Other visibility problem on the 2004 Dodge RAM 1500
When other visibility problem gets reported
Owners of the 2004 Dodge RAM 1500 report other visibility problem at a median of 70,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 50,000 miles and a quarter after 75,000 miles, from 11 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 75,000 miles. It is the 21st most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 45,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 100,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 56,000 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
Reports bunched into a band this tight usually mean the component has a life of its own: it goes at roughly the same mileage regardless of who owns it.
9% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45,000 miles | 50,500 miles | 70,295 miles | 72,681 miles | 101,000 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $150–$1,400 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 15 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2012, at a median of 10,000 miles, and latest on the 2000 at 195,000 miles.
By volume the 2006 carries the most reports, with 35; the 2004 has 14. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
In feb 08 took 2004 dodge ram to dealer for no heat through floor vents, heat through other vents, dealer replaced housing with deflection door. On dec 23, 08, same problem developed took to dealer to look at on dec 29. *tr
I have a 2004 dodge ram 1500 pickup, I have no defrost due to a defective door control in the heater box, I had it fixed twice under warranty and now it is out of warranty and the same thing happens again and they will not fix it. Almost in two accidents because of moisture on the inside of wind shield, please help, noone is making dodge accountable! *tr
The turn signals, wipers, and high beams on my 04 dodge ram 1500 have been giving me issues for the last year. This started out as an intermittent problem and has gotten worse over time. At first it was just the turn signals. When I would signal left the right blinker would come on, or visa versa. Then sometimes it would work fine, and other times it would not come on at all. It's gotten worse over time and now I am at the point where only when I signal left will the right signal come on; nothing else works. My hazard switch at one time would work the left signal, and the left clicker would work the right signal but now that does not work either. At this point my hazard switch and left clicker now only work the right blinker and I have no way to work the left. As for the high beams, sometimes I am un-able to disengage them which is very dangerous for on-coming traffic. At this point I do not risk it and just don't use them, which can be dangerous to myself at some times. The wipers have a mind of their own. Sometimes when I have them on full speed/fast in heavy rain they will all of a sudden reduce to the lowest or middle setting…
Also reported on the 2004 Dodge RAM 1500
Other engine problem
CV axle or driveshaft failure
Airbag inflator rupture
Other body or interior problem
Other powertrain problem
Other electrical problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 14 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other visibility problem happen on the 2004 Dodge RAM 1500?
Across 11 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 70,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 50,000 miles and a quarter after 75,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other visibility problem on the 2004 Dodge RAM 1500?
14 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed