2003 Dodge Ram 1500: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 1361 complaints
1361
Total Complaints
70,000mi
Median Mileage
AIR BAGS
Top Issue
106
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

33,000 25th Percentile
70,000 Median Mileage
117,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

AIR BAGS
445
STRUCTURE
158
STRUCTURE:BODY
71
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
65
POWER TRAIN
62
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
47
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:ROTOR
43
STEERING
31
SUSPENSION
31
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
23

Severity Assessment

106
Crashes
15
Fires
102
Injuries
6
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHILE EXITING THE INTERSTATE(EXIT 5, I20), I CUT THE CRUSIE CONTROL OFF AND TRIED TO CONTROL THE SPEED WITH THE ACCELERATOR, IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO ACCELERATE TO EXIT THE OFF RAMP. THE ACCELERATOR WAS ON THE FLOOR BOARD, THE LINKAGE HAD COME LOOSE. A BRACKET, HOLDING THE CABLE, HAD COME APART WAS AB..."
"THE VEHICLE STALLED ON FIVE OCCASIONS, AND WAS UNABLE TO BE FIXED. *JB SCC"
"THE TRANSMISSION LOCKED UP, WHICH CAUSED CONSUMER TO ABRUPTLY PULL OVER.*JB"

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