One problem related to steering anti-theft device has been reported for the 1998 Dodge Dakota. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
While attempting to turn right the steerling locked up and was not able to turn. This caused the vehicle to go off of the road and into a field before stopping. This could have been a lot worse if there had been other vehicles involved. Mechanic has recomended that all of the following components be replaced. (4) ball joints (2) control arms (2) tie rod ends have seen numerous complaints about premature failures of the components on 97 - 04 Dodge Dakota and durango models. Mine is a 98 Dakota w/ 63665 miles. Chrysler has not issued a recall, stating this is not a safety issue. Not being able to turn your steering wheel seems to be a safety issue to me. After considerable effort I was able to break the "locked" condition and free up the steering. After this, the steering was still sticking, but got better as time went on. It seems to stick the most when the temperature is below 40 deg. F. I have not had the repairs done yet.