Fuel pump failure on the 2002 Dodge RAM 2500
When fuel pump failure gets reported
Owners of the 2002 Dodge RAM 2500 report fuel pump failure at a median of 50,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 15,000 miles and a quarter after 65,000 miles, from 10 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 85,000 miles. It is the 3rd most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 500 miles at the tenth percentile to 75,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 72,526 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
30% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 452 miles | 12,875 miles | 50,000 miles | 65,500 miles | 72,978 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $600–$2,600 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 8 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2003, at a median of 40,000 miles, and latest on the 2000 at 90,000 miles.
By volume the 2001 carries the most reports, with 21; the 2002 has 12. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
(2) vp44 fuel injection pump failures, (1) fuel lift pump failure: at approximately 56,000 miles of service, the first vp44 fuel injection pump failed (documented chrysler p216 code was loaded into the pecm), again at approximately 78,000 miles, the vp44 fuel injection pump again failed, as did the diesel fuel lift pump. The vehicle was repaired by the dealer(s). This mechanical defect is consistent throughout the industry, and the cost of repairs at the chrysler dealership is more than $3,000.00 per incident for a total of more than $6,000.00 in accrued costs if I were to pay for this out of pocket. My concern is that when the warranty period is over, the reliability of the vehicle will be the same: another and then anther fuel injection pump will need to be replaced. Note: incident dates below are approximate but can be authenticated and corrected if needed.*jb
Dt: 2002 dodge ram 2500 hd quad cab 4 wheel drive slt. The truck has been in the repair shop at least 15 times for not having any power. This happened mainly when towing a trailer. Prior to purchasing the truck the dealer replaced the fuel injection pump and fuel pump. They have been replaced 3 times last year. The dealer said that transmission was not programmed for the size tires that were on the vehicle. Also, turbo- charger was bad, and they replaced it, but, it did not work. Took back vehicle o dealer, and they replaced all parts again. The last time that consumer took vehicle to dealer, the dealer stated there was nothing else to be done. This vehicle has a 5.9 liter ho cummings engine, turbo diesel, manual transmission. The truck has no power when pulling a trailer.*ak
Dt: 2002 dodge ram 2500 hd quad cab 4 wheel drive slt. The truck has been in the repair shop at least 15 times for not having any power. This happened mainly when towing a trailer. Prior to purchasing the truck the dealer replaced the fuel injection pump and fuel pump. They have been replaced 3 times last year. The dealer said that transmission was not programmed for the size tires that were on the vehicle. Also, turbo- charger was bad, and they replaced it, but, it did not work. Took back vehicle o dealer, and they replaced all parts again. The last time that consumer took vehicle to dealer, the dealer stated there was nothing else to be done. This vehicle has a 5.9 liter ho cummings engine, turbo diesel, manual transmission. The truck has no power when pulling a trailer.*ak
Also reported on the 2002 Dodge RAM 2500
Other body or interior problem
Other powertrain problem
Other fuel system problem
Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure
Other wheel or tire problem
CV axle or driveshaft failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 12 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does fuel pump failure happen on the 2002 Dodge RAM 2500?
Across 10 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 50,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 15,000 miles and a quarter after 65,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is fuel pump failure on the 2002 Dodge RAM 2500?
12 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 7.8 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed