Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY | ||||||
| PE02096 | CHRYSLER GROUP LLC | 12/26/2002 | 05/15/2003 | REAR AXLE FAILURE | ||
| See attached report. | ||||||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DIFFERENTIAL UNIT | ||||||
| PE02096 | CHRYSLER GROUP LLC | 12/26/2002 | 05/15/2003 | REAR AXLE FAILURE | ||
| See attached report. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 05/05/2005 | |||
| I had to replace the upper and control arms ( both sides) because the tires where wearing uneven. i do not drive this pick-up off road! if you look at the lack of size to the ball joints, it is amazing they lasted 3 years. | |||
| 03/30/2004 | 15000 | 5 | 07/05/2002 |
| Excessive stoplamp failures, replaced lamps due to melting of base repeatedly,4th time in 8 mos. no service kit or upgrades available, check chevy, same tail light board set-up, same problems, perhaps they have a bulletin on problem?*ak severe shaking under braking, started at 15k miles, servicer refuses to cover under warranty (12k warranty), have found numerous issues with these rotors. severe shaking on sweeping right hand freeway turns, presently scheduled for service at antioch/delta dodge. engine intermittently stalling, unable to duplicate problem when in for service, not noted on service tickets. independent front end leakage, presently scheduled for service at antioch/delta dodge. this my 3rd dodge truck since 1996, 1st one was great, 2nd had repeated rearend issues, 3rd seems to be having excessive issues across the spectrum of components, i would like help in resolving these issues, as presently i still view dodge as the leader in customer satisfaction. | |||
| 02/17/2004 | 10000 | 4 | 06/26/2002 |
| Currently own a 2002 dodge ram quad cab. i have had numerous problems with my truck. i myself have also experienced the same problems with the transmission jerking as well as the vehicle completely shutting off when idling (and not even at long periods of time). at times when putting into reverse, the vehicle will not move at all and i have to completely shut off the truck and restart it to get it to move. i haven't had it reported at the dealer yet because they will be unable to duplicate. just noticed a problem with my rear taillights. at different times, different bulbs would seem to go out causing the lamp out indicator lamp to illuminate. when i went to change the bulb myself (cause bulbs are not warranty), i found that the sockets were causing the bulb housing to melt inside the sockets as well as on the bulbs. i took it to the dealer and they only replaced one side because the other they did not have in stock, yet they did not even bother ordering the other side. i have already had my rack & pinion replaced because it was leaking and also have had to have my tcm and pcm reprogramed because they were causing my check engine light to come on as well as making my air conditioning inoperative. *ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 02/22/2007 | 87000 | 2 | |
| Tl*- the contact stated that while driving at about 60 mph in the 2002 dodge ram 1500 quad cab the transmission locked. the truck disengaged from overdrive, and the overdrive light turned on. he pushed the button to engage the overdrive. he drove about one mile and the transmission light turned on. he had to drive another 1/2 mile to get to safe place. once there he put the truck in neutral, set the emergency brake ,and he checked the transmission fluid. he stated that when he checked the transmission fluid it seemed that there was too much on the dip stick. he turned off the vehicle and let the vehicle sit for about five minutes, checked again., and the fluid was normal on the dip stick. when he restarted the vehicle all lights on dash seemed to be normal. he drove another 100 miles and the vehicle was fine. he stated that the next morning he drove to work and back home, and the next day the transmission slipped. the next day the over drive off light turned on and the vehicle lost power. mhad to put the vehicle in first gear and drove to the dealership. the contact stated that this vehicle had 87,000 miles, and was informed him that something came loose in the transmission ,and that was what caused the transmission to seize. the contact called the manufacturer, and was told that maybe someone will get back with him at later date. the current mileage was 87879.*ak | |||
| 12/01/2002 | 3 | 06/05/2002 | |
