Vehicle Data Hub

2002 Dodge Ram 1500 body & structure problems

Owners reported body & structure problems in 279 complaints for the 2002 Dodge Ram 1500, 28% of the complaints on file. It is the most reported problem area for this model year.

At a glance

Complaints
279 28% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
75,000 miles 198 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
5 and 1
Injuries and deaths
15 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When body & structure problems show up

Body & structure complaints by mileage, 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 75,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 5 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 12 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 34 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 60 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 35 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 25 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 8 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 11 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 1 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 0 complaints 200k+ miles: 7 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 75,000 miles
Based on 198 complaints that include mileage. 26% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles5
20k to 40k miles12
40k to 60k miles34
60k to 80k miles60
80k to 100k miles35
100k to 120k miles25
120k to 140k miles8
140k to 160k miles11
160k to 180k miles1
180k to 200k miles0
200k+ miles7

What the data shows

Of the 198 body & structure complaints that report mileage, the median is about 75,000 miles, and 26% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 5 crashes, 1 fire, 15 injuries.

What owners wrote

I was rear ended at a red light and my dash board sustained multiple fractures. Part of the dash board fractured and became airborne in the vehicle. It was the size of an iphone. There was also another part of the dashboard where a hole is present and the dash board is sunken in. Very disappointed with the quality and safety issues. Photos were forwarded to my attorney.

June 2012 CrashInjury

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.

Reported at 76,000 miles, May 2008

Other problems reported for the 2002 Dodge Ram 1500

Body & structure problems in other years

Body & structure problems across all Dodge models