1997 Dodge RAM Pickup — 5.2L V8

The federal record reveals a complaint trend that climbs from 9 filings in 1995 to 20 in 1998 and peaks at 33 in 1999, with investigations sporadic (2 in 1995, 0 in 1998–1999) and recalls absent until 2002. The 1997 model falls between the low 1995 baseline and this 1998–1999 escalation, yet it generated 148 Power Train complaints and 147 Service Brake, Hydraulic complaints—figures that substantially exceed the total annual complaint counts of adjacent years—alongside 89 crash and 60 fire complaints. This concentration of severe mechanical and safety issues, occurring before the generational peak in total complaints and without the benefit of subsequent recall campaigns that only appear in 2002, indicates 1997 carried unresolved design vulnerabilities. With Power Train and Brake complaints dominating the record and fire reports numbering 60 against a backdrop of zero recalls for this generation through 2000, the 1997 model year presents unacceptable risk and should be avoided.