DODGE D250 · model year

1990 DODGE D250

11 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 1990DODGED250 carries 11 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 1990 D250 is suspension:front:control arm:upper ball joint with 2 filings, followed by unknown or other (2) and service brakes, hydraulic:antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.

NHTSA currently has 20 investigation files overlapping the 1990 D250, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

11
Complaints
0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

11 filings

Crashes Reported

0 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:UPPER BALL JOINT2
UNKNOWN OR OTHER2
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP1
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS1
SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINT1
SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:UPPER ARM1
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL1
STRUCTURE:BODY1
WHEELS1

Recent Complaints

20160926STRUCTURE:BODY

ISSUES WITH FRAME CRACKING ON 2WHEEL DRIVE DIESEL EQUIPPED 1990-1993 DODGE PICKUP WHERE LOWER CONTROL ARM MOUNTED TO FRAME EARS. ALSO FRAME CRACKING BETWEEN ENGINE MOUNTS AND STEERING BOX ON 2WHEEL DRIVE MODELS AND BETWEEN FRONT SPRING HANGERS AND STEERING BOX ON 4 WHEEL DRIVE DIESELMODELS. IF TRUCKS HIT IN FRONT RIVETS BECOME LOOSE AND ADDITIONAL FRAME DAMAGE OCCURS. 1972-1993 1/2 TON MODEL IE D100 AND D150 HAVE NOTORIETY FOR CRACKING FRAMES AT STEERING BOXES. I HAVE OWNED MANY OF THESE TRUCK OVER THE YEARS INCLUDING CURRENT WITH ISSUES: D13BB8J501603 - D150 2WD, [XXX] - W350 DSL 4WD, AND [XXX] - D250 DSL 2WD . VEHICLES WERE STATIONARY WHEN DEFECTS DISCOVERED DURING ROUTINE INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE. D150 FRAME UPGRADED MANY YEARS AGO WITH CROSSMEMBER FROM STEERING BOX TO IDLER ARM WITHOUT ANY FAILURES. WORKING TO BUILD CORNER BRACES AND FRAME REINFORCEMENTS FOR DIESEL MODELS. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).*TR

Mileage: 210,000

20160926WHEELS

ISSUES WITH TIRE FAILURES, WITH LT236X75R16 TIRE FAILURES ON THIS D250 AND W350 TRUCKS. KNOW OTHER INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUES AND HAVE BEEN RIDING BEHIND THEM WHEN I WITNESSED SAID FAILURES OCCURR. BRANDS HAVE INCLUDED BUT NOT BEEN EXCLUSIVE TO GENERAL, CONTINENTAL, ETC. I HAVE BLOWN OR HAD TREAN PEEL OFF 5 TIRESIN THE PAST 6 YEARS WHILE ONE FRIEND HAS 6 SIMILAR OCCURRENCE IN THE PAST YEAR. RUBBER SEEMS TO BECOME BRITTLE AND SEPERATE FROM THE STEEL CORD. MAY BE RELATED TO A RUMOR THAT THE RUBBER COMPUNDS WERE ALTERED TO CAUSE TIRES TO "DRY ROT" AFTER SEVERAL YERAS SO NO SITTING IN JUNKYARDS FOREVER. OWN OVER 30 VEHICLES AND HAVE CONSTANT PROBLEMS WITH CRACKING IN TREAD AND SIDEWALL AREAS ON ALL TIRES. BUT THE LT235X85R16 TIRES SEEM TO HAVE THE MOST CATASTROPHIC FAILURES PARTICULARLY AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS TO THE POINT I AM PULLING THEM OFF ALL THE VEHICLES THAT I CAN. ENVIROMENTALLY THIS CAUSES MORE WASTE IN OIL LOSS AND MANUFACTURING BYPRODUCT CREATION WHEN NEW TIRES MUST C

Mileage: 185,000

20140303VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1991 DODGE D250 (N/A). THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE RPMS INCREASED AS THE VEHICLE WAS IN FULL THROTTLE. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO DECELERATE BY SWITCHING TO NEUTRAL HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE THEN STALLED. THE FAILURE WAS RECURRING. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED AND DIAGNOSED BY AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC, WHO REPLACED THE THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR CHIP. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 85000. *TR

Mileage: 85,000

19990922UNKNOWN OR OTHER

ONE MONTH AFTER DELIVERY, ENTIRE LEFT REAR QUARTER PAINT PEELED OFF IN ONE SHEET, DEALER REPAINTED. DURING THE LAST FIVE YEARS THE ENTIRE PAINTED SURFACE , EXCLUDING THE THE REPAINTED AREA, HAS BEEN SHOWING SIGNS OF "ORANGEPEEL" THEN THE PAINT STARTS COMING OFF IN LARGE PIECES.

19990724UNKNOWN OR OTHER

THE WROST PEACE OF JUNK I EVER BOUGHT.NO MORE CHYSLER.

19990202SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:UPPER ARM

UPPER BALL JOINT FAILED, AFTER REPAIR WORK COMPLETED UPPER BALL JOINT PULLED OUT OF CONTROL ARM DUE TO THREADS BEING STRIPPED, DAMAGING CONTROL ARM AND NEW BALL JOINT.

19990202SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:UPPER BALL JOINT

UPPER BALL JOINT FAILED, AFTER REPAIR WORK COMPLETED UPPER BALL JOINT PULLED OUT OF CONTROL ARM DUE TO THREADS BEING STRIPPED, DAMAGING CONTROL ARM AND NEW BALL JOINT.

19981030SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:UPPER BALL JOINT

UPPER AND LOWER BALL JOINTS FAILED, REPAIR MADE HOWEVER FAILURE OCCURED DUE TO STRIPPING OF THE THREADS OUT OF THE UPPER CONTROL ARM, RESULTING IN LOSS OF CONTROL.

19981030SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINT

UPPER AND LOWER BALL JOINTS FAILED, REPAIR MADE HOWEVER FAILURE OCCURED DUE TO STRIPPING OF THE THREADS OUT OF THE UPPER CONTROL ARM, RESULTING IN LOSS OF CONTROL.

19951108SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS

THE BRAKE LINE FRACTURED ITS IN FRONT OF THE AXLE THE BRAKE FLUID LEAK OUT . TT

19950818SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

CONSUMER WAS DRIVING AND GO TO APPLY THE BRAKE FAILED HAVE ABS ANTI-LOCK BRAKE THERE IS NO WARNING . TT

Compare 1990DODGED250 to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations 1 Open

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 1990 DODGE D250 have?
The 1990 DODGE D250 has 11 NHTSA complaints, 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 1990 DODGE D250?
The most-complained component for the 1990 DODGE D250 is SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:UPPER BALL JOINT with 2 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include UNKNOWN OR OTHER and SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP.
Is the 1990 DODGE D250 safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.