NHTSA Complaint #10162524 — 2004 DODGE RAM 1500

BEFORE THE OCCURRENCES, MY 5.7L RAM 1500 WOULD SPUTTER ON IDLE AND WHEN FIRST PUT INTO GEAR, AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WOULD COME ON FOR ABOUT 25 MILES AND THEN GO BACK OFF. WHEN THE CODE WAS CHECKED FOR THE LIGHT, THE FORWARD PASSENGER-SIDE OXYGEN SENSOR WAS SHOWING VOLTAGE HIGH. I REPLACED THE SENSOR, CLEARED THE CODES AND EVERYTHING WAS FINE FOR A WHILE. THE FIRST EVENT HAPPENED WHEN I WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN ON A SMALL ROAD-WHEN I TURNED, THE TRUCK DIED. I DIDN'T NOTICE THAT THE TRUCK HAD DIED UNTIL I FELT THE POWER STEERING GO OUT, AND THEN I REALIZED I WAS STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. I THEN HAD TO CRANK THE ENGINE 5 OR 6 TIMES BEFORE IT STARTED AGAIN, AND, WHEN IT DID, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS BACK ON. THE SAME PROBLEM HAPPENED 2 MORE TIMES THAT DAY. WHEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER, AN ENGINE DIAGNOSTIC WAS RUN, AND THE SAME CODE WAS SHOWING UP. THE MECHANICS PUT ABOUT 45 MILES ON IT TRYING TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM, BUT WERE UNABLE TO. THE PROBLEM STOPPED FOR ABOUT 2 WEEKS, AND THEN IT STARTED SPUTTERING AGAIN. WHEN TAKEN AGAIN TO THE DEALER, 4 CYLINDERS WERE SHOWING A MIS-FIRE, AND THE SAME OXYGEN SENSOR WAS SHOWING VOLTAGE HIGH. THE MECHANIC INFORMED ME THAT THE CYLINDERS WERE MIS-FIRING DUE TO BAD SPARK PLUGS (WHICH WERE NOT DUE FOR SERVICE YET). I HAVE CHANGED THE SPARK PLUGS, AND MY TRUCK HAS DIED TWICE SINCE THEN. THIS HAS BECOME MORE THAN FRUSTRATING BECAUSE I BOUGHT THE TRUCK USED WITH 39,000 MILES (ROUGHLY) ON IT. THE MECHANIC CHARGED ME FOR MY LAST VISIT BECAUSE DIFFERENT CODES SHOWED UP, SO IT WAS A DIFFERENT PROBLEM-EVEN THOUGH THE TRUCK WAS IN THE SHOP FOR THE SAME CONDITIONS. IF SOME ACTIONS AREN'T TAKEN, I AM READY TO FILE FOR LEMON LAWS. *JB