There are 7 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2010 Ram 3500in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
My husband, our son, and I were traveling down the highway at about 60-65mph when we started hearing a low winding sound. Seconds later, before my husband could get the truck over to the shoulder of the road, there was a loud banging sound coming from underneath the truck that sounded like something was coming through the floorboard. He was finally able to get the truck pulled to the shoulder of the road but wasn't able to put the truck in the park position. He had to use the park brake to get the truck to completely stop. Once the tow truck safely lifted the truck, you could clearly see gears hanging amd what looked to be remains of the transfer case. The truck was towed to a body shop where several codes were discovered, which all pertained to the truck going into 4wd by itself without any warning and unknowing to the driver. This glitch is what appears to have caused the transfer case to grenade, further causing damage to the drive shaft and smashing the fuel line. We, as owners, had the transfer case serviced and fluids flushed just two weeks prior to this happening After further investigation and conversations with the local Dodge dealer, it appears that this has happened in several situations yet no safety recalls have been issued. There is a national backorder for transfer cases for our particular year which is a red flag. We're now left with an over $8100.00 bill and everyone pointing the finger at each other. This could have ended tragically had there been more traffic on the road when the truck began stalling on the busy interstate.
My family and I were traveling down the interstate about 60-65mph in 2 wheel drive when out of nowhere we started hearing a whining/roaring noise that quickly got louder. Seconds later, there was a loud rumbling noise that sounded like something was coming through the floorboard of the truck. Luckily, I was able to steer the truck to the shoulder of the road and get it to stop, but the truck would not go into park. I had to use the park brake to make sure that it wouldn't roll. After the tow truck arrived and safely jacked the truck up, we immediately noticed that it was the transfer case that had exploded. Gears were hanging out in plain site and it caused a bend in my front driveshaft. There were no warning signs and I had just had the transfer case and my transmission serviced and flushed 2 weeks prior. This put my family's and other lives in danger because had there been more traffic on the road at the time this happened, I wouldn't have had time or room to maneuver my truck safely to get it off the road. We could have been rear ended or had broken parts fly off the truck, that would have been out of my control. The truck was towed to the shop where I had the transfer case serviced, but as of now there's a national backorder on transfer cases for this truck. In speaking with the dealer and doing my own research, I've also learned that there has been a recall on the transfer cases of 2016 and newer Ram 3500 trucks. This needs to be looked into asap. Codes pulled from the truck at the auto shop where the truck currently is are c1404, c1405, c140d stating that the transfer case motor puts the system in 4wd by itself while driving without any warning.
2010 DODGE RAM. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO BRAKE TRANSMISSION SHIFT INTERLOCK SAFETY RECALL. *LD *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 DODGE RAM 3500. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 17V821000 (POWER TRAIN); HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE DEALER (LITHIA CHRYSLER JEEP DODGE RAM OF POCATELLO, 633 BULLOCK ST, POCATELLO, ID 83201, (208) 904-3369) WAS CONTACTED AND CONFIRMED THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE RECALL REMEDY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND WAS NOT ABLE TO CONFIRM WHEN THE PARTS WERE TO BECOME AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.
THE TRUCK HAD A GOOSENECK FLATBED 30FT TRAILER ATTACHED TO THE DODGE RAM WITH A JOHN DEERE TRACTOR LOADED ON TOP OF THE TRAILER. THE VEHICLE WAS RUNNING AND IN PARK ON A SLIGHT DOWNHILL. THE TRAILER WAS PREPARED WITH THE RAMPS DOWN FOR THE TRACTOR TO BE BACKED OFF. UPON BACKING THE TRACTOR OFF OF THE TRAILER, WHEN THE REAR TRACTOR WHEELS MOVED TO THE DOWN RAMP, THE SHIFT IN WEIGHT CAUSED THE TRUCK, FLATBED TRAILER AND TRACTOR TO BEGIN ROLLING DOWN HILL FOR 300 YARDS AND THROUGH A BARBED WIRE FENCE AND FINALLY COMING TO A STOP DUE TO UPHILL SLOPE IN THE TERRAIN. THE TRACTOR WAS ABLE TO BACK THE REST OF THE WAY OFF OF THE TRAILER WITHOUT INCIDENT. UPON REACHING THE TRUCK AND TRAILER THE VEHICLE WAS STILL IN PARK AND RUNNING. THIS IS A SERIOUS DEFECT THAT NEEDS IMMEDIATE ATTENTION BEFORE SOMEONE IS HURT. *TR
WHEN STARTING ENGINE AND DEPRESSING BRAKE PEDAL MOVING SHIFT LEVER TO PARK OR DRIVE THE ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION LOCKUP. IF BRAKE IS FIRMLY APPLIED THE ENGINE WILL STALL IMMEDIATELY WHEN AFTER STARING. IF BRAKE IS NOT HELD FIRMLY THE VEHICLE LAUNCHES IMMEDIATELY. THAT WHAT HAPPENED THE SECOND TIME IT HAPPENED AND I RAN OVER A CAR PARKED ON MY RIGHT SIDE. THIS HAS HAPPENED AT LEAST 25 TO 30 TIMES SINCE THE FIRST TIME. THE DEALERSHIP TELLS ME THERE ARE KNOW FAULT CODES SO THEIR IS NOTHING WRONG. LEFT AT THE DEALER FOR A WEEK AND THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. IT COULD HAPPEN AN HOUR AFTER PARKING OR IT MAY NOT HAPPEN FOR 4 TO 6 WEEKS. VERY SPORADIC AND UNPREDICTABLE. IT IS FLAT DANGEROUS. IT NOW HAS 13600 MILES ON IT. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 DODGE RAM 3500. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH THE 4 WHEEL DRIVE LOW LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE DASHBOARD. HE CONTINUED TO DRIVE UNTIL FINALLY PARKING THE VEHICLE. UPON RESTART THE LIGHT MOMENTARILY DID NOT ILLUMINATE UNTIL HE BEGAN DRIVING AGAIN. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THEY HAVE REPLACED THE TIPM TWICE, THE 4 WHEEL DRIVE ACTUATOR MOTOR, THE AIR CONDITIONING COMPRESSOR, AS WELL AS VARIOUS WIRES AND COMPUTER COMPONENTS. NONE OF THE REPAIRS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO REMEDY THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 15,000
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026