- The problem
- Skf is recalling 2,805 hub units, part no. Br930361, sold as a service part for 1997-2004 dodge dakota vehicles and 1999-2003 dodge durango vehicles equipped with 2-wheel drive & rear axle abs. Due to a specification error, the rotor pilot for the hub unit may be too long. This results in the wheel to not be seated fully against the hub flange face during mounting.
- The risk
- Improper seating of the wheel can result in excessive vibration, brake rotor noise, difficulty removing the wheel after installation and operation of the vehicle, and possibly wheel-end separation during vehicle operation. Should wheel-end separation occur, the driver could loose control of the vehicle, possibly resulting in a crash.
- The fix
- Skf will notify owners and replace the defective hub units free of charge. The recall began on november 5, 2008. Owners may contact skf vsm north america customer service at 1-800-644-8999.
Vehicle safety record
2002 Dodge Durango Problems, complaints & recalls
Owners have filed 434 complaints about the 2002 Dodge Durango with NHTSA, most often about the suspension (143) and the transmission & drivetrain (73). Those complaints describe 38 crashes, 13 fires, 40 injuries and 3 deaths. It is covered by 6 recalls, the latest in October 2008 for the hub. For comparison, the 2001 has 665 and the 2003 has 339.
NHTSA data checked
DMore problems than a typical Durango year, for its age
#27 most complained-about 2002 vehicle
- Complaints
- 434
- Recalls
- 6
- Crashes
- 38
- Fires
- 13
- Injuries
- 40
- Deaths
- 3
Most common 2002 Dodge Durango problems
Share of all 434 complaints. One complaint can name more than one area. Tap an area for its complaints and recalls.
2002 Dodge Durango recalls 6
Recall repairs are free. Your dealer fixes them whether or not you bought the car there - check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see if yours is done. What to do
- The problem
- On certain van and pickup trucks equipped with automatic transmissions, the ignition/park shift interlock system may become inoperative. This can allow the shifter to be moved out of the "park" position with the ignition key removed (or in the "lock" position). This can also allow the ignition key to be removed when the shifter has not been placed in the "park" position.
- The risk
- Either of these conditions could allow the vehicle to roll away causing a crash without warning.
- The fix
- Dealers will replace the gearshift blocker and bracket assembly free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during january 2008. Owners may contact chrysler at 1-800-853-1403.
- The problem
- On certain sport utility vehicles equipped with front bench seats only, if fluid is spilled from the floor mounted cup holder, an unused console power outlet connector located under the seat may become contaminated.
- The risk
- This may allow development of a high resistive short circuit in the connector, which could eventually lead to a fire.
- The fix
- Dealers will inspect the console wiring connector for corrosion, clean as required, and install a cap to prevent additional fluid from contaminating the connector free of charge. The recall began on october 30, 2006. Owners may contact daimler chrysler at 1-800-853-1403.
- The problem
- Certain replacement k&n fuel performance kits, p/nos. 57-1509, 57-1511, 57-1511-1, 57-1517, 57-1517-1, 57-1527, And 57-1530. Also, a small percentage of these kits were sold under the mopar performance parts brand name (p/nos. P5007069 and p5007070). All kits were manufactured from april 20, 1999, through september 23, 2004. These assemblies were manufactured as replacement equipment for certain dodge pickup trucks and suvs. A small piece of material from the tube wall could be sucked into the engine throttle body, which could cause the throttle to become jammed in the open position.
- The risk
- A jammed open throttle could cause unintended acceleration of the vehicle, possibly resulting in a crash or increased stoping distances when braking.
- The fix
- K&n will provide owners with a free repair kit along with repair instructions. The recall began on april 20, 2006.
- The problem
- On certain sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks equipped with four-wheel drive (4x4), if moisture leaks into the front suspension upper ball joint, evacuation of the lubricant and corrosion of the joint may cause the joint to wear over an extended period of time. This could cause a clunking noise in the front suspension, which may not always be heard by the vehicle occupants.
- The risk
- Excessive wear in the upper ball joint may allow it to separate, which could result in loss of control of the vehicle.
