Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (wheels, lug nuts, original-equipment tires, TPMS).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
My vehicle was in motion driving on a highway at the rate of 45mph-50mph my husband was driving, I was passenger, and my 2 year old son was in his car seat in the back. All the sudden we hit a small bump in the road, no bigger than your average pot holes and the entire truck broke out into an abrupt shake! It was throwing my husbands and my body around the shake was so intense the steering was controllable but extremely hard. It felt as though our tires were flying right off the vehicle. My husband braked and the violent shake seized and we immediately pulled over and parked the truck. We check and shook all tires they were secure. We looked under the truck everything seemed in place and secure. …
I was driving a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 v-10 along interstate 50 in sacramento, ca in the fast or left lane and had installed brand new super swamper ssr 305/70/16 tires w/4,000 miles on them and while driving approximately 70 MPH the left rear tire flew apart. The tread had separated from the steel cord in 2 large pieces and flew back at the car behind me causing a major car accident involving 3 cars not including mine. It caused extensive damage to my truck (apprx. $3,000.00) the police did an onsite report and after speaking to everyone had decided to let me go without a citation or using my insurance because it was determined that the person behind me caused the accident by trying to swerve and miss the flying debris hitting her car. I tried to take them back to the store where I purchased them and received a response of call the manufacturer which I did with no luck. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500. The contact stated that the driver's and passenger's side rear tires were replaced with Goodyear tires, tire line: wrangler, tire size: 265/75/16/e, dot number: pjw8hb1v0420. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to drive in straight line after the tires were replaced. The vehicle also wobbled while driving after the tires were replaced. The tires were purchased at a sam's club store. The contact had the vehicle taken back to the sam's club for a full refund of the purchase price. The tires were replaced and the failure was remedied. The tire manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle manufacturer was not contacted or made aware of the failure. The tire failure mileage was unknown. The failure mileage was 70,000.
I filed a complaint with NHTSA recently and have not heard back from you. I did not write the number down so I am filing this complaint again. My husband has a 2001 Dodge diesel that we bought in 2002. We went to put new tires on the truck and totten tire would not let us leave with the truck without putting new rims on it. They said the rims were dangerous. 3 of the 4 rims have cracks up to 3/8 inch wide, one has 10 cracks. I believe the rims are defective. The tire place said they have never seen rims like this before. I am attaching a picture for you to look at. I am very concerned that more Dodge trucks have this problem. If one of these rims would have broke apart going down the highway we could have been killed. I contacted daimler Chrysler about this and they are doing nothing to reimburse me for the $700.00 we had to pay for rims. They said the warranty had expired. …
While driving my 2001 Dodge 2500 4wd pickup, the cable part of the spare tire lift assembly failed and allowed the spare wheel/tire to become free from it's holding and fell to the payment. Luckily no one was following me for if they were they would have definitely hit the wheel and an accident would have occurred possibly causing injury (ies) to the occupants of the oncoming vehicle. This occurred on sept1 in rockwell, texas. I reported this to rockwall Dodge service dept and told them it was a definite safety issue. They acknowledged this but did not attempt to notify the Dodge headquarters to my knowledge. They ordered the replacement parts and gave me a date you come in to have the assembly replaced. In the mean time I called the Dodge corporation and reported this incident stressing again the safety issue and possibility of a design defect. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 equipped with b.f goodrich commercial t/a tires, size: lt245/75r16 ecomas. The contact stated that while driving 75 MPH, the front and rear passenger side tires failed, causing extensive damages to the windshield, radiator, quarter panel, the entire exhaust system and the rear leaf springs. The contact was assisted in installing two new tires on the vehicle and was advised to contact the manufacturer. The tire manufacturer was notified and the contact was awaiting a return call. The failure mileage was 333,582 and the current mileage was 382,000. The failure mileage of the tire was 40,000.
While towing a trailer at approximately 75 MPH (speed limit) on interstate highway 10 west between wilcox, az and benson, az, the left rear tire tread separated. As a consequence, the right front tire developed a flat spot rendering it unusable. The separated tread caused significant damage to the pickup towing the trailer and incidental damage to the front of the trailer. No one was injured. Two tires were replaced. The left bed side and associated parts were replaced and the dents in the bed were straightened. The old tires are available.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500. The inside beads of the wheel began to fracture. The vehicle was taken to the dealership for inspection. The technician stated that the wheels needed to be replaced because of his driving habits. The current and failure mileages were 158127. Updated 1/25/10 the consumer stated the aluminum wheels were breaking through the inside beads. All four of the wheels were broken. The wheels appeared to have cracked where the metal wheel weight May have been located. Updated 01/26/10
I removed the spare tire to fix a flat. It was the original spare and had never been used before. After having tire repaired I tried to return the spare to it's stow area under the bed but the winch would not lift it. It will work when the cable does not have weight on it but it will not lift the spare. The winch appears to have plastic parts. I feel this could be a safety issue if it would fail while driving down the highway.
While driving home from north carolina in my 2500 Dodge Ram one of my uniroyal tires separated damaging the rear driver side fender. This is the second time I have had a catastrophic failure with the liberator lt26575r16e. The fist time walmart replaced the tire and repaired the fender. Their should be a recall on this tire before someone dies.
Wheel & Tire complaints in other Ram 2500 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are wheel & tire problems on the 2001 Dodge Ram 2500?
NHTSA has 24 complaints about the wheels & tires of the 2001 Dodge Ram 2500, 5% of the model year's 469 complaints. The component named most often is rim (6 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 wheel & tire problems?
No. NHTSA lists no wheels & tires recall for the 2001 Dodge Ram 2500, 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 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 wheel & tire problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 88,000 miles, and 12% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 0 injuries to wheels & tires 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.