Most common 1995 Dodge Ram problems
Share of the 619 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Dodge Ram complaints by model year
Best Ram years: 2011, 2009, 2007. Years to avoid: 1996, 1998, 2001, 1997, 1999. Compare all years →
1995 Dodge Ram recalls (12)
Vehicle speed control
Vehicle description: pickup trucks equipped with diesel engines. The throttle cable could unravel (fray) or break resulting in loss of throttle control.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the throttle cable and upper bell crank lever. Owner notification began August 3, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not…
Latches/locks/linkages › Hood › Latch
On certain pickup trucks originally sold in or currently registered in the following "salt belt" states: maine, new hampshire, vermont, massachusetts, rhode island, connecticut, new york, new jersey, pennsylvania, delaware, maryland, the district of columbia, west virginia, ohio, indiana, michigan, illinois, wisconsin,…
Remedy: Dealers will replace the secondary hood latch. Owner notification began September 17, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within…
Electrical system › Ignition › Switch
Vehicle description: light duty pickup trucks. The affected vehicles were built with an ignition switch and wiring that could overheat. High electrical current loads pass through the switch when the blower motor is operated on high for an extended periods of time.
Remedy: Dealers will install a relay and overlay harness.
Suspension › Front › Shock absorber
Vehicle description: light duty pickup trucks. (2500 and 3500 series 4x4 regular cab pickup produced before March 21, 1995; 2500 and 3500 series 4x4 club cab pickup produced before June 8, 1995; and 3500 series 4x2/4x4 chassis cab trucks produced before June 21, 1995).
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the spring/shock tower and any vehicles exhibiting cracking will have the tower replaced. Vehicles that are do not show any cracking will have a weld-on reinforcement added.
Power train › Clutch assembly
Vehicle description: pickup trucks equipped with manual transmission, v10 engines and four-wheel-drive transfer cases. Under sustained maximum rated vehicle load, while driving up a steep grade in four-wheel-drive low range in hot ambient conditions, the local exhaust temperature proximate to the hydraulic clutch line can…
Remedy: Dealers will replace the hydraulic clutch assembly.
Air bags › Frontal
Vehicle description: van and wagon model passenger vehicles. If water/road salt gets on the interior floor of the vehicle in the proximity of the air bag electronic control module (aecm), the aecm can corrode. The resulting corrosion can cause the driver side air bag to deploy inadvertently.
Remedy: Dealers wil replace the aecm with an aecm that is sealed from moisture intrusion.
Show 6 more recalls
Fuel system, gasoline › Delivery › Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
Vehicle description: light duty pickup trucks equipped with gasoline engines. The fuel tank mounted rollover valve can allow liquid fuel to leak onto the ground under certain vehicle operating conditions.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the fuel tank rollover valve with a float type rollover valve.
Power train › Automatic transmission › Cooling unit and lines
Under certain high load operating conditions, the transmission fluid temperature can exceed the melting point of the material used in the connector to retain the fluid line to the transmission.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the high temperature side of the transmission fluid cooler line connector fittings with connectors that incorporate a stainless steel retainer.
Service brakes, hydraulic › Power assist › Vacuum › Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
Vehicle description: pickup trucks equipped with diesel engines. The engine driven vacuum pump can allow engine oil into the vacuum hoses due to the absence of an internal check valve. The oil can cause the hose to deteriorate and partially collapse, reducing the vacuum supply to the brake booster.
Remedy: Dealers will add a vacuum pump check valve to the vacuum pump. In addition, the vacuum hose connected to the vacuum pump will be replaced with a hose that is engine oil resistant.
Steering › Steering wheel/handle bar
If the plastic pins and metal clip that retain the lower steering shaft in the upper shaft break, the lower steering shaft can separate from the upper shaft.
Remedy: Dealers will add a restraining sleeve to the intermediate steering shaft to limit the amount of axial steering column shaft moving in the event the plastic pins and metal clip are broken.
Steering › Steering wheel/handle bar
While making a turn, the extra keys on a vehicle operator's key ring can become temporarily lodged in the screw access holes in the back cover of the steering wheel.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the steering wheel back cover with a redesigned cover.
Latches/locks/linkages › Hood › Latch
The secondary hood latch rod can bind on the guide bracket and prevent engagement of the secondary latch.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the secondary hood latch bracket.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 12 possible defects involving the 1995 Dodge Ram:
Transmission quick connectors
On April 17, 1997, the Chrysler corporation filed a defect information report concerning approximately 800,000 1994 through 1997 Dodge Ram pickups equipped with v6 or v8 engines and automatic transmissions, 1995 through 1997dodge Ram pickups equipped with the v10 engine and automatic transmission, and the 1995 and 1996 Dodge Ram van/wagon equipped with automatic transmission.odi has received eleven reports…
Steering wheel and column
There is no summary currently available
HOOD LATCH
Onmarch 20, 1995, daimlerchrysler filed a defect report for 181,008 1994 and 1995 Dodge Ram trucks manufacturedc from January 21, 1994 - October 25, 1994 at the Dodge city assembly plant and from March 26, 1994 - December 8, 1994 at the lago alberto assembly plant.the secondary hood latch rod could bind on the guide bracket and prevent engagement of the secondary latch.if this occurs when the primary latch is not…
Ignition switch
Complainants allege fires, melting, smoke or excessive heat in the vicinity of the ignition switch
Transmission fluid fires
TRANSMISSION FLUID LEAKAGE AT COOLER TUBE DISCONNECTS IS ALLEGED TO HAVE RESULTED IN VEHICLE FIRES.(this resume was revises on 12/3/96 to include the 1996 model year truck equipped with the subject equipment)
Evaporative canister leakage
Fuel May leak from the evaporative canister after tank fill.