- The fix
- Dealers will replace the front suspension upper ball joints. This safety improvement campaign began on december 21, 2004. Owners can contact daimlerchrysler at 1-800-853-1403.
- The problem
- On certain pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, the windshield wiper module motor may be susceptible to water intrusion that could cause internal corrosion and result in partial or complete loss of front windshield wiping capability.
- The risk
- Driver visibility could be reduced, which could result in a crash.
- The fix
- Dealers will replace the front windshield wiper module. Owner notification began on july 12, 2004. Owners should contact daimlerchrysler at 1-800-853-1403.
What owners say
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434 complaints about the 2002 Dodge Durango
Newest first, as filed with NHTSA by owners. Page 1 of 18.
I have had my front wheel hub replaced 12 times yet my car isn't part of any recall
The hub on my 02 Durango has had to be replaced 8 times since I bought it in 2018 but everyone says my car isn't part of recall.
While pulling a travel trailer I got onto the freeway. As I have been pulling the trailer for a while now with this vehicle my comfort speed is around 45mph but will push up to 50mph maybe 55mph at the most. Anyways while entering the freeway I accelerated and as I got ready to merge I let my foot off the gas but the peddle stayed down and the vehicle continued to accelerate until around 80mph to 85mph when I finally got the peddle to release and stop acceleration. I quickly got off the freeway to calm myself as I...
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was terrified I was going to crash. During this incident the first thing I did was tap the brakes lightly which did absolutely nothing and the car kept accelerating next I grabbed the floor mat thinking that maybe it was obstructing the peddle, it was not. Then I quickly used my foot to wiggle under the peddle and pull up multiple times until it finally released and came up stopping acceleration and luckily to my relief I did not crash although I had come very close had there been any more traffic or if I had got going g any faster I may not have been so lucky. This only happened the one time where I got to dangerous speeds but since then the peddle has started to stick two other times but this times it was much easier to get the peddle to release and I wasn't towing a trailer. I read that this happened in another model in freezing temperatures fro. The same manufacturer but couldn't find anything to it without freezing temperatures. I think it is a manufacturer defect that maybe affects other 2002 Dodge Durango I dony know if pulling the trailer triggered this or not as I said it has happened twice since and that was without a trailer attached. Definitely scary and should be looked at.. I don't have the funds to take it to a shop so I haven't had it professionally looked at yet
When driving to the store I shut vehicle off and went in . When I came out I cranked it over and it startered and then caught on fire by firewall and was ingolfed in flames
When driving, the steering wheel locks and the car dies. It has happen several times while I'm on the road. Replaced camshaft sensor but it is still dying. If you do a google search you will find that a lot of people are having the same issue. It is dangerous and my life and the life of others can be at risk. *Tr
The steering is very loose. Has a lot of play in it. Have replaced tie rod ends. At this time we can not seem to find out what is causing it.
After starting my dodge durango and try to take it out of gear, the gear shifter gets stuck in park, it will not move. I have to keep playing around with it until it moves out of park. It does this off and on, just stated this about a couple of months ago. Today is 2/16/2020. Yesterday, I looked up the problem on you tube, and found out that I could take the boot off at the column by the shifter and spray wd40 on the gear lock to unstick it. I did do that and it worked. But what is making it do that to begin with?
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 dodge durango. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that the spare tire holder was corroded, which caused the spare tire to detach from the holder. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000.
While driving, no matter what speed the vehicle starts to sputter, loses power and will stall. I was low on gas, and took my car to a local gas station for fuel. After putting $10 in my car was running extremely rough. I was doing about 20 mph, when it just shut off. Brakes got real hard. After re starting the vehicle all seemed normal. Then, I drove about 3 car lengths and it did it again at a red light. I tried pushing the gas to see if that would do anything, it didnt. I drove all in , about 3 miles, and the car...
