2002 Dodge Dakota SXT 3.9L Magnum V6

Summary:

I should have kept my 1991 Nissan SEV6 truck and drove it to North Carolina

Faults:

I realized that my passenger side floor board was flooding roughly 400 miles into my purchase. It was still under warranty, but I was unable to take it back to the original dealer since I was driving across country to my new Duty Station.

100 miles after that, my right turn signal magically turned on my emergency 4 way lights. It occureed sporadically at first, but the farther I drove across country, the worse it got.

My truck "jumps" if I gradually accelerate. I haven't yet dealt with this problem since the local dealership seems to be full enough trying to deal with my electrical problem.

4,000 miles into my purchase, my left brake light stopped working, unless I first put on the left turn signal. When my right turn signal works, my left break light works. Probably the same electrical short the turn signal.

General Comments:

If you live in North Carolina, you're required to get a State Inspection sticker to show that your car or truck is truly road worthy.

I honestly don't know how it passed. I've seen the local Dodge dealer twice. The first problem, the flooded passenger floorboard, was a four hour fix. The second problem they didn't understand and required a my car on another day.

They claimed to have fixed it. The moment they drove my truck out of the shop, I checked my turn signal and brake light. It didn't work.

I'm still waiting for my third appointment.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 13th September, 2004

20th Apr 2006, 06:14

I have owned a 2002 Dodge Dakota SXT for over 2 years now. Fortunately, I haven't had many problems out of it, with the exceptions of the flooding passenger floor board. I have had it off road a few times and assumed that I had punctured a small hole in the floor board or caused a seal to go bad. I have found nothing wrong yet and I am still looking for what could be wrong. I am glad to know now that I may not be a fault for this and will broaden my search for the leak. Any suggestions you might have, please post.

Everything else with the truck has performed great. Off roading was incredible. I even found myself driving through places I had to pull jeeps out of. Towing and normal driving is exceptional. I drive just under 80 miles a day to and from work with no problems what so ever. I am overall pleased with it and will continue to purchase alike products.

2nd Dec 2006, 19:25

I know this message is kind of old, but I had the same problem with my 2002 Dakota. Basically you clogged you're air conditiniors drip line so it's backing up and dripping on the passenger floorboard. Lucky for me I was still under warranty and they even replaced the carpet which was smelling moldy. The padding under the carpet had absorbed so much water it was 3 inches thick.

2002 Dodge Dakota P/U Quad Cab-Sport 4x4 4.7L V8

Summary:

We love it anyways because we like the body style

Faults:

The right front brake was staying on causing it to smoke as we drove down the road.

The starter neede to be replaced at 34000 miles.

General Comments:

The front brake rotors and calipers were replaced. We have not had any other problems. It was covered under warranty.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 12th September, 2004

2002 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab Sport 4x2 3.9L

Summary:

Looks better than it is, not quite worth the price and trouble

Faults:

So far it was some kind of low idle motor or something. It would go lower than idle after inching up at toll booths and such. Brought it to the dealer and it was fixed. Heater blower motor resistor board under dash went, but I replaced it myself for ten bucks and its fine now. I complained about road wander, but they told me everything was fine, I didn't complain about warped rotors at the time and now its too late. That trip to the dealer was at 35.000 miles before warranty was up. It still wanders and the front end is tight after many mechanics looked at it, so I'm thinking of changing tires. Surprisingly, no other problems yet after reading so many horror stories. This one is not as good as the other four that I had in the past.

General Comments:

Here is my unbiased opinion. I have had four other Dakotas in the past, and enjoyed all of them, but this one comes from a company that lacks quality control, and has many recalls on many of their vehicles. I don't feel as strong about this one as the others, and only time will tell if I keep it that long. It's a base model, with the only option being limited slip rear, so there is not as much to go wrong with it. I can improve all the things that are weak in the inherent design, but I feel that for what I paid, (this being the first new one I've bought) that I shouldn't have to do that. Why should I have to upgrade the braking system, and the fuel system, for better performance, etc.? I know I won't buy another Dodge again, the only question is how long I hold on to this one. My past Dakotas were an '87, '94, '96, and a '99. I loved all of them, but Dodge is now skimping on quality, and service.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 19th August, 2004