2003 DODGE RAM 1500 — Complaint #1156823
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about SUSPENSION:REAR filed February 12, 2015
NHTSA complaint #1156823 (ODI reference 10682981) concerns a 2003 DODGE RAM 1500 and was filed on February 12, 2015. The owner reports the failure occurred on January 29, 2015. The vehicle had 259,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Texas based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as suspension:rear, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same DODGE RAM 1500 cohort independently describe similar suspension:rear failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2003 DODGE RAM 1500 shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 DODGE RAM 1500. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, A LOUD NOISE CAME FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE AND THE REAR WHEELS SUDDENLY SEIZED. THE CONTACT WAS A CERTIFIED MECHANIC, WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE REAR DRIVESHAFT AXLE FAILED DUE TO A LOOSE REAR AXLE PINION NUT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 259,000.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1156823 |
| ODI Number | 10682981 |
| Date Filed | February 12, 2015 |
| Failure Date | January 29, 2015 |
| VIN | 1D7HU16N83J |
Similar SUSPENSION:REAR Complaints for 2003 DODGE RAM 1500
The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was being driven by a friend at 45 MPH, the rear axle detached. The driver was stranded by the roadside. The vehicle w
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 DODGE RAM 1500. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 80 MPH, THE PINION NUT DETACHED AND CAUSED THE REAR AXLE TO LOCK. THE VEHICLE RAN OFF THE ROAD AND GOT STUCK IN MUD. THE VEHICLE
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 DODGE RAM 1500. THE CONTACT STATED THE DASHBOARD ON THE VEHICLE WAS CRACKED OPEN. THE CONTACT STATED THE GAUGES ARE CURRENTLY WORKING, BUT THE DASHBOARD AND INSTRUMENT PANE
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 DODGE RAM 1500. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH ON A GRAVEL ROAD THE REAR SUSPENSION BOUNCED CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO CRASH IN AN EMBANKMENT AND ROLL OVER. THE VEHICLE
2003 DODGE 1500 DROPPED DOWN ON THE RIGHT REAR OF THE VEHICLE RESULTING FROM PROBLEMS WITH THE REAR AXLE HOUSING.*MR THE CONSUMER LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND IT SPUN AROUND 5-6 TIMES INN THE RO
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.