Your vehicle report
1997 Dodge RAM 2500
The problems owners report. The recalls to check. The evidence behind each.
Your vehicle at a glance
Complaint patterns and official recall records, kept distinct.
- Owner complaints
- 213
- Received Dec 1996 to Jun 2021
Owner reports
Most reported problems
- 1Tires blow out or tread separates24 complaints · 11% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 2Brake pedal sinks due to leaking lines15 complaints · 7.0% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 3Fuel tank or line leaks gasoline12 complaints · 5.6% of this vehicle’s complaints
Official NHTSA records
Recalls to check
No recalls naming this model year are listed in this data. This does not establish that your vehicle is free of safety problems.
View recall detailsBrakeNews signals
Flagged complaint patterns
Unusual complaint patterns with no matched recall yet. A flag does not mean a recall will happen.
No problems currently meet BrakeNews’s flagging criteria. This is not a safety rating.
How flags are identifiedComplaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA, not failure rates or a reliability ranking. Reported in these complaints: 9 crashes, 14 fires, 6 people injured, 0 deaths.
Explore by system
Where do owners report problems?
Choose an area on the car or a system below to explore the reported problems.
Illustrative only; not this vehicle’s exact design. Areas represent complaint categories, not confirmed defective parts.
Showing all 20 listed problems by system.
Engine & powertrain
Brakes
Electrical & lights
Airbags, belts & seats
Steering, suspension & tires
- Tires blow out or tread separates
- Steering wheel seizes or locks suddenly
- Steering wanders or pulls at highway speed
1 more problem
Body, doors & glass
Driver assistance
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Other
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Complaint history
When NHTSA received these reports. Changes in reporting alone do not establish a change in failure rates.
Show as a table
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 1996 | 1 |
| 1997 | 11 |
| 1998 | 23 |
| 1999 | 26 |
| 2000 | 25 |
| 2001 | 24 |
| 2002 | 22 |
| 2003 | 19 |
| 2004 | 12 |
| 2005 | 10 |
| 2006 | 3 |
| 2007 | 8 |
| 2008 | 6 |
| 2009 | 1 |
| 2010 | 3 |
| 2011 | 6 |
| 2012 | 2 |
| 2013 | 3 |
| 2014 | 2 |
| 2015 | 2 |
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 2 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 (to Oct 2026) | 0 |
| Total | 213 |
Problems owners report
Listed groups have at least 3 complaints. The page includes the 20 largest groups plus any additional flagged groups; some complaints are not assigned to a group.
| Problem | Complaints | Share | Share ratio | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tires blow out or tread separates | 24 | 11% | – | |
| Brake pedal sinks due to leaking lines | 15 | 7.0% | – | |
| Fuel tank or line leaks gasoline | 12 | 5.6% | – | |
| Brakes fail intermittently or repeatedly | 12 | 5.6% | – | |
| Steering wheel seizes or locks suddenly | 11 | 5.2% | – | |
| Vehicle catches fire from wiring | 10 | 4.7% | – | |
| Dashboard cracks near passenger airbag | 9 | 4.2% | – | |
| Headlights dim or fail at night | 9 | 4.2% | – | |
| Automatic transmission shifts unexpectedly or slips | 7 | 3.3% | – | |
| Side mirrors give poor rear visibility | 6 | 2.8% | – | |
| Airbags fail to deploy in crashes | 6 | 2.8% | – | |
| Steering wanders or pulls at highway speed | 6 | 2.8% | – | |
| Cruise control fails to disengage | 6 | 2.8% | – | |
| Unintended acceleration despite braking | 5 | 2.4% | – | |
| Transmission fails or loses power while driving | 5 | 2.4% | – | |
| Seat belt fails to latch or retract | 4 | 1.9% | – | |
| Infotainment screen ghost-touches and changes on its own | 4 | 1.9% | – | |
| Steering wheel shakes violently at highway speed | 4 | 1.9% | – | |
| Fuel gauge reads erratically or incorrectly | 4 | 1.9% | – | |
| Radiator transmission cooler leaks fluid into transmission | 4 | 1.9% | – |
AI groups complaints by meaning; the groups are approximate. Share ratio compares the problem’s share of this vehicle’s complaints with its share on other vehicles over the last 24 months (shown from 3 recent complaints). A 2× ratio means twice the complaint share, not twice the failure risk. Flags mark unusual shares or recent surges after an AI review of the complaint content. “First signal” does not mean the pattern has persisted continuously.How recall estimates are calculated.
Recalls
No safety recalls naming the 1997 Dodge RAM 2500 are listed in the data through October 2026. Check your VIN with NHTSA for current information; an empty list is not a safety assessment.
Other model years
About this data
NHTSA complaints and recalls through October 2026. Complaints are counted once each, however many components they name. Original complaints are on NHTSA's page for the 1997 Dodge RAM 2500.
Problem groups are formed by AI and may be approximate. BrakeNews flags unusual complaint patterns; they are not official defect findings. Investigation reports are written and checked by AI, with no human review. Owner reports do not establish that a defect exists.
Read the methodology and track record · Check current recalls by VIN