I have a 98 Dakota that I use for my work truck, and it has a few strange problems. I'm curious to know if I'm the only one or is it a poor design. Here are the most annoying issues: 1) Wipers work at times, then stop working for a few days. Dealer says bring it in when they aren't working, but I can't predict when that will be. 2)Air/heat selector switch doesn't allow air to come through the dash vents when air/vent setting is selected, also intermittent. Also, air conditioning will switch to defroster when climbing a hill. Checked system for vacuum leaks and none found. 3) Very weak heater. Almost no warm air when below about 20 outside air temp. Bundle up! 4) Electric locks don't unlock from the drivers switch, nor lock from the passenger switch. Doesn't Mopar make some high quality products?
Carl, I have a 99 and have never had any of those problems. I was actually very happy with it, untill some a**hole drug addict stole it and ran it into a building. It blew heat so hot it would burn you out no matter what the outside temp is.
I have an 02 Quad cab 4x4 and I haven't had any of those problems. The only issue I've had with mine, aside from the ball-joint recall, is the fan control switch stopped working. I have just over 41k miles and I'm very happy with it so far.
I have a 2002 Quad Cab. I haven't had any of those problems, but I do know there is a wiper motor recall out there. Water supposedly gets into the housing causing the wipers to work intermittently. I'm with Eric - I have enough heat for all of us on this list. Maybe get with your dealer about the recall and then start :blast: Dave
Do you have information on the wiper recall? I have an '02 4X4 X-cab and had the ball joints replaced (rides 1000X better), repairs on the service bulletin for water from the a/c leaking into the passenger side but otherwise trouble free. Except for a short in the wiring for the hitch electrical. And weatherstrip replaced under warranty because of wind noise. Oh, 40K miles on it.
OK, found it... "... some late-2002 through 2004 Dodge Dakota / Durango: Water may enter into the windsheild wiper motor on you Dakota / Durango and cause the windshield wiper system to become inoperative. This can..." I didn't realize it only went back as far as 02, but I would still start at the dealer level with a good :rant: and see where it leads. Hope that helps someone... Dave
My 97 runs great. Had it for 6 years, and not a single problem untill just recently... Loosing oil pressure. Turns out the oil pan required to shoe-horn the V8 into this little thing is a very shallow design, and causes the pick up screen to get clogged with crap. Funny thing is 86k miles, oil changes every 3-5k miles since I got it. So I'm not entirely sure where the crap came from o No: ... Maybe I dont want to know :shock: Mechanic who charged me $600 to fix it says this is a common problem
well i'm the original owner of my 97 dakota sport and I've had my fair share of problems. None like i thought it would be. It has 138,000 miles and still on the original clutch and rear brakes. it's been through 4 crankshaft sensors and 5 converters but the original muffler. go figure. i think the crank sensors make the converters go bad. i too have had problems with oil pressure but i just keep using thicker oil. oil pressure problems started at 50,000 miles but i've never pulled the pan i'm up to 20-50w oil. she's a bitch to start but she runs like a top. i've had no problems with the heat a/c wipers doorlocks but the stereo has sucked since the day i bought it. 3rd set of speakers in the doors. I think when this one dies i'll get something other than a dodge, but of course i'm still a happy buick owner :grin: :blast: dodge
Mine definitely has had it's share of problems. It's out of warranty now, and my next truck definitely won't be a Dodge. When I went hunting for the wiper motor, I was pretty surprised to see it mounted outside, under the cowl. I'm pretty sure that design wouldn't hold up in the rust belt. I've never had any problems with the factory stereo, and am on the original brakes at 80K miles though. The local dealer that I liked was recently bought out by some corporation that owns many dealers in the Twin Cities. I took it in, and suddenly they 'recommended' $600 worth of simple items such as spark plug wires and distributor cap. I couldn't get out of there fast enough.
Mine is looking at the second set of brakes with only 40K miles. Speaking of spark plug wires, it looks like a difficult task to change those suckers. Anyone found an easy way to do it? Next truck will be a 70-72 sport wagon.
I just bought a 2002 dodge dakotta quad cab (2wd, v6, 29000 miles). Where do I go to find out if there are any recalls on it? Thanks Brett Schmahl
We have a 1990 Dakota (4-cylinder variety), the heat doesn't shut off, all beat up rusted, battered, broken, dented... 120k miles and counting... That thing will never die!! NEVER! We beat the living crap out of it since we got it and it's still running
