Nine problems related to underhood wiring have been reported for the 2002 Dodge Ram 1500. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Severely cracked dash board. Parts falling down into the electrical wiring including airbag area. Continues to crack in different areas. Major portions of the dash is caving in. Could cause gauge, lighting, airbag and heating/cooling problems.
Jan. 10, 2010 a very large crack appeared in the dash on my 2002 Dodge 1500 pickup at first it was just a cosmetic thing ,but now all the wiring is exposed the vehicle turn indicators do not work when it is bad weather the windshield wipers don't work and the defrosters will not change from cold to hot. I went to the dealer they advised me it was not their problem ,but I have learned that I am not the only one this has affected and my problem is a serious safety issue.
The dashboard on my truck cracked, then began losing pieces. Some pieces have been propelled at the driver and passengers by the air conditioning and when windows are open. Wiring problems appear to be developing (I am now receiving "lamp out" warnings). I have placed a dash cover to limit exposure to these hazards, but I have seen news reports that many other consumers are experiencing these problems, and that they continue to worsen.
Truck was taken into the autowest Dodge dealership to fix taillights that didn't work. At the time the truck was in their possession there were 2 open recalls and they did not notify me of either. Nine months later the brakes, clutch, and power steering went out while I was driving it. Once I got it to the side of the road the engine was engulfed in flames. Truck is a total loss. Truck had 31,000 miles on it. Daimlerchrysler has denied responsibility for the problem.
1) there were no incidents leading up to the vehicles failures. 2) the headlights will not shut off when engine is on / the windshield wipers and pump are inoperable. They both occurred at the same time. Family was stuck on rainy highway for several hours. 3) Dodge service "thinks" the power distribution center may have shorted out the electronic control module and recommend replace both -$750 there is a back order for both parts - apparently there are many requests. Part #'s 56045433af and 56051036ad.
5 minutes after parking vehicle caught on fire.
Since December of 2001 verizon has had (6) Dodge full size vans involving 1998-2001 b vans. All (6) fires appear to have started under the hood. All (6) vans are equipped with the kelsey hayes ebc 325 anti-lock brake systems. Three of the fires occurred in the abs controller area of the engine compartment without the entire truck going up in flames because the drivers were able to have the fires extinguished before the fires got a real good start. Three of the fires happened while the vehicles were unattended and the vehicles were totally destroyed. On sept. 4th, 2003 a 2002 Dodge van was reported by the driver to have the abs pump running continualy for over 2 hours. The abs pump was extremely hot. Had to disconnect the battery to shut the pump off. When this van was brought into the verizon garage the abs light and the brake warning lights were illuminated in the instrument cluster and the abs pump was running continually. The van was towed to rothrock Dodge in allentown, PA. ,on 9-5-03 and left with danny david for diagnosis. When the scan tool was connected to the abs system they found (2) codes, main relay open and pump motor circuit open. At this time no repairs have been completed on this vehicle until Chrysler and a verizon fleet tech. Support specialist can look into this case. Contact persons at verizon are as follows; tom spezio 732-493-9902 bob prince 410-760-8836 fred pletscher 610-264-0685.
Consumer states vehicle caught on fire. Dealer notified.
I turned my fan on to cool the inside of the truck and after a few minutes, it shut off. A while later, I tried it again and it worked, but soon shut off again. I took the truck to the dealership and they told me they cleaned the air intake out and it was full of leaves. They told me that is why it shut off. The problem continued. A few weeks later, I got the recall notice about the wiring being too light and it was over heating. The dealer did the repair. It worked fine for a good while. Eventually it started shutting off again. Sometimes I could tilt the steering wheel to a different location and it would come back on. I flipped the access panel down to find the repair, they clipped the two lighter wires and plugged in to I believe 10 gauge wire in their place. The heavy wires are too stiff to flex and when pushed certain ways the fan shuts off. I also noticed where the wires are plugged in, the wires are so hot you can barely touch them. I don't feel this was a very good fix for the problem, since although the fan does not shut off due to overheating, it still is heating up under the dash and may cause a fire under the dash.