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stalled 7 times. While in the drive through, it stalled 3 abd at one point jerked so far I thought I was going to hit the car in front of me. Vehicle speed does not matter , as it will slowly lose power and turn off. I was driving locally on a city street. My best guess to this problem would be something related to the evap system, quite possibly the purge valve but im not 100% sure but this situation is very unsafe, I have 2 small children and cannot drive this vehicle. During my trip the speed was between 20-45 mph
My vin tag: ([redacted]) I replaced blower motor, resistor, and plug multiple times on my 2002 dodge durango and it keeps melting/burning up. If I leave it on low or medium fan setting eventually it will catch fire, I'm finally coming to you to see if you can help. Owners of the 1998-2007 dodge durango's & dakota's all have this problem many will have fires due to it and it's just a matter of time before there is a fatality from it! I was driving home after snow plowing and needed to defrost my windows so I put...
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it on medium and within 6 minutes smelled a strong burning smell. Go home and the wiring had melted the fan, plug and harness. I've changed this part now about 12 times in about a year, low & medium settings cause it so now I can only use high for any use unless I want another fire, 9th time it almost caught because it was dripping plastic about to catch when I sprayed water on it and pulled connection on battery. Mild to wild on rte-34 in orange, ct worked on it as well. Redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Headlights flicking on and off as well as the interior lights. Cannot drive at night.
Happened twice since dec. 2018 When driving on city streets at speed of aprx. 35-45 And abs was deployed it immediatly unlocked and jumped forward causing the car to not immediately stop. Came very close to rear ending car in front of me had I been closer.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 dodge durango. While driving various speeds, the brake pedal was depressed and traveled to the floorbaord. In addition, both rear wheels seized. The contact waited a while and continued driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the brakes failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 117,000. *Dt updated 12/06/18*jb
Automatic transmission, gear shift is locking in park. After starting vehicle and trying to shift into drive, gear shift will not move. Has occurred 3 times in last two weeks. After "playing" with gear shift, trying to get it to move, I hear a click and then it is operative. On the 3 occasions, took from approximately 1 to 3 minutes before hearing click. Looked up on line to see if others were having issue and search led me to a recall for2002 dodge durango issued in december 2007. I never received a recall notice at that time. Nhtsa id # 07v555000 related to ignition/park shift interlock system becoming inoperative.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 dodge durango. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled without warning and failed to restart intermittently. The vehicle was towed to a repair facility that replaced the crank shaft sensor, cam shaft sensor, and the ignition switch. After the repairs, the vehicle failed to start. The independent mechanic was unable to get a diagnostic trouble code reading and indicated that the pcm or tipm may need to be replaced. The mechanic also indicated that the wiring harness may need to be...
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replaced; however, the part was no longer in production for the year, make, and model vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was not available.
The hub unit broke while driving the car did not want to go it took a long time to move forward and the steering was off. There was a pound clanking noise right after I started to make a left turn and then it broke.
While driving on an interstate highway at 65 miles per hour the engine shut down and I pulled off onto the shoulder. After sitting for about 5 minutes I tried the ignition key and the engine started and I continued on my way.
Driver and front passenger seats slide back and forth in an uncontrollable manner with acceleration, brake and turns. Seat belts do not engage to limit forward/side movement of human body. Seat sliding/movement has enough force to cause interruption of contact with vehicle's gas/brake pedals. Forceful forward motion of sliding seat has enough momentum on driver's side to cause human impact on the steering wheel when a hard stop/brake engaged. Passenger side seat slides with enough force to cause head to impact...
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windshield on sudden/hard stop. Seat belts do not engage to stop forward or side motion of human body when either seat slides back/forth. 02/2015 Chrysler jeep dodge ram repaired seat frame with a new switch (tech notes 545 and 579) at mileage: 116,616. 2017 Current mileage: 124,674. Drivers/passengers at or below age/gender appropriate bmi.
Vehicle stalls intermittently with out warning at any speed including in park and while idling. When this occurs power steering is lost, gauges freeze in last position, no check engine light. Vehicle starts right back up without hesitation. During my 7 minute drive to work it may still once or not at all up to 7 times. Vehicle is currently sitting at a dodge dealership garage where they are unable to diagnose it due to vehicle not giving and codes even with it stalling for them multiple times. I already replaced...
