Brake Disc Caliper problems of the 2002 Dodge Dakota - part 1

The contact owns a 2002 Dodge Dakota. While driving various speeds, the brake pedal was applied and began to grind and squeak. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the front driver side brake caliper and brake pads needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

The contact owns a 2002 Dodge Dakota. While driving various speeds, the front passenger side brakes seized without the brake pedal being depressed. In addition, the contact noticed smoke coming from the front passenger side where the brake was located. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the calipers or the brake lines needed to be replaced. The contact independently replaced the brake lines, brake calipers, and brake pads; however, the failure recurred and the contact noticed smoke and fire coming from the front passenger side where the brake was located. The contact was able to extinguish the fire. A police report was not filed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 165,000.

Right front brake caliper stuck, brake got hot, smoke came out of the wheel well. Had to have truck tower to dealer.

Right front brake caliper stuck, brake got hot, smoke came out of wheel well.

Both caliper bolts on the passanger side front spidle of my 2002 Dodge Dakota 2wd stripped out causing the caliper to move out of place causing stoppng difficulty to stop and damage to the caliper, rim and brake pads.

Its poor quality of Dodge. This is 1 of countless brake problems. If I could afford to get rid of pickup I would. Applied brakes after coming home from hospice where my mother is with stage 3/4 breast cancer. Applied brakes at traffic light, lucky no cars infront of me,rolled though light, pulled into shopping center to stop. At 60000 front right caliper burst replaced both front. Have replaced ranger that had 105000 miles with no problems, replaced brake shoes once, turned rotors at 92,000.

Have had steering knuckles replaced twice on my truck because the caliper bolts strip out and cause my truck do dive left or right upon braking. Also caused by brake pad rails wearing too muck and not letting the calipers move the brake pads to apply the brakes. Almost caused accidents multiple times but dealer says its not an issue.

The contact owns a 2002 Dodge Dakota. The contact stated that the front passenger side brake caliper needed to be replaced. The caliper was replaced once in the past because it would fail to release completely after the brakes were engaged, allowing the brakes to overheat. The caliper would not release until the vehicle was allowed to cool off. The vehicle was taken back to an authorized dealer after the second occurence where it was not repaired because the failure was no longer covered under warranty. The failure mileage was 17,000 and the current mileage was 32,000.

One front brake failed to release resulting in excessive heat and smoke, difficult steering and stopping. Will replace calipers, pads and rotors.

Brought 2002 Dodge Dakota into dealership a total of 6 times since may 2010 because of problems with the front brakes. The first time the brakes were shuddering so bad when braking on a hill, it was difficult to hold the steering wheel straight. The dealership recommended replacement of the rotors and pads to resolve the problem in light of the fact that they supposedly visually passed inspection, and had plenty of pad surface remaining. The day following replacement, I took the vehicle out and noticed a distinct clicking below the brake pedal when braking. I took it back to the dealer, where they kept it for a day, told me they thought they fixed it, and returned it to me. As soon as I drove into my driveway, the passenger front was seizing and smoking. I called the dealership and they came to pick it up. It remained at the dealership for a few days until they disassembled the slide on the caliper, cleaned and regreased it, and resurfaced the new rotor. The problem reoccurred again within two weeks, when I had to return it again. This time I brought it in while the brake was pouring out smoke. They kept it for a week, and then decided the brake line required a replacement. Less than 3500 miles later, I was out of state visiting family. As soon as I arrived in that town, I could smell the brake burning again. Took it to the Dodge dealership there where they said it was apparent that both front calipers had been sticking for some time and required replacement and well as the rotors resurfacing due to the heat. There is obviously some problem with the brake system or materials Dodge uses now for their vehicles. . . Too many failures amongst too many people. While brakes seizing is preferable to them not working at all, this is just not acceptable. These are brakes, not brain surgery. . .

Front brake calipers,brake lines,brake pads,and rotors had to be replaced. Brakes were binding up and would not let the brake pads to release.

Front brakes locked up while driving. Occurred once, was able to pull to side of road without causing an accident. Had to replace front l&r, rotors, calipers, pads, hoses and fluid.

2002 Dodge Dakota front brake calipers sticking. Left, right or both calipers will not fully release after multiple brake applications resulting in heat build up in rotors, pads & calipers. This can be reduced by using the brakes less or expedited by using them more. The failure occurs consistently with multiple brake applications. The result is hot brakes and wheels with speeds <40mph or very hot, once igniited brakes at highway speeds. Pad rotors, and brake fluid have been changed & sliders greased, zero change. First incident occured at approximate incident date, then exponentially more frequently after.

The contact owns a 2002 Dodge Dakota. The contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal, he noticed that the brakes were getting hot and seizing. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic, but the mechanic was unable to diagnose the failure. The brake pads, shoes, and calipers were repaired. The failure continued. The manufacturer had not been notified. The failure mileage was approximately 54,000.

The contact owns a 2002 Dodge Dakota. While driving approximately 30 mph, the contact noticed smoke rising near the front passenger side wheel and the vehicle began to veer to the right. The contact discovered that the front passenger side brake caliper failed. The failure occurred numerous times. The contact replaced the front passenger side caliper and rotor and remedied the failure. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was 50,000.

. . Front passenger brake seized. Occurred during high traffic time with along with pull to right/could cause accident. . Came clear the next morning/ occurred again 1 mo. Later. . I replaced brake hose ,caliper ,rotor and brake pad, only been about 3 days since replacing.

Continued problems with front brakes. Had to replace the rotors at 35,552 miles (see odi #10200119), had to turn those rotors at 46,295 miles (see odi #10200122), had to replace front brakes at 50, 230 miles (see odi #10200127), had to replace front left calipers at 51,116 miles (see odi #10200129). Two weeks after replacing the calipers, drove short distance (all highway miles). When I stopped the truck, strong brake smell coming from underneath the front end. I let the car sit for a while and continued on. Now it's intermittent. Calipers appear to be sticking again - intermittently. Vehicle pulls and brakes feel inconsistent like they are coming on way too hard but then pulsing.

The contact owns a 2002 Dodge Dakota. While driving approximately 20 mph, the calipers seized on the passenger side rotors. The failure occurred several times and the contact replaced the calipers himself. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 44,000.

Continued problems with front brakes. In July 06, rotors had to be replaced with only 35,552 miles on the truck (see odi #10200119). In March 07, the new rotors had to be turned at 44,6295 miles (see od #10200122). In may 07, vibrations in the front end returned and there was a strange rattling noise coming from the front end. Dealer replaced the brakes at 50,230 miles (see odi #10200127). I drove the vehicle about 17 miles (all highway miles). When I stopped, smoke was rolling out of the front left side and there was a strong brake odor. I took it to the dealer the next day. Technician indicated it was sticking calipers. Technician replaced front left caliper. Total cost $121. (note - dealer did not charge me for labor on caliper replacement. ).

Front brake caliber locked up. Stop and go traffic and brakes locked up.

The front right brake calipers locked up on the vehicle causing the brakes to be applied without pressing on the brakes. After replacing the right calipers, rotor (warped from heat), and brake hose, 12 miles away, the left caliper locked up. This is a huge safety issues because the brakes are applied without the intention of the driver.

Under normal driving conditions in the northeast I have experienced two separate instances where the front brakes would not disengage or remained partially engaged while driving. First failure at approximately 30,000 miles, mechanic found calipers to operate normally but replaced all pads and rotors due to heat damage evident on "passenger side" front. Second failure at approximately 35,000 again found calipers operating normally but replaced front brake line, brake fluid, pads and machined rotors. Mechanic unable to determine why the brakes freeze when everything appears to operate as designed.

Within 29,500. Total miles covered in 4. 5 years, there have been 5 episodes when either the front left or front right brake partially seized, which caused the vehicle to veer to one side upon application of the brakes, and emitted smoke. Two dealers have offered no plausible cause or remedy. Original brake pads, both front and rear, and the front discs and read drums were found to be badly worn at a mere 20,000. Miles of light service resulting in all pads being replaced and the rotors and drums being turned. Now at 29, 500. Miles the front rotors are showing signs of warpage. Ok, I'm not an expert, but I've driven about 15 vehicles over a total of a million miles and my feeling is that these brakes are undersized and constantly run too hot. The short brake life is nothing short of astounding. As the dealers seems stumped, my next move is to install racing brakes on the front complete with multiple piston calipers and drilled and slotted rotors. I'm betting that the smoking episodes will stop. One look at this vehicles complaints is all the NHTSA should have to see that there is a design problem, here.

