2008 Dodge Ram 5500: Reliability Data

21
Total Complaints
59,000mi
Median Mileage
STEERING
Top Issue
0
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

36,000 25th Percentile
59,000 Median Mileage
91,500 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

STEERING
13
STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY
4
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
1
SUSPENSION
1
ENGINE
1
AIR BAGS
1

Severity Assessment

0
Crashes
2
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"MY LIGHTS STARTED TO FAIL THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN MY TRUCKS ELECTRICAL ALL WENT OUT WHILE GOING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AND WOULD NOT START BACK UP WITH NO POWER I HAD TO STRUGGLE TO GET THE TRUCK STOPPED THE FUSE BOX CAUGHT FIRE NOTHING ELSE WAS DAMAGED. THE DEALERSHIP WAYS IT IS THE BED MANUFACTURES FAULT. ..."
"TL*-THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 DODGE RAM 5500. WHILE THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH THE VEHICLE STEERED INTO THE LEFT AND RIGHT DIRECTION WITHOUT ASSISTANCE. THE STEERING WHEEL REQUIRED EXCESSIVE FORCE APPLIED TO FUNCTION PROPERLY. THE BRAKES WERE ENGAGED AND THE VEHICLE SLOWED DOWN. THE ..."
"2008 DODGE 5500 VIN [XXX] DRIVERS SIDE TIE ROD FAILED / SHEARED APPEARS TO BE THE SAME PROBLEM THAT HAS BEEN RECALLED BY CHRYSLER, YET CHRYSLER SAYS THAT THIS VEHICLE IS NOT ONE OF THE TRUCKS THAT THE DEFECTIVE TIE RODS WAS INSTALLED IN. IN MY 20 PLUS YEARS IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY I HAVE NEVER ..."

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

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

STEERING 13 complaints
25th: 30,000 mi Median: 53,000 mi 75th: 62,540 mi
STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY 4 complaints
25th: 72,750 mi Median: 91,500 mi 75th: 111,171 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

FL: 3 WA: 2 CO: 2 NJ: 2 TN: 1 NV: 1 WI: 1 TX: 1 MO: 1 IN: 1

Who Files Complaints?

9.5%
Original Owners
90.5%
Second+ Owners

Dodge Ram 5500 — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
2011342
2012510

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