2004 Ram 1500 Problems, Recalls & Reliability
1,369 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2004 Ram 1500, alongside 8 recall campaigns and 5 defect investigations. It scores 67/100 on the trouble index — one of the years to avoid for this model. Airbags leads the reports, typically around 101,500 miles.
Avoid this year if you can. The 2004 Ram 1500 sits at the top of this model's complaint rankings. Quieter picks in the same family: 1994–1996.
Avoid
Where 2004 sits among all 1500 years
What owners report
“Takata recall no incident as of 15 sept 16. There has been not remedy for since notification since 1 july 16”— owner report to NHTSA, 2004 1500
“Engine stalls when driving at low speed and when in idle. This started happening approximately 3 years ago. Check engine has never turned on.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2004 1500
“Rear end locked up while driving due to pinion nut backing off. Destroying the rear end.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2004 1500
“Tipm/fcm failure, intermittent turn signals/hazard lights. Turn on left turn signal right signal comes on, other times no signals at all. Problem occures wether in park, driving, with engine off. Extremely common issue that has not been addressed with replacements costing over $400.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2004 1500
“Was driving in my neighborhood at approx. 20mph when the front end fell out onto the road.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2004 1500
“While driving approximately 50 miles per hour the rear end siezed up causing vehicle to come to a complete halt and throwing driveshaft from vehicle causing a two lane closure until drive shaft could be retrieved.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2004 1500
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 928 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 71,360 miles. Half of those reports fall between 37,900 and 130,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (8)
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) expanded the affected population to include 73,712 2005-2009 RAM 2500 trucks produced at the St. Louis North Assembly Plant. With this change, Chrysler is recalling certain model year 2004-2008 RAM 1500, 2005-2009 RAM 2500, 2006-2009…
Fix: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicle until the recall repair is complete. Chrysler will notify the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and RAM owners. Mitsubishi owners will be notified by their…
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain model year 2005-2009 Dodge Ram 2500, 2004-2008 Dodge Ram 1500 and Durango, 2006-2009 Dodge Ram 3500, 2008-2010 Dodge Ram 4500 and 5500, 2007-2008 Chrysler Aspen, 2005-2010 Chrysler 300, 300C, 300S, and SRT8,…
Fix: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicle until the recall repair is complete. Chrysler will notify the affected Chrysler and Dodge owners and Mitsubishi will notify the affected Raider owners.…
Chrysler Group LLC (Chrysler) is recalling certain model year 2004-2005 Dodge Ram 1500, 2500, and 3500, 2004-2005 Dodge Durango, 2005 Dodge Dakota, 2005 Dodge Magnum and 2005 Chrysler 300, 300C and 300 SRT8 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in…
Fix: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. For vehicles that were sold, or are currently registered, in Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii,…
FEDERAL-MOGUL IS RECALLING CERTAIN CARQUEST, NATIONAL, AND PERCISION BRAND WHEEL HUB ASSEMBLIES, P/NOS 515073 AND 515073, SOLD FOR USE AS REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT ON MODEL YEAR 2002 THROUGH 2008 DODGE RAM 1500 PICKUP TRUCKS. THE INBOARD ROLL FORM USED TO…
Fix: FEDERAL-MOGUL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS OF RECORD AND TECHNICIANS WILL REPLACE THE AFFECTED HUB ASSEMBLIES FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 15, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FEDERAL-MOGUL…
FABTECH IS RECALLING CERTAIN AFTERMARKET REPLACEMENT PITMAN ARMS, P/NOS. FTS93001 AND FT44039, INSTALLED FOR USE ON CERTAIN 2003 THROUGH 2008 DODGE 2500 4WD, 3500 4WD, AND 1500 4WD MEGA CAB VEHICLES. THE PITMAN ARM CAN FRACTURE AND BREAK AWAY FROM THE…
Fix: FABTECH WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND AUTHORIZED INSTALLERS WILL INSPECT FOR DEFECTIVE PITMAN ARM AND REPLACE IF NECESSARY FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 24, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT…
CERTAIN CURVED TEMPERED REPLACEMENT GLASS MANUFACTURED BY HANGZHOU SAFETY GLASS LTD AND SUPPLIED TO SAFELITE BY AUTO TEMP INC., IDENTIFIED AS DOT-430, AND SOLD FOR USE ON CERTAIN DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN VEHICLES MAY NOT BREAK INTO SMALL PIECES AS EXPECTED OF…
Fix: SAFELITE WILL NOTIFY ITS RETAIL CUSTOMERS AND REPLACE THE GLASS FREE OF CHARGE. RETAIL CUSTOMERS CAN CONTACT SAFELITE TOLL FREE AT 1-888-843-2906. SAFELITE WILL NOTIFY ITS WHOLESALE CUSTOMERS AND…
THE VEHICLE CERTIFICATION LABEL ON SOME PICKUP TRUCKS LISTS INCORRECT TIRE, WHEEL, AND RECOMMENDED INFLATION PRESSURE INFORMATION WHICH DOES NOT CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 120, 'TIRE SELECTION AND RIMS FOR…
Fix: OWNERS WILL BE PROVIDED WITH VEHICLE CERTIFICATION LABEL OVERLAYS CONTAINING THE CORRECTED INFORMATION RELATIVE TO VEHICLE TIRE AND RIM SIZE, AND RECOMMENDED INFLATION PRESSURE. THIS RECALL BEGAN ON…
ON CERTAIN PICKUP TRUCKS, THE TRANSFER CASE TO TRANSMISSION ATTACHING FASTENERS MAY NOT BE TIGHTENED CORRECTLY. THIS COULD CAUSE THE TRANSMISSION ADAPTER OR TRANSFER CASE HOUSING TO CRACK AND LEAK FLUID.
Fix: DEALERS WILL RETIGHTEN THE TRANSFER CASE TO TRANSMISSION FASTENERS. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON DECEMBER 22, 2003. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT DAIMLERCHRYSLER AT 1-800-992-1997.
Federal defect investigations
Still open as of the last data refresh. An investigation is not a recall; it may close with no action. All open investigations →
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade,…
Component: AIR BAGS
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their…
Led to recall campaign 13V172000.
Technical service bulletins
40 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, the biggest share on engine and body & structure — are on file for the 2004 Ram 1500. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2004 Ram 1500 reliable?
The 2004 Ram 1500 drew 1,369 complaints in federal safety records — one of the years to avoid for this model. Its trouble index is 67/100, scored against the model's worst year (2014).
What are the most common 2004 Ram 1500 problems?
The top reported problems for the 2004 Ram 1500 are airbags (365 complaints), engine (191), and transmission & drivetrain (188).
At what mileage do 2004 Ram 1500 problems show up?
Owners most often report 2004 Ram 1500 problems around 71,360 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 37,900 and 130,000 miles.
Does the 2004 Ram 1500 have recalls?
8 recall campaigns apply to the 2004 Ram 1500. At least one carries a do-not-drive or park-outside warning — check your VIN before driving.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.