2005 Dodge RAM

No clear pattern

0% of complaints about the 2005 Dodge RAM arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 2005 vehicle, but with only 47 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is engine cooling (15 complaints), typically at 2.8 yr or about 11,000 miles.

Complaints: 47
Median age at failure: 3.1 yr
Median mileage: 20,000 n=39
Crash / fire / tow: 14.9% of reports
Safety recalls: 5

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

09E012000 2009-04-07

Exterior lighting

SABERSPORT IS RECALLING 16,270 COMBINATION CORNER AND BUMPER LAMP ASSEMBLIES OF VARIOUS PART NUMBERS SOLD FOR USE AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT FOR VARIOUS PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE HEADLAMPS FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT." THESE LAMPS DO NOT CONTAIN THE REQUIRED AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS.

DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.

09E009000 2009-03-13

Visibility:windshield wiper/washer

CHRYSLER IS RECALLING 1,364 WINDSHIELD WIPER MODULES, P/N 55077098AJ, SOLD DURING THE 2008 AND 2009 CALENDAR YEAR FOR USE AS AFTERMARKET REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT ON MY 2002-2009 DODGE RAM PICKUP TRUCKS. THESE WIPER MODULE ASSEMBLIES MAY BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO WATER INTRUSION THAT COULD RESULT IN PARTIAL OR COMPLETE LOSS OF WINDSHIELD WIPER CAPABILITY.

WHEN THE WIPER SYSTEM FAILS, THE OPERATOR WILL HAVE REDUCED VISIBILITY WHICH COULD RESULT IN A CRASH.

09E001000 2009-01-13

Steering:linkages

CHRYSLER IS RECALLING 18,000 AFTERMARKET STEERING LINKAGES USED FOR SERVICE ON SOME MY 2003 THROUGH 2008 DODGE RAM HEAVY DUTY PICKUP TRUCKS. THE SUBJECT LINKAGES MAY EXPERIENCE DRAG LINK INNER TIE ROD TO PITMAN ARM BALL STUD FRACTURE, ALSO, THE STEERING LINKAGE DAMPER ATTACHING BRACKET MAY YEILD AND SHIFT ON THE LINKAGE. THE PART NUMBERS OF THE AFFECTED ASSEMBLIES IS 52122362AA THROUGH 52122362AD.

THIS COULD RESULT IN A LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL AND THE RESTRICTED ABILITY TO TURN THE VEHICLE IN ONE DIRECTION INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.

07E066000 2007-08-28

Equipment:electrical

CERTAIN CEQUENT 90 DEGREE 7-WAY RIGHT ANGLE ADAPTORS SOLD BY DISTRIBUTORS IN TOW PACKAGES FOR AFTERMARKET SALES TO TOW 5TH WHEEL RV TRAVEL TRAILERS. DUE TO INCORRECT WIRING OF THE HARNESS, THE TRAILER LIGHTS MAY NOT OPERATE PROPERLY.

IF THE TRAILER LIGHTS ARE NOT WORKING PROPERLY, A VEHICLE CRASH CAN OCCUR.

06E049000 2006-05-24

Exterior lighting

CERTAIN CK MOTORSPORTS COMBINATION HEADLIGHTS, CLEAR CORNER, BUMPER, AND SIDE MARKER LIGHTS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON THE PASSENGER VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. SOME COMBINATION LAMPS THAT ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS FAIL TO CONFORM TO FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT.

WITHOUT THE AMBER REFLECTORS, THE VEHICLE WILL BE POORLY ILLUMINATED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.

In owners’ own words

Engine cooling mileage not reported 1.8 yr in service

I HAVE A 2005 RAM 1500, 4.7 LITER ENGINE. SINGLE CAB. VEHICLE ENGINE CUTS OFF WHEN MAKING RIGHT HAND TURNS. HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES LAST SUMMER. I HAVE BEEN TO THE DEALERSHIP EVERY TIME. ONLY HAPPENS WHEN HOT OUTSIDE AND HUMIDITY IS HIGH. *JB

Engine cooling 25 mi 2.4 yr in service

THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM ON AND OFF FOR 2 YEARS. DEALER UNABLE TO FIND PROBLEM. WHILE DRIVING OUR 2005 DODGE RAM 1500 PICK UP THIS LAST WEEKEND, AS WE ACCELERATED IN TRAFFIC, THE TRUCK ENGINE CHOKED AND THEN BEGAN TO STALL. WE HAD JUST TURNED ON TO THE HIGHWAY WHEN THE ENGINE POWER BEGAN TO FAIL FOR THE FIFTH TIME. WE WERE ALMOST HIT BY ON COMING TRAFFIC DUE TO THE ENGINE FAILURE . *JB

Engine cooling 10,000 mi 2.3 yr in service

ENGINE STALLS OR ROUGH IDLES WHILES COMING TO BRIEF STOPS, IE STOP SIGNS OR RED LIGHTS. IT IS USUALLY BUT NOT ALWAYS WHEN I HAVE RUN THE CAR FOR THE FIRST TIME OF THE DAY WITHIN ABOUT 5 MILES OR LESS, AND SEEMS TO OCCUR MORE WHEN OUTSIDE TEMPS ARE LOW. *NM UPDATED 04/19/07. *JB

Other RAM model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2005 Dodge RAM

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other RAM model years

How to read this