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.
2002 Dodge Dakota engine complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 38 of 38, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I have had several alarming failures with my dodge dakota quad cab. It is a 2002 v6 auto transmission pw pl. I have had the ball joints replaced because of the recall, my transmission has failed (twice), my front hubs & spindles completely disintegrated and could have killed my family, my water pump has failed and had to be replaced, the driver side taillight seems to fail often, the vacuum hoses have all had to be replaced because of the cheap rubber used by the manufacturer fail by cracking and causing all sorts of leaks causing engine lights, loud noises under the hood, and horrible gas mileage. I have done everything possible to be proactive in my maintenance of the vehicle. I have had the major repairs done professionally. I do not understand how a 2002 vehicle can have so many potentially fatal problems and be ignored. I have searched high and low for quality bulletins but cannot find anything. My gas mileage is now down to 14 mpg and the truck is falling apart.
Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle is a four wheel drive and the oil pan on the vehicle sits below the truck frame. The oil pan is to close to the ground and does not have a skid plate therefore, debris punctures the pan. The manufacture has been alerted but stated there are know recalls for the failure therefore, no repairs have been made.
I was driving to pa from fl in my 2002 dodge dakota quad cab with a v-8 4.7l engine (msrp $27,000)when I heard a ticking noise while in sc. All fluid levels were fine, so I continued on my journey on tues. Oct. 11, 2005 I found out the diagnosis which was that 3 rods inside the engine had seized and a new engine was required to fix it. I was shocked and assumed that chrysler would take responsibility since I had an extended warranty through chrysler. The chrysler adjustor finally arrived to check out my truck on fri. Oct. 14 and that is when I heard the horrendous news that chrysler was not taking responsibility for their end of the contract and stated that there was a lack of maintenance on my truck. After I found that out I immediately had all of my maintenance records faxed to me from fl which proved that I faithfully changed my oil every 3,000 miles or less. I assumed that this would be sufficient for them to fix my engine. I decided to leave sc due to costly hotel expenses and had my sister come from va to pick my daughter and I up where we at least had a free place to stay temporarily till my truck was fixed. I found out the terrible news on mon. Oct. 24th that my maintenance records meant nothing to the chrysler corporation. I received the response "lack of maintenance" as being the reason why they would not take responsibility. I was shocked that my extended warranty that I paid almost 1800.00 for to cover this type of situation would not cover this repair. My truck had 41,369 miles on it when the engine seized. The estimate I received for repairing the engine was $7,301.00. I called chrysler customer service and asked why my maintenance records were not honored and was told "this is the final decision mam". I asked for faxes to be sent to me regarding the adjustors report & a letter from chrysler saying that responsibility was not being taken by them for the repair and was told that they could not send that to me.
Dt: the contact heard a rod knocking in the engine. The knocking j started where it could be heard. There was a diagnostic test performed by the dealer ,and it confirmed it was a rod. The truck is in the shop for repairs at this time.
Dt: the contact had a problem with the oil pressure staying on high most of the time since august 12, 2002. In september 2002 the obd light came on. She kept taking vehicle to the dealer to be repaired. Every time she took it in to a dealership they would say that there was no problem. While driving in august 2005 the oil pressure dropped, causing the vehicle to die. The contact heard a sound, the check engine light came on ,and then three seconds later it died. Afterwards, she took it to a dealership, and they said that it was due to lack of maintenance. The contact has copies of most of the oil changes. The contact has the oil changed every 3,000 miles. She found that there are many other people having the same problem online. The dealership told the contact that there was sludge in the engine. And that the whole engine needed replacement. . The contact called the customer service of dodge ,and they said that it was covered under warranty. The area representative told dodge that there was sludge in the engine and that there was lack of maintenance, and that the warranty expired.
Vehicle stalled. The manufacturer stated that they could not get the vehicle to repeat the problem. Manufacturer replaced the vehicle chip on four occasions, but it continued to stall.
On our way to the hospital (after dark) when the oil pressure went to '0' and check engine light came on. Truck started slowing down (as if downshifted) and smoking. About the time we got to the shoulder of the road it backfired and a flash came from the back of the truck and it died. I have a 2002 dodge dakota. We had to call 911 and get a deputy to pick us up and take us to the hospital.
While driving, noticed that the check engine light was on and the oil pressure gauge was incorrect. Notified dealer of this issue and also an issue with grinding noise when turning left or right. The dealer has replaced the upper and lower ball joints on the front and even admitted that they have seen a high failure rate for this. Also they replaced the vacuum tube harness under the gas tank. The oil pressure gauge sensor was loose and was corrected.
Vehicle miss misfire dand stallled while driving at any speed.
At just 22,200 miles truck in for third time for engine light being on. This time the thermostat was broken. Less than 1000 miles since the last time it was on, last time the canister hose was cracked.
