Factory specifications, fluid capacities, torque values, EPA fuel economy and the federal safety record for the 1981 D150.
The 1981 Dodge D150 enters the historical record with a remarkably quiet reliability footprint, logging just a single owner complaint across the entire model year — and that lone report centered on structural concerns rather than mechanical or drivetrain issues. With zero factory recalls issued, this generation of the D-Series half-ton truck avoided the systemic campaigns that occasionally marked its contemporaries, suggesting a production run that largely met its engineering targets without post-sale correction. That scarcity of documented trouble places the 1981 model among the more trouble-free iterations of the platform, offering researchers a baseline year where durability appears to have held firm under real-world use. For anyone tracing the D150's long-term dependability arc, 1981 stands out as a low-noise reference point — clean, uncomplicated, and notably free of the patterns that often emerge in later or earlier vintages.
Engine, drivetrain, dimensions and economy.
| Overall length | 183.9 in |
| Overall width | 79.5 in |
| Overall height | 68.1 in |
| Wheelbase | 105.5 in |
Condensed service procedures for routine maintenance. Procedures that require dealer diagnostic equipment are identified and summarized only.
| Tool required | DRBIII scan tool (dealer / locksmith) |
| Why | Transmitter codes are written into the receiver in the passenger door module |
| When needed | After Sentry Key Immobilizer Module (SKIM) replacement |
| Tool required | DRBIII scan tool |
| Also required | The vehicle's four-digit PIN code |
Owner-reported issues, recalls, investigations and service bulletins on record with NHTSA — an unfiltered look at what owners actually experience.
Owner complaints about the 1981 Dodge D150 dominate in one area — the structure, 1 of 1 reports (100%), well ahead of the next concern. NHTSA has issued no recalls for this vehicle, so these are owner-reported concerns only. 0 of the reports describe a crash and 0 a fire — a small share of the total, but worth weighing against the structure pattern above. These are tallies of what owners actually reported to the federal government, not an editorial score — and higher-selling models naturally rack up more reports.
All 1 complaints on record, top 1 components.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation complaint database.
No recall campaigns on record with NHTSA for this vehicle as of the last data refresh.
The most common OBD-II codes for this vehicle's emissions system. These are standardized SAE J2012 definitions, not vehicle-specific fault reports.
Decode factory build data for a specific vehicle by VIN.
Cross-vehicle references for the kinds of data on this page.
NHTSA lists 0 recall campaign(s) for this model year. Check your specific vehicle by VIN.