The 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 483,439 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 1,004 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the structure. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
TIRES03V5040002003-12-10214 affected
Defect
ON CERTAIN 4X4 PICKUP TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH THE SNOW PLOW PREPARATION PACKAGE, THE TIRES SUPPLIED ON SOME VEHICLES MAY HAVE GROSS AXLE WEIGHT RATINGS THAT SLIGHTLY EXCEED THE MAXIMUM TIRE LOAD CAPACITY AS DEFINED IN FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 120, "TIRE SELECTION AND RIMS FOR MOTOR VEHICLES OTHER THAN…
Remedy
DEALERS WILL PROVIDE REPLACEMENT P245/75R16 TIRES TO MEET THE LOAD CARRYING CAPACITY SPECIFIED ON THE VEHICLE CERTIFICATION LABEL AND ACCOMMODATE THE ADDITION OF A COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE SNOW PLOW AND HARDWARE. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON DECEMBER 22, 2003. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT DAIMLERCHRYSLER AT 1-800-992-1997.
VISIBILITY03V0770002003-03-10195,500 affected
Defect
ON CERTAIN PICKUP TRUCKS, THE DETENT SYSTEM ON THE EXTERIOR MIRROR HOUSINGS MAY LOSE THE FUNCTIONALITY.
Consequence
THIS COULD POTENTIALLY AFFECT REARWARD FIELD OF VISION, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL INSTALL A MIRROR DETENT RETAINER KIT TO CORRECT THIS CONDITION. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON APRIL 10, 2003. 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.
STEERING03V0780002003-03-10287,725 affected
Defect
ON CERTAIN PICKUP TRUCKS, THE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR AT THE BOTTOM OF THE STEERING COLUMN CONTAINS AN UNDER-SIZED TERMINAL FOR THE HVAC BLOWER MOTOR CIRCUIT. LOCALIZED HEATING FROM CURRENT FLOW WITH THE BLOWER SPEED SET ON HIGH MAY CAUSE THE TERMINAL CONTACTS TO RELAX AND LOSE ELECTRICAL CONTACT. THIS CAN CAUSE THE…
Consequence
THIS CONDITION COULD CAUSE IMPAIRMENT OF VISIBILITY IN INCLEMENT WEATHER, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL INSTALL A WIRING HARNESS OVERLAY TO CORRECT THIS CONDITION. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN APRIL 15, 2003. 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.
Complaints by component
STRUCTURE
232
3crashes12injuries
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
65
2crashes2fires1deaths
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
62
2crashes1fires3injuries
POWER TRAIN
44
2crashes1injuries1deaths
STRUCTURE:BODY
38
1crashes1fires1injuries
SUSPENSION
35
3crashes
AIR BAGS
34
15crashes14injuries
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
25
STEERING
25
3crashes2injuries
ENGINE
22
2crashes1fires3injuries
Total complaints1,004
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Dodge ram 2002 abs brake module failure. No recourse for repairs. Dodge has rendered this part obsolete and although they have the technology to repair or replace it they neglect to help thousands of vehicle owners.”
“The contact owns a 2002 dodge ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed at night, he became aware that the external lights and turn signal lights were not functioning properly. The lamp out warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an…”
“To put it as simple as I can describe it is a death wobble. That occurs every time you hit a bump in the road, hole, or pot hole. This truck has always had this death wobble from factory. The reason why this is a safety issue is because it causes the steering wheel to go out of balance and go into…”
“To put it as simple as I can describe it is a death wobble. That occurs every time you hit a bump in the road, hole, or pot hole. This truck has always had this death wobble from factory. The reason why this is a safety issue is because it causes the steering wheel to go out of balance and go into…”
“The heat stopped working so I replaced the blower motor and blower relay the heater switch and still have no heat. The wire gets hot to the touch. The heater only use to work on high then all of a sudden it just stopped all the way around”
“I was driving on the highway at about 65mph and at first I noticed that it felt like my tie rod ends were going bad. And then all of a sudden I felt an explosion and my truck made a sharp right dive into the right hand lane and caused the car in that lane to swerve right. I was then able to gain…”
“While traveling at normal speeds approximately 40 mph a car ran a stop sign I t-boned them on their passenger side with my front end I hit them at approximately 40 mph my airbags did not deploy my face and chest hit the steering wheel and dash”
“While traveling at normal speeds approximately 40 mph a car ran a stop sign I t-boned them on their passenger side with my front end I hit them at approximately 40 mph my airbags did not deploy my face and chest hit the steering wheel and dash”
Defect investigations
InvestigationPE02096 Opened 2002-12-26 · closed 2003-05-15
REAR AXLE FAILURE
SEE ATTACHED REPORT.
InvestigationPE02096 Opened 2002-12-26 · closed 2003-05-15
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.