1997 Dodge Ram 1500: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 467 complaints
467
Total Complaints
95,050mi
Median Mileage
STRUCTURE
Top Issue
36
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

57,750 25th Percentile
95,050 Median Mileage
139,662 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

STRUCTURE
58
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
38
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
26
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
15
AIR BAGS
13
TIRES
12
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
11
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
11
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
9
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
9

Severity Assessment

36
Crashes
16
Fires
46
Injuries
1
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"CONSUMER WAS INVOLVED IN A HEAD-ON COLLISION WHILE TRAVELING 20 TO 25 MPH AND THE DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY . *AK"
"ABS BRAKES PULLED TO LEFT AND LOCKED UP, CAUSING CONSUMER TO HIT ENBANKMENT AND WENT INTO SOMEONE'S YARD."
"WHEN VEHICLE REARENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE GOING (45) MPH THE DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYED AND THE GASES FROM THE AIR BAG BURNED DRIVER'S LEFT WRIST. DRIVER SUSTAINED 2ND DEGREE BURNS. VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. *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