When vehicle hit a bump a clicking sound came from the front wheels. A mechanic examined the vehicle and determined that upper ball joints were severely worn out. Also, rotors on both sides were warped to the point that they couldn't be turned safely.
2000 Dodge Dakota suspension complaints
Page 7 of 11: complaints 161 to 190 of 282, newest first, as owners wrote them.
While driving the vehicle and turning left or right, consumer heard a rattles noise. Vehicle was taken to independent shop, mechanic determined need to be replaced the ball joints. Dealer notified.
While driving the front of vehicle vibrated severely. Consumer replaced the tires, but mechanic told her they could not do an alignment due to ball joint failure.
My 2000 dodge dakota has worn out ball joints. There is no way these things should have worn out. I could not find anyplace to grease them. My dealership said that there is nothing they can do about it. My teen son is driving this truck as little as possible. I can't believe chrysler is sticking there heads in the sand!
Had to replace lower ball joint at 55,000 miles.
My husband and I use to own a 2000 dakota quad cab.I don't recall exactly when we discovered the problem, but I do remember the cost to fix it was going to be approximately $2000.00. We originally thought it was a tire or brake or an alignment problem. Ours didn't squeek or clunk, ours shimmied so bad our watches on our arms (while driving) rattled. When we took it in to the dealer they told me that it was caused due to us not putting the original tires back on the truck when we replaced the tires. Putting original tires back on the truck did alleviate enough of the problem that we traded the dakota for another vechicle without taking a tremendous loss as was the situation when we tried to trade it in before returning the tires to original. For those who might believe it was due to oversize tires that was not the case. We only put cooper tires comparable to the originals on the truck, but goodyear is the only maker of the size of tire we needed and those tires were on back-order.
Front end noises. Clunking sound that continues to get louder. Has been checked by dodge service center a few times. The last time they replaced front ball joint. Still has a loud clunk. Also, it will not hold an alignment for any lenght of time.
Premature failure of right front upper control arm balljoint and lower balljoint (50,000 miles).
I recently moved to misourri and took my truck in for the required safety inspection. I was told that my upper ball joint was wearing significantly.
Uneven wear of front tires prompted an alignment. During alignment inspection, upper ball joints were found to be "severely worn". Otherwise vehicle drove normal.
Right upper ball joint loose.
My 2000 dodge dakota truck had to have the upper right ball joint replaced. The truck has under 38,000 miles of light-duty use. This seems too early for this type of part failure. When will the other ball joints fail?
Most recent problem. Ront end: 1) "clunking" noises followed by front wheel assembly break. Front wheel assembly disengaged from vehicle while driving. *ak hostory of brake problems: 1) rear drums ineffective, and lock up under humid condition after sitting. 2) front rotors warped x2 occurences. Dealer replaced pads and rotors. Second incident "nott covered under warranty." 3) front brake pads fall and wear diagonally resulting in ineffective braking. 4) generally poor and unresponsive braking.
Most recent problem. Front end: ) "clunking" noises followed by front wheel assembly break. Front wheel assembly disengaged from vehicle while driving.*ak hostory of brake problems: 1) rear drums ineffective, and lock up under humid condition after sitting. 2) front rotors warped x2 occurences. Dealer replaced pads and rotors. Second incident "nott covered under warranty." 3) front brake pads fall and wear diagonally resulting in ineffective braking. 4) generally poor and unresponsive braking.
Upon servicing the vehicle technician inspected ball joints and noticed all four ball joints were worn out, and needed to be replaced. *ak
Replacement of both lower ball joints at my expense because they were loose.
One of the front upper ball joints popped off, causing the tire to detach and roll under the vehicle while driving. Driver was able to regain control of the vehicle and avoid a collision. *ak the detachment occurred on the front right side of the vehicle. The consumer felt that the cause was due to the lack of grease. There was also excessive wear in the upper ball joint and the left side of the vehicle.
Heard a lot of squeaking and clunking, took to dealer and was told upper ball joints have gone bad along with inner tie-rods. This would cost around $1200 to fix, that cost could be reduced alot if a person could find non-oem parts but instead you are forced to buy from dodge and then you cant even buy the individual tie-rods you have to buy the entire steering assembly. Dodge knows this is a problem and did help with the cost of the parts but this is not something that should go out on a vehicle with only 45000 miles, especially when if either part had failed completely I could have lost total control of the vehicle.
While driving 60 MPH the vehicle would vibrate and pull to the right when the brakes were applied an independent shop determined that the upper ball joints needed to be replaced. The problem still exist.
Upper and lower control arms failed. The parts were replaced twice. However, the problem still exists. *ak
While driving at any speed consumer heard a clanking sound when turning corners. Vehicle was taken to a dealer, who found that the upper and lower ball joints needed to be replaced. *ak
Both upper ball joints on this truck have excessive play in them. Only 45,000 miles when problem began.
Consumer complained about a ball joint problem.
Vehicle was taken to dealership for ball joint replacement. Wheel came off, and consumer had vehicle towed. Dealership refused to repair ball joints. Also, they would not allow consumer to speak to any diamler chrysler dodge personnel, and they were not giving any adequate information concerning repair cost or even if they would repair the vehicle.
The vehicle's ball joints were defective which made it unsafe to drive the vehicle. The manufacturer is aware of the defect. *ak
When making a right hand turn the consumer could hear a rattling noise in the front end. The dealer indicated that the ball joints were loose.*ak the dealer replaced the left and right ball joints to correct the problem.
Consumer saw on news about vehicle manufacturer's ball joint problems where joints are prematurely braking allowing the assembly and the wheel to come loose on dodge dakota pickup trucks. *la
Bad ball joints failed.
The consumer took the vehicle to the dealership for an inspection. The mechanic informed the consumer that the upper ball joints failed. *ak *sc
After hearing of the problems with upper ball joints, I pulled the right side upper ball joint loose and found extreme play in the joint. The dealership could not locate a joint for me anywhere in the state and determined that the joint was backordered by 3000. To get the ball joint I had to replace the whole upper control arm at the price of 175.00.(part only) I removed the original control arm and cut away the rubber seal to find that the lower portion of the joint was fractured and the joint was worn to the point that it was about to fall apart. I believe that with some pressure I could pull the joint apart with my hands. What makes this problem so dangerous is that I had no pulling, tire wear, knocking, or creaking noises to alert me of this problem. If I had not taken a proactive look at this joint, it would definitely have come apart soon. I have saved the part and would be willing to ship it to anyone who would like to examine it. I have also ordered a left side ball joint to replace as soon as it is available. It is clear that this is a defective product and should be replaced by the manufacturer. Dodge should ignore the lawyers and step up to the plate to do what is right. It might just save a customer. Right now the new ford truck is looking better than the dodge for my next purchase.
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