While driving at various speeds up to 55 mph the truck began pulling to the left and deceleration was much greater than normal. At this time I decided to pull off the road to investigate. Noticed lots of heat coming from drivers side disk break. When restarting and moving forward the truck stopped very quickly. The failure was, the caliper did not retract, causing the disc brake to overheat and it seized up. This failure could cause the truck to pull left into on coming traffic. A tragedy could come of this if this failure is not corrected. The truck dealer had no explanation but noticed other worn parts that should be replaced unrelated to the brake failure.

I have lees than 45000 miles on my truck and the break pads on the front have been changed six times. Rotors are fine, the last three times the pads were changed in less then 18 months. When getting the pads from a national auto store the computer brought up bigger pads that would be for my quad cab. They didn't fit and I had to go with the regular cab brake pads. I contacted the dealer they checked them out and said it was the right size caliper on the truck. When I told them about the auto store only bringing up the longer pads they offered to change my rotors and break for a great deal of $400. No thank you.

2002 Dodge Dakota brake calipers lock up, the date below is not the first time this happened to me. The first time was on April 20th 2005, the left caliper locked up. I had that caliper replaced. The second time the right caliper locked up on the right side on June 3rd 2005. Now the third time around and I have information that I am not the only one. On August 12th I paid for a tow charge and came close to a fire. One of the other people that informed me of the same problem had there caliper catch fire. I hope this information helps. I had no luck with the manufacturer. I will try and have them hold this caliper for you to look at. Thanks.

The front left brake caliper on my 2002 Dodge Dakota siezed up causing the left front wheel to overheat to the point of smoking. The brake fluid was ruined, the pads destroyed,the rotor damaged, and the wheel bearing grease broken down. Fair oaks Dodge of fairfax va had no explanation for this incident. They repaired the damage at my expense with only the calipers covered under warrenty. This is not the only instance of daimler Chrysler brakes failing in this manner. Please look into this matter. Thank you, geoffrey a hamby.

While driving consumer saw smoke and the vehicle began to pull to the left and was shaking. The brakes locked up and it was difficult for the consumer to get the vehicle to move. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic but he couldn't get the vehicle's wheels to move. The mechanic told the consumer that the problem was that the calipers froze and the brake pads were so hot they appeared to be ready to catch on fire. The consumr had the problem repaired. The dealer claimed to know nothing about the failure and told the consumer to call NHTSA. The manufacturer has not been contacted yet.

Thought I would "buy american" and get the Dodge Dakota 4 dr crew. Love its style, comforts, more power than I need (4. 7l v8) 2wd has no traction in snow or ice. Very easy to drive and comfortable 6ft. 2 220lbs. (2 trips NJ to calif. ) gas mileage stinks. . . 13-18mpg, no loads. Brake rotors replaced 28k, left top ball joint worn (no recall yet)a/c needed charging, right front hub and bearings replaced 49k, rear leaf spring noisy, transmission hesitation occasionally. Great truck to drive and haul but reliability really in question with only 49k. Probably back to Nissan or Toyota.

The front brakes on my truck was diagnosed with defective rotors. I do mostly highway driving so I expected 40,000 to 50,000 miles on the front brakes. I had 15,000 miles on the truck for its 1st brake inspection and was told at that time that I still had approximately 80% of pads left. I brought the truck in at 31,000 and requested to have the brakes inspected again. I was taken by surprise when they told me that the rotors were shot and asked to see them before I would authorize a repair. The mechanic told me that there was over 50% of the brake pads left but somehow the brake rotors were scored so badly that they could not be cut down to repair them, they must be replaced, and I could also see that the rotors were that bad. Considering that there was a lot of brake pad left I opted not to spend the $565. 00 at this time and get more life out of the brakes. They still stop the vehicle with no problems. I feel that this should be looked into. . Defective metal in the rotors, ( not hard enough ) , defective pads, ( hard steel embedded in them ) etc.

The contact owns a 2002 Dodge Dakota. The contact stated that while driving various speeds, the contact attempted to decelerate but the brakes seized. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the rotors, pads, hoses and the calipers were replaced. The contact also mentioned that the failure recurred multