2000 Dodge Dakota from North America - Comments

230 miles—There was a noise coming from the rear end. They took apart the differential assembly and found ring and pinion and bearing have abnormal wear. The housing is not true. They replaced the axle assembly and transferred all needed parts.

1917 miles-- Problem with the On-Board Diagnostic system for the vehicle.

20,899 miles-- I took the vehicle in for routine transmission service. They found a rear output seal on the transmission was leaking. They replaced the seal. They found the thermostat was leaking. They replaced the thermostat gasket.

32,354 miles-- I started to have problems with the vehicle shifting into third gear. They checked the fluid and found it full. They suspected the high reverse seals were bad. The transmission was removed for inspection and found that the clutches were burnt and the seals were hard. They replaced the clutches and seals, back flushed, reassembled and road tested the vehicle.

32,354 miles-- The check engine light had come on. They checked and found code P1740. The Torque converter code. They removed the transmission and found fine metal throughout. Torque converter came apart inside the vehicle. The input shaft was scored where it rides in the pump from the metal. They replaced the input shaft, torque converter, pump, clutches and seals.

Under normal use conditions and normal maintenance service, how many miles should a transmission of this type go before you have to do major work on it? 100,000 miles? 80,000 miles? 50,000 miles? 35,000 miles?

If this does not justify an extended manufacture warranty, what does?

Is this the normal maintenance for this transmission? I think not.

We purchased our 2000 durango with 44850 miles on it and a 24mo/24000mile warranty to go with it. although I firmly believe in extended warranties, 200 miles after our warranty went out my check engine light came on while I was 500 miles from home with no warranty. it is giving off the code p1740 for the overdrive selinoid. I am truly worried that the mechanic will get into the transmission and find that there are multiple problems, not just one. I spent $1380 on my extended warranty and now that it has expired, my problems are just beginning. 20/20.

Based the advice of a former drag racer who has owned his a private auto repair business for over 30 years, the recommendation for the Dodge Dakota truck is this -- it's a great piece of machine; one of the finest trucks made due to its power to weight ratio. Yes, the transmission can be a weak link due to the powerful V-8 motors you can obtain in the low weight Dakota; however, it is not an issue with proper care and maintenance. The recommendation of this professional is to change the transmission fluid whenever it begins to have the slightest smell of burn to it -- or as an easy number to remember for you office folk -- every 20,000 miles without fail. It's a simple thing to do to ensure you have hundreds of thousands, that's right, hundreds of thousands of trouble free miles.

Fluids are the life blood of any mechanical system. You don't change them frequently at recommended, or better yet, sooner intervals, you get what you deserve. The better you take care of your investment by changing the oil, the transmission fluid, the rear end grease, the power steering, the brake fluid, and yes -- even the engine coolant, you add thousands of miles of life to your vehicle. Less friction means less wear. New synthetic additives like Prolong, Restore, etc., I personally use them religiously and have over 200,000 miles on every vehicle I own, period -- they don't leak, burn, or use any oil in the combustion chamber.

A tip from Smokey Unich; don't put that mineral rich well or public utility provided water into your car or truck's radiation system -- why would you want to do that and shorten the life of it with the condensation and build up of all those minerals when you can simply go down to Walmart, let all the old water and antifreeze drain out of the radiator, block, heads, and heater core as best you can and put in $0.68 per gallon DISTILLED WATER? My radiators and coolant system look as virgin as the day I put my vehicles into service.

I just bought a 2000 Dodge Dakota; got a few minor "Buy As Is Issues" but they are minor -- mainly all lack of changing fluid issues. Everyone of them I started correcting today. Paid $ 6,995 for the Quad Cab with the 4.7L V8 with great oil pressure, cylinder compression, air conditioning, power, looks, you name it. The owner simply didn't know how to drain the power steering fluid by letting come back out the return line as you flush it with new fluid -- got a front seal leak on the pump; I'll use a press and punch the bearing and seal out and put new ones in myself, why pay a dealer $200+ for a factory one or Auto-zone $61? Besides, Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak could probably keep this under control since I flushed and refilled it today for at least two years. I did that with a 1988 Dodge Daytona that had a front rack and pinion well past its wear out date and it was still going when we gave it to charity -- they drove the car away with all new parts on it.

The lesson in any of this is -- change the fluids, all of them. Adding super lubricants in small quantities as supplements enhances the life of the component. If the end item you are dealing with calls for SYNTHETIC OIL, don't hedge -- get the top grade synthetic oil and use it; you get what you pay for. Cars and trucks are no small investment these days. And as for greases, grease jobs for ball joints, U-joints, steering components is also a must. Use a good quality grease as recommended by the manufacturer. There are good high temperature, water resistant, semi-synthetic and even synthetic greases on the market now for your grease gun.

That's good advice.

Problem is, most people who buy a car new don't really care if it lasts for a very long time since they usually trade it in before the warranty expires.

And some car companies are advising ridiculous extended service intervals.

Car companies don't always act in the best long-term interests of the owners.

I remember having a Grand Marquis with "lubed-for-life" steering/suspension joints.

My mechanic advised me to let him remove the blanking plugs and install grease nipples so the parts would last longer.

Amazing that some people pay a high price for a car, then skimp on maintenance, but it costs them (or someone else) dearly in the long run.