Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
While coming to a stop, the truck lost all power and stalled. I immediately restarted the truck and proceeded to the next intersection, and it lost power and stalled again while braking to a full stop. I was able to make it two miles closer to my home, came to a stop and the engine revved up slightly, and then idled low to the point where I thought it was going to stall again. I got it home and had it towed to my mechanic. The truck was checked out, the truck did not stall after repeated testing for the next week. I picked it up, got a quarter mile down the road and it lost power and stalled again. I immediately returned it to the mechanic and, again, the truck did not duplicate the stalling, but the mechanic did see it rev up when coming to a stop. The mechanic replaced the idle positioning sensor and I picked up my truck only for it to stall on my way home. …
Was driving at about 25 MPH had just made a left turn, and out of no where my truck went side ways heard a screeching tire sound then a bang, then the whole truck started to shake very violently. I braked immediately and the banging continued, I was in the middle of the roadway and tried to give it gas to get to the edge of the street but the banging go worst, turn off and exited the truck, noticed a big piece of metal in the middle of the road along with a lot of oil , ran up to it to only notice it was half of my drive shaft, it had snapped in two still attached to a piece of the rear end, along with fragment pieces all over the floor of the differential housing, seemed like something blew up in the differential. …
While pulling out of a parking lot to proceed on a main road the vehicle died when I attempted to pull out and cross multiple lanes of on coming traffic. I pushed the accelerator and the truck briefly accelerated and then just died. I was able to put it in neutral and restart the engine. I purchased this vehicle with approximately 6500 miles on it and now I have 204000 . This is the 4th occasion it has stalled while at low speed for no reason. The latest occasion just occurred on08/11/15 while I was going threw a round about. I entered the round about turning slightly to the right ,half way around coming out of the turn as it was straightening the truck just shut down. In all the occurrences I have been traveling at lower speeds 30 MPH or less. 2 almost causing a crash with another vehicle. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving out of the driveway, an abnormal squeaking noise occurred coming from the steering wheel. The contact also stated that when making turns, an abnormal scraping noise occurred coming from the steering wheel. There were no warning lights illuminated. In addition, the contact also stated that while the driver was at a stop light and to go the vehicle jerked, then failed to accelerate. The contact coasted to the side of the road powered off the engine. The vehicle was restarted and was able to drive normally. No warning lights illuminated. The contact called hayes Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of gainesville ([phone], 3115 frontage rd, gainesville, ga 30504) where it was determined that the VIN was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. …
My family and I was driving down the road. (we had just had the truck serviced about 4 days prior at our local dealership.) all the sudden the truck makes this sound. I slowed down, rolled my window down trying to figure out if it was my vehicle or not. Very faint at first and increased with a loud boom. I get out to find my drive shaft on the ground. And the pinion nut nowhere to be seen. Gone. Luckily we were on a country road and my family is safe.
My 2004 Dodge Ram would intermittently drop the cruise control when I hit the drivers side down button. I took it to the dealer several times and was told it wasn't throwing a code and they didn't know what was causing the issue. Several months ago, after parking my vehicle in the garage, I woke up to discover the drivers door had caught fire. It sure looked to me that it started on the circuit board inside the door. The vehicle was totaled.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. While driving 60 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the failure occurred numerous times. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle would not accelerate for a brief moment and then accelerated rapidly without warning. The vehicle was taken to be repaired, but the mechanic could not find a failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 101,000.
Turn signal, winshield wipers, and speed control has a mind of their own. Half the time not working the rest of the time the when signaling to turn right the right dont work then when signaling left the right side blinks instead of the left. The winshield wipers just randomly swipe sometimes when not even cranked and keys not even in the ignition.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled, the cruise control failed, and the speedometer failed to function properly. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was 77,000.
In the fall of last year the check engine light came on in my 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. The code that came up was misfire in cylinder 8. I took it to a mechanic and they said it was the fuel injector which they replaced. A few days later after getting my truck back the light came on again. This time the code was misfire in cylinder 6. I took it to a very trusted mechanic who stated it was a rocker arm that had come off due to junk in the engine. Once it was fixed again the light came on saying misfire in cylinder 8. The mechanic said it was the rocker arm on that cylinder and replaced it. This happened 4 more times in the next month. The mechanic, who is very reputable, believes this is a manufacturing defect that will continue to occur no matter how often it is repaired. He also stated he has seen this in many many Dodge trucks and most notably in the 474 engine. …
Acceleration complaints in other Ram 1500 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2004 Dodge Ram 1500?
NHTSA has 26 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2004 Dodge Ram 1500, 2% of the model year's 1,099 complaints. The component named most often is cruise control (6 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2004 Dodge Ram 1500, though it has 5 recalls 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 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 58,000 miles, and 30% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 1 fire and 0 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.