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2003 DODGE RAM 2500 — STRUCTURE:BODY

1 injured · 1376213 · 2017-05-07

Vehicle

Make
DODGE
Model
RAM 2500
Year
2003
Manufacturer
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC)
Component
STRUCTURE:BODY
Miles at failure
150,000
Speed
40 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
1
Fire
No
Crash
No
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

DASHBOARD DISINTEGRATING INTO HUNDREDS OF EXTREMELY POINTED AND SHARP SHARDS OF HEAVY GAUGE PLASTIC SOME OF CONSIDERABLE MASS THAT POSE A SEVERE RISK IN THE EVENT OF A COLLISION. DAILY REMOVE PIECES OF DASH AS THEY BREAK FREE. MANY ARE HEAVY ENOUGH AND POINTED ENOUGH TO SEVERELY INJURE DRIVER OR OCCUPANTS EVEN UNDER SEVERE BRAKING LET ALONE A CRASH WITH AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT AT SUPERSONIC SPEEDS. UNDER SEVERE BRAKING THESE SHARDS BREAK FREE AND FLY FORWARD TOWARD THE WINDSHIELD THEN BOUNCE BACK AT THE TERRIFIED OCCUPANTS. WE NOW HAVE TO ALWAYS WEAR PROTECTIVE EYEWEAR TO AVOID BEING BLINDED BY A FLYING PIECE OF DEBRIS FROM THE DASH. EVERY TIME THE VEHICLE HITS A SMALL BUMP ANOTHER PIECE OR TWO BREAKS OFF OR A NEW CRACK APPEARS THREATENING TO RELEASE ANOTHER SHARP FLYING OBJECT INTO THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. THIS IS NOT JUST COSMETIC!! THIS IS DANGEROUS. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR YEARS AS A COSMETIC ISSUE BUT NOW IS DIFFERENT.

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10983919
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown