1996 Dodge Ram 2500 Recalls

No recalls on record Updated July 2026

No NHTSA recalls on record for the 1996 Dodge Ram 2500. That means NHTSA has no open safety campaign for this vehicle — it does not guarantee the absence of problems. Owners have filed 365 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the service brakes, hydraulic. Last updated July 5, 2026.

Complaints by component

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
32
7crashes1injuries
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
19
1crashes
TIRES
14
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:COOLING UNIT AND LINES
12
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS
11
1crashes
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
9
2fires
STEERING
9
1fires
SUSPENSION
9
TIRES:TREAD/BELT
9
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
7
3crashes2injuries
Total complaints365

What owners report

Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.

“The contact owns a 1996 dodge ram 2500. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 mph, the air bag warning light suddenly activated, and moments later the front driver’s side air bag erroneously deployed. During the failure, the driver sustained various facial injuries and injuries to…”

AIR BAGS · reported 2023-06-13

“The contact owns a 1996 dodge ram 2500. The contact stated that while driving at night with the high beam on, a strong burning odor was detected inside the cabin of the vehicle. The contact stated that he thought the burning odor was coming from outside not the vehicle as no warning lights were…”

EXTERIOR LIGHTING · reported 2021-11-02

“The pealing (defective) paint that dodge refuses to do anything about has now pealed around the windshield frame. The windshield is stuck to the paint, but since the paint has turned loose from the windshield frame it's just sort of sitting there. I guess the good news is now upon impact the…”

UNKNOWN OR OTHER · reported 2020-10-19

“Tl* the contact owns a 1996 ram 2500. The contact stated that while driving at speeds of 45-55 mph, the vehicle experienced severe front end shakes and vibration when driving over grooved pavement. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer urness motors (505 cherry heights…”

STEERING · reported 2020-02-01

“Tl* the contact owns a 1996 ram 2500. The contact stated that while driving at speeds of 45-55 mph, the vehicle experienced severe front end shakes and vibration when driving over grooved pavement. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer urness motors (505 cherry heights…”

SUSPENSION · reported 2020-02-01

“While driving on a city street, I lost my power steering, causing me to almost have a rear end collision with the vehicle in front of me. I had my truck towed to a local dealership, they found my brake system to be contaminated and told me that all parts of the system with rubber in them would…”

SERVICE BRAKES · reported 2019-04-24

“Tl* the contact owns a 1996 dodge ram 2500. The contact stated that the headlights failed to illuminate at night time. The contact mentioned that the high beam headlights turned off after ten minutes and the low beam headlights flickered. The contact mentioned that the failure occurred…”

EXTERIOR LIGHTING · reported 2016-08-01

“Death wobble”

STEERING · reported 2016-07-06

Defect investigations

Investigation DP03006 Opened 2003-09-23 · closed 2004-04-08

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.…

Investigation DP03006 Opened 2003-09-23 · closed 2004-04-08

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.…

Investigation PE00048 Opened 2000-12-11 · closed 2001-03-07

LOSS OF THROTTLE CONTROL

ALLEGED THAT THE THROTTLE CABLE CAN FRAY OR SEVER DURING NORMAL USE RESULTING IN THE THROTTLE NOT RETURNING TO IDLE OR AN INABILITY TO ACCELERATE.

Sources & methodology

Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1996 Dodge Ram 2500 as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.