- Vehicles
- 701,000
- Built between
- Jul 1993 – May 1999
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA investigation
- Owners notified
- 17 September 2001
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between July 1993 and May 1999. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1994-1999 Dodge RAMBuilt July 1993 to May 1999
What the defect is
On certain pickup trucks originally sold in or currently registered in the following "salt belt" states: maine, new hampshire, vermont, massachusetts, rhode island, connecticut, new york, new jersey, pennsylvania, delaware, maryland, the district of columbia, west virginia, ohio, indiana, michigan, illinois, wisconsin, minnesota, iowa, and missouri. Corrosion of the return spring on the hood secondary latch could cause the mechanism to bind in the "release position."
What could happen
If the primary latch is not engaged, the hood could open unexpectedly.
What gets fixed
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE SECONDARY HOOD LATCH. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN SEPTEMBER 17, 2001.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtJuly 1993 to May 1999
- Recall reported to NHTSA12 February 2001
- Owners notified17 September 2001
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 12 February 2001.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Manufacturer contact
Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact daimlerchrysler at 1-800-853-1403.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- 973
- Recalling manufacturer
- DAIMLERCHRYSLER CORPORATION
- Recall initiated by
- ODI
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Daimlerchrysler recall NO.973.ALSO contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.