2005 DODGE DAKOTA Complaints

MY 2005 DODGE DAKOTA SHAKES WHEN DRIVING ON SMOOTH ROAD AND BRAKING, RPMS REV REALLY HIGH, HAS NO PICK UP, AND GETS 9 MPG OF GAS, DEFECT IN DRIVERS SEATBELT NONE OF WHICH ARE COVERED BY DODGE OR A WARRENTY

WHEN BRAKING A HIGHWAY SPEEDS, THE BRAKING SYSTEM HAS A SEVERE SHUTTER. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY COULD NOT FIND ANY ISSUES. THEY DID, HOWEVER, TURN THE FRONT ROTORS. THE PROBLEM IS IN THE REAR BRAKES. I CAN TELL WHEN THE FRONT HAS A PROBLEM. IT IS A DIFFERENT FEEL. MY 2001 DAKOTA HAD EXACTLY THE SAME ISSUE AND THEY COULD NEVER FIND A PROBLEM WITH IT EITHER. THE DEALERSHIP SAYS IT IS NORMAL. THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKES IN THE REAR ARE WHAT CAUSES THE PROBLEM. THEY KNOW OF NO WAY TO FIX IT. I PUT IN THE "NUMBER OF FAILURES" THAT THERE HAVE BEEN 481 FAILURES, SINCE THAT IS HOW LONG I HAVE HAD THE VEHICLE AND IT OCCURS DAILY. IT WAS EXTREMELY RARE FOR IT TO HAPPEN UNTIL IT HAD ABOUT 15,000 MI. ON IT AND I CAN WORK THE BRAKES AND GET IT TO STOP IF I DON'T HAVE TO STOP FAST. I HAD THE WORST ISSUE THIS MORNING COMING TO WORK. I HAD A VEHICLE RUN A STOP SIGN AND I HAD TO DO A PANIC STOP FROM 65 MPH AND THE TRUCK SHOOK SO BAD I DID NOT THINK IT WAS GOING TO STOP. I HAVE JUST GOTTEN FRUSTRATED AND LIVED WITH THIS PROBLEM, SINCE I GET TOLD IT IS JUST NORMAL ANTI-LOCK BRAKES............NOT LIKELY!!!!! ALSO, I NOTICED THERE IS A DAIMLER/CHRYSLER SERVICE BULLETIN ON THIS PROBLEM. IT IS #0500405 DATED 05/10/2006. SINCE MY LAST EXPERIENCE WITH THE DEALERSHIP, I HAVE JUST STAYED AWAY, SO I HAVE NOT BEEN TOLD ABOUT THIS SERVICE BULLETIN. *TR

PURCHASED 2005 DAKOTA QUAD CAB ON 9/30/05. IMMEDIATELY NOTICED PULSATING OR SHUDDERING OF THE BRAKES WHEN APPLIED AT HIGHER RATES OF SPEED & WHEN BRAKING ON AN INCLINE. VISITED DEALERSHIP ON 10/13/05 & REAR DRUMS WERE TURNED. VISITED DEALERSHIP AGAIN ON 10/21/05 WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. THEY FOUND NO PROBLEM. BRAKES PROGRESSIVELY WORSENED & RETURNED AGAIN TO DEALERSHIP ON 11/15/05. DEALERSHIP ORDERED PARTS & WE RETURNED TO DEALERSHIP ON 12/14/05 & REAR BRAKE SHOES WERE REPLACED. SEVERAL MONTHS PASSED & BRAKE SHUDDERING RETURNED AGAIN. VISITED DEALERSHIP AGAIN WITH SAME COMPLAINT ON 9/19/06 & THE DEALER REPLACED REAR BRAKE SHOES, BRAKE DRUMS, & ROTORS. NOT TWO MONTHS LATER, THE SAME BRAKING PROBLEM RETURNED. AFTER TAKING THE TRUCK IN TO THE DEALERSHIP ON 5 SEPARATE OCCASSIONS WITHOUT A RESOLVE, WE FILED FOR OUR RIGHTS UNDER THE FLORIDA LEMON LAW. DAIMLER CHRYSLER SET UP AN APPT WITH DEALERSHIP TO HAVE TECHNICIAN LOOK AT OUR TRUCK. THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG WITH OUR TRUCK OTHER THAN A BAD TIRE. THE TECHNICIAN DID NOT DRIVE THE TRUCK UNDER THE CONDITIONS THAT I DESCRIBED TO THEM. WE TOOK THE TRUCK TO SEARS TO HAVE THE TIRES LOOKED AT & THERE INDEED WAS A FLAT SPOT ON THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE. I QUESTIONED WHY THERE WOULD BE A FLAT SPOT ON A TIRE THAT HAD ONLY 24K ON IT WITHOUT ANY EXPLANATION. WE HAD THE TIRE REPLACED & ALSO HAD THE FRONT END ALIGNED. IN THE MEANTIME THE BRAKE PULSATION ONLY CONTINUES TO GET WORSE. I HAVE CALLED DAIMLER CHRYSLER AGAIN TO REQUEST ANOTHER REVIEW OF OUR CASE & WE NOW HAVE TO TAKE THE TRUCK BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP & THIS TIME STAY WITH THE TECH AND DRIVE WITH THEM TO IDENTIFY THE PULSATING BRAKES. WE ARE TRYING TO BE PATIENT WITH THE PROCESS BUT IT IS GETTING VERY TRYING. THERE IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING DEFECTIVE WITH THE ENGINEERING OF THIS MAKE AND MODEL OF TRUCK & IT IS TIME THAT CHRYSLER TAKE RESPONSIBLITY FOR IT. I ONLY HOPE THAT THEY CORRECT THE SITUATION BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED BECAUSE OF IT.

SIDEWALL FAILURE OF GOODYEAR WRANGLER 265/70R17 RT/S TIRE. WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE SIDEWALL OF TIRE BLEW OUT. THE TIRE HAD ONLY 41000 MILES OF MOSTLY HIGHWAY DRIVING. TREAD WEAR WAS VERY EVEN WITH NO UNEVEN WEAR OF ANY KIND. I HAD STOPPED FOR GAS ONLY 7 MILES BEFORE THE FAILURE, AND INFLATION OF TIRE APPEARED NORMAL. *NM

DURING STOPS THE RPMS ON MY 2005 DAKOTA WILL GO ERRATIC. THE RPMS WILL GO FROM A FEW HUNDRED TO OVER 3000. THE VEHICLE WILL STALL AND HAS TO BE PUT INTO PARK AND RESTARTED. NO SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT WILL EVER COME ON. I HAVE HAD IT AT THE DEALERSHIP WERE I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE 3 TIME FOR THIS PROBLEM AND THEY CAN FIND NOTHING WRONG WITH THE IT. THE LAST TIME I TOOK IT IN TO HAVE THIS PROBLEM IT STALLED IN TRAFFIC THAT SAME DAY I WAS TOLD THEY COULD NOT FIND ANY PROBLEM WITH MY TRUCK. THIS IS JUST ONE OF SEVERAL ISSUES I HAVE HAD WITH THIS TRUCK THAT THE DEALERSHIP COULD NOT FIND A PROBLEM. *NM

I HAVE A RECURRING BRAKE VIBRATION ON MY 2005 DODGE DAKOTA THAT STARTED AT APPROXIMATELY 12000 MILES. THE DEALER WHO IS DOING EVERYTHING HE CAN HAS REPLACED REAR AXLES, DRUMS, BRAKE PADS, FRONT ROTORS, TURNED DRUMS, CHANGED WHEELS SEVERAL TIMES. IT HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP AT LEASE 7 TIMES AND THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. I WROTE LETTERS AND PHONED CHRYSLER SEVERAL TIMES AND THEY DON'T SEEM TO BE INTERESTED. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND THERE WILL PROBABLY BE A CRASH. *JB

AT 1 K I NOTICED A VIBRATION WHEN I APPLIED THE BRAKES. AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS MY FRONT ROTORS. TOOK IT TO DEALER. THEY CHECKED IT OUT AND THEY REPLACED THE REAR BRAKE SHOES. IT WAS GOOD UNTIL ABOUT 4500 MILES. THE VIBRATIONS STARTED AGAIN. DURING INTERSTATE DRIVING IF I HAD TO APPLY THE BRAKES SUDDENLY THE VIBRATION WAS VERY VIOLENT. TOOK IT BACK TO DEALER. TOLD ME THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO ORDER NEW BRAKE DRUMS. AT 5700 MILES THE NEW DRUMS WERE INSTALLED. THE VIBRATION WAS STILL THERE WITH AN ADDITIONAL POPPING SOUND WHEN I APPLIED THE BRAKES. TOOK IT BACK THE NEXT DAY. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT THE NEW DRUMS WERE WARPED? THE DEALER PUT THE ORIGINAL DRUMS BACK ON. THEY CONTACTED CHRYSLER AND THEY WANT TO BALANCE THE TIRES. *JB

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE APPLYING BRAKE PRESSURE, THE VEHICLE SHIMMIED. IT WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THE ROTORS AND DRUMS WERE REPLACED. THE PROBLEM RECURRED MULTIPLE TIMES AND THE REAR DRUMS, REAR AXLE SHAFT, REAR BRAKE SHOES AND REAR BRAKE DRUMS WERE REPLACED ON DIFFERENT OCCASIONS. THE FRONT ROTORS WERE ALSO RESURFACED. THEN, THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR AND THE PEDAL HAD TO BE PUMPED TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THE DEALERSHIP WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM, BUT REPLACED THE MASTER CYLINDER. UPDATED 11/2/2006 - *NM

AIR-BAG WARNING LIGHTS COME ON INTERMITTENTLY SOMETIMES REMAIN ON FOR MILES. DEALER CANNOT DUPLICATE PROBLEM. QUESTION IS, WILL THEY WORK WHEN NEEDED? *JB

AIRBAG LIGHTS CONTINUE TO COME ON INTERMITTENTLY. PREVIOUS TRUCK WAS TRADED IN AS THE DEALER COULD NOT FIX THE ISSUE. NOW, THE NEW TRUCK IS EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUE. I THINK THIS SHOULD BE KEPT TRACK OF IN CASE OF A WIDESPREAD ISSUE CONCERNING AIRBAG WARNING LIGHTS IN SIMILAR VEHICLES (2005 DODGE DAKOTA). *JB