Both upper ball joints are loose requiring replacement.
2000 Dodge Dakota suspension complaints
Page 4 of 11: complaints 71 to 100 of 282, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Dodge dakota tie rods. Tie rod actually broke. *bf the consumer sent in a complaint to the federal safety agency on line but had trouble.
Noticed very loud squeaking in front end of 2000 dodge dakota. Took in for dealer to service(46,000 miles). Mentioned ball joints. They replaced sway bar bushings. Four months later squeaking was back(51,000 miles). Returned to dealer questioning ball joints again. They lubricated the sway bar bushings. Five months later vehicle in for state inspection and drivers side upper ball joint failed, passenger side upper ball joint almost out of tolerance (55,000 miles). Had both replaced with oem from dodge. Sent email to service manager questioning coverage by dodge and received no response.
I have a 2000 dodge dakota. On november 2,2004 while driving on city side streets the front passenger wheel fell off the vehicle. While waiting for a tow truck to arrive, I called the dodge dealership where I purchased my vehicle and was told this would not be covered under warranty. I had my vechile towed to my mechanic who did most of the repairs (totaling about $1,300). He handed me a box with the ball joints from my vehicle and told me to hang onto them. The upper and lower ball joint on both sides needed to be replaced. The cause of the accident was the upper ball joint losing all it's grease (this is supposed to be a sealed unit!), causing undo stress on the joint until it eventually sheared away from the vehicle. I still have to take my vehicle in for some repairs that need to be completed (cv boot replacement and a tie rod that is twisted) - which is estimated to be an additional $400. I do have the ball joints - all in varying degrees of defective damage along with photos of the vehicle at the place of the accident. Photos include close up shots of the wheel and ball joint. I have written a letter to dodge corporation as I feel they should pay for the repairs since the parts were obviously defective. This is also a serious safety concern as if this wheel had fallen off my vehicle just 2 miles sooner, I would have been traveling at 65 MPH coming down the highway from the rocky mountains! The wreck would have almost certainly killed me!! The wreck would have also taken out any vehicles traveling near me! This is a very serious safety risk.
While driving steering wheel jumped on its on. Consumer was able to maintain control of the vehicle, and took it to the dealer for inspection. Mechanic determined that the rack and pinion steering and upper ball joint needed to be replaced.
I noticed that my dodge dakota 2000 4 x4 with 39,000 miles was pulling to the right. I took it in to have the alignment adjusted and was told that it could not be performed because the lower ball joint on the front driver side was failing. Seems to me that no part of the ball joint should be failing at 39,000 miles. From what little research I've done, there seems to be a widespread problem with dodge dakota/durango ball joint failures.
Heard a clunking noise from front end. Vehicle also shakes when apply brakes. *bf while driving over 65 MPH the front end of the vehicle shook as though it was misaligned or unbalanced. It also shook when the brakes were applied at speeds of 50 MPH or higher. The vehicle's wheels have been balanced, the steering aligned, the brakes and rotors have been replaced yet the problem recurs.
Front driver's side upper and lower ball joints failed.
Failure of upper ball joint. 2000 dodge dakota. Discovered during a tire purchase. Having fixed at dealership. Wear is premature.
I own a 2000 dodge dakota that I bought new. It is a club cab 4x4 with the 4.7l v8 an automatic. The vehicle has never been off road and has just turned 51,000 miles. Without warning the pass. Side upper and lower ball joints both wore out and needed to be replaced. This of course was not covered under the warranty . Luckily I caught the problem before the wheel fell off. I drive approx. 90 miles a day on a major highway and if the wheel would have come off it could have caused a major accident.
Upper and lower ball joints are worn to the point of making alignment impossible. Alignment shop says condition is dangerous and could result in wheel separation. Condition has existed and has worsened since about 30,000 miles. This condition was repeatedly mis-diagnosed by several dodge dealerships until warranty expired.
Upper and lower ball joints
The front end of my 2000 dodge dakota quad cab 4wd knocks during turns. Front tires badly worn. Brought to independent shop and was told front ball joints, shocks, and tie rod ends badly worn and not safe to drive. Will cost over $900 to repair. First noticed front end noise around 60000 miles.
Begining symptoms of ball joint wear and possible failure on my 2000 dodge dakota. Have also replaced my front rotors four times with only 61,000 miles on vehicle.
