The Lemon IndexAll cars · Ram · Ram 2500/3500 (Heavy Duty)
2005 Ram 2500/3500 (Heavy Duty) problems, engines and recalls.
Owners filed 618 complaints with the government about the 2005 Ram 2500/3500 (Heavy Duty), most often about steering (35%).
Which engine is in it
529 of the 618 complaints have a VIN we could decode, which tells us the engine.
| Engine | Share | Complaints | What they name most |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.9 Cummins diesel | 81% | 430 | steering 33%, airbags 18%, transmission & drivetrain 17% |
| 5.7 V8 gas | 18% | 96 | too few to split |
| 6.7 Cummins diesel | 1% | 3 | too few to split |
Each diesel's page: Cummins 5.9 (Ram) · Cummins 6.7 (Ram).
Nearby model years
What owners complain about
Share of this year's complaints that name each area.
When problems show up
Half of the owners who gave a mileage reported the problem between 40,000 and 137,000 miles; the middle report was at 82,251 miles (421 complaints with a mileage).
How serious
| Crashes | Fires | Injury reports | Death reports | Towed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 67 | 14 | 29 | 2 | 10 |
As reported by owners to NHTSA, not verified.
In owners' words
The dealer has told me for years that the air bad can not be found...there out of stock
2005 Ram 2500/3500 (Heavy Duty) owner · NHTSA complaint 11745872
Steering went out and truck rolled. verified per mechanic failure on recalled part/s
2005 Ram 2500/3500 (Heavy Duty) owner · NHTSA complaint 11573673
Steering is not as good as it should be. Has 83,000 miles and steering seems very loose, seems to wander from left to right, and hard to control, on Highway or city streets.
2005 Ram 2500/3500 (Heavy Duty) owner · NHTSA complaint 11516215
Recalls 6
16V352000 May 2016 Air Bags
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) expanded the affected population to include 73,712 2005-2009 RAM 2500 trucks produced at the St. Louis North Assembly Plant. With this change, Chrysler is recalling certain model year 2004-2008 RAM 1500, 2005-2009 RAM 2500, 2006-2009 RAM 3500, 2007-2010 RAM 3500 Cab Chassis, 2008-2010 RAM 4500 and 5500 Cab Chassis, 2004-2009 Dodge Durango, 2007-2009 Chrysler Aspen, 2007-2012 Jeep Wrangler, 2008-2012 Dodge Challenger, 2005-2008 Dodge Magnum, 2005-2012 Chrysler 300, 2006-2012 Dodge Charger, 2005-2011 Dodge Dakota, and 2006-2009 Mitsubishi Raider vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in AL, CA, FL, GA, HI, LA, MS, SC, TX, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Nor
Fix. Owners are advised not to drive their vehicle until the recall repair is complete. Chrysler will notify the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and RAM owners. Mitsubishi owners will be notified by their company. Dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on March 27, 2017. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number
15V313000 May 2015 Air Bags
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain model year 2005-2009 Dodge Ram 2500, 2004-2008 Dodge Ram 1500 and Durango, 2006-2009 Dodge Ram 3500, 2008-2010 Dodge Ram 4500 and 5500, 2007-2008 Chrysler Aspen, 2005-2010 Chrysler 300, 300C, 300S, and SRT8, 2006-2010 Dodge Charger, 2005-2008 Magnum, 2005-2011 Dodge Dakota, and 2006-2009 Mitsubishi Raider vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
Fix. Owners are advised not to drive their vehicle until the recall repair is complete. Chrysler will notify the affected Chrysler and Dodge owners and Mitsubishi will notify the affected Raider owners. Dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began for Chrylser on June 8, 2015. The recall for Mitsubishi started on June 24, 2015. Chrysler and Dodge owner
14V770000 Dec 2014 Air Bags
Chrysler Group LLC (Chrysler) is recalling certain model year 2004-2005 Dodge Ram 1500, 2500, and 3500, 2004-2005 Dodge Durango, 2005 Dodge Dakota, 2005 Dodge Magnum and 2005 Chrysler 300, 300C and 300 SRT8 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in geographic locations associated with high absolute humidity. Specifically, vehicles sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saipan, Guam, and American Samoa are addressed by this recall. Upon deployment of the passenger side frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.
