2002 Dodge RAM Quad CAB

Typical pattern

4.2% of complaints about the 2002 Dodge RAM Quad CAB came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2002 vehicle — around the middle of the 230 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 4.3 yr in service. The most-reported system is structure (68 complaints), typically at 5.9 yr or about 75,000 miles.

Complaints: 263
Median age at failure: 4.3 yr
Median mileage: 58,000 n=204
Crash / fire / tow: 6.5% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System

0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y

Structure

68 reports · 75,000 mi

5.9 yr

1.5%

Electrical system

25 reports · 42,000 mi

4.1 yr

Steering

22 reports · 54,000 mi

3.7 yr

4.5%

Engine cooling

22 reports · 61,000 mi

4.8 yr

4.5%

Service brakes, hydraulic

21 reports · 18,000 mi

2.3 yr

9.5%

Power train

19 reports · 15,000 mi

2.4 yr

Suspension

17 reports · 57,000 mi

3.2 yr

17.6%

In owners’ own words

Steering 10,000 mi 1.3 yr in service

RACK & PINION STEERING LEAKS AND VERY HARD TO TURN WHEN VEHICLE IS COLD, HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE AND STILL A PROBLEM, ALSO SEVERE CORROSION OF FRONT BUMPER, IS ORDERED AND WILL BE REPLACED.

Steering mileage not reported 1.3 yr in service

WHILE DRIVING ALONG THE FRONT END MAKES NOISES. BUT IF YOU HIT A BUMP OR IF THE ROAD IS SPLIT, AND IT GETS BUMPED THE STEERING ON THE TRUCK WILL SNATCH AND THROW YOU AROUND. I HAVE NOTICED THIS MANY TIMES. MY WIFE SAID IT DOES IT ALL TIME. I WAS NOT EXPECTING IT TO DO THIS WILL TRAVELING AND NEARLY WRECKED. I BELIEVE THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS TRUCK.

Steering 802 mi 8 mo in service

STEERING HAS PULLED TO THE RIGHT CONTINUOUSLY AND CONSISTANTLY SINCE PURCHASE. HAVE FOLLOWED ALL PROCEDURES INCLUDING: BEEN TO SERVICE DEPT. 6+ TIMES, NOTIFIED DAIMLER CHRYSLER, ETC. TOLD THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE STEERING AND I AM OUT OF LUCK. IT IS A "LEMON". I AM FILING A LAWSUIT.

Structure 10,000 mi 1.3 yr in service

RACK & PINION STEERING LEAKS AND VERY HARD TO TURN WHEN VEHICLE IS COLD, HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE AND STILL A PROBLEM, ALSO SEVERE CORROSION OF FRONT BUMPER, IS ORDERED AND WILL BE REPLACED.

Other RAM Quad CAB model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.