER AND ASKED IF THEY WERE CONSIDERING ANY SORT OF CORRECTIVE ACTION. THEIR ANSWER WAS NO. TS
WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES, THE CONSUMER STATES' THE BRAKES SOMETIME LOCK UP. CONSUMER STATES VEHICLE SLID 120 FEET INTO A TELEPHONE POLE. NONE OF THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. TS
A CLUNKING NOISE IN THE STEERING WHILE DRIVING. DEALER NOTIFIED AND INFORMED THAT THEY ARE UNABLE TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. PH
CONSUMER STATES, WHILE DRIVING OVER 50MPH AND APPLYING THE BRAKES VEHICLE IS VIBRATING HEAVILY AND IT WILL BE HARD FOR THE CONSUMER TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION.. TS
WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE THE 5TH GEAR WAS INOPERABLE. TS
WHILE ACCELERATING VEHICLES THROTTLE PEDAL GOES TO THE FLOOR. CONSUMER HAS TO CUT OFF ENGINE IN ORDER TO RELEASE THROTTLE CAUSE IS UNKNOWN. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. TS
CONSUMER STATES THAT WHILE DRIVING A SMALL ROCK HIT THE WINDSHIELD. CONSUMER IS CONCERNED BECAUSE WINDSHIELD IMMEDIATELY CRACKED ALL THE WAY ACROSS. NLM
CONSUMER, NOTICED THE RIGHT PASSENGER DOOR BOLT WHICH ANCHOR THE BASE OF THE WINDOW REGULATOR CRAKED AND FELL APART. DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION
CONSUMER, NOTICED THE LEFT DRIVER DOOR BOLT WHICH ANCHOR THE BASE WINDOW REGULATOR CRACKED AND FELL APART. DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION.
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.