Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
While reverse parking at approximately 10 MPH; the accelerator stuck to bottom of vehicle floor (sending vehicle to speed exceeding 70 MPH) and it accelerated out of control. In an attempt to stop and avoid hitting pedestrians and building behind me; I hit the brakes, but the brakes would not stop the vehicle. I was forced to place the vehicle in park shift position while hitting brake, in order to stop vehicle. At first the shift control stopped in 'd' and the vehicle shot forward, but I kept hitting the brakes. And eventually; I managed to get it in the park position and it stopped the vehicle.
Dt: while driving and approaching an intersection the truck sped up on its on. Managed to get truck back home without incident. Drove the truck for a few days without anything happening. Went to pull into the garage and hit the side of the garage. While driving in a shopping center truck sped up again and went into a wooden fence and into a person's yard. Took vehicle to dealer and had problem fixed. Dealer found iac motor out of range. But the same thing recurred.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact was attempting to reverse from a residential driveway traveling 2 MPH when the vehicle abnormally accelerated causing the contact to crash into a nearby vehicle. There were no injuries. The vehicle was diagnosed or repaired for the failure. The current and failure mileage was 67,000.
1. Unintended (sudden) acceleration; 2 feet on the brakes* brakes worked,have pictures-1/2 inches into pavement. Filed report with police. 2. Air bag did not deploy- hit hydro pole, 55 km/hr, speed limit is 60 km/hr.
10/25/02-bought new 2003 Dodge 1500 extended cab. 11/26/02, ABS light and brake light on. Dealership said "connection at cab had water in it, and dried off and sealed." 12/19/02, 3685 miles, took back because of ABS and brake light on. Short in brake switch and replaced the brake switch. 12/20/02 returned with ABS light and brake light on. Brake switch and rear ABS sensor shorted. Replaced both sensors and found water in the wiring connector. Disconnected, cleaned, dried and sealed. Returned to me on 12/24. 12/30/02, 4339 miles, ABS/brake lights on/RPM spiked. 8-way plug had water in it. "contacted star and was told to cut out plug and solder wires." truck returned to me on 01/02/03. 01/24/03, 5864 miles, ABS and brake lights on/speedometer spiking at idle. Dealership checked codes, checked wiring, rear ABS sensor, connector, ABS controller connector, cleaned, sealed connector. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving down hill at approximately 30 to 35 MPH, the vehicle lost power and the engine throttle light illuminated. The contact turned the vehicle off for a moment and the vehicle returned to normal function. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The failure and current mileage was 70,000. Updated 08/15/11 the consumer stated the problem didn't occur only when driving downhill. The consumer stated he was coming down from 8,000 elevation, mostly coasting, applying the brakes and throttle occasionally as needed per road requirements. Upon reaching flatland, he applied the throttle as normal. Within 10 minutes, the engine began to lose power. The throttle was non-responsive and the throttle control light illuminated. The consumer re-started the vehicle and there has been no problems since. …
Tl contact owns a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that at times when the vehicle was started, the RPM's increased excessively. The contact had to shut off the engine and restart the vehicle in order for it to idle normally. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle was functioning properly. The dealer also stated that the RPM's would not increase while the vehicle was in gear. While in a parking lot the RPM's increased to 3500 which made the back tire move without applying the accelerator pedal. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer to have the computer reprogrammed. Since having the vehicle repaired, the rpms have increased twice. The dealer advised the contact that there was nothing that they could do. The failure mileage was 18,000. Updated 4/7/2010 updated 06/04/10.
When I was pulling on the highway from entry I was depending on my cars engine when I was trying to accelerate car first jump then shut of completely and as a busy highway route 80 I was almost got run over by a trailer good thing I'm experience driver car stall out and didn't start for easy 1 minuet at this time I was on side of the road after that day car randomly stalls out I try to understand what's the problem it doesn't give me any related code also cruise control is when u set a speed and you slow down with the button but sometimes car will take off faster engine has multiple design errors that makes the engine fail out of nowhere.
Purchased a Dodge Ram 1500 w/Hemi engine on 5-29-03. On July 4, 2003 at approximately 2030 hrs the throttle on the veh became stuck at aprroximately 1750 miles. The veh could not accelerate or decelerate and the electronic throttle control indicator was flashing. Veh was travelling approximately 15 mhp at 1500 RPM and it would not slow down or accelerate. On 7-5-03 at approximately 0830 hrs, veh's throttle got stuck again, this time it got stuck at a much higer speed, approximately 30 mhp.
Tl contact owns a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500. While the vehicle was at a complete stop, the accelerator pedal extended to the floor without being depressed. The vehicle spontaneously accelerated. The engine warning indicator was illuminated at the time of the failure. The contact had to remove the key from the ignition to stop the vehicle. He is in the process of notifying the dealer to determine the cause of the failure. The failure and current mileages were 116,000.
Acceleration complaints in other Ram 1500 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2003 Dodge Ram 1500?
NHTSA has 20 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2003 Dodge Ram 1500, 2% of the model year's 1,171 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2003 Dodge Ram 1500, though it has 1 recall for other components. 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 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 70,000 miles, and 27% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 6 crashes, 0 fires and 2 injuries to speed control & acceleration 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.