1998 DODGE DAKOTA Complaints

WHILE DRIVING ,TRANSMISSION DOESN'T SHIFT TO NEXT GEAR, RPM'S GO REALLY HIGH AND THE SPEEDOMETER STICKS. I'M AFRAID WHILE CROSSING AN INTERSECTION THAT I WON'T BE ABLE TO GET ACROSS AND IT MIGHT CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. *LA

I BOUGHT MY 1998 DODGE DAKOTA WITH THE CONFIDENCE OF KNOWING THAT I HAD SELECTED A SAFE, COMFORTABLE, RELIABLE CAR. HOWEVER, THAT PERCEPTION WAS GONE THIS MORNING WHEN I FOUND THE WEBSITE CALLED WWW.UNSAFEBELTS.COM . *AK I AM APPALLED (YET NOT SURPRISED, QUITE HONESTLY) TO LEARN THAT CHRYSLER IS KNOWINGLY ALLOWING MANY PEOPLE TO DRIVE THEIR CARS WITH SEATBELTS THAT ARE NOT ADEQUATE OR RELIABLE. I AM MORE SHOCKED THAT NHTSA AND OTHER GROUPS LIKE IT ARE NOT LOBBYING FOR SAFER BELTS. AS THE OTHER OWNER OF MY CAR DRIVES THE VEHICLE AT LEAST 20 HOURS PER WEEK, I AM SHOCKED AND SADDENED BY THIS INACTION. I WOULD LIKE TO CALL FOR A RECALL OF THESE BELTS. I WILL BE CONTACTING THE DEALERSHIP WHERE I PURCHASED MY CAR TODAY AND REQUESTING REPLACEMENTS FOR MY SEAT BELTS. I WILL ALSO BE ASKING CHRYSLER TO COVER THE COST OF THIS REPLACEMENT.

WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE AT 30 MPH, THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE VEHICLE VIBRATED. AN INDEPENDENT SHOP REPLACED THE UPPER BALL JOINT AND THE UPPER ARM. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *JB

WHILE DRIVING AT 25 MPH, THE DRIVER HEARD A LOUD NOISE COMING FROM THE LEFT REAR OF THE VEHICLE. THE CONSUMER PULLED OVER TO INVESTIGATE THE NOISE AND NOTICED THAT THE LEFT REAR TIRE HAD BLOWN OUT. *AK AFTER GOING TO SEVERAL TIRE DEALERS THEY OFFERED NO SUGGESTIONS BUT TO REPLACE THE TIRE AT THE CONSUMERS EXPENSE. *CB *JB

BOUGHT USED 1998 DODGE DAKOTA IN JULY 2002. VEHICLE HAD 45,000 MILES. WAS TOLD BY DEALER THAT LOWER BALL JOINTS HAD BEEN REPLACED. VEHICLE STARTED MAKING POPPING NOISES IN OCTOBER 2003 AND CONTINUED TO WORSEN. I COULD NOT LOCATE THE PROBLEM. FINALLY TOOK IT TO DEALER IN DEC 2003 AND WAS INFORMED THAT BOTH LOWER BALL JOINTS WERE SHOT. VEHICLE HAD 61,000 MILES AT TIME OF REPLACEMENT FOR SECOND SET OF LOWER BALL JOINTS. DEAL ER ADVISED THAT AT TIME OF FIRST REPLACEMENT AFTER MARKET BALL JOINTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE AND THAT THEY WERE FACTORY REPLACEMENTS.*AK

CONTROL ARM UPPER BALL JOINT FAILURE. THE STATE OF PA REQUIRES VEHICLES TO PASS AN ANUAL INSPECTION IN ORDER TO DRIVE ON THE ROADS. MY DODGE DAKOTA WILL FAIL THIS INSPECTION NEXT FEB. THE RIGHT UPPER BALLJOINT ON MY VEHICLE (WHICH SHOULD HAVE A LIFE SPAN MINIMUM 80 TO 100 K; MY VEH. HAS 46K) NEEDS TO BE REPAIRED TO BE CONSIDERED SAFE BY PA STANDARDS. DODGE PROVIDED NO WAY TO PERFORM PREVENTITIVE MAINTENENCE ON THIS VEHICLE PART. POOR DESIGN ON THEIR PART IS NOT WORTH THE COST OF SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH AND THEY KNOW IT BECAUSE THEY MODIFIED THE REPAIR REPLACEMENT PART WHICH TO ME ADMITS A FLAW TO BEGIN WITH.

LOWER BALL JOINTS HAD TO BE REPLACED AT 42, 000 MILES ON MY 1998 DODGE DAKOTA DUE TO THE REPAIR SHOP BEING UNABLE TO PERFORM A FRONT END ALIGNMENT. MECHANIC TOLD ME THAT THE UPPER BALL JOINTS WILL MOST LIKELY NEED TO BE REPLACED WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR OR SO DEPENDING ON MILEAGE PUT ON THE VEHICLE IN THAT TIME. *AK

1998 DODGE DAKOTA 2WD STANDARD CAB PICKUP WITH A 3.9 LITER V6 ENGINE. AT 48,000 MILES THE DRIVERS SIDE LOWER BALL JOINT REQUIRED REPLACEING AND NOW AT 52,000 MILES THE PASSENGER SIDE IS MAKING POPPING SOUNDS. I AM PROBABLY GOING TO HAVE THE UPPER AND LOWER BALL JOINTS REPLACED WITH AFTERMARKET PARTS AS DODGE PRICES ARE DOUBLE TO TRIPLE THE COST.*AK

THE OWNER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR AN INSPECTION. THE MECHANIC INFORMED THE OWNER THAT THE UPPER BALL JOINTS FAILED. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. *NLM

CATALYTIC CONVERTER HAS BEEN REPLACED 4 TIMES IN 4 YEARS. NOW AT THE 5TH YEAR IT NEED TO BE REPLACED AGAIN AND THE DEALER REFUSES BECAUSE THEY DID IT 14 MONTHS AGO AND IT'S NO LONGER UNDER THEIR 12 MONTH WARRANTY AND IS NO LONGER COVERED UNDER THE FEDERAL 8 YR, 80,000 MILE WARRANTY BECAUSE I'M AT 109,000 MILES, THEREFORE IT WILL COST ME OVER 600$ TO REPLACE A DEFECT IN THEIR EQUIPMENT. I CAN'T AFFORD TO PUT 600$ INTO MY CAR EVERY 14 MONTHS FOR SUCH A MAJOR COMPONENT PLUS ALL THE OTHER MINOR UPKEEP A VEHICLE TAKES.