One problem related to front suspension control arm has been reported for the 2001 Dodge Dakota. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Excessive ball joint wear. My wife (stephanie ball) filed a complaint back in 1999 for the same problem. I think his name was steve from NHTSA contacted us and keep us informed of the problem. She has had the ball joints replaced five times in her Dakota. The last contact from NHTSA was that they was going to make Dodge recall these vehicles for this dangerous problem. It has been two years and we have not heard any more on this issue. I help by getting names of other people that was having the same problem. I manage an auto parts store a auto of madison wv and this is not just an isolated problem. I know of 4 Dakota that were wrecked and sustained severe damage due to ball joint failure. The adjuster from state farm's mother had a wreck due to ball joint failure. And he said that he had seen several that had wrecked. I could replace these ball joints with aftermarket moog brand and solve the problem. But it shouldn't be up to me to solve it. I would have thought after the firestone episode that issues like this would be taken more seriously. I contacted the dealer today because you have to check the ball joints every couple of weeks. I don't want to take a chance on killing someone because of a problem that has existed since 1997. The dealer said that the ball joints was supposed to have so much play from the factory. The aftermarket one I sell do not. Anyone with common sense knows that if a component in a high stress area that takes a lot of beating is not supposed to have any play. The longer you drive it the worse it gets. I recently took a wv state inspection class. The state police have Dodge durango's. He said to make sure and check the ball joints because they were having the same problem I am . So I think the time has come to get this problem corrected, before some else wrecks or someone gets killed. Its pretty evident when the trooper teaching the inspection class tells you to pay special attention to this problem! please notify me if you need anything.