| Electrical - cannot charge a cell phone in any of the receptacles. works in other vehicles. transmission - changes gears very rough, somtimes on acceleration, all the time when decelerating. steering - at times the steering does not want to work. will not turn, very hard as if no rack and pinion. truck slides out at times during turns, steering gets pulled.*ak | |||
| 11/07/2003 | 27008 | 3 | 11/06/2003 |
| Transmission goes into high gear too soon, causing too much downshifting when i need to speed up. it goes into o/d at 45 mph. very sluggish when i need to speed up unless i give it lots of throttle and then it drops out of overdirve and skips 4th gear and goes into 3rd. in town when you get up to 30 mph the transmission pops like it is trying to downshifting straight to 1st.i have had it to the dealer 3 times with no results.*ak i feel they are trying to wear me out so i will quit coming back | |||
| 09/12/2003 | 33 | 1 | 08/10/2002 |
| Have owned 02 ram 1500 quad cab short bed for over a year now. after purchasing in aug 02 had immediate problems with front end vibration/skip. dealership replaced 3 sets of rims and 4 sets of tires, skip seams to be gone. however, continue to have vibration/shake at 40 mph and above, seems as if it is a drive train or engine problem but milton dodge in milton florida states there is no problem. if a water bottle is sitting in the cup holder you can really tell had bad the truck vibrates/shakes. have over 12 dealer service invoices where they have tried to correct with no success. *ph | |||
| 09/25/2002 | 1 | 03/17/2002 | |
| Transmission goes into high gear too soon causing too much downshifting when i need to speed up. goes into overdrive at 45 mph. very sluggish when i need to speed up unless i give it a lot of gas pedal and then it drops out of overdrive and skips 4th gear and goes down to 3rd gear.*ak | |||
| 01/22/2003 | 2890 | 2 | 09/24/2002 |
| Check engine light comes on -- ran on drb iii found diagnostic trouble codess set for no communication from tcm to pcm called tec line was told to replace pcm reset values road tested vehicle-- mod po 8035029 * (1) was told wire connect tcm * (2) replaced pcm -- rental01/22/03 - 02/06/03. *nlm | |||
| 08/17/2002 | 1006 | 06/12/2002 | |
| Transmission hits hard when taking off and when slowing down, dealer has put in new trans. and computer, but this truck still has same problems | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - CONTROL MODULE (TCM, PCM) | |||
| 01/15/2006 | 2 | 06/10/2004 | |
| While driving down the road at about 60 miles per hour or so i lost my overdrive and 3 rd gear of my transmission. dodge dealer reports the valve body went out on my truck it had only been out of warranty by about 3000 miles. dodge would not work wit me even thou they admitted to having some come it. so i had to have the valve body replaced. while sitting in the service area waiting for my truck to be fixed a customer came in to get a heater core for his 2002. guess what less then a month after spending 1300.00 to get my transmission fixed the heater core went out on mine . is this common or am i just the lucky one? as the heater core failed it did dump anti freeze in the cab of the truck and on the carpet. i have yet to have the heater core replaced. *jb | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - TORQUE CONVERTER | |||
| 09/12/2003 | 33 | 1 | 08/10/2002 |
| Have owned 02 ram 1500 quad cab short bed for over a year now. after purchasing in aug 02 had immediate problems with front end vibration/skip. dealership replaced 3 sets of rims and 4 sets of tires, skip seams to be gone. however, continue to have vibration/shake at 40 mph and above, seems as if it is a drive train or engine problem but milton dodge in milton florida states there is no problem. if a water bottle is sitting in the cup holder you can really tell had bad the truck vibrates/shakes. have over 12 dealer service invoices where they have tried to correct with no success. *ph | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY | |||
| 08/07/2006 | 88000 | 1 | |
| At 65 mph using cruise control, daytime, dry pavement, good weather, brake warning light and abs warning light illuminated with warning chime. at next exit, operator took vehicle to repair shop. technician found right front wheel bearing assembly worn, allowing tire/wheel assembly to be moved 1-2'' from vertical. vehicle had been checked during state inspection less than 400 miles previously and passed. a total failure in traffic at speed might have resulted in a loss of handling/braking that might have caused or worsened an accident. failed part is available. vehicle has also suffered numerous premature failures including: failure of driver heated seat, failure of electric fuel pump, nearly causing accident due to engine stoppage and loss of power steering, failure of instrument cluster, failure of front suspension components, and damage to spare tire due to mis-routed tail pipe. some of these are manufacturer design defects, others are troubleshooting or repair errors at dealer. two events (fuel pump, wheel bearing) might have caused accident with injury/death possible outcome. *jb | |||
