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Dodge Dakota stalling problems

162 of the 6,482 owner complaints about the Dodge Dakota describe engine stalls while driving, most of them for the 2002 model year.

owner complaints
162
worst model year
2002
typical mileage
37,000
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall for this area of the car. See below

By model year

What owners say

Filed Aug 12, 2025 · Fuel system · CA

My 2001 Dodge Dakota has a faulty SKIM system. The vehicle goes into No-Start/Stall while driving down the road. I have had it at a dealership and they do not have technical experience with these older vehicles that require an “antiquated software system”. This is a dangerous situation, particularly in foothills with winding roads.

Filed Aug 12, 2025 · Electrical, Transmission · 119,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2001 Dodge Dakota. The contact stated that after taking the vehicle to an independent mechanic to have the catalytic converter replaced, the vehicle stalled while driving at various speeds. There was no warning light illuminated. Due to the failure, the contact had to have the vehicle towed to the residence on nine separate occasions. The vehicle was also towed to a dealer, where the PCM was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to the Sentry Key Immobilizer Module (SKIM). The contact believed that a defect with the SKIM had caused the sudden stall with the security light flashing. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 119,000.

Filed Sep 24, 2019 · Electrical · 110,000 miles · MI

Often when I start my truck the oil pressure gauge will go all the way up, the gauge for the battery stays down, and when it does start, the serpentine belt will squeal, sometimes it will start and idle, other times it will not idle, unless I keep my foot on the gas, as soon as I take my foot off the gas it will stall, after about 15 minutes, everything will go back to normal and it runs fine, but lately, its been doing it more often, when it does this, there is a foul smell coming out of the exhaust. I have had it scanned and no codes came up on the scanner. I do not have a lot of money, so if there is a recall please let me know how a recall works. This has happened several times, but the last time was 9/23/2019, when I started it today, it ran fine.

Filed Apr 19, 2019 · Electrical, Transmission · 57,000 miles · PA

My engine turns off while driving. I cannot restart the engine until I have stopped, shifted to park, and cycled the ignition to off. The engine stalling started as a low/slow idle condition, and now has escalated to cutting off at full acceleration while merging into expressway traffic. This has happened on several dates. I am selecting the date of my last remembered occasion.

Filed Jan 6, 2019 · Engine, Fuel system · 153,362 miles · MI

Vehicle stalls intermittently in a unpredictable pattern. Vehicle restarts after stalling 7 out of 10 times. When it wont restart immediately after stalling it will take upwards of 10 minutes to achieve engine operation. I've replaced the crank position sensor, as well the cam position sensor. Vehicle continues to stall intermittently.

Filed Apr 21, 2018 · Engine, Fuel system · 130,000 miles · CA

Mine is the 2005 dodge dakota extra cab and the exhaust manifold bolts breaking/shearing at the engine block. This can cause (and it has) a ticking sound that gets louder as you accelerate. Once you hear the ticking sound, both sides of the engine are affected. This results in poor mileage, overheating, engine will stall at low idle, ultimately allowing exhaust fumes to enter the cabin, potentiallu, poisoning the occupants with carbon monoxide fumes. I took this vehicle to the dealer to have then replaced. The 1st dealer said it wasn't repairable. 2nd one said, 1400 $ per side to extract broken bolts at the rear of the exhaust manifold on both sides of my 4.7 . 3rd repair shop told me this very common on the 4.7 and he does about 10 a week. His price was 350 $ per size plus gasket and doughnut gasket at the collector. Hey! If this is such a common problem why are we dodge owners being hostage by having to make this repair ourselves and pay for it? It is an emmisions engineering underdesign that needs to be fixed and a recall needs to be issued. It is a design defect. Please investigate and get this situation corrected before some innocent child dies from carbon monoxide entering the cabin. Not to mention other potential hazards that may occur because the driver is overwhelmed by carbon monoxide and runs down 78 people because they passed out from the carbon monoixide filled cabin while driving. Please. Do. Something. Time is running out. Before somebody is killed.

Filed Feb 28, 2018 · Electrical, Steering · 96,000 miles · MI

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 dodge dakota. While driving 50 MPH on the highway, the steering wheel seized and the vehicle stalled without warning. There were no warning indicators illuminated prior to the failure. The vehicle was taken to galeana's van dyke dodge (28400 van dyke ave, warren, mi 48093, (586) 573-4000) where the contact was informed that the vehicle was under recall for the gear shifter, and that the gear shifter and the ignition needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 96,000.

Filed Jul 27, 2016 · Engine · TN

2003 dodge dakota. Consumer writes in regards to dealership unable to diagnose and repair engine stalling problems. *smd after having a computer update performed, the vehicle continued to stall.

Filed Apr 29, 2016 · Electrical, Engine · 50,000 miles · WA

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 dodge dakota. The contact stated that there was a continuous noise that progressed. Also, the motor failed and caused the vehicle to stall several times. The dealer and manufacturer stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under a manufacturer recall. The manufacturer provided no repair solution. The vehicle was also included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 15v313000 (air bags) and the dealer had not been able to schedule the repair for months due to the manufacturer not being able to confirm when the parts may become available. The vehicle continued to randomly stall. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

Filed Aug 5, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 137,000 miles · NH

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 dodge dakota.while driving at approximately 70 MPH, the engine stalled without warning. The vehicle was able to restart; however, the failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v795000 (electrical system). The failure mileage was approximately 137,000.

Related recalls

Engine and engine cooling: engineReported December 27, 1989 · 634,000 vehicles affected
What is wrong
The engine valve cover gasket may dislocate and allow an engine oil leak at the gasket.
Risk
The leakage of oil in the engine compartment could causea fire.
Remedy
Replace gasket cover with revised cover, and rtv sealant will be applied in place of a gasket.

Recall number 89V237000 · Recall details

Questions about the Dodge Dakota stalling

Which Dodge Dakota years have engine stalls while driving problems?

The model years with the most reports are 2002 (22 complaints), 1999 (18 complaints) and 2000 (15 complaints).

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