2003 Dodge Dakota SLT from North America - Comments

Transmission broke within the first month of having this truck. Window regulators started making noise like a Jack-N-Box. They replaced these and they are making the same noise. The bed liner raised up about 3 inches off the truck bed during mid summer. Noticed the transmission started to leak after we had the part replaced that had broke. Now the transmission slips into 2nd and 3rd gear. The strap that is bolted to the body that keeps the seat cover in place broke. Back bumper dented in when my brother in law 200lbs. stepped on it. Fuel pump went out. This was replaced. The floater in the gas tank had to be replaced. Truck makes a hissing noise after being shut off. There is a whining noise coming from under the truck which gets louder when one of the blinkers are on. Windshield wiper motor had to be replaced when wipers quit working in the middle of a down pour. ABS locks up and puts you in the on coming lane of traffic.

This truck is a nice looking truck. We loved the way it looked and were very excited to sign on the line for it.

Be very careful. Transmission fluid for this thing is $8.00 a qt. in Florida. A lot of parts stores said it was dealer only..

Seats are comfortable for long distance trips. Back seats on the other hand are very tight and not very comfy on the tush.

I trust putting my kids in my KIA before putting them in this.

What, the back bumper dented in from a 200 pound man stepping on it? You want people to actually believe that line of nonsense? I have an 03 Dakota Quad Cab, and I step on the bumper all the time, and I assure you it will easily handle the weight of a 200 pound person. If you do not like the truck that is one thing, but to make up that kind of nonsense is simply irresponsible.

I must agree with the 200lbs comment. I thought the same thing upon reading it. It does appear to be at a minimum, a miscalculation.

But really my point in this comment is to say that I understand the wiper issue. All auto OEM's look for ways to save money, all of them. I have a buddy that has a family that works for Dodge. (The friend also owns a Dakota.) He told me one of the engineers at Dodge thought that if they bought wiper bearings without water seals they could save maybe 50 cents a vehicle. I don't know the real number, but any cent number by 1 million vehicles adds up to a lot of money. Dodge quickly figured out the liability was a lot more money than the bearing seals and changed it back to the original (correct) design. You should be good with the replacement set you have now.

"This truck is costing us more in repairs than the purchase price."

Wouldn't all these things be fixed under warranty?

It's only 2 years old/45,000 miles!

Well the bumper either dented when his 200lb. brother-in-law stepped on it, or when he backed into the telephone pole at 10mph.

It's pretty obvious he has no driving skills, if his ABS locks up and sends him into oncoming traffic.

What is THAT all about?

Either your brother-in-law weighs a lot more than

200 lbs., or he made up a stupid excuse that you bought. More likey he backed the truck into something at like 10 mph.

A truck bumper doesn't dent because a normal size person steps on it. (Now if my wife stood on it, it would probably fall off -but don't tell her I said so!)

There have been reports of ABS problems on Chrysler products throwing people into other lanes/oncoming traffic. It is not necessarily a result of driving error.

I have owned my 99 Dakota sport (4 cyl) for 9 years and 250,000 miles. it will throw you left in a panic stop. And the paint is horrendous. and I am on my 6th catalytic converter. And the air conditioner is out again. The dealership pronounced the engine to be terminal @ 75,000 due to a HARMONIC BALANCER failure. I took it home and am still driving on it. And the head light switch goes out every 100,000 miles.

But

Oil it every 3,000 miles & keep it tuned & you can gripe about it @ 250,000 + miles & still get 20+mpg on the highway.

And the paint job is h-o-r-r-i-b-l-e, and dodge does not care.

Did I mention the paint job is/was h-o-r-r-i-b-l-e?