2002 Dodge RAM 1500: ball joint or control arm failure

Filed May 29, 2022 · Tires · OH

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 back control and gradually came to a stop on the right hand berm of the highway. The right rear tire appeared just as it does in the attached photos. The tire size is p264/70R17 no authorities were notified and the tire has not been inspected by anyone.

Filed Sep 30, 2016 · Body, Suspension · 158,888 miles · MA

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 dodge ram 1500. While driving approximately 60 MPH, the front end of the vehicle shook and vibrated violently. After stopping the vehicle, it was discovered that the front sway bars detached and the steering control arms separated due to rusting of the subframe. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was 158,888.

Filed Mar 4, 2015 · Steering, Suspension · 102,500 miles · WA

My son was on the I-5 coming home from school when the seals blew on the rack and pinion. Upon taking it to a repair shop we were informed that this is a known defect of the dodge ram trucks and they are known to blow any where from 50,000-100,000 miles. If we had known about this defect we would not have purchased the truck. When the seals blew the truck steering components began to grind and it was difficult to get it off the road. There was no warning and luckily my son had the opportunity to pull off the freeway with out injuring anyone. My father who has contracted with a local reservation contacted their service department only to find out that the dodge ram trucks were known to have serious power steering and front end issues. The only reason they purchased the trucks were that dodge provided the low bid and there has not been a government recall on the steering and their practice is to accept the low bid. The power steering. Tie rods and suspension are major components to going down the road safely. It shouldn't take someone dying to solve the issue. While we all are concerned about the impacts caused by larger vehicles against the new smaller lighter weight cars it is extremely important that we know the larger trucks are safe to drive on our roads. The dodge ram has numerous complaints on the internet, as well as dealers and repair shops noting that this is an issue. Chevy trucks, ford trucks and toyota trucks do not have the reputation for have issues with the front end and steering components. Thus this would appear to be a defect isolated to the dodge ram trucks. Since you cannot require and individual to replace the rack and pinion themselves every 50,000 miles the only option would be to require dodge to solve the issue. Thank you for your time and attentions.

Filed Jan 5, 2011 · Suspension · 84,000 miles · SC

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 dodge ram 1500. While driving approximately 60 MPH the front passengers side wheel detached from the vehicle. The contact was able to control the vehicle and pull over to the emergency lane. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The technicians diagnosed the failure and stated that it was caused by the front wheel hub bearing assembly which had separated. The technician stated the upper and lower control arms, front steering, knuckle hub, rotor assembly, brake caliper, ABS speed sensor, brake line hose, wheel, and lug bolts all needed to be replaced. The vehicle also sustained damage to the fender. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 84,000.

Filed Jun 14, 2010 · Steering, Suspension · 86,312 miles · IL

Replaced rack and pinion four times along with the upper control arm, upper/lower ball joints, and tie rod ends. This last time the boots on the rack and pinion busted power steering fluid was lost causing steering to lock up. The severe underlying issue to the failure of the rack and pinion is the left and right steering knuckles are faulty causing the tires to turn to far which is causing the damage to the rack and pinion busting which is causing the drainage of power steering fluid and locking up the steering.

Filed Sep 19, 2009 · Body, Suspension · SC

I own a 2002 dodge ram 1500 and I have been noticing that the dash has been cracking and then it began to crack more to the point of having no dash at all. I don't think this is just a cosmetic defect it is a safety issue. It doesn't take a hoard of inspectors to see how this can cause damage to occupants in the truck. Lets just forget about the safety issue for a second, after buying a dodge intrepid and have the motor fail at 60,000 and I said " I will never buy another dodge", but I gave dodge a second chance because I liked the look of the truck inside and out. With that said I don't mind replacing the control arms where the ball joints are welded in, at a cost of 600.00 dollars. Wish I would have looked at that too, but having to replace the dash is not justified as an expense that I should have to pay for. If I sold this truck to someone I know the first thing they would say, "that doesn't look safe and makes you wonder what else is unsafe with the truck." it does make you wonder about the rest of the truck, did they cut corners on other parts of the vehicle? Let me ask the federal safety agency when you get in your vehicle to go home after work and your dash started cracking, to the point of your speakers falling out when you hit the brakes would you feel safe. That's my story and I am sticking to it.

Filed Jan 5, 2009 · Steering, Suspension · 159,000 miles · PA · crash

While driving to work early in the morning, roads were wet, temperature was 23 degrees. Was driving on a two lane roadway about 40 MPH. Was on a straight stretch when truck started to fish tail slightly. Rear of the truck slid slightly toward drivers side. I turned the wheels slightly in the direction of the slide and then started to turn the wheels back the other direction as truck started to straighten out. At that point I felt something give in the front end on the drivers side. The truck started pulling across the center line and off the other side of the road. I was heading straight for a telephone pole. I tried pushing the brakes fully, but the pedal went to the floor. I cut the wheels all the way to the right , just missing the telephone pole. My front fender struck a steel pole filled with cement next to a split rail fence. When I got out of the truck, the front drivers side tire was laying under the truck, only held on by the tie rod end. This was by no means a very bad case of sliding and over steering. The upper ball joint had just separated causing the tire to buckle under. I was lucky to have escaped this accident without injury or having my truck roll over. I have seen alot of problems with the dodge durangos with the ball joint separation and I can only imagine it is the same suspension parts used in the dodge ram 1500 4x4 trucks. This needs to be checked into before someone gets killed.

Filed Jun 7, 2005 · Suspension, Transmission · 53,500 miles · NY

Cluncking noise under hood. Left upper control arm and ball joint. This truck has only 55,000 no off roading

Filed May 16, 2005 · Suspension · 50,000 miles · TN

Dt: the consumer owns a 2002 dodge ram. The consumer says that at about 50,000 miles he started having problems with his upper ball joint. The upper ball joint on the passenger side completely went out. He contacted the dealer and the dealer said that they had several hundred in back order right now. The consumer has trouble driving the vehicle so he took it to the dealer and the dealer said that it was his ball joint and it was one of the worst ball joints that he has ever seen. The consumer is not driving the vehicle.

Filed Feb 18, 2005 · Suspension · 60,000 miles · WV

When driving any speed, the consumer would hear a squeaking noise coming from the front end of the vehicle. The dealership stated the upper ball joint was defective. *jb the consumer stated that the vehicle is rarely used off road. A noise is heard on bumpy surfaces.

Filed Dec 16, 2004 · Suspension · 40 miles · MN

Vehicle was making noises in front end. Took vehicle to dealer,they said noise was just bushings were just dry. At 40,000 miles took in because the truck steering was funny, dealer said both control arms and both swaybar links wor out. And truck was unsafe to drive. And the repair would cost consumer about $1000.00.

Filed Jan 8, 2004 · Steering · 47,000 miles · NM

The tires showed signs of excessive wear, the vehicle was taken to the shop for a front alignment and the technician indicated the passenger and driver side tie rods needed to be replaced.*ak this was after the 2nd set of tires were installed. Soon after a service maintenance flier was received in the mail to inspect tie rod ends at 30,000 miles. The dealership was the only place to purchase the tie rod ends at $134.00 a piece. *cb