2011 Dodge RAM 2500

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 RAM 2500. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE VEHICLE DROVE OVER A BUMP AND THE STEERING WHEEL SHOOK VIOLENTLY. THE VEHICLE VIBRATED AND CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO BECOME VERY UNSTABLE. AFTER REDUCING THE SPEED TO 30 MPH, THE VEHICLE DROVE NORMALLY. THE FAILURE OCCURRED ON TWO OTHER OCCASIONS. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 110,000.

AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, THE TRUCK BEGINS TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY AND CANNOT BE PROPERLY CONTROLLED. DRIVER MUST IMMEDIATELY REDUCE SPEED OR STOP IN ORDER TO REGAIN CONTROL OF VEHICLE. THIS OCCURS ESPECIALLY IF HITTING ANY KIND OF BUMP AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, EVEN IF IT IS NEGLIGIBLE. IT IS ENOUGH TO LOSE STABILITY. THE SHAKING IS SO VIOLENT THAT IT IS DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN A GRIP ON THE STEERING WHEEL. BECAUSE IT HAPPENS WITHOUT WARNING, IT PLACES ALL OCCUPANTS IN DANGER AS WELL AS OTHER MOTORISTS BECAUSE THE VEHICLE CANNOT BE PROPERLY STEERED AND MUST BE IMMEDIATELY SLOWED OR STOPPED, CREATING A ROAD HAZARD TO EVERYONE. THROUGH RESEARCH, WE HAVE BEEN TOLD THIS IS COLLOQUIALLY KNOWN AS THE "DODGE DEATH WOBBLE," AND WAS SUBJECT TO A RECALL PRIOR TO OUR PURCHASE AND WAS NOT DISCLOSED TO US. WE HAVE SINCE ATTEMPTED TO DETERMINE THE EXACT CAUSE OF THE VIOLENT SHAKING AS WELL AS ANY REMEDY FROM THE MANUFACTURER, BUT HAVE ALSO LEARNED THERE IS A PENDING CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT THAT MAY CAUSE THE MANUFACTURER TO HESITATE TO ADMIT THERE IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THE "REPLACEMENT" PARTS UNDER THE PRIOR RECALL. WE HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE TO NOT HAVE AN ACCIDENT (AND THEREFORE NO POLICE REPORTS, ETC.), THOUGH THERE HAVE BEEN CLOSE CALLS WHEN WE HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO USE THE TRUCK. WE CHOOSE TO TAKE OTHER TRANSPORTATION WHENEVER WE CAN. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS DEFECT THAT MUST BE ADDRESSED BEFORE SOMEONE LOSES THEIR LIVES. WE PLAN TO TAKE VIDEO IF WE ARE FORCED TO DRIVE THE TRUCK AGAIN, OR ASK OUR DEALER TO DRIVE IT AND CONFIRM THE DEFECT. THIS BEGAN APPROXIMATELY IN AUGUST, BUT MAY HAVE BEEN BEFORE (I AM FILING COMPLAINT FOR MY HUSBAND) AND TRUCK HAS OVER 100,000 MILES ON IT, BUT I DO NOT HAVE EXACT MILEAGE WITH ME AT WORK. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 RAM 2500. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBERS: 13V529000 (STEERING) AND 14V635000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, FUEL SYSTEM DIESEL); HOWEVER, THE PARTS NEEDED TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE WERE UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.

POWER STEERING FAILED WHILE DRIVING. IT WILL GO IN AND OUT INTERMITTENTLY AND THEN WORK PERIODICALLY. OUR TIE ROD ALREADY SNAPPED AND WAS REPLACED UNDER RECALL, BUT NOW THE TRUCK HAS POWER STEERING ISSUES. A VIN CHECK SAYS ALL REPAIRS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED ON OUR TRUCK BUT WE ARE STILL HAVING STEERING ISSUES. WAS DRIVING AND MAKING A TURN WHEN THE STEERING WENT OUT INITIALLY AND WE COULD NOT TURN THE VEHICLE. ALSO, BRAKE CONTROL SYSTEM IS MALFUNCTIONING, CAUSING LOCKING TRAILER BRAKES, ROOF SUDDENLY BEGAN LEAKING AND FLOODED INTERIOR CAB, TIRE PRESSURE SENSORS ARE MALFUNCTIONING, HEATER FLAP IN DASH IS BAD AND BEEN IN FOR REPAIR 2 TIMES AND ITS NOT FIXED. AIR CONDITIONER IS NOT BLOWING COLD AND THE BACKUP CAMERA DOES NOT WORK. THE TRUCK HAS 60,000 MILES NOW AND IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY, BUT DODGE SAYS IT CAN'T FIX SOME OF THE PROBLEMS DUE TO NO WARRANTY OR NOT BEING ABLE TO LOCATE THE PROBLEM.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 RAM 2500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE MAKING A RIGHT TURN, THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED. THE CONTACT HAD TO USE EXTREME FORCE IN ORDER TO MANEUVER THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE WAS EXPERIENCED SEVERAL TIMES. THE DEALER ADVISED THAT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 10V657000 (STEERING). THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 35,000. UPDATED 04/14/16*LJ; UPDATED 05/10/18*JB *TR

I WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE DOWN A HIGHWAY AT ROUGHLY 65MPH. EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE FUNCTIONING PROPERLY AT THIS TIME. I SIGNALED TO MAKE A LEFT-HAND TURN ONTO A STREET AHEAD. I SLOWLY BRAKED TO ROUGHLY 10-15 MPH BEFORE BEGINNING TO TURN. WHEN I STARTED TO TURN, THE POWER-STEERING IN THE VEHICLE FAILED. IN OTHER WORDS, THE POWER-STEERING WAS WORKING FINE JUST BEFORE EXECUTING THE TURN, THEN FAILED WITHOUT WARNING JUST AS I STARTED TO TURN THE WHEEL AND WAS STILL IN MOTION.. THE WHEELS BECAME EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO TURN AND I WAS ABLE TO OVERPOWER THE FAILED POWER-STEERING COMPONENTS TO COMPLETE THE TURN AND GET OFF THE HIGHWAY SAFELY. HOWEVER, IF MY PHYSICALLY SMALLER WIFE HAD BEEN DRIVING, I AM NOT CONFIDENT THAT IT WOULD HAVE ENDED AS WELL. THERE WAS ONCOMING TRAFFIC ON THE OPPOSITE LANE TRAVELING AT 65MPH WHEN THE FAILURE OCCURRED. NO DASH LIGHTS, "CHECK ENGINE", ETC. APPEARED BEFORE OR AFTER THE OCCURRENCE. ONCE THE ENGINE IS IDLED UP, THE PROBLEM DISAPPEARS. IT'S ONLY WHEN THE ENGINE IS IDLED DOWN (LIKE WHEN YOU'RE SLOWING FOR A TURN), THAT THE POWER-STEERING WOULD FAIL UNEXPECTEDLY. I RESEARCHED THE PROBLEM ONLINE AND FOUND THIS TO BE CAUSED BY A "STICKING VALVE" IN THE HYDRO-BOOST SYSTEM. I CONTACTED A LOCAL DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPT., AND WAS TOLD THAT THE REPAIRS WERE NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY AFTER 36K MILES (VEHICLE CURRENTLY HAS 48K MILES). THEY DO NOT SEEM TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT THE EVIDENT SAFETY ISSUE THIS POSES ON A FAIRLY NEW VEHICLE. I AM WRITING THIS COMPLAINT IN HOPES THAT THE NHTSA WILL INVESTIGATE THIS FURTHER BEFORE SOMEONE BECOMES INJURED. I UNDERSTAND THAT PARTS CAN SOMETIMES FAIL ON NEW VEHICLES, BUT WHEN THEY FAIL THIS EARLY WITHOUT WARNING AND AFFECT VITAL PARTS THAT CONTROL THE VEHICLE, SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE.

MY SAFETY COMPLAINT ON OUR 2011 DODGE RAM 3500 TRUCK SHOULD ALREADY BE IN FILE! WE HAVE HAD SAFETY ISSUES WITH THIS TRUCK EVER SINCE PURCHASING IT AS A USED VEHICLE FROM RAMEY'S IN BECKLEY, WV. THERE ARE AT PRESENT THREE (3) RECALLS ON THIS VEHICLE, OF WHICH N49 APPEARS TO BE THE MOST LIFE-THREATENING, WHICH WE WERE NEVER NOTIFIED ABOUT, NOR WERE WE EVER NOTIFIED ABOUT THE BUYBACK ON THIS TRUCK. WE ACCIDENTALLY FOUND OUT. WE WERE NEVER NOTIFIED OF ANYTHING CONCERNING THESE PROBLEMS, PROBABLY BECAUSE WE PURCHASED IT USED. THE PROBLEM WITH THE TIE ROD, WHICH COULD CAUSE LOSS OF CONTROL AND A POSSIBLE CRASH IS NOT THE ONLY LIFE-THREATENING RECALL. THE RECALL WITH THE FUEL HEATER COULD POSSIBLY CAUSE A FIRE. WE HAVE, ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, NOTICED SMOKE COMING OUT FROM UNDER THE HOOD WHILE REFUELING THE TRUCK, AS WELL AS A NOTICEABLE SHAKING AND VIBRATING IN THE FRONT OF THE TRUCK WHILE IN OPERATION. FCA US, LLC IS ATTEMPTING TO CIRCUMVENT THE "CONSENT ORDER" AGREED TO BY THEM WITH NHTSA. THEY HAVE AGREED TO REPURCHASE THESE DEFECTIVE VEHICLES FOR THE PURCHASE PRICE PAID BY THE "ORIGINAL" PURCHASER, MINUS A REASONABLE AMOUNT FOR DEPRECIATION, PLUS 10%! IT APPEARS THAT FCA IS MAKING THEIR OWN RULES TO REPURCHASE BY "LOW-BALLING" THE REPURCHASE PRICE! WHAT THEY ARE ATTEMPTING TO DO IS CALLED FRAUD! IT WOULD APPEAR THAT NHTSA IS ALLOWING IT! SHOULD A CRASH OR FIRE HAPPEN WHILE FCA DRAGS ITS FEET ON THE REPURCHASE OF THIS TRUCK, SOMEONE WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE BY LAW!

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 DODGE RAM 2500. WHILE REVERSING AT 2 MPH, THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE TIE ROD FRACTURED AND PUNCTURED THE RIM AND TIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE TIE ROD, TIRE AND RIM NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS PREVIOUSLY REPAIRED UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 13V529000 (STEERING). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 24,300.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 DODGE RAM 2500. WHILE DRIVING AT 70 MPH, THE VEHICLE VEERED TO THE RIGHT INTO A DITCH AS THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME EXTREMELY LOOSE. UPON INSPECTION, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE DRIVER SIDE TIE ROD BALL STUDS DETACHED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE TIE ROD, RIM AND FRONT BUMPER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 13V529000 (STEERING). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 82,000.