Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (struts, shocks, control arms, ball joints, springs).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
dodge death wobble. this death wobble started prior to my 100000mile warranty expired, but by the time i drove the truck home, it was over the milage. After a lot of bs and a fee, Dodge "fixed" my problem. ( for a while) They have refused to re-repair their bad design since. .I've spent many hours and money temporarily repairing their front end design. If i hit a bump in the road while exceeding 55 mph the truck violently shakes and i cannot control the direction. I went off the freeway in Salt Lake this last weekend after putting new tie rods (again) on the front end. You know what this is ! Dodge has never remedied this situation. !
When driving over some overpasses on highways the "bump" causes the whole front end to shake and makes steering very hard to maintain. I have heard this called "the Dodge death wobble" and has been reported by many other Dodge Ram owners. I have had all of the ball joints and tie rod replaced. This is a highly disturbing occurrence when traveling at a speed of 65-70 mpr on a highway. This has happened to me more than once and is a very scary feeling, thinking my front tires are coming off. Is there a recall to correct this?
In July 2014, traveling along a 2 lane highway, we hit a bump in the road and the truck started to violently shake to the point where we had to come to a complete stop on the road. Scared the entire family as we got out to see if we had a tire failure. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Continued on the vacation and had it occur 3-5 more times while in the truck. While on vacation, had the steering damper(stabilizer) and rotated the tires but that did not fix the problem. Upon return home, took it to a non-Chrysler service center as the local Dodge dealer was 3 weeks out on getting the truck in. They replaced both upper and lower tie rods joints, wheel bearings and aligned the vehicle. $2000 approximate cost plus the steering stabilizer and no fix. Took the truck on another extended trip on 4/3 and had it occur again. …
Otherwise known as the "Dodge death wobble". The approximate incident date is the last time it occurred because I can't remember when the first time was. I attempted to have this issue resolved/ repaired by Chrysler multiple times just to get the runaround every time. This last time 02/16/2015, they had me driving 30 minutes to their shop, in treacherous driving conditions caused by 5 inches of sleet and snow received the night before. Then they ended up wasting over 3 hours of my time/day by not doing any work at all to my truck the whole time it sat in their shop and tried to make me pay in excess of $575 for any work they was going to do. I had already rebuilt the entire front end in mid 2013 and in 2014 I dumped $10000 into rebuilding the engine because it blew 4 of the 6 compression rings for some reason, I can't afford to rebuild the whole front end.......again. …
I was driving down I-15 at approximately 70mph and hit a small bump in the road. The front end started bouncing uncontrollably. Had to completely stop in traffic, which almost resulted in a big accident. This is not the first time this has happened. I was in traffic on Monday this week as well and the same thing happened twice at slower speeds and on both of these occasions was almost hit by an 18 wheeler. I am a female and trying to hold on to the steering wheel while it jerked violently back and forth was almost not doable. When is Dodge going to be held responsible for making a safe truck for us to drive? My mechanic told me that just about all of these trucks have this same issue and they won't fix it unless it cracks. This is not safe for drivers anywhere. Is it going to take a serious accident or death to get something done about this problem?
The leaf sprimg assembly on the passenger side in the rear broke away from the frame. Being that I am retired and this is my personal vehicle I dont put to many heavy loads on it. I do have a travel trailer and a boat . I have never pulled them together nor do I use them all the time from occassion I go camping. I do fish a morethan I camp but the wait of either is relitively the same. I had my family with me when the leaf spring broke. I have 5 trucks, I have done the same things with all of them and never had a leaf spring brak from the vehicle. As I took it to the dealer he told me he has only seen this once in his 20 years of working on trucks. I do belive that this is an area of concern..
I was driving it home from the dealership, on a back road, going about 40 MPH. I hit a bump, the whole front end started bouncing uncontrollably. Like it was hit with a jack hammer! I ended up off the road! As I got out and was looking to see what happened, a guy stopped behind me. He got out, and said he has the same truck with the same problem. He's never seen it happen before, only experienced it first hand. He said it looked like the wheels were going different directions! I didn't see anything wrong tho. The lug nuts and everything were tight.it even passed inspection this morning! I looked online and it said to start online here to document the complaints.
My 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 exhibits the classic defective steering linkage issues common to Dodge rams of this year and results in the "death wobble" when driving over a bump at highway speeds. It becomes nearly uncontrollable until I slow to below 30 MPH. The dealership always claims that they either "cannot duplicate" the issue, or that they couldn't fix it if they could duplicate it anyway. I bought the Dodge Ram used in 2013 and have been having this issue ever since. I did not know that this was a common Dodge Ram problem, that has been ignored by Chrysler, or I would not have purchased the truck.
At highway speeds of 70mph after hitting the slightest of bumps or bridge joints the front end of the truck would violently shake so bad that I couldn't control it and sent the truck sideways almost flipping it and hitting a tractor trailer but thank god I didnt. My wife and kids were driving it and at 60 hit a bump and she also almost wrecked it with our kids in the truck! Its been in the shop and at this point im paying someone else to own it. Im a Ford guy and stepped out to try something different and am now wasting my hard earned money and im pissed. I want my f250 back.
Driving home I hit a pot hole at 65 miles an hour when the trucks front end started shaking violently. I had to slow down to about 35 miles an hour to get control. Its been a regular occurrence ever since. I have taken it to the dealership and they say nothing is wrong. I have researched and spent over $1000.00 on parts. Apparently it is a common problem with Dodge known as the "death wobble" that Dodge fails to acknowledge or take responsibility for.
Suspension complaints in other Ram 2500 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are suspension problems on the 2004 Dodge Ram 2500?
NHTSA has 106 complaints about the suspension of the 2004 Dodge Ram 2500, 18% of the model year's 582 complaints. The component named most often is front (35 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 suspension problems?
No. NHTSA lists no suspension recall for the 2004 Dodge Ram 2500, though it has 6 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 2500 suspension problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 65,000 miles, and 12% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 1 injury to suspension 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.