Windshield wiper failures
Alleged failures of windshield wipers without warning during rain and snow.
Steering column fires
ODI has received 33 complaints alleging excessive heat in the ignition switch and related circuitry in 1994-1996 Dodge Ram trucks.The root cause is an excessive current draw through the ignition switch result in fire, smoke, melting of surrounding plastics, stalling and the illumination of air bag and anti-lock brake system (ABS) warnig lights.
Evaporative canister leakage
Fuel May leak from the evaporative canister after tank fill.
Seat back failure
Odi has identified 30 incidents where it is alleged the seat back collapsed in a rear impact crash.these incidents are alleged to have contributed to 23 injuries and two deaths.the data presented to odi show that the seat back strength of the front seats comply with federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 207.
Steering column separation
Mr. Larry a. Sackey submitted a petition to the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) by letter dated April 18, 2003, requesting that nhtsafurther investigate the defective collapsible steering shaft system on 1987-1995 vehicles manufactured by the daimlerchrysler corporation.in part because of 49 cfr ? 30120(g), NHTSA has decided to limit the scope of the petition vehicles to 1993-1995 models,…
Steering column fire
Alleges that the poor design of the ignition switch assembly and//or the key cylinder assembly in the model year 1991-2000 vehicles May cause the steering column to catch fire
What 1995 Dodge Ram owners say
Brakes all 151 →
I am complaining about mr 1995 Dodge Ram sport pickup, that I have had an accident with. I wasn't aware of any recalls regarding the reduced power brake assist, and I am trying to get my vehicle's company to pay for the damage to my pickup. There was no bodily injury, however, I feel like if my brakes would have been there for me, this accident woul never have happened. I am now looking at my beautiful truck, just waiting to be fixed, ( I got a list of parts aand prices for the parts from my local Dodge dealer in imlay city, michigan, and ther total is $ 3900.00. Now I can't afford this, I don't feel that I should have to pay for this, because if my brakes would have worked for me as they always have in the past, this accident would never occured. Please repond to e-mail: [email], attn: kimberly liebisch, p.o. Box 52, capac, mi. 48014.
While traveling at 24 to 30 MPH consumer tried to turn and steering wheel was locked. Consumer tried to brake there were no brakes. Vehicle hit a pole, and airbags didn't deploy. When consumer contacted dealer for a recall letter received. Dealer had no parts available. Consumer felt this accident was caused because recall problem was not corrected. While waiting for recall parts to arrive at dealer for steering wheel and column the steering wheel locked up causing accident.
Transmission & drivetrain all 91 →
The problems are as followed: the brake light comes on when the clutch is engaged, hard to start, the bracket under dash was fractured-if this breaks, the clutch and brakes could loose control, fatigue and stress crack are visible, firewall flexes when using the clutch/lacks support, and poor quality of support bracket. Scc
Got into vehicle and started it up, was moving out of yard, co-worker noticed flames under vehicle, told the driver who got out and saw it; tried putting flames but to no avail; transmission fluid was leaking; front area only was engulfed in flames.
Electrical system all 75 →
The ignition switch and wiring caught on fire while the truck was parked in the driveway. The ignition switch recall 00v13500 was issued, but this vehicle was not included in the recall due to VIN.
I have contacted Dodge regarding this failure, are tech or safety bulletins being generated, are others reporting the failure? Ram diesel model failure mode allows starter to remain engaged and engine running with vehicle key in the off position. After diagnosing and failure analysis it is apparent that this failure mode is not only common (input from various websites) but also extremely dangerous in my opinion. While the root cause (starter failure) is acceptable and understandable with age of the vehicle, the symptom and effect is not. Internal shorting of the starter causes 12vdc feedback through the control circuit and allows the starter to remain engaged and vehicle to remain running wit the key on!. …
Frequently asked questions
Is the 1995 Dodge Ram a good car?
Based on 619 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 1995 Ram rates avoid: 5.9× as many complaints as a typical year of the Ram at the same age. It is one of the Ram years we suggest avoiding. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 1995 Dodge Ram?
The brakes — 151 complaints, 24% of all complaints for this model year, most often about antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip. Next are the transmission & drivetrain (91) and electrical system (75).
How many recalls does the 1995 Dodge Ram have?
There are 12 recalls for the 1995 Dodge Ram, the most recent from February 12, 2001 (vehicle speed control). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Dodge Ram?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2011, 2009 and 2007. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 1996, 1998, 2001, 1997 and 1999. See the full Dodge Ram years comparison.
At what mileage do 1995 Dodge Ram problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 91,000 miles; 13% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 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.