One problem related to steering noise has been reported for the 2002 Dodge Dakota. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
I have a 2002 Dodge ram 1500 quad cab 4x4, very well maintained and was never abused. About 8 months ago I noticed a crack on the dashboard on the passenger side. Within several months one crack had grown to 6 cracks. Then about 1 month ago the air would not flow through the dash vents anymore. In order to find out the problem I had to remove the dash board to get the heat and air system. When I removed the dash board it crumbled into about 20 pcs. Upon inspection of the air problem I found out the blend door that controls the air to the dash was broken. Seems this is a problem. I am now having to replace the dashboard, front and rear pc and the 4 blend doors in the air system. While replacing the shocks I noticed the rack and pinion was leaking extremely bad which has never leaked before. No noise while turning the steering wheel, no warning light to advise of the problem.