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the crankshaft position sensor and it didn't fix the issue. My options are take my car back still stalling or replace the pcm $500-$900 which may not be the problem then I'm out the money. I guess fingers crossed since no one at this garage has ever seen a vehicle not throw a code with them witnessing the issue
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 dodge durango. While the vehicle was stationary, the steering wheel was positioned in a lopsided manner which made it difficult to steer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000. The vin was not available.
Truck will not go in right gear it skips from park to drive to neutral and now the key is stuck in the ignition. The vehicle will start but it will not go in park.
When I shift automatic transmission into gear it makes a ticking noise and also when I turn they're always kind of a thump feel to the entire vehicle. I also can take my key out of ignition no matter if its in drive, par, reverse etc...
Dash and under neath and steering colunm and speed cluster caught fire today.Truck was parked and running.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 dodge durango. While driving approximately 50 mph, the exterior lighting and instrument panel flickered. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 193,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 dodge durango. While driving approximately 35 mph, the upper ball joint fractured and impacted the front passenger side wheel. The contact was able to coast the vehicle cautiously home. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The contact was not informed of nhtsa campaign number: 04v596000 (suspension) until after experiencing the failure. The parts for the repair were unavailable. The approximate failure mileage was 208,453. Parts distribution disconnect.
Dodge Durango: every year compared
| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 852 | 10 | F |
| 2005 | 1,567 | 9 | F |
| 2004 | 1,115 | 9 | F |
| 2003 | 339 | 6 | C |
| 2002 | 434 | 6 | D |
| 2001 | 665 | 7 | F |
| 2000 | 1,097 | 4 | F |
| 1999 | 2,012 | 5 | F |
| 1998 | 976 | 6 | F |
2002 Dodge Durango vs rivals
| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Grade | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 Dodge Durango | 434 | 6 | D | |
| 2002 Ford Explorer | 3,613 | 10 | F | Compare |
| 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee | 1,476 | 16 | D | Compare |
| 2002 Toyota Highlander | 327 | 2 | D | Compare |
| 2002 Chevrolet Blazer | 259 | 2 | F | Compare |
| 2002 Toyota 4RUNNER | 251 | 3 | F | Compare |
| 2002 Nissan Pathfinder | 171 | 9 | F | Compare |
| 2002 Hyundai Santa FE | 171 | 4 | B | Compare |
| 2002 Subaru Outback | 147 | 5 | B | Compare |
More sales usually means more complaints, so compare similar vehicles of the same year. The grade compares each vehicle with its own model's other years.
Questions about the 2002 Dodge Durango
Does the 2002 Dodge Durango have any recalls?
Yes - NHTSA lists 6 recalls for the 2002 Dodge Durango: hub (October 2008); column shift (December 2007); electrical system (September 2006); engine and engine cooling (March 2006) and more. Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether yours has been fixed.
What are the most common problems with the 2002 Dodge Durango?
By the complaints owners filed with NHTSA, the most common problem areas are the suspension (143), transmission & drivetrain (73), brakes (66).
How many complaints has the 2002 Dodge Durango had?
434 complaints have been filed with NHTSA, the first on February 12, 2002 and the latest on June 23, 2025. Of these, 38 describe a crash and 13 a fire, and together they report 40 injuries and 3 deaths.
Is the 2002 Dodge Durango a reliable vehicle?
Its Safety Index is 36 out of 100 (grade D: more problems than a typical Dodge Durango year, for its age). The index weighs complaints, crashes, fires, injuries, deaths and recalls against how long the vehicle has been on the road, compared with the same model's other years. It is not a measure of every repair - read the complaints and owner experiences, and have any used vehicle inspected before you buy.
Which Dodge Durango years have the most complaints?
1999 (2,012), 2005 (1,567), 2004 (1,115). See every Dodge Durango year compared.
What should I do if my 2002 Dodge Durango has a problem?
If it is a safety problem, stop driving it if it is unsafe and contact your dealer. Report it to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem - enough reports start investigations and recalls - and share your experience here so other owners know what to look for.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data