Purchased truck in 1998 and since then the left front caliper seized and the rotor pads and caliper had to be replaced. The dealer covered this under warranty the truck had only 12000 miles and this occurred in 1999. Since that time the right front caliper also seized in 2002. The mileage on my truck was 62260 miles. The caliper pads and rotor had to be replaced and brake line.
1998 Dodge Dakota: engine failure
5 of the 544 complaints about the 1998 Dodge Dakota describe engine failure.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 1%
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 25 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below
Engine failure by model year
What owners say
My husband and I own a 1998 dodge dakota, VIN [xxx]. We have had numerous problems with this vehicle, beginning in the second year of our lease. During the past four years, we have spent approximately $9,000 on vehicle repairs including a new transmission, new engine, new starter, new wheel baring, new brake caliper, new heater core and new water pump. The catalytic converter and alternator have been replaced twice and two o2 sensors have been replaced. The air conditioner has been repaired four times. While these repairs have been costly and inconvenient, none of them has posed a safety concern per se. I am writing now to complain about our most recent vehicle failure which most certainly is a safety issue. On november 18, 2004, my husband was driving approximately 35 MPH when his front driver side tire broke off from the axle. The tire fell on its side and the truck landed on the tire. The steering wheel locked up, and the truck skidded to a stop in the left turn lane. My husband had no control of the truck. When we took the truck to our mechanic, he found that the passenger side wheel was near the breaking point as well and replaced that axle as well. We are still driving on the two front tires, but we were informed that we should get an alignment and probably have the tires replaced as well. We understand that dodge has recalled the 2000-2003 dakotas for this same defect. We believe that our vehicle should also be covered under this recall. *nm updated 07/24/2012 *js information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)
Engine check light came on while we were on a trip to palm coast, fl on thursday, april 26, 2001. The oil pressure dropped from normal to 0. We pulled off at the next exit. The truck was still running, however we called chrysler and they said they would tow it to the nearest dodge dealership. We told them to take it tallahassee as we were in madison. After one week being in the shop they told us the engine was blown due to non-maintenance (oil changes). We did not understand that because we had the oil changed. It was not every 3000 miles but it was sufficient. They told us that the oil had never been changed in this truck. This is totally untrue. We gave them receipts where it was changed and they said the inspector from chrysler had to check it out. We had to pay russell dodge over $200.00 to break it down just for an inspection. The inspector for chrysler came after 3 days and said it was not covered under warranty. So my husband works for prestige infiniti dealership in tallahassee and we had it towed to their garage to look at. They told us the engine was gone and they had never seen anything like it. We are going to have to replace the engine. We believe there is a defect in the 6 cylinder 1998 dodge truck engines, because we can prove that the oil was changed, therefore something in the engine was not working and caused a back up of oil or something was not functioning properly. The funny thing is that when we called to get a replacement engine, the person we ordered it from said they had sold 17 engines for 1998 dodge 6 cyclinders in the last month. Now come on 17 in a month, what is wrong with this picture???? A 1998 is only 3 years old and our engine had 42,000 miles on it. Should not an engine last more than 42,000 miles without being totalled???? I think there is definitely something wrong here. Also the chrysler corporation will not send us a copy of their inspection report do they have something to hide.
Engine failed. Yh
Engine failed.
Service bulletins that may apply
- Service
- Valve Body
- Reprogram PCM and inspect catalytic converter
- Subject regarding additional diagnostic for diagnostic trouble codes caused by an evaporative system leak
- Some vehicles may exhibit a light to moderate spark knock condition during acceleration (under load)
- Some vehicle engines may exhibit a light-to-moderate spark knoc condition during acceleration (under load)
- On some vehicles the engine cranks but does not start or starts and stalls
- Some vehicle engines may exhibit a light-to-moderate spark knock condition during acceleration (under load)
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 1998 Dodge Dakota engine failure
Is engine failure a common problem on the 1998 Dodge Dakota?
5 of 544 owner complaints about the 1998 Dodge Dakota (1%) mention engine failure. The model year with the most reports is 2002.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1998 Dodge Dakota?
There are 0 recalls and 25 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1998 Dodge Dakota
Ball joint 189Brake failure 17Grinding brakes 17No deployment 16Premature wear 16Steering noise 11Knocking 10Harsh shifting 10Headlights 9Pulling 9ABS 7Seat belt 7Stalling 7Transmission failure 6
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