1998 Dodge Ram 1500 Van review from North America

I hope there is enough room.

To start with from the begining the engine has spark knocked. Per owners book this is OK only if it is not a heavy spark knock. Being a mechanic I see this is a poor electonic set up, it cannot adjust the timing quick enough to compensate for varying loads.

So far the valley intake gasket has blown out twice.

Several oil leaks have been fixed including the rear main seal.

It was taken to the shop for a total of 5 times for noise in the rear end before they decided to replace the whole assembly on the 5th trip.

The side steps broke, the cup holder broke and the 12 volt acc plug has never worked, even after they fixed it.

The battery died after only one year, the poor goodyear tires wore out at 22,000 miles, brakes soon followed at 24,000.

The transmission has harsh engagement into overdrive.

The lastest thing to happen was it started overheating at 46,000 miles, up to 260 degrees. The water pump failed along with the thermostat housing and seal. The heater control valve also leaked and the radator was stopped up. Do change the antifreeze at 20,000 mile intrevals or else it will cost you big.

The above problems had my van in the shop and cost 1800.00 bucks to fix. I am glad I bought the extended warranty.

I forgot, the ignition lock also failed and we could not get the key into it to start the van. This required a tow to the shop and 4 days to wait on parts.

I have also been complaining about poor driveability, the things pulls to the center of the road and wanders the road constant. It is real bad when my 22 year old Chevy truck is more dependable than a new Dodge Van. Not saying much for Dodge!! I hope they are better on the race track than the road.

Poor electronic timing control spark, knocks all the time and sucks intake gaskets like a kid with candy.