Owners have filed 13 complaints on the Dodge Ramcharger, covering 1981–1991. The system named most often is Steering (3 reports). Worst years by volume: 1987, 1985, 1988; cleanest: 1981, 1986, 1989. 0 reports describe a crash, 1 a fire. On average the car was 11.1 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Dodge Ramcharger
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 13 Ramcharger complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Steering 3 Read
Slack in gears of rear housing caused bad banging in rear axles
Inside of steering coupler rusts/wears/loosens due to improper shielding of steering shaft from snow/salt/water, causing excessive play in steering wheel
A steel spring that holds the shoes in place inside the steering coupling unit has broken off during vehicle operation
Tires 3 Read
Side wall callasped while only going 30 hph, right rear tire, tire had 5000 miles on it. (DOT number: vdp6 u6w tiresize: 3312.50r15)
Dominator radial a/t size 31x1050r15, DOT u78d, tc21601, r8r1. Tires were purchased about 4 years ago for a 1985 dodge ramcharger. They were used for about 3 months then placed into storage. Tires were removed from vehicle and placed in a climate controlled storage area. In august 2010 vehicle was placed back into…
Info sent to webmaster ,I did receive a message on the phone but lost the #. Rightrear tire had total tread separation. Leftrear replaced after heavy bulging of tread noticed. No dots on replaced tires. But both front tires are from the original set of 4 and still ok.(front dots-vn60axc135 & vd60axc265) leftrear…
Structure 2 Read
Tailgate door hinge separates from door , preventing doors from opening/closing
Connecting bracket to front crossmember not welded properly at factory, causing failure
Fuel System 1 Read
Started vehicle heard a loud pop, then car was engulfed in flames. Tt
Seats 1 Read
Seat pedistal on driver's and passenger's sides broke. Tt
Suspension 1 Read
Rear axle broke, loss of vehicle control, front wheel drive vehicle. Tt
Service Brakes 1 Read
Brake master cylinger failed
Visibility 1 Read
Fogged windshield
Ramcharger years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Steering | — | — | |
| 1989 | Structure | — | — | |
| 1988 | Seats | — | — | |
| 1987 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | 1 | |
| 1986 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic | — | — | |
| 1985 | Tires | — | — | |
| 1981 | Tires | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 13 |
| Average complaints per series | 1 |
| Worst single series | 1 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 11.1 years |
A model average of 1 hides a worst series at 1. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Ramcharger?
By complaint volume, 1987, 1985, 1988 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Ramcharger years are the cleanest?
1981, 1986, 1989 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Dodge Ramcharger have?
13 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1981–1991. Of those, 0 describe a crash and 1 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.