Fix. Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. For vehicles that were sold, or are currently registered, in Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, owners were notified and the recall began on December 5, 2014. For all other vehicles, Chrysler notified owners and the recall began on February 3, 2015. Owners may con
13V528000 Nov 2013 Steering
Chrysler Group LLC (Chrysler) is recalling certain model year 2003-2008 Dodge RAM 2500 4x4 and 3500 4x4, model year 2007-2008 Dodge RAM 3500 4x2 Cab Chassis and model year 2006-2008 Dodge RAM 1500 Mega Cab 4x4 trucks manufactured February 12, 2002, through February 13, 2008. The left tie rod assembly may break.
Fix. Chrysler notified owners and launched its recall campaign in January 2014. Owners may contact Chrysler at 1-800-247-9753. Chrysler's recall campaign number is N62.
11V350000 Jul 2011 Steering
Chrysler is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 dodge ram 2500/3500 4x4, manufactured from february 14, 2008, through march 28, 2011; model year 2008-2011 dodge ram 3500 cab chassis 4x2, manufactured from february 14, 2008, through march 28, 2011; and model year 2008 dodge ram 1500 mega cab 4x4, manufactured from february 14, 2008, through august 15, 2008, because the left tie rod ball stud may fracture. This condition tends to occur during low speed parking lot type maneuvers when the customer is making a tight turn. Additionally, model year 2003-2008 dodge ram 2500/3500 vehicles may have received the affected tie rod assembly as a replacement part during normal service.
Fix. Dealers will inspect the tie rod ends for relative orientation and replace the left outer tie rod as required and perform a front end toe alignment as needed. This service will be performed free of charge. The safety recall began on october 3, 2011. Owners may contact chrysler at 1-800-853-1403.
05V462000 Oct 2005 Power Train
On certain pickup trucks equipped with diesel engines and automatic transmissions, in an attempt to exit the vehicle quickly without shutting off the engine and removing the key, the driver may inadvertently leave the automatic transmission shift control in indicated reverse.
Fix. Dealers will perform a software modification to equip these vehicles with an out-of-park alarm. Owners may contact daimlerchrysler at 1-800-853-1403.
NHTSA recalls for this model year under every name these trucks are filed under. A recall that names an engine applies only to trucks with it. Free at any dealer: check the VIN.
Quick answers
Is the 2005 Ram 2500/3500 reliable?
We can't score it per truck (heavy-duty sales aren't reported apart from the half-ton). Owners filed 618 complaints about it, most often about steering (35% of them). Compare the diesel generations on their engine pages.
What engine does the 2005 Ram 2500/3500 have?
By the VINs in owner complaints: 5.9 Cummins diesel (81%), 5.7 V8 gas (18%), 6.7 Cummins diesel (1%).
How many recalls does the 2005 Ram 2500/3500 (Heavy Duty) have?
6. Recall repairs are free at any dealer; check the truck's VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
The whole-line score for 2005, mostly half-tons: 2005 Ram pickup.
No Lemon Index score: automakers report heavy-duty pickup sales together with the half-ton (one F-Series, Ram or Silverado number), so there is no honest per-truck denominator. These are counts and shares of owner complaints, not failure rates. Complaints: NHTSA owner complaints filed under the truck's 2500/3500 (F-250/F-350) names, all years filed, one per complaint number. Engine: decoded from the complaint's VIN (position 8 is the engine code) with NHTSA's vPIC decoder. Complaints filed as just “Silverado” or “Sierra” are left out (they mix 1500s and HDs). Older trucks have had more years to collect complaints, and popular years draw more because more were sold.
Updated · Free to use with credit: Source: The Lemon Index (lemonindex.com)
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