| 07/27/2002 | 50 | 1 | 07/27/2002 |
| Ongoing vibration in rear axle at highway speeds. dodge has rotated and rebalanced original tires, had goodyear replace all 4 tires with new tires 3 times, has sent the truck to big-o for road force balancing 3 times, has rebalanced original driveshaft and then replaced the driveshaft with a new one all to no avail. has been in for repairs 14 times so far. the final time goodyear replaced the tires, their store manager performed his own test for vibration. he mounted and balanced the new tires and then put the truck into the air on a hydraulic lift taking it up to highway speed. he noted the vibration, then removed the tires from the wheels, still noted the vibration and then removed the wheels from the axle and still noted the vibration. this was noted to both repair dealers, also to no avail.*ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY - AXLE SHAFT - SEAL | |||
| 03/30/2004 | 15000 | 5 | 07/05/2002 |
| Excessive stoplamp failures, replaced lamps due to melting of base repeatedly,4th time in 8 mos. no service kit or upgrades available, check chevy, same tail light board set-up, same problems, perhaps they have a bulletin on problem?*ak severe shaking under braking, started at 15k miles, servicer refuses to cover under warranty (12k warranty), have found numerous issues with these rotors. severe shaking on sweeping right hand freeway turns, presently scheduled for service at antioch/delta dodge. engine intermittently stalling, unable to duplicate problem when in for service, not noted on service tickets. independent front end leakage, presently scheduled for service at antioch/delta dodge. this my 3rd dodge truck since 1996, 1st one was great, 2nd had repeated rearend issues, 3rd seems to be having excessive issues across the spectrum of components, i would like help in resolving these issues, as presently i still view dodge as the leader in customer satisfaction. | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DIFFERENTIAL UNIT | |||
| 07/16/2005 | 68300 | 1 | 11/09/2002 |
| I took my truck to have an oil change and 60,000 mile service at the dealer. i was told that the rear end needed to be overhauled because the brackets to my rear differential were broken, and if i did not have it repaired, the brackets would fall down into the spider gears and while i was driving, it would cause the truck to lock up. i took it to get another opinion and was told the same thing. i was also told that if they repaired it back to the way it was manufactured, i would continue to have the same problem. i went online to http://www.minerich.com/dodge_ram.htm and read numerous reports of people with the same problem and had to have it repaired more than once. the shop i took it to did not restore it to the way it was manufactured, but instead fixed the problem so that it would not happen again. this truck is only used to be driven back and forth to work. *jb | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DRIVESHAFT | |||
| 07/27/2002 | 50 | 1 | 07/27/2002 |
| Ongoing vibration in rear axle at highway speeds. dodge has rotated and rebalanced original tires, had goodyear replace all 4 tires with new tires 3 times, has sent the truck to big-o for road force balancing 3 times, has rebalanced original driveshaft and then replaced the driveshaft with a new one all to no avail. has been in for repairs 14 times so far. the final time goodyear replaced the tires, their store manager performed his own test for vibration. he mounted and balanced the new tires and then put the truck into the air on a hydraulic lift taking it up to highway speed. he noted the vibration, then removed the tires from the wheels, still noted the vibration and then removed the wheels from the axle and still noted the vibration. this was noted to both repair dealers, also to no avail.*ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION | |||
| 1 | |||
| The 5 speed transmission, equipped with 3.55 gear ratios, was unable to pull the consumers 20 feet. trailer. mr scc *jb | |||