19th Dec 2001, 08:38

I own a 1996 Dodge Ram Pickup 4wd with a 5.2 engine. I can't get 300 miles on a tank of fuel. Low grade or high grade fuel, the mileage does not change. The truck has been taking care of, what could be wrong?

15th Oct 2002, 12:01

My '97, 2500 with 5.9 and AT tends to shift back down while climbing through the gears with light throttle pressure. It does it while empty or with a light trailer.

26th Nov 2002, 01:34

I own a 1996 standard cab 1500 with the 5.2 and automatic transmision. I have beat on this truck for 3 years because I am a dumb kid and this truck just will not die. I change the oil every ion3 thousand and take it out to the swamps once or twice a month, I did get my catalytiv replaced at 100,000 but the maintenance books says that's the time to do it any way do good call dodge. I bought the truck used and the original transmision was jumping in reverse, but that was fixed under warranty. Over all great truck, lots of torque and loves the dirt.

1st Jun 2003, 21:08

Just read another article similiar to yours. Gentleman in the service experienced the same problem. US Army I beleive.

24th Sep 2005, 14:46

I have owned a 1996 RAM 1500 PICK-UP for 6 years. In that time, the transmission has taken out of the vehicle 15 times, rebuilt 5 times and replaced 3 times and it still does not shift properly. The rear has been rebuilt twice.,the fuel pump and fuel sending unit "all in one unit' have been replaced twice. I do no towing at all and most of my miles are highway miles. The vehicle is hard to handle on the road, it drifts to outside curves at over 30 mph. I have tried all brands of tires and there has been no change in the steering. I have had the vehicle aligned several times and the problem was never corrected. My check engine light comes on and off all the time. I have it in for service at least every other month and they could never figure why my check engine light keeps coming on. I have 120642 miles on my vehicle today and probably spent three times the cost of what I paid for the vehicle.

2nd Nov 2005, 20:47

I had a ram 1996, it caught fire and was totally destroyed, I was burning leaves, and drove by the burn pile pulling the truck around to eventually listen to the radio (cd player) while working in the area.

I noticed that the area in front of the tire was dripping fire.

By the time the fdept got there it was to late.

Has any one heard if dodge had any problems with bad tanks, lines, or anything fuel related?

I am sure that there was a problem with fuel, that is where the fire had started. I could not tell if it was a hole in the tank? I don't think so my fuel would have leaked out I would think.

The truck started by taking more turns than normal. I wonder if it was a rusted or damaged high pressure line.

8th Nov 2005, 17:16

In response to the 16th Aug. 2002 comments above...

I have a 2000 Ram 1500 with the exact same symptoms: won't shift every time between 2nd and drive and have to let off the gas for it to shift.

I had this repaired once by a dealer, but only after they charged me a ton of money and didn't fix it. Then they fixed it with a simple fix and I think it was a chip, but I am not sure. Anyway, the next visit to a different dealer for another problem and they undid the fix. I never got it fixed again so any help would be good.

Thanks,

Richard.

19th Aug 2009, 11:02

I had an extremely similar problem with the transmission on the 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 I owned. We bought the car new and had problems within the first year. The transmission would not shift, at times, to 3rd, which was a pain when it happened trying to get on the highway. I complained to the dealership and had my truck in there at least 5-7 different times for the same problem. They never fixed it, saying they couldn't duplicate the problem and thus could not fix it. Eventually it got so bad that when I first started up the vehicle and put it in drive, it ran high RPMs. Finally it just stopped shifting past about 3rd gear altogether. I took it to local shop and they put a computer on it in Park, Neutral, Drive, and with the vehicle off and the computer read that I was traveling 32 MPH in all cases. He believed the solenoids went out but was going to check with a set he knew were good from a vehicle he had at the shop. He was right. He replaced the solenoids and fixed a small leak in the transmission and we were in business. I turned around the next day and sold the vehicle, 4 years after we bought it.

14th Apr 2011, 09:41

I have a 1996 Dodge Ram 1500. I cannot get the truck to get over 40 km, no power.