1997 DODGE RAM 3500 — Complaint #888694
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS:SWITCH filed November 3, 2011
NHTSA complaint #888694 (ODI reference 10434060) concerns a 1997 DODGE RAM 3500 and was filed on November 3, 2011. The owner reports the failure occurred on October 29, 2011. The vehicle had 126,342 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Alabama based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as exterior lighting:headlights:switch, 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 3500 cohort independently describe similar exterior lighting:headlights:switch 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 1997 DODGE RAM 3500 shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
TL* THE DRIVER OWNS A 1997 DODGE RAM 3500. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH WITH THE RUNNING LIGHTS ON, THE INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTING SHUT OFF. THE INTERIOR LIGHT SWITCH ALSO BEGAN TO SMOKE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER TO HAVE THE FAILURE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT REPLACED THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL ASSOCIATED WITH NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 99V024000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS:SWITCH). THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 888694 |
| ODI Number | 10434060 |
| Date Filed | November 3, 2011 |
| Failure Date | October 29, 2011 |
| VIN | 3B7MC33D0VM |
Similar EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS:SWITCH Complaints for 1997 DODGE RAM 3500
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 DODGE RAM 3500. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE HEADLIGHTS FAILED TO OPERATE. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. CALLAWAY CHRYSLER DODGE JEEP RAM (809 S WESTMI
HEAD LIGHTS GO OUT WIRES GET HOT. THERE WAS A RECALL FOR THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH ON MY MODEL TRUCK ( 1997 DODGE RAM 3500 ) BUT I WAS TOLD MY TRUCK WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THIS RECALL. *TR
ALL LIGHTS BUT HEAD LIGHTS WOULD NOT WORK SEAMS HEAD LIGHT SWITCH OVER HEATED AND MELTED. 2-06 REPLACED SWITCH SELF. 10-06 RUNNING LIGHTS QUIT WORKING AFTER LONG TRIP AT NIGHT WITH LIGHTS ON. EXAMINED
STRONG SMELL IN CAB SEEMINGLY ONLY AT NIGHT. GOT PULLED OVER FOR NO TAIL OR RUNNING LIGHTS BEHIND THE CAB. THEY WERE WORKING EARLIER. HEADLIGHT SWITCH WAS MELTING CAUSING NASTY SMELL WHICH RESULTED IN
TL* - THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH HAS BURNED OUT TWICE WITHIN THE LAST YEAR. THE DEALER HAS TOLD THE CONTACT THAT THERE WAS A RECALL ON THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH, BUT THE VEHICLE WAS
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.