Faults:

Nothing major has gone wrong on this truck as everything is heavy duty and built to last.

General Comments:

The 5.9 litre Turbo Diesel V8 is a Cummins unit and is totally bomb-proof and 100% reliable.

Apart from the Ram's enormous size, which makes it difficult to park and manouvre, this is an extremely practically vehicle. The pick-up bed is long and swallows anything and the extended cab body gives you modest rear seats.

I love the looks of this truck and the attention it gets when cruising down the road.

Very well built and tough as nails. With the diesel engine it isn't too thirsty either. I get around 26mpg from it.

My next vehicle will almost certainly be another American truck.

Faults:

The rear-end had to be replaced, mostly due to the fact that I drove the truck very hard.

The spare tire rubbed against a wiring harness causing a short in the wiring. After dozens of fuses, we found the problem and fixed it for less than $50.00.

Gas mileage is the most troublesome thing with the truck, it is very expensive to fill up the 26 gallon tank.

The interior collects stains very easily.

General Comments:

This is a really tough truck, going on 7 years with the truck and I have never gotten stuck.

The truck has a very intimidating look to the front.

The truck has some get up and go when you need to pass. Also sounds very mean when you get on it.

Faults:

Cassette never worked.

5000km out of warranty the fuel pump went cost me 850 dollars, phoned Chrysler about it and got a very rude individual who refused to even listen to me.

6000km out of warranty overdrive went out, another thousand bucks.

Clearcoat finish peeled off the passenger side, never seen that before, neither had the dealer who willingly resprayed it under warranty.

Intake manifold developed an oil leak, was repaired under warranty, dealer said this was a common problem.

General Comments:

I really like this Dodge, it was 4x4 and I traded in my 1995 2 wheel Dodge Ram because I wanted a 4 wheel drive for the snow we occasionally get. My 1995 Dodge did not have one repair problem the two years I owned it, so I was surprised at how different the 1997 Dodge was in comparison. Even with the faults it was a great truck, wouldn't get stuck in the snow, towed my 25 foot 5th wheel everywhere I wanted to go. The seats were very comfortable and firm the way I liked them. I think if the vehicle is really well liked the owners can overlook some of the flaws, if the owners don't like the vehicle that much then any flaw will make them hate it.

Faults:

The seal on the rear window has been leaking for about three years. The rear passenger side tire keeps going flat. The dealer told me that this is common because all the weight rest on that side. That excuse sounded like bull to me. After only 65000 miles the transmission started to go out. Paint is peeling all over the vehicle. The Dodge lettering on the tailgate is already peeling off as well. The tailpipe has rattled since almost day one.

General Comments:

This vehicle drove well for many years. I am baffled that things are going wrong after only 67000 miles. I imagine the problems stem from age, 6 years, rather than mileage. I would love to have my truck fixed instead of trading it in, but my main reason for trading it in is gas mileage.

Faults:

Around 60k miles, it was just dead in the parking lot one day. Had to have it towed to a dealer and found out not only the battery was shot, but it needed the whole electrical system overhauled, to the tune of about $350.

Had to have transmission rebuilt at 68k miles.

Power lock on passenger side has issues and only wants to lock and unlock occasionally.

Carpeting and upholstery get stained easy and not so easy to clean.

General Comments:

Nice looking truck, very intimidating.

Comfortable interior, good on long trips.

Handles well, but leans a little too much into sharp turns (its just a big truck)

Gas mileage really isn't that bad, considering its got a 5.9L engine.

Paint has held up well over the years.