2002 Dodge Dakota: sudden loss of power

Filed Jul 16, 2016 · Engine · 124,000 miles · FL

I bought the subject pickup in 2014, I found after driving it that the engine would lose power, wouldn't idle smoothly, and it would backfire thru the throttle body electronic fuel injection. The problem was and is intermittent, it sometimes happens when pulling into traffic, making me trying to pull over to the curb. I took it the local dodge dealership [rocky top dodge, sevierville tn] to have it fixed, they tuned it up, cleaned the throttle body and a few other things and said it was ok. I paid them $650+, pulled out of the dealership, and there it was doing the same thing. I immediately turned around went back to the dealership, they kept it for 4 more days, then told me they didn't know what the what was and couldn't fix it. I been driving just about everyday since with this problem. I tried contacting dodge, they were suppose to have a regional rep contact me, that never happened. It just amazes me that I am the only person in the country having this problem. I did take it upon myself to change all of the engine sensors, that costs me $300 to do it myself. I am just highly frustrated with dodge that they can't tell me what's wrong with this truck and fix it. I need help since it's a safety issue.

Filed Mar 30, 2015 · Steering · 98,000 miles · FL

Rack and pinion seal busted while driving at some point resulting in loss of power steering fluid.

Filed Jul 20, 2014 · Engine · 153,000 miles · CA

While I was traveling uphill the engine shut off as I was going over the freeway overpass to enter the south bound freeway entrance. I lost all power steering and brakes and had just enough power to roll downhill past the freeway entrance to turn on a street to roll to a stop just as I turned the corner. Thank goodness I wasn't on the freeway when this happened or have any cars in front of me as I was rolling downhill because I didn't have brakes. I tried to start the engine and got no power, but noticed the mileage reader said "no bus". I had the truck towed home. For the next 2-3 months the truck would start sometimes and run for about 15 minutes and shut off and other times it would just turn over as if it had a bad alternator.the strange thing is when it was 70-74 degrees outside and below the truck would start and run for about 15 minutes before shutting off and when you tried to start the engine right after it would just turn over and not start. If it was close to 80 degrees or hotter outside, the truck would never start, it would just turn over like a bad alternator. After doing some research on the "no bus" code, I found out that this was an indication that the power control module (PCM/ECM computer) was bad. After further research I found that heat affected the PCM and that's why it started on some days and not others. I bought a rebuilt PCM and the truck did the same thing after a month and a half. This part should not be sold by as a rebuild because the computer board melts and leaks a greasy like substance. My brother in-law has experience with computers and said it resembled melted heat coating from the computer board. We had success with a remanufactured PCM. This part should be recalled and corrected. There is a list of people on the dodge forum who have suffered with the same issues and I'm sure someone out here has wrecked or died over this.

Filed Aug 7, 2007 · Engine · 56,600 miles · NY

While traveling at highway speeds, vehicle lost all power and would not restart, leaving me stranded in 50 MPH traffic. Upon researching various dodge dakota sites on the internet, this seems to be a very common problem that is expensive and time consuming to fix.

Filed Jun 4, 2002 · Transmission · CA

Transmission failed due to lack of oil from factory. Both factory and dealer signed vehicle preparation forms stating "all fluids checked". Transmission failed on freeway. Lost power to rear wheels. If it had locked up from failure a crash would have been likely.