2002 Dodge Ram 1500 problems
Owners have filed 1,004 complaints with NHTSA about the 2002 Dodge Ram 1500. Body & structure is the most reported problem area, at 28% of complaints. After that come electrical system (9%) and suspension (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 1,004 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Body & structure 28% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 74 and 22
- Injuries and deaths
- 79 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 72,000 miles 718 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 80 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 81 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 111 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 137 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 92 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 79 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 32 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 42 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 25 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 16 |
| 200k+ miles | 23 |
What the data shows
Among the 718 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 72,000 miles. For body & structure specifically, the median reported mileage is about 75,000 miles (198 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 74 complaints mention a crash; 22 complaints mention a fire; 79 injuries reported; 2 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 19 model years of the Dodge Ram 1500 with enough data (482 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
On july 8, 2012, the mother carried her 2 year-old daughter to her husband's parked 2002 dodge ram 1500 pickup equipped with a manual transmission. The mother opened the passenger door, inserted the ignition key into the ignition switch, turned the key as the mother was trying to activate the air conditioner and cool the vehicle down before her husband came out to drive them home from church.the vehicle was in 1st gear and lurched forward when the key was turned.the speed of 2 MPH at time of incident is an…
The rear right tire and assembly broke off my 2002 dodge ram while my wife and children were on the freeway. This caused the vehicle to rollover. Apparently a problem with the axle. I understand there has been a recall for a weak weld on the rear axle bracket. I never got such recall on my vehicle.
I was in a car acccident on the freeway we were at a stop in the slow lane and we got hit from behind by a drunk driver at full speed I was wearing my seatbelt but the seltbelt did not lock letting my face hit the windsheild I didnt break my nose but I had to have strutches my truck is totalled.
I have a 2002 dodge ram 1500 and over the past year it has developed multiple cracks on the dash. The major concern is the integrity of the dash around the passenger airbag. Due to the cracking, if the airbag were to deploy, I fear that the cracked dash would cause multiple pieces of plastic to fly around the cabin. I would not write this complaint if I thought this were an isolated problems. I have read endless complains on blog sites of people with the exact same problem in similar years of this vehicle.