1996 Dodge Ram 3500: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 182 complaints
182
Total Complaints
115,000mi
Median Mileage
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
Top Issue
8
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

80,000 25th Percentile
115,000 Median Mileage
141,465 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
15
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
9
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS
8
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:COOLING UNIT AND LINES
8
SUSPENSION:FRONT
7
TIRES
5
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
5
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
5
STEERING
5
SUSPENSION
5

Severity Assessment

8
Crashes
12
Fires
3
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHILE DRIVING, ALL OF THE VEHICLE LIGHTS WENTOUT. HEADLIGHTS,PARKING LIGHTSS, AND MARKER LIGHTS. PLEASE DESCRIBE. *AK"
"WHEN DRIVING AT A HIGH AND LOW SPEEDS THE GEAR SHIFT AND THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE VIBRATES. *AK"
"WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES, THE FRONT BRAKES LOCK UP, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO PULL TO THE LEFT. PLEASE DESCRIBE. *AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28