2002 DODGE DAKOTA Complaints

RATTLING NOISE HEARD IN THE FRONT END AND PULSING BRAKES WHEN STOPPING. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER. TECHNICIAN INDICATED THE FRONT BRAKES WERE MAKING THE NOISE. REPLACED THE FRONT BRAKES. I'VE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE FRONT BRAKES ON THIS VEHICLE OVER AND OVER AGAIN. IN JULY 06, THE ROTORS HAD TO BE REPLACED (SEE ODI #10200119) WITH ONLY 35,552 K ON THE TRUCK. THE NEW ROTORS HAD TO BE TURNED IN MARCH 07 (SEE ODI #10200122) WIITH ONY 46,295 ON THE TRUCK. AT THAT TIME THE PERSON WRITING UP THE TICKET ASKED ME WHEN I HAD THE FRONT BRAKES REPLACED BECAUSE, IN HER WORDS "THEY LOOK BRAND NEW". STRANGELY, ONLY 2 MONTHS LATER AT 50,230 MILES, THE TECHNICIAN INDICATED THE BRAKES HAD TO BE REPLACED. THESE WERE THE ORIGINAL BRAKES. TOTAL COST WAS $146. *TR

FRONT ROTORS REPLACED AT 35K (SEE ODI #10200119). ONLY 8 MONTHS LATER, AT 46,295 MILES BRAKES STARTED PULSING AGAIN. TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE SAME DEALER. THEY INDICATED THE ROTORS HAD TO BE TURNED. TECHNICIAN ALSO SUGGESTED CLEAN AND ADJUST THE REAR BRAKES. TOTAL COST WAS $137. *TR

"PULSING" VIBRATION IN FRONT END WHILE BRAKING. DEALER INDICATED THE FRONT ROTORS WERE "WARPED AND PITTED" AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. VEHICLE ONLY HAD 35,552 MILES ON IT, BUT IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY BECAUSE OF TIME LIMIT. DEALER DID NOT COVER UNDER WARRANTY. COST OF REPLACEMENT $165.00. *TR

PURCHASE 02 DODGE DAKOTA REPORT BRAKES 3 TIME DODGE FOUND NOW PROBLEMS . BRAKES,CRASH NO INJURIES,ALSO @40K MILES INTAKE LEAK,WATER PUMP @36 DODGE WILL NOT HELP WITH ANY REPAIR COST THEY SAY ITS OUT SIDE OF WARRANTY. *JB

THE 9.25? LIMITED-SLIP DIFFERENTIAL IN OUR 2002 DODGE DAKOTA CREW CAB FAILED AFTER COMPONENTS OF THE DIFFERENTIAL DISINTEGRATED AT 75,000 MILES. PICTURES AVAILABLE. THIS FAILURE COULD HAVE RESULTED IN A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE IF A VERY SLIGHT NOISE HAD NOT DEVELOPED DURING PARKING LOT TURNS. A QUICK GOOGLE OF THIS PROBLEM RESULTED IN NUMEROUS REPORTS OF THIS PROBLEM INCLUDING CATASTROPHIC FAILURES AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. *JB

EARLIER IN THE WEEK THE POWER DOOR LOCKS WERE WORKING ON AND OFF. TWO DAYS LATER HEADLIGHTS STARTED FLASHING ON AND OFF AND MAKING A CLICKING SOUND BEFORE THEY WENT OUT COMPLETELY. INTERIOR LIGHTS ARE ALSO NOT WORKING. LUCKILY, I WAS CLOSE ENOUGH TO HOME AND THERE WAS STILL ENOUGH TWILIGHT TO MAKE IT HOME SAFELY. I AM GOING TO BRING THE TRUCK TO DEALER THIS WEEK, BUT I READ ABOUT A SIMILAR PROBLEM IN THE 2003 DODGE DAKOTAS. *JB

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 DODGE DAKOTA. THE CONTACT NOTICED WATER ON THE FLOORBOARD OF THE VEHICLE WHEN THE AIR CONDITION WAS ACTIVATED. THE FAILURE WAS NOTICED WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE CONDENSATION LINE WAS CRACKED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. AS OF AUGUST 9, 2007, THE DEALER HAS NOT REPAIRED THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 17,160 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 17,963.

WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, VEHICLE LOST ALL POWER AND WOULD NOT RESTART, LEAVING ME STRANDED IN 50 MPH TRAFFIC. UPON RESEARCHING VARIOUS DODGE DAKOTA SITES ON THE INTERNET, THIS SEEMS TO BE A VERY COMMON PROBLEM THAT IS EXPENSIVE AND TIME CONSUMING TO FIX. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 DODGE DAKOTA QUAD CAB. WHILE DRIVING 25 MPH, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER THE FOLLOWING DAY. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION AND VALVES FAILED AND THAT THE CLUTCH AND VALVES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 36,561. UPDATED 09/05/07 *TR

BOUGHT 2002 SLT QUAD CAB DAKOTA NEW FROM DEALERSHIP. FIRST EXPERIENCED TRUCK STALLING WHILE DRIVING ON ROADWAYS (VERY DANGEROUS!), WITHOUT WARNING AND WITHOUT CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMING ON. SOMETIMES, IT WOULD ALSO STALL IF PUT INTO DRIVE/REVERSE FROM A PARKED POSITION. HAD TRUCK TOWED AT LEAST TWICE, BECAUSE I WAS AFRAID TO DRIVE IT HOME BECAUSE IT WAS STALLING TOO MANY TIMES. TOOK IN TO DEALERSHIP THREE TIMES. SINCE ENGINE LIGHT WASN'T ON, DIAGNOSTIC TEST COULDN'T DETERMINE PROBLEM READILY; PROBLEM WAS INTERMITTENT. OVER THE COURSE OF THE FIRST TWO VISITS TO DEALERSHIP, I HAD TUNE-UP, THROTTLE BODY CLEANED, NEW DISTRIBUTOR PLATE, NEW OIL PAN GASKET. BY THE THIRD TIME, I HAD THE ENTIRE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE REPLACED: THE "BRAIN" OF THE TRUCK, AS THE MECHANIC PUT IT TO ME. THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN WHEN A BRAND-NEW TRUCK IS ONLY FOUR YEARS OLD; THE "BRAIN" SHOULD NOT DIE THAT SOON. THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE, ESPECIALLY IF THE PCM/STALLING PROBLEM IS CONSIDERED "CHARACTERISTIC." ALL OF THIS COST ME ABOUT $2,500. THE QUALITY OF THIS TRUCK HAS NOT, AND STILL DOES NOT, MEET MY EXPECTATIONS. THE TRUCK IS TOO YOUNG TO BE HAVING THESE SORTS OF PROBLEMS. I EXPECT TO PUT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS INTO A 10 YEAR-OLD TRUCK, NOT A FOUR YEAR-OLD TRUCK. I AM ALSO EXPERIENCING TRANSMISSION ISSUES WITH THE TRUCK NOT SHIFTING PROPERLY. I WILL OUTLINE THAT IN SEPARATE COMPLAINT. *JB