2014 Ram 3500 Wheels Problems

While towing a horse trailer from Ohio to Illinois, your wheel suddenly separated from your truck without warning, leaving you stranded for several days. You had to swerve to avoid an accident when it happened. This suggests a failure in the wheel attachment system that needs immediate investigation.

Your truck's wheel studs (the bolts that hold the wheels on) have repeatedly failed and broken, causing wheels to detach while driving at highway speeds. Even after the dealer replaced the studs multiple times, the problem kept happening—eventually a rear wheel came completely off and crossed the highway. This is a serious safety issue that requires immediate inspection and replacement of all wheel studs.

The component that has failed on this particular vehicle is the factory aluminum wheels manufactured by Alcoa for Mopar specifically for this model vehicle. The front wheels are the ones that are defective on this vehicle, structural cracks form on the outer lip of the wheels, and therefore pose a huge threat to the rim failing violently and the tire losing air or being destroyed in the process. This is the second time a wheel has needed to be replaced because of this issue. This defect has been brought to the attention of both dealership and manufacturer, however neither Dealership nor Manufacture wants to accept responsibility and pay to have the wheel repaired or replaced. Our vehicles are used as commercial vehicles, and are usually towing trailers or heavy loads. Having a front wheel failure during such operations, could pose a huge risk not only to the driver, passengers, and vehicle involved, but also to those surrounding motorist that maybe near or passing by the vehicle during the time of a possible wheel failure. Luckily both cracks have been detected during daily inspections, and none of these issues have resulted in a vehicle accident or injury while vehicle has been traveling down the road. No warning signs were present during the time of repair, and given the fact that the cracks can sometimes be hairline cracks and very hard to notice poses an even bigger threat to those who may not check their wheels on a daily basis, and could very easily be overlooked by the average consumer.

The contact owned a 2014 Ram 3500. The contact stated while driving 60 mph, the front passenger’s side wheel detached from the vehicle. The contact pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the lug nuts had sheared off causing the wheel to detach. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 165,000.

ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT NEXEN RODIAN 235/80R17 TREAD DELAMINATED FROM CARCASS CREATING OUT-OF-ROUND TIRE AND SEVERE VIBRATION AT HIGHWAY SPEED. 9600 MILES ON TIRE.

TIRE PRESSURE SENSOR STOPPED WORKING ON LEFT FRONT WHEEL. ERROR MESSAGE TO HAVE SENSOR SYSTEM SERVICED APPEARS AT STARTUP. FAILURE OCCURRED ON SECONDARY STREETS AT BEGINNING OF TRIP, TOWING 5TH WHEEL. STOPPED AND CHECKED TIRE PRESSURE TO SEE IF TIRE WAS FAILING. PRESSURE WAS NORMAL. NO PSI DISPLAYED ON CONSOLE FOR LEFT FRONT. OTHER SENSORS REPORTING NORMALLY.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 RAM 3500. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE RIM FRACTURED AND CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO CRASH INTO A DITCH. THERE WAS NO WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DAMAGED OR TOWED. AAA WAS CALLED TO THE SCENE AND CHANGED THE TIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO CHARLIE'S DODGE CHRYSLER JEEP RAM (419-893-0241, LOCATED AT 725 ILLINOIS AVE, MAUMEE, OH 43537) WHERE THE TECHNICIAN TOOK PICTURES OF THE TIRE AND RIM. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE PICTURES WOULD BE PRESENTED TO THE REPRESENTATIVE WHO HANDLED SUCH FAILURES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND PROMISED TO CALL THE CONTACT BACK. THE CONTACT WAS NOT CALLED BACK. THE CONTACT REPLACED THE WHEELS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 200,000.

THE TRUCK HAS 74,000 MILES AND THE LEFT FRONT WHEEL BEARING HUB OR UNIT BEARING FAILED. LUCKILY, WE NOTICED IT MADE AN ODD NOISE AFTER EXITING OFF THE INTERSTATE. IF IT HAD FAILED WHILE WE WERE AT HIGHWAY SPEED, WE WOULD HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN A MAJOR ACCIDENT. THERE IS NO WAY TO GREASE THIS PART AND NO WARNING OF WHEN THIS FAILURE COULD OCCUR. LOSS OF STEERING AND BRAKING ALSO OCCURS.

CRACK INSIDE WHEEL APPROXIMATE TO VALVE STEM CAUSING LIW AIR PRESSURE. HAD I NOT CAUGHT IT IN TIME THIS COULD HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHIC. HALF A MILLION OF THESE TRUCKS ARE SOLD EVERY YEAR, WHICH EQUALS 3 MILLION MORE IF THESE MEXICAN STEEL RIMS ON THE ROAD WHICH THE SAME POTENTIAL!!! AND THE CHEAPLY CONSTRUCTED RIMS ARE MOUNTED IN A LESS THAN SUFFICIENT SUSPENSION SYSTEM.

RIGHT STEER WHEEL SPLIT, ALLOWING AIR TO ESCAPE CREATING A SEVERER PULL TO THE RIGHT. THANKFULLY, THE WHEEL DID NOT COME COMPLETELY APART OR THIS COULD HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHIC, AS I DRIVE NATIONWIDE.

I PURCHASED THE EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR MY 2014 RAM 35000 LONGHORN FROM DON VANCE DODGE IN MARSHFIELD MISSOURI IN FEBRUARY 2016 WHEN I BOUGHT THE TRUCK FROM THEM. WITHIN 10,000 MILES I NOTICED THAT THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE ON THE OUTER EDGE IS WEARING. I BROUGHT IT TO A LOCAL MECHANIC WHO RAISED THE TRUCK WITH A FLOOR JACK AND CHECKED THE TIRE. HE SHOWED ME HOW THE TIRE WOULD MOVE BACK AND FORTH AND SAID THAT THE UPPER BALL JOINT WAS BAD. I CHECKED IT ALSO AND IT HAD A LOT OF PLAY. I MADE AN APPOINTMENT WITH DON VANCE DODGE IN MARSHFIELD MISSOURI FOR THE WARRANTY WORK TO BE PERFORMED. THE SERVICE MANAGER CAME BACK ABOUT 3 1/2 HOURS LATER AND TOLD ME THAT THE BALL JOINT WAS GOOD AND WITHIN SPECS. I ARGUED WITH HIM ABOUT IT AND EXPLAINED THE ABOVE AGAIN TO HIM. HE REFUSED TO CHECK THE BALL JOINT AGAIN WITH A FLOOR JACK AND TOLD ME TO LEAVE. I WENT OVER AND SPOKE WITH THE MANAGER OF THE DEALERSHIP WHO SOLD ME THE TRUCK AND EXPLAINED WHAT JUST HAPPENED AND SHOWED HIM THE TIRE. THERE IS NO CAMBER ADJUSTMENT FOR THIS TRUCK AND EXPLAINED HOW THE BALL JOINT WAS BAD. HE ASKED ME TO CALL BACK TOMORROW AND SPEAK WITH THE GENERAL MANAGER. THIS IS ONLY 1 OF 3 DEALINGS I'VE HAD WITH THIS SERVICE DEPARTMENT. ALL IN WHICH THEY WERE WRONG AND TRYING TO MAKE ME PAY FOR WARRANTY WORK WHICH THEY REFUSED TO FIX.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 DODGE RAM 3500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TIRES ON THE VEHICLE WERE REPLACED THREE TIMES DUE TO THE FRONT WHEEL ALIGNMENT WEARING DOWN ON THE TIRES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER TO BE REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 31,000.