Owner-reported complaints naming the airbag system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1997 Dodge Ram submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 38 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 38, in the owner's own words
INTERMEDIATE SHAFT WAS DEFECTIVE, CAUSING STEERING COLUMN TO BREAK. AFTER CONTACTING DEALER.*AK CONSUMER HAD THE INTERMEDIATE SHAFT REPLACED TWICE WITHIN 20,000 MILES. THE DRIVER SIDE MIRROR WAS LOOSE. BECAUSE OF THE NOISE IN THE STEERING WHILE TURNING, THE CLOCK SPRING WAS REMOVED AND THE STEERING WHEEL REINSTALLED. THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTED. REAR SPEAKER WAS INOPERATIVE AND REPLACED. *JG
AIR BAG LIGHT IS ALWAYS ILLUMINATING ON DASHBOARD. *AK
FRONT END ACCIDENT WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE AND AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. HAD NOT CONTACTED A DEALER AS OF YET. *AK
WHEN TURNING STEERING WHEEL TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT THERE IS A CLICKING NOISE. CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER, AND THEY STATED IS SOUNDED LIKE IT MAY BE THE CLOCK SPRING. CONSUMER FELT THAT AIRBAGS MAY NOT DEPLOY IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION.*AK
AIR BAG LIGHT ON DASHBOARD CAME ON. CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP, AND WAS INFORMED THAT RECALL 99V023000 REPAIRS HAVE BEEN PERFORMED. DEALER HAS NOT MADE A DETERMINATION AS TO THE REASON FOR LIGHT COMING ON. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/ATTACHMENTS. *AK
VEHICLE WAS HIT FROM SIDE AT 35 MPH AND WAS FORCED INTO A WALL HEAD-ON AT 35 MPH. UPON IMPACT, DRIVER'S AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY, CAUSING INJURIES TO DRIVER'S NECK. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
WHILE TRAVELING AT 40 MPH AND WHEN TRYING TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT CONSUMER RAN INTO TWO POLES HEAD-ON, AND AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK
FRONTAL CRASH AT 65-70 MPH, HIT A TREE, AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY. VEHICLE WAS TOTALLED.*AK VEHICLE ROLLED OVER AND DRIVER WAS INJURED, AIRBAG HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN RECALLED AND REPLACED. CONSUMER FEELS THE STEERING KNUCKLE BROKE, LOCKING TIRES MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO STEER. *SLC
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOV EVEHICLE. *AK
WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH CONSUMER APPLIED BRAKE AND SKIDDED ABOUT 10 FEET,HIT ANOTHER VEHICLE HEAD-ON. UPON IMPACT,DRIVER AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY WHICH HAVE CAUSED INJURIES.*AK THE INSPECTORS FROM THE MANUFACTURER INDICATED THAT THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY BECAUSE THE IMPACT DISSIPATED. *YH
VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONTAL CRASH, AIRBAG DEPLOYED, HOWEVER DID NOT PREVENT CONSUMER FROM HITTING STEERING WHEEL AND SUSTAINING INJURIES, CONSUMER FEELS THE AIRBAG DIDN'T FULLY DEPLOY BECAUSE IT NEVER CAME IN CONTACT WITH CONSUMER. *SLC
CONSUMER HAD A HEAD-ON COLLISON, AND AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. CONSUMER SUSTAINED SOME INJURIES. *AK
CONSUMER RAN INTO THE BACK OF ANOTHER TRUCK BECAUSE BRAKES DID NOT CATCH.- ALSO, AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY.*AK DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT FAILED. *YH
CONSUMER CALLED DEALER TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT FOR AIR BAG REPAIRS. APPOINTMENT WAS SCHEDULED FOR THE NEXT DAY. WHEN CONSUMER CALLED TO CONFIRM THE APPOINTMENT, WAS TOLD THAT HE WAS NOT ON SCHEDULE. CONSUMER THEN MADE ANOTHER APPOINTMENT FOR 17TH. UPON ARRIVING ON THAT DAY, DEALER SAID IT WOULD BE READY BY NOON, BUT IT WAS NOT. THEN AT THE END OF DAY, REPAIRS WERE STILL NOT DONE. *AK
ROAD WAS WET & VEHICLE WAS GOING AROUND A CURB & VEERED OFF INTO A TELEPHONE POLE. ENTIRE FRONT END WAS CAVED INWARD. HAD SEAT BELTS ON. AIRBAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY, UPON IMPACT. DRIVER SUFFERED FACIAL INJURIES. MANUFACTURER INDICATED AIR BAGS WORKED OKAY. VEHICLE SENSORS WERE NOT TOUCHED. *AK
WHILE DRIVING IN THE RAIN VEHICLE SLID OFF THE ROAD INTO A UTILITY POLE, AND SPLIT POLE IN HALF, CONSUMER FELT THAT THE INJURIES SUSTAINED WERE CAUSED BY AIRBAGS NOT DEPLOYING. *AK
WHEN CONSUMER TURNED ON VEHICLE AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON THE DASHBOARD. CONSUMER NOTIFIED THE DEALERSHIP, AND THEY FIXED THE PROBLEM. BUT TWO DAYS LATER, THE AIRBAG LIGHT STILL CAME ON. *AK
DURING VEHICLE COLLISION NO DEPLOYMENT OF THE DRIVERS AIR BAG. *MJS
VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONTAL COLLISION, AND THE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. *AK
VEHICLE WAS HIT BY ANOTHER CAR ON THE FRONT. THE OTHER VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING AT ABOUT 50 TO 60MPH. DRIVER'S SIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYED, AND DRIVER'S SWEAT PANTS CAUGHT ON FIRE. DRIVE RHAD TWO PAIRS OF SWEAT PANTS ON. FIRE BURNED A BIG HOLE THROUGH THE FIRST PAIR, AND SINGED THE SECOND PAIR OF PANTS. IF DRIVE RWOULD NOT HAVE HAD ON TWO PAIRS OF PANTS, HE WOULD HAVE BEEN BURNED. VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN LOOKED AT BY ANYONE. *AK
NO DEPLOYMENT OF THE DRIVERSIDE AIR BAG DURING VEHICLE COLLISION RESULTING IN INJURY. *MJS
WHEN TRUCK WAS INVOLVED IN A CRASH, THERE WAS NO DEPLOYMENT OF THE DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG, THE FRAME WAS BENT IN 5 DIFFERENT PLACES. *CJ
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOV EVEHICLE. *AK
WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH HAD A DIRECT FRONTAL IMPACT WITH A BUILDING, AND DRIVER'S AIRBAG MALFUNCTIONED, BUT AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY FULLY. ALSO DRIVER'S SEATBELT RIPPED APART, CAUSING THE OCCUPANT TO HIT THE WINDSHIELD, AND SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES. HAVE NOT CONTACTED THE MFR. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
WAS TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 55MPH AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. OBSTRUCTED DRIVER'S VIEW. AVOIDED HITTING DEER. HIT A DITCH. THE LEFT FRONT END WAS DAMAGED & HANGING OFF FRAME. *AK
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .