Other electrical problem on the 2003 Dodge RAM 2500
When other electrical problem gets reported
Owners of the 2003 Dodge RAM 2500 report other electrical problem at a median of 95,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 55,000 miles and a quarter after 140,000 miles, from 10 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 85,000 miles. It is the 12th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 35,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 150,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 111,700 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
10% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37,200 miles | 56,318 miles | 94,000 miles | 142,223 miles | 148,900 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 $250–$2,000 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 17 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2002, at a median of 20,000 miles, and latest on the 1997 at 225,000 miles.
By volume the 2006 carries the most reports, with 48; the 2003 has 11. 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.
Several cracks have spread across the dash. No reason for these to have happened and the last one seemed to have completely formed in a day or so. Also have intermittent electrical problems, which from the many reports on the internet seem to be common. *tr
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 2500. While driving 35 MPH in the rain, the windows fogged up. The defogger switch and air conditioner would not switch over to defrost the windows. The contact went to the dealer and they stated that it was a damper door in the air vent, which tells the air whether to flow towards the door or the floor. If the door breaks, there is nowhere for the air to flow. Tsb number 24-004-03 was referenced. The dealer stated that this was an electrical failure, which only covered 12,000 miles; therefore, the contact has to pay for the repairs. The failure mileage was 45,130. Updated 11/12/08. *lj updated 11/14/08. *jb
2003 dodge ram 2500 cracked dashboard. Vehicle has 31k miles. Power windows malfunctioning, airconditioning blower malfunctioning. Dodge dealer will attempt to replace at owners cost. Check engine light on for power steering sensor problem. Sensor will have to be replaced. *tr
Also reported on the 2003 Dodge RAM 2500
Other body or interior problem
Other steering problem
Other suspension problem
Airbag inflator rupture
Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure
Other powertrain problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 11 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 electrical problem happen on the 2003 Dodge RAM 2500?
Across 10 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 95,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 55,000 miles and a quarter after 140,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other electrical problem on the 2003 Dodge RAM 2500?
11 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.1 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