Upper ball joints prematurely wore out. Fell apart during changing of ball joints.
While driving 30 MPH, the vehicle jerked and vibrated uncontrollably. The driver was able to maintain control of the vehicle and pulled over. The vehicle was towed to a body shop. The mechanic informed the driver that the upper and lower ball joint were broken and needed to be replaced. Please provide further details. *jb the consumer swerved to avoid hitting a deer. After swerving the left front of the vehicle fell to the ground and caused the vehicle to slid into a guard rail.
I own a 2000 dodge dakota quad cab VIN [xxx]. This vehicle currently has 58000 miles. During an inspection of my brakes, I discovered several front end parts with unacceptable wear. At my own expense, I am replacing upper and lower ball joints on both sides as well as both outer tie-rod ends. I was lucky enough to have discovered these problems before any actual failure occurred. The truck is not new but these parts should have no where near this amount of wear at only 58000 miles. I have since discovered that I am only one of many that has experienced these problems with this type of vehicle. I plan to save all the old parts as well as my receipts in hopes that eventually I might be reimbursed. *nm updated 07/24/2012 *js information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)
There were no warning signs leading up to the upper ball joint failing, and the front left tire folding over, causing the truck slow quickly and pull to the right. So far the dealership has not called with any repair prices.
While driving 20 MPH the passenger side wheel snapped off. *nm the consumer stated that steering did not feel right in the front end.
2000 dodge dakota quad cab 52000 miles dealer maintained regularly turned into parking lot where entrance crossed over city sidewalk, mild to moderate bump, heard a loud thump, then grinding, and lost steering control. Stopped car and found right front upper ball joint separated with wheel almost complete flat on ground. Allied dealer refused to cover repair. Vehicle towed, replaced ball joint. ~$160 concerned about the rest of ball joints on vehicle!!!!!!!
I own a 2000 dodge dakota quad cab truck, and wanted it to be noted that both front tires came off the truck due to inner tie rod socket disconnected from main rack and various ball joint repairs have been made. Thus far, I have not crashed or injured anyone, but that may be because I am afraid to drive the truck.
At 72,000 miles had the upper ball joints replaced three times. *ak
While driving at 20 MPH out of a driveway right front wheel detached from the vehicle and rolled down the road. Vehicle was damaged on the bumper and the under carriage. *ak
While making a left turn, the right front passenger tire fell off. After towing the vehicle it was discovered that ball joints were defective. *ak the mechanic stated that the problem was the upper ball joint.
The upper control arm broke at 5 MPH. This caused the left front tire to cave in. Vehicle was towed to dealer, who replaced the upper control are on both sides. *ak on right hand turns, there was a clunk noise and the steering had become difficult. The tire collapsed in the wheel well. The control arm broke.
8/18/04: my son was driving west bound on 2nd ave (tx hwy 22). Just prior to turning left from 15th st (also hwy 22), he heard a popping noise in the front end of the truck. After traveling approximately 2 blocks, his front driver side wheel fell off, causing him to lose control and pull to the left across three lanes of traffic. Fortunately, he did not hit a car and came to rest in a parking lot for an A/C company. Although the damage is being fixed under an extended warranty, chrysler and the dealership (berry chrysler/jeep/dodge, corsicana, tx) are refusing to replace the tire that was dragged on its sidewall approximately 200ft; the tire was pinned under the truck. The cause of the accident was two broken ball joints on that wheel. I orignally believed this problem to be faulty craftsmanship on the dealership which had repaired another problem on that wheel a year ago; the brake caliper fell off. I now believe this to be the manufacturer as many dakotas and durangos have been reported with the same problem and often similar consequences.l.
While driving, heard a rubbing noise from front wheel area. Ball joints and tie rod on front driver side had went bad. Did not hear any pre-warning signs. Only noticed when the noise of rubbing started. Had to replace both ball joints and tie rod.
While driving at 45 MPH the consumer heard a loud bang come from under the vehicle. The consumer saw the wheel from the vehicle roll across the road. The vehicle skidded across the road and ended up in a ditch. The consumer nor the passenger was injured in the accident. A tow truck mechanic informed the consumer that the ball joints collapse on the vehicle. *nm
Front ball joints fail on a regular and far too often basis.
While an inspection was performed being performed on the vehicle, it was discovered the ball joints were defective. After searching the web a recall was found.
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