I have been experiencing trouble withe the 03 3500. The truck has the cummins engine with the automatic transmission. Twice now, the vehicle has gone into reverse while parked with the engine running. The first time was in August of 2003. The dealer first said there was nothing wrong and then on the second trip back to the dealer when it would not come out of park trhey replaced a plastic piece. The second time was almost a year later. I had put the transmission in park and got out of the vehicle with the engine running. I forgot to set the emergency brake and the darn thing rolled off and crashed into a post. The dealer then said the transmission was fine. I have since found out that supposedly this could be a common problem and some of the automatics are being replaced with manual trannys. Has any one had the same experience?????

 

I work for a Dodge dealer and have never seen nor heard of such a problem. I wonder who would tell you that they are replacing the auto with a manual. That would be one heck of an undertaking considering the parts that would be involved in doing that. ie steering column, pedal assy. not to mention cutting out the floor board for the shifter. Sounds like someone telling you story. Just my 2cents

 

The idea of D-C replacing a Auto tranny for a 6sp...........no way in the world!!!

They would rather deny the problem, or swap in rebuilt auto trannys rather than customize the truck.

Are you it was in reverse?? Or just that the parking pawl failed to engage, and it rolled backwards???

 

It may be the parking pawl. All I know is that the selector was in park and the vehicle rolled off. Also I guess I wasn't clear on the replacement. The case I heard was the truck was replaced with one that had a manual tranny in it. I also did some research and apparently the department of transportation is investigating the 03 and 04 year models of the 2500 and 3500 for a problem with the ignition- transmission interlock. Apparently dodge switched from a mechanical interlock to an electrical interlock.

 

I find that with mine you have to be sure the shifter is lifted all the way up and locked into position. It's easy to shift it into park, and not quite have it locked in position. (This is one small pet peeve I have with my truck that i have never had with any other truck.)

 

For further reading try this:

http://www.turbodieselregister.com/f...nsmission+park

 

The other thread had some good info.

This thread got me to thinking... I've had the truck light up "R" on the "PRNDL" but not be in gear at all it was in "no man's land" between Park and Reverse. I've jiggled it and it drops into reverse. If this is possible, the opposite should be too, eg light up P and not be there either. Then it's just a matter of which way it slips if it moves...

For sure I'm going to be careful with this.

 

I remember that the week prior to the latest episode with the truck rolling off that I had pulled into a stall and put the truck into park. I then was able to move the gear shift to reverse without depressing the brake. I think next time I'll go back to a standard.

 

Your shift linkage needs to be adjusted.

 

So it is the shift linkage? Has dodge recalled any of the trucks for this? If they have I have not heard about it yet.

 

What year is your truck plnmkr? (sorry I was looking in the wrong place, I see it now when I reread.)
In August 2004 the NHTSA did add a watch for complaints involving Rams with autos going into reverse when the owners were certain they were in park. DC's official reply was operator error, the NHTSA made a public appeal for owners with the complaint to contact them via their web site.

NHTSA Action Number : EA04025
NHTSA Recall Campaign Number : N/A
Make : DODGE Model: RAM 2500 RAM 3500
Manufacturer : DAIMLERCHRYSLER CORPORATION Year : 2003-2004
Component : POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Date Investigation Opened : August 26, 2004
Date Investigation Closed : Open
Summary:
THERE HAVE BEEN 50 COMPLAINTS TO ODI AND DAIMLERCHRYSLER ALLEGING INCIDENTS OF REVERSE POWERED ROLLAWAY AFTER THE DRIVER HAD ATTEMPTED TO PLACE THE GEARSHIFT LEVER IN THE “PARK” POSITION WITH THE KEY IN THE IGNITION, THE ENGINE RUNNING, AND THE PARKING BRAKE DISENGAGED. THESE INCIDENTS ARE ALLEGED TO HAVE RESULTED IN 42 CRASHES AND 3 INJURIES. IN MY 2003, DAIMLERCHRYSLER INTRODUCED A NEW SHIFTER DESIGN IN THE RAM PICKUP TRUCKS THAT FEATURED AN ELECTRONIC GEAR POSITION INDICATOR (PRNDL) LOCATED IN THE DASH DISPLAY DIRECTLY FORWARD OF THE STEERING WHEEL. THE COMPLAINT RATE FOR THE MY 2003-04 RAM 2500/3500 PICKUP TRUCKS IS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN THE RATES FOR THE MY 2001-02 RAM 2500/3500 PICKUP TRUCKS WITH THE PRIOR SHIFTER DESIGN USING A MECHANICAL “PRNDL” AND THE MY 2003-04 RAM 1500 PICKUP TRUCKS WHICH USE THE SAME SHIFTER AS THE SUBJECT VEHICLES, BUT A DIFFERENT TRANSMISSION DESIGN. AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS HAS BEEN OPENED.

The term MY above refers to ModelYear. I just thought you might like to know incase you want to contact the NHTSA for advise.
Nat

 

My 05 truck has also slipped out of park into reverse. It did it several times when I first got the truck. It still would if I were not extra careful. One of the things that bothers me is that I would never feel comfortable letting anyone else drive the truck. You have to get into "the habit" of being extra sure the truck is "locked" into reverse and, for extra assurance, using the parking brake. You can make sure it is locked into reverse by trying to shift out of park and "not" pushing on the brake. If the truck is locked into reverse you have to apply the brake to shift into another gear. I have driven for a lot of years and owned approximately 30 to 40 new vehicles. This is one of the most dangerous flaws I have had on a "new" vehicle. I asked the Dodge dealer about the problem and they said they had never heard of it! That seems strange to me given that a lot of people seem to be having this problem. I would think that DC would want to issue a recall given that this problem could result in people getting killed and significant property damage. Everyone having this problem should complain directly to DC.

 

In last years thread, everyone who complained to their dealerships were getting the same reply at the dealership, "we've never heard of the complaint before."
Why not report it to the NHTSA? If DC does recall or TSB a fix for this after someone gets runover and killed (heaven forbid) then those of us who have been dealing with the problem and were content with the dealer's reply instead of complaining to the NHTSA all share some of the responsibilty for the accident in my opinion. DO IT TODAY! Please.
Nat

 

I have a lot of problem with column shifter on this truck, glad I am not the only one. Its very loose, there have been many times where it says i am in R or D and not. Its in some sort of limbo. I can see why it might slip into R from P if this is the case. Both of my prior Jeeps have had a floor shifter and they seemed to engauge much better, very firm. I was pretty used to that style having used them for the past 11 years. That would be a nice conversion, I wouldnt mind loosing the space.

 

Natstayl,

did you say that in last year's thread that the dealerships were denying the problem with the trannys? My wife works on the turnpike and she talked to a customer from South Dakota. He apparently had taken his truck, a 2003 3500, into a dealership for routine service. The mechanic who was road testing it came back to the shop and parked the truck outside the shop with the engine running. When he came back out, about five minutes or less later, the truck had rolled across the lot, hit a utility pole. The gentleman said that the mechanic came in and said "it did it again!"

So is the thread archived where I can look at it??

Thanks