The truck has had sever problems with acceleration and stalling. It also makes a clunking noise when turning the vehicle. There have been numerous amounts of problems with at leat 15 days total in the shop.
In oct.2002 my truck shut off while driving down the road. In the past the truck had shut off in reverse or when I was at a dead stop and then press the gas, but this time I had to drive with my foot on the gas and the brake at the same time and then put it in neutral at a stop to keep the gas going. I had also had a problem with my blinkers. You turn the left one on and occasionally the right one will blink to-like "hazard lights". My dash board would also light up while driving or even when I come to a stop at a light. I put it off until the driving down the road. The dealership said it was a computer problem and the truck had been doing it since day 1, they couldn't find the problem to the blinkers. Also the A/C condesation line had a crack in it and was leaking into my passenger side floor-that was a second trip. Now my truck is haveing the same shut-off problem starting just like it did last time-so now I am looking into the "lemon law", it seems to apply so far.
The vehicle stalled while driving. *nlm *ak the vehicle experienced the following: knocking in the suspension(4 attempts to fix), the vehicle pulled to the right, the driver door had a wind noise and water leaked, the tailgate handle was loose on the right side, the lower steering column coupled, and the upper control arm bolts were found loose.
2002 dodge dakota quad cab w/ 5.9 liter engine. My truck suffers from a shaky idle, very prevalent when releasing the brake and rolling. Is worse at cold start up. I suspect ignition system= location of coil may be the cause due to being so close to the tensioner pulley or a out-of balance harmonic balancer.
The vehicle stalled at 30 MPH.
Warm engine idle on 4.7l engine in 2002 dakota quad cab stumbles when idling at traffic lights. Rpm at normal idle only 500 to 550. When fluctuation occurs idle speed ranges between 450 rpms to 650 rpms. Engine vibrates due to low idle RPM and has stalled on one occasion. To prevent stall out I need to shift automatic transmission into neutral. Have been to dealer twice and was told they can't fix as no tsb has been received allowing for change to computer. This has been an ongoing problem since I bought the truck new last june. Not just date specific as requested by an incident date.
Pickup truck drive train binds up during 2 wheel driving. The front axle (4x4) does not allow the front wheels to disengage. Truck has been to the dealer 3 times and dodge says this is the way they all are. At 4272 miles the front tires show significant feathering, and is stalling out when driving around corners in low gear mode (@ intersections and parking spaces). Dodge says that the front and rear axles are not limited slip but positive traction and recommends that I push in the clutch to keep from stalling. They want me to double-clutch to get through an intersection when I make left hand turns? I feel that this is a design error with safety implications.
My truck has loud knocking noise in engine and does not shift properely, have taken truck in and they say the engine racing is normal. The knocking noise is a purge solinoid which dodge addmits theres a problem but refuses to fix. They have made adjustments which now has affected performance to engine. I have had it in shop 4 times so far with no results. They try to tell you theres nothing wrong like its your own imagination.
Vehicle has a very rough idle and constantly stalls without warning while driving. The dealer has not been able to determine cause of problem. Ts
Consumer states vehicle special ordered with power windows and locks stalled out 3 times. Dealer replaced blown ignition fuse, replaced fuse that shorten relating to the installation of the power windows and locks and replaced a mis-routed wiring in the ignition switch. In addition, the electric locks do not work, and the light switch must be jiggled in order to turn the lights off. Consumer is requesting replacement of another dakota (slt) model.
Vehicle will stall while consumer is driving. Vehicle stalls at any speed. Contacted dealer, and the dealer cannot find cause of problem.
Gasoline is getting into the engine oil system which could result in an explosion or fire.
Vehicle was burning smoke and engine oil. Dealer has been notified of problem, and technician couldn't duplicate problem. Please provide further information.
I drove this pickup three times before running into a bad overheat problem. I was driving at a very slow speed because of traffic that day. My girlfriend and I were heading out for the weekend for some camping and fun when my brand new truck overheated on the freeway and spilled coolant all over the freeway. This problem ruined our whole weekend and my hopes of having a good reliable truck. Now I am having extreme difficulties in getting anyone in the customer service department to help with my problem about reporting to the manufacturer.
While driving engine stalled and could have caused an accident. Cause unknown. Dealer notified.
Engine stumbles at 2300 RPM, two dealers have said problem is characteristic and not repairable. Steering is stiff at center very light elsewhere causing oversteering at the transition, also characteristic according to dealers. Steering problem amplified starting from stop and turning corner. Excessive vehicle roll and stumbling accentuates steering instability. Also noticable on freeway entrance/exit ramps when steering is on the transition between heavy and light effort.
Engine oil pressure drops to the low mark on the gauge with engine in gear, at operating temperture with A/C off.
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