1998 Dodge Ram 1500 Seat Belt Problems

Which parts fail

• Front › Retractor
  6
• Front › Anchorage
  3
• Front › Buckle assembly
  3
• Front
  2
• Rear/other
  2
• Rear/other › Buckle assembly
  1

Components named in complaints (buckles, retractors, anchors and pretensioners).

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  17%
• 25k–50k
  320%
• 50k–75k
  17%
• 75k–100k
  427%
• 100k–150k
  320%
• 150k+
  320%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1998 Dodge Ram 1500 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

The seatbelt timer module is failing, resulting in the seatbelts staying locked even when fully retracted. This means sometimes I as the driver as well as my front seat passenger cannot buckle up and drive the vehicle safely. I have not reproduced or confirmed this issue with a dealership or independent service center. The component has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance agency. A red seatbelt warning light will appear when the seatbelts lock up and goes away when it unlocks.

The drivers side and passanger side seat belts are locked in the seats. There is no fix, you cant drive truck because you can not use the seat belts, they are made into the seats. No one sells part for it. The seat belts will not extend. The seat belts just stopped working, no warning.

The vehicle was involved in a frontal collision while traveling 55 MPH. The driver's shoulder restraint did not hold and caused consumer to move forward and hit the front windshield. Also, front air bags failed to deploy. The driver of the other vehicle was killed in the crash. The consumers truck t-boned the other vehicle on the driver's side.

98 Dodge Ram 1500 pick-up. Seat belt failure leading to the release of infant car seat. Called Chrysler customer service on more than one occasion only to be treated like a child and told there was nothing they could do. While driving my pick up and stopping at a traffic light, my sons infant seat came loose and lunged forward. He was about1 year old at the time and as a result, hit his head on the back of the passenger seat. The seat belts are designed in a manner that there is a little peice of plastic that retains the belt portion, in turn, this is what retains the infant seat. Both my wife and I took classes at the local dealarship so as to be able to do the installation correctly long prior to this event. I did take the truck in to try and have the now faulty belts replaced only to be turned away. …

Due to the seat belts assembly coming apart our baby seat became loose causing seat with infant to lung forward upon braking. Tried several times to get assistance through the Chrysler 1-800 # for complaints and issues. As a matter of fact, I was treated with a complete lack of concern for such a critical. Attempted to take care of it through a local dealership who upon calling the 1-800# for Chrysler service to see that it would be covered being a seat belt failure, were refused. At this point, I junk yard whole seat belts and replace them every time they fall apart which is very often. I have replaced all or part of (4) belt assemblies in the area of (9) times since the date noted.

Seat belt control module will not release retracted belts to allow driver or passenger to wear seat belts. This makes the vehicle unsafe and illegal to properly operate. Module is no longer manufactured or carried by any national parts warehouse. Dodge advised for me to call a dedicated supplier of parts for older vehicles and was told these were not available anywhere on a database any longer. There are several blogs with owners stating same issues with their trucks and Dodge has not recalled this safety item or accommodated anyone with these problems as of date.

Seat belt failure in 1998 Dodge Ram--only 13000 miles, never in an accident. I got in vehicle one day, and seat belt was locked in retracted position--can not free. Curiously enough, passenger seatbelt would also not unreel for anyone else to use. Simultaneous failure of both seatbelts? I have never owned a vehicle where even on has done more that be a little slow on the uptake, but for both to fail overnight leads me to believe there May be a design flaw.

1998 Dodge Ram 1500. Consumer writes in regards to seat belt issues. Consumer sent additional correspondence. The consumer stated three years ago, the seat belt on both sides would not pull down out of the seat. The dealer informed the consumer the seat belts needed to be replaced at a cost of $1000. The consumer stated he went to a junk yard and purchased a seat belt module for $35. 00. Updated 08/24/15

The passenger and driver seat belts are locked in the retracted position. There wasn't any event that LED to the failure, they both just quit working. I researched the issue on the internet and apparently it is something that happens quite often leaving both the driver and occupant without safety restraints. This is very dangerous and a safety recall needs to be issued to both notify and to protect the public.

Dt: both front seat belts retractor/lock interchanges buckle assembly broke. This was discovered when trying to buckle up with the seat belts, no incident where this could have occurred. Consumer felt this was defective. Spoke to dealer, who said this was out of warranty, but was told some time ago said safety features were covered. Has not contacted manufacturer at this time.

Seat Belt complaints in other Ram 1500 years