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1998 Dodge RAM 1500

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 1998 Dodge RAM 1500 do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 520.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

227 reports with mileage · 293 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Structure. Review the 102 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 85 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Air Bags. Review the 63 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

66 crash reports16 fire reports46 injury reports

Unknown Or Other complaints

24 reports
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15,000 miles · Nov 5, 2007
Unknown Or Other

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 DODGE RAM 1500. THE TOP OF THE DASHBOARD IS BEGINNING TO CRUMBLE INTO PIECES. THE CONTACT SPOKE WITH DODGE AND THEY STATED THAT THERE WAS A RECALL FOR CERTAIN YEARS OF THIS VEHICLE FOR THE SAME COMPONENT. THE DEALER ALSO STATED THAT CERTAIN DEALERS HAVE AN ALLOWANCE THAT ENABLES THEM TO PERFORM THE …

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TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 DODGE RAM 1500. THE TOP OF THE DASHBOARD IS BEGINNING TO CRUMBLE INTO PIECES. THE CONTACT SPOKE WITH DODGE AND THEY STATED THAT THERE WAS A RECALL FOR CERTAIN YEARS OF THIS VEHICLE FOR THE SAME COMPONENT. THE DEALER ALSO STATED THAT CERTAIN DEALERS HAVE AN ALLOWANCE THAT ENABLES THEM TO PERFORM THE REPAIR AND WRITE IT OFF. THE RECALL NUMBER WAS UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 15,000.

NHTSA ODI #10207949

90,000 miles · Oct 6, 2007
Unknown Or Other

DASH ON 1998 DODGE RAM 1500 TRUCK CRACKS FOR NO APPARENT REASON. THIS COULD LEAD TO AIR BAG FAILURE, SINCE THE DASH TOTALLY COLLAPSED. ONCE STARTED, THIS DASH JUST BREAKS APART. THE ONLY FIX IS TO REPLACE, WHICH AT THE DEALER IS AROUND $800. *JB

NHTSA ODI #10205129

60,000 miles · Jul 6, 2007
Unknown Or Other

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 DODGE RAM 1500. THE CONTACT REPLACED THE DASHBOARD ONCE BEFORE DUE TO A CRACK. IT HAS CRACKED AGAIN IN JUNE OF 2006 AND MUST BE REPLACED FOR THE SECOND TIME. THE VIN, PURCHASE DATE, AND ENGINE SIZE WERE UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS 154,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000.

NHTSA ODI #10195502

Mileage unknown · Jun 8, 2007
Unknown Or Other

I HAVE A 1998 DODGE RAM 1500, IT HAS A SEVERLY CRACKED DASHBOARD THAT WILL SOON BE A GAPING HOLE THAT WILL CAUSE SEVERE DAMAGE TO MY VEHICLE.AND MINE IS NOT THE ONLY ONE ! I HAVE CONTACTED DODGE AND THEY MORE OR LESS GAVE ME A RUN AROUND. MY LOCAL NEWS STATION INFORMED ME TO SEND THIS COMPLAINT TO SEE IF MAYBE YOU CAN HELP REMED…

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I HAVE A 1998 DODGE RAM 1500, IT HAS A SEVERLY CRACKED DASHBOARD THAT WILL SOON BE A GAPING HOLE THAT WILL CAUSE SEVERE DAMAGE TO MY VEHICLE.AND MINE IS NOT THE ONLY ONE ! I HAVE CONTACTED DODGE AND THEY MORE OR LESS GAVE ME A RUN AROUND. MY LOCAL NEWS STATION INFORMED ME TO SEND THIS COMPLAINT TO SEE IF MAYBE YOU CAN HELP REMEDY THIS SITUATION. THE CRACKS STARTED APPEARING 1 YEAR AFTER I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE AND HAVE PROGRESSED! I UNDERSTAND THAT DODGE KNOWS THAT THE MATERIEL USED IS DEFECTED. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THEM PLACE A RECALL TO FIX THIS PROBLEM.

NHTSA ODI #10192782

110,000 miles · May 3, 2007
Unknown Or Other

I STARTED GETTING CRACKS IN MY 1998 DODGE RAM'S DASHBOARD. THEN ONE DAY I WAS DRIVING DOWN A DIRT ROAD AND PIECES STARTED TO FLY UP OUT OF THE DASHBOARD. NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE ABOUT IT YET. *JB

NHTSA ODI #10189722

89,000 miles · Mar 4, 2007
StructureUnknown Or Other

THE DASH CRACKED FROM THE CENTER WHERE IT MEETS THE WIND SCREEN ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE DASH GOING OUT OF SIGHT WHERE THE DASH ROLLS INTO THE AIRBAG COMPARTMENT. A FEW WEEKS LATER THE WIND SCREEN CRACKED FROM THE SAME ORGIN WHEN IT GOT WET. *JB

NHTSA ODI #10184161

45,000 miles · Feb 14, 2007
Unknown Or Other

I OWN A 1998 DODGE RAM 1500 SPORT 4X4 QUAD CAB TRUCK AND THE DASHBOARD IS CRACKED TERRIBLY. NOW I'VE SPOKEN TO A LOT OF RAM OWNERS AND HAVE VISITED MANY DODGE DEALERSHIPS AND THEY SAY THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THESE TRUCKS. AS YOU ARE AWARE THE DASH ALSO HOUSES IMPORTANT COMPONENTS OF THE AIRBAG SAFETY SYSTEM. SOMETHING NEED…

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I OWN A 1998 DODGE RAM 1500 SPORT 4X4 QUAD CAB TRUCK AND THE DASHBOARD IS CRACKED TERRIBLY. NOW I'VE SPOKEN TO A LOT OF RAM OWNERS AND HAVE VISITED MANY DODGE DEALERSHIPS AND THEY SAY THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THESE TRUCKS. AS YOU ARE AWARE THE DASH ALSO HOUSES IMPORTANT COMPONENTS OF THE AIRBAG SAFETY SYSTEM. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. THE COST TO REPLACE THIS DASH IS VERY HIGH. *JB

NHTSA ODI #10182591

Mileage unknown · Oct 2, 2006
Unknown Or Other

TRUCK IS PAINTED BLACK AND IS PEELING ON THE HOOD AND ROOF OF TRUCK. IT IS ACTUALLY TURNING WHITE IN COLOR AND IS VERY ROUGH. I WAS GOING TO HAVE THE TRUCK REPAINTED; HOWEVER, SEVERAL OTHER DODGE RAM OWNERS HAVE STATED THAT THEY HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEMS, AND THAT I SHOULD CONTACT DODGE. *JB

NHTSA ODI #10169764

Mileage unknown · Feb 21, 2006
Unknown Or Other

MY 1998 DODGE RAM 1500 PICKUP DASH HAS A LARGE CRACK IN IT. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH ON THIS I FOUND THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER DODGE RAM TRUCK OWNERS WITH THIS PROBLEM. I FEEL THAT THIS IS A DEFECT IN MANUFACTURING AND SHOULD BE REPLACED BY THE FACTORY. *JB

NHTSA ODI #10150696

Mileage unknown · Mar 19, 2003
Unknown Or Other

THERE HAS NOT BEEN A RECALL ON THE PAINT ON 1998 DODGE RAM 1500. THERE ARE A LOT OF THEM THAT ARE HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE PAINT, MINE INCLUDED. THE RECALL IS ONLY FOR 97 RED DODGES. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT THIS. I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO PAY FOR A NEW PAINT JOB WHEN THERE ARE OTHER RECALLS FOR THE TRUCK. *NLM

NHTSA ODI #10010727

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.