Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
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).
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal and stalled. In addition, the vehicle vibrated before losing power. The vehicle stalled at an intersection. The contact was stopped for hours, and the vehicle failed to restart. After six hours, the tow truck arrived, and the contact restarted the vehicle. The check engine warning light illuminated, and the yellow warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact's brother, a mechanic, inspected the vehicle and informed the contact that the crankshaft position sensor had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V475000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the VIN was not included. …
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced transmission failure, and the brake lines were rusted. The contact was trapped in the desert for hours with his dog. The contact stated that two independent mechanics had determined that the idler pulley needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that six injectors and the ECM needed to be rebuilt. While driving, the vehicle went into the death wobble, and several linkages were damaged. Additionally, the front seat belts were inoperable with the seat belt warning light illuminated. The vehicle became inoperable. The vehicle was repaired under warranty previously, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted, but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 228,510.
My family has owned 3 5.7 HEMI vehicles all ranging from the years of 2002-2006 and they have all had the engine randomly seize up on us while driving almost causing major accidents, two of these vehicles are still owned one in an auto shop. I do not believe that this is a coincidence, I believe this is a manufacturer fault that needs to answer to and possibly pay back everyone effected by this event. The auto shop I have the truck at is Lott's auto in Junction City, KS and they themselves know of this fault as well. This needs to be answered to, it is a safety issue and a waste of money to people who trust Dodge with these vehicles, the auto shop informed me this is with the 5.7 HEMI from all years between 2000-2011. Please investigate this and hold Dodge accountable.
I recently figured out a problem with my truck that is an extreme danger. When you fill up the fuel tank at any gas station, it seems that the fuel enters the vapor canister and makes the engine stall for about a mile before it starts running properly. After several close encounters after filling the tank, I looked upon other threads of Dodge Ram owners and found this to be a common problem that was never addressed by Chrysler and never acted upon by NHTSA. Please look into this and advise a course of action to have Chrysler repair this problem.. It is a matter of time before either I or another with the same problem are seriously injured or killed due to this defect. Many Thanks In Advance!!
Driving on freeway , lost power Cruise control automatically shut off yellow light shape of a motor came on ; on the upper left side of the dashboard, had to pull over on side of freeway. Able to restart after a little bit. Another time sitting at traffic light shuts off , same light again . Another time had to wait from 11 pm to 3 am before it started and had called a tow truck.. THE RECALL IT FALLS UNDER IS #20V475000 CRANKSHAFT SENSOR , called and filed claim defect # is11686607 . Please Reply
Tl* the contact owned a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. While the vehicle was parked in the driveway for over twenty-four hours, without being started or driven, it caught on fire. The fire department was notified and extinguished the fire. A fire report was filed. The contact stated that a special investigator was dispatched from FCA to inspect the vehicle. Due to the age of the vehicle and no determination of what caused the fire, the contact was informed that the manufacturer was not responsible for providing additional assistance. The contact was provided case number: 30972693 by the investigator. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000. The vehicle was destroyed.
As I was driving on the freeway at 70 MPH, I heard a loud "smack!" before the engine stalled and I lost power steering and power brakes. Luckily, I'm pretty strong and was able to pull off to the shoulder. The engine would start but not turn over with 4 or 5 attempts. It started on the fifth or sixth try but would not idle. I was finally able to get it to start and on my way to the mechanic, I could tell something was broken in the engine. After inspecting the engine and looking into it, it's been determined that a valve spring broke and sent the valve through the piston and into the cylinder, effectively ceasing the engine while the vehicle traveled at freeway speeds.
A malfunction in the under hood engine compartment caused a fire which destroyed the engine, front of the vehicle and severely damaged the interior. The vehicle was parked on my driveway and had not been started nor driven in over 24 hours up to the time the incident occurred.
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. …
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. …
Engine complaints in other Ram 1500 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2004 Dodge Ram 1500?
NHTSA has 190 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2004 Dodge Ram 1500, 17% of the model year's 1,099 complaints. The component named most often is engine (40 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling 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 engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 65,000 miles, and 24% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 4 crashes, 4 fires and 3 injuries to engine & cooling 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.