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 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
travelstar ecopath a/t size LT265/70R17 a large bubble developed on sidewall. about 3 inches in diameter. tire only had about 5000 miles on it. i was on a trip with my truck camper mounted on bed of truck. returned from trip and noticed the bulge. truck is single rear axle with one tire on each side. travel speed was 55 to 60 mph. if tire had blown out truck and camper would have flipped over. i called manufacturer of tire, was told to contact walmart where i purchased tire. contacted walmart, was told to contact manufacturer. classic runaround.
While driving down the expressway in chicago in heavy, high speed traffic, the vehicle drove through a small pothole, which caused the vehicle to shake \ wobble violently from the front end and cause impossible steering. The only way to stop this shaking \ wobble was to immediately slow down to below 20 MPH crossing 2 lanes of traffic into the soft shoulder. It has been replicated multiple times from speeds of 40 MPH and up. After taking this vehicle, a 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 quad cab, 5.7 engine, stock with all current recalls up to date (except the air bag recall which no one has parts for), to multiple repair shops and Dodge dealerships, no exact caused has been located including FCA (Dodge) stating there is no issue. Thousands of dollars have been spent on this in the last 3 weeks to solve the problem as it cannot be resolved yet. …
The way these rims are designed are very poor. Water gets trapped inside the rim rots them out. I was driving down the street when all in a sudden, the part of the rim that has the 8 holes where you would bolt the rim to the vehicle completely separated from the drum part of the rim, the tire went flat, and vehicle stopped. And to even get to the actual lug nuts, I had to destroy the chrome face to get to them because they shifted when the rim separated from 8 bolt pattern. This is a huge safety concern, I consider myself lucky I didn't cause myself or anybody else on the road any harm or even death. After seeing that, I replaced all 4 rims and tires, a $1500 bill I wasn't planning on but got to be safe for my sake and everyone else on the road.
265/70/17- busted belts in 2 tires, liner separation in another. available for inspection removed all 4 due to safety concerns
Traveling on us 58 in suffolk, va. I was forced off the road while trying to avoid an accident and hit a very large water filled pot hole. The results was my driver side front tire came off the vehicle after breaking two lug nuts. The truck slid 300 feet down the road until coming to rest in the median. A usaa repair facility replaced the driver side hub assembly. I moved to kings bay ga. And started to notice a vibration in the steering wheel. The vehicle has 35" off road tire on it so I assumed the tires need to balanced. After about three weeks of driving the real problems arose. I developed the "Dodge death wobble". It is a violent shaking of the steering system that forces you to slow to below 45 miles per hour. It is so violent that a 36 year old navy diver chief, who has been to tactical driving schools for the military, has a difficult time holding it on the road. …
While traveling on the highway and normal speeds and you hit a minor bump, wheels will shake violently with no ability for driver to recover steering. The only recourse is to let the vehicle slow down and then pull over. This is know as the death wobble and can be viewed on youtube. Dodge has denied the problem but yet you can buy an entire new steering assembly from Dodge for $300. I have spent over $4000 trying to fix this issue. This has happened to me over 10 times and no longer put my family in the pickup and will no longer use it on the highway..a simple tierod recall will not fix this and there is enough people having this problem that the NHTSA should force Dodge to finally correct this design flaw, before we get killed.
While driving my 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 down the highway and I will hit small bump, and the truck will violently shake and I am unable to steer the truck. The "death wobble" makes it impossible for me to steer during the shaking and the only way to regain control of the truck is to try to brake and not crash. This first started on 12-23-11 and has happened about 6 times since then. The death wobble occurs at speeds as slow as 40 MPH. It is extremely dangerous due to my inability to steer when the truck shakes so violently. I have researched this and there are more people with this same problem and there appears to be no fix. The tires shake side to side and the inside of the cab of the pickup is vibrating violently.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 with cooper tempra trail cutters lt265/70/r17 (dot utahrda0409) tires. While driving approximately 50 MPH the steering wheel began to vibrate and the contact heard a noise coming near the rear drivers side tire. The contact stopped the vehicle and noticed the tread separated from the rear drivers side tire. The tire was replaced with the spare. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and asked the contact to mail the tire so they could inspect it. The tire was not replaced. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 160,000.
Tl contact owns a 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 equipped with dick cepek radial f-c ii 33/125or117d tires (n/a). The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, the center tread on the front tire (not sure which one) suddenly fell off, causing damage to the bumper, fender flair and gasket lead. The contact went to the local dealer who referred him to NHTSA. The contact referenced recall 06t024000 (tires: tread/belt) but the tire manufacture date was not within the affected tires' manufacture date for the recall. The manufacturer had not been notified.
The spare tire on a Dodge Ram 2500 is secured underneath the vehicle with a stranded cable. While driving down the road, the spare tire fell off. When it fell, it bounced into the rear bumper, jolted the vehicle, and then rolled down the road. Although no accident occurred, it could have been catastrophic if other vehicles had been on the road at the time. The root cause is most likely due to a failure at the location where the cable is swaged to the plate. Dodge should be required to inspect and repair these at their expense.
Related recalls
Wheels › Hubcap/cover
Certain heavy duty pickup trucks, the aluminum wheels May have excessive porosity in the center hub area which can cause a wheel to crack.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the wheels and replace them if necessary. Owner notification is expected to begin June 17, 2003.. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not…
Wheel & Tire complaints in other Ram 2500 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are wheel & tire problems on the 2003 Dodge Ram 2500?
NHTSA has 20 complaints about the wheels & tires of the 2003 Dodge Ram 2500, 3% of the model year's 661 complaints. The component named most often is sidewall (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 wheel & tire problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 03V-212 (hubcap/cover, Jun 5, 2003). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 wheel & tire problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 127,000 miles.
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.