NHTSA Complaint #11115769 — 2000 DODGE RAM 1500

DRIVING MY VEHICLE DOWN A CITY STREET I STARTED TO APPROACH A STOP SIGN. AS THE VEHICLE CAME ALMOST TO A STOP I HEARD A SCRAPING NOISE AND THEN THE VEHICLE ABRUPTLY STOPPED. WHEN I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL THE ENGINE WOULD REV AND THE TRUCK WOULD ACT LIKE IT WAS IN PARK WHILE IN "D". I GOT OUT OF THE TRUCK TO INSPECT AND FOUND MY DRIVESHAFT WAS NO LONGER ATTACHED AT THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE, TO THE TRANSFER CASE. NO ABNORMAL NOISES WERE HEARD PRIOR TO THIS, OR ANY RUNNING ISSUES THAT WOULD HAVE INDICATED A PROBLEM. THE TRUCK WILL NOT MOVE IN FORWARD POSITION, BUT WILL ROLL BACKWARDS IN NEUTRAL. ONCE I WAS ABLE TO REMOVE THE DRIVESHAFT FROM THE TRANSFER CASE AND INSPECT, I FOUND THAT THE PINION NUT HAD BACKED OFF AND WAS STILL ENCASED INSIDE THE REAR FLANGE ATTACHED TO THE DRIVESHAFT & U-JOINT. FLUID HAD BEEN BLOWN OUT AND COVERED ALL OF THE REAR AXLE AND DIFFERENTIAL. I WAS ABLE TO ROLL MY VEHICLE IN NEUTRAL BACKWARDS OUT OF THE ROADWAY. WE HAULED VEHICLE HOME USING ONE OF OUR OTHER VEHICLES AND A TRAILER WITH A COME-A-LONG WENCH. VEHICLE IS STILL NOT REPAIRED AT THIS TIME. I HAVE CONTACTED DODGE DIRECTLY AT THE DEALER AS WELL AS THROUGH THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE CHAT. BOTH INSTRUCTED ME THAT NOTHING COULD BE DONE AT THIS TIME. IT WAS SUGGESTED THAT I FIX THE VEHICLE AND THAT IF A RECALL WAS RELEASED AT A LATER DATE THEN REIMBURSEMENT COULD POTENTIALLY BE ISSUED. THE REASON I CONTACTED DODGE WAS DUE TO THE FACT THAT THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH MODEL YEARS THAT ARE SLIGHTLY NEWER THAN MY VEHICLE. A RECALL WAS ISSUED FOR ALMOST 300K VEHICLES FOR THIS EXACT SAME COMPLAINT. I FEEL DODGE SHOULD HAVE DONE FURTHER INVESTIGATION INTO HOW LONG THEY HAD BEEN USING THIS PARTICULAR DESIGN FOR THEIR REAR DIFFERENTIAL PINION NUT AND EXTENDED THE RECALL FURTHER.