Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (service brakes, ABS, rotors and pads, parking brake).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1999 Dodge Ram 1500 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Driving 30 MPH sudden strong smell of gasoline then visible white fog of vapor rose from defrost vents (defroster/fan not on) pulled over immediately but brake pedal went to floor with no activation of brakes. All this happened quickly, within 10 seconds used emergency brake to stop vehicle to evacuate 10 year old daughter and self barely in time. Bystander shouting that it was on fire. Fire erupted from under hood and spread into cab. Fire dept. Called by bystander as we used fire extinguishers unsuccessfully. Truck was engulfed and destroyed. Recalls were addressed spring of 2003. A later recall not realized by us includes fix for antilock brake controller corrosion that could cause fire. Geico claim # 0480694490101028 but no compensation, as not covered for fire. Fire dept. Took a report, police said no collision so they didn't. I don't currently have the fire dept. …
Got my truck feb.14,2000 and in 2001 I had to start replacing front driver side brakes. I did this approximately 2 times a year. It always seemed to be the ones on drivers front wore out others where fine. On oct.12,2004 a rainy night going home the truck started to shimmy when I used brakes. When I was going to turn right the brakes locked up on front and threw truck into embankment now wife messed up her neck due to impact. I did not file report cause no one else was at fault. The problem became more frequent. I continued replacing pads until recently. On July 28,2008 I changed everything except brake boost and master cylinder. The shimmying is back after 3 months. The vehicle pulls when I use the brakes and will throw you into other lane or off the road. I have had several close calls with other vehicles on the road through the years as I tried to repair the trouble. …
Vehicle's braking system seemed not to be working properly, taking longer distances to stop. A check of equipment showed all mechanical parts to be fit, and adjusted correctly. Continued to drive vehicle but then had small accident involving braking while going downhill. At this time it was determined I had no brake lights. Diagnostics of the brake light problem determined the combination switch in the steering column was the culprit and had failed, causing loss of brake lights and failure of the transmission to go into coast mode when the brake pedal was applied. This also results in the cruise function to not cancel when brakes are applied. There is no indication of failure through the instrument cluster for this fault. This seems to be a regular problem, as this part is back ordered at the Chrysler dealership. …
The rear hard brake line mounted on the frame rail behind the fuel tank was severely rusted in an area about 4 inches long that could not easily be visually inspected (hidden behind the fuel tank). The hard brake line ruptured at the rusted area which compromised 100% of the braking power from the pedal. Some quick research has revealed that this appears to be a common problem for this vehicle. Many suggest this warrants a product recall due to the dangerous and critical nature of the vehicle subsystem in question: brakes. I'm lucky to be alive ... I had just returned from a trip through the mountains in tennessee with a full load in the truck bed and pulling a motorcycle trailer. The rupture occurred in my driveway while I was at a full stop!
Tl* the contact owns a 1999 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle suddenly stalled. After restarting the engine, the vehicle would operate as normal. The contact also indicated that the headlights would intermittently dim and the rear passenger side tail light failed causing the bulb to be replaced. In addition, the contact indicated that when applying the brakes, the vehicle would sometimes jerk forward and a section of the dashboard would detach and fall to the floor. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 168,859.
1998-2001 b-van (Dodge full size). The ABS control module is protected with a 40 amp fuse. A 10 ga. Wire comes out of the control module and then "y's" out to two 14 ga. Wires. It appears as though the ABS pump or the relay sticks on these vehicles. Then one of the 14 ga. Wires overheats and catches the wiring harness on fire. The 40 amp fuse does not blow. The fire then continues until the van is fully engulfed in flames. This van is located at the verizon fleet garage, 8600 rees st, new port richey, florida 346681.
1998-2001 b-van (Dodge full size). ABS control module is protected by a 40 amp fuse. A 10 ga. Wire comes out of the control module, then this wire "y's" out to two 14 ga. Wires. It appears as though the ABS pump or relay are sticking on these vehicles. Then one of these 14 ga. Wires overheats and catches the wiring harness on fire. The 40 amp fuse does not blow. The fire continues until the entire van is fully engulfed in flames. This van is located at the verizon repair garage, 4219 fritch dr. Bethlehem, pa 18017.
(1) brakes experience intermittent failure when trying to come to a complete stop. Pedal goes all the way to floor. Have to pump the brake quickly to work. (2)failure of brakes caused vechile to not stop properly when another vechile crossed lanes of traffic, brake failure caused vechile to hit other vehicle (3) replacement of the front brakes and rotors, and rear brakes and drums did not rectify problems.
My Dodge pickup has been into the dealer many times to try to fix a repetitive problem with my front driver side brakes. One pad out of the four up front wear down to nothing while the other 3 have practically no wear. The dealership has changed the caliper, rotor, pads, everything that has to do with the front disc brakes to no avail. The same front driver side wheel area has had the idler arm replaced and other parts to try to remedy the problem, but nothing has worked. The dealership now has run out of parts to change to try to fix, so they have pretty much gave up and say that I have to pay for another brake job. The single pad wears all the way down to the rivets within 12-15K miles, so the dealer tells me that I will need a brake job every 12-15K miles. Ridiculous. …
1. ABS light kept coming on and brakes kept going to the floor. 2. Tried to carefully get it to a safe location off the highway and brakes eventually failed on me causing me to drive off the road and my back quarter panel scrapped a telephone pole. 3. Dealer claims nothing faulty from their side, but had to change the master cylinder, brake booster and flush brake fluid. Was told fluid was very dirty and black like the color of exhaust changing the color of the fluid. It was told I had contaminated fluid, but I don't know how this is possible. The old parts were apparently thrown away by the dealers a few days ago. I noticed others on the internet complaining about the same problems where the dealer claimed a particular problem and simply changed all of the brake parts. This is very fishy. …
Brake complaints in other Ram 1500 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 1999 Dodge Ram 1500?
NHTSA has 56 complaints about the brakes of the 1999 Dodge Ram 1500, 9% of the model year's 610 complaints. The component named most often is antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip (22 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1999 Dodge Ram 1500 brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for the 1999 Dodge Ram 1500. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 1999 Dodge Ram 1500 brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 70,000 miles, and 8% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 7 crashes, 5 fires and 3 injuries to brakes problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.