2002 Dodge Sprinter 2500: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2002 Dodge Sprinter 2500
No owner has filed a defect report with NHTSA about the 2002 Dodge Sprinter 2500. That is not a clean bill of health — it usually means few were sold, or the year is too new for problems to have surfaced.
Recalls on the 2002 model year
NHTSA has issued 4 recall campaigns covering the 2002 Dodge Sprinter 2500, affecting an estimated 2,254 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover engine and engine cooling:exhaust system, steering:column and interior lighting. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
Recalls also distort complaint counts. Publicity about a campaign reminds owners that complaining is possible, so reports for a recalled component often spike after the recall rather than before it.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM
665 vehicles 2011-08-09- Defect
- Mercedes-benz usa (mbusa) is recalling certain model year 2002- 2003 sprinter 2500 and 3500 vans sold as dodge and freightliner vehicles. The intake manifolds may have corroded. A chemical reaction involving sulfur in the diesel fuel that takes place under certain conditions can lead to the formation of sulfuric acid in the exhaust channel of the intake manifold.
- Consequence
- Intake manifold corrosion may lead to an exhaust gas leak, damage to the fuel return line which could cause a fuel leak, and heat damage to the insulation at the fire wall. Fuel leakage, in the presence of an ignition source, could result in a fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and replace the intake manifold free of charge. Chrysler, llc will notify owners of dodge sprinters and mbusa will notify owners freightliner sprinters. This recall is an expansion of a previous recall (please see recall campaign 09v-418). The safety recall began on october 11, 2011. Owners may contact chrysler at 1-800-853-1403 or sprinter at 1-843-695-5031.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM
14,423 vehicles 2009-10-29- Defect
- Sprinter is recalling certain model year 2002 through 2003 vans sold as dodge and freightliner vehicles. The intake manifolds may have corroded. A chemical reaction involving sulfur in the diesel fuel that takes place under certain conditions can lead to the formation of sulfuric acid in the exhaust channel of the intake manifold.
- Consequence
- Intake manifold corrosion may lead to an exhaust gas leak, damage to the fuel return line which could cause a fuel leak, and heat damage to the insulation at the front wall.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and replace the intake manifold free of charge. Chrysler, llc is handling the owner notification and remedy for this campaign. The recall began on june 4, 2010. Owners may contact chrysler at 1-800-853-1403 or sprinter at 843-695-5031.
STEERING:COLUMN
10 vehicles 2008-07-24- Defect
- Sprinter is recalling 10 my 2001-2006 dodge and freightliner 2500 and 3500 vehicles. The welding seam between the bracket and steering column of affected spare parts does not meet design specifications. The result of an out of specification welding seam is that the steering column may detach from its interior vehicle mounting bracket.
- Consequence
- The operator may lose steering ability of the vehicle increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and replace the steering columns free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on or before february 16, 2009. Owners may contact sprinter at 843-695-5057.
INTERIOR LIGHTING
4,433 vehicles 2007-07-13- Defect
- On certain trucks equipped with rear air conditioning system, the interior lamp is equipped with an 18w lamp and a scattering lens. In extremely hot and humid conditions, the combination of heat and humidity, and the heat from the lamp due to extreme long term operation, can distort the scattering lens.
- Consequence
- The switching contacts of the lamp may cause a short circuit of the rear lamp increasing the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the rear interior lamps free of charge with a modified version which is not subject to the impacts of heat and humidity. The recall began on december 17, 2007. Owners may contact daimlerchrysler manufacturing international at 1-843-695-5041.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
Every year of the Dodge Sprinter 2500
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
Why this page is short
A model year needs about 8 reports before percentiles mean anything, and this one does not have them. Complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road, so a thin page usually means a rare car, a new car, or a car whose owners do not file.
Other years of the same model do have enough: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. The mechanical parts are often shared across those years, so their pages are the better guide to what this one is likely to do, with the caveat that a shared part is not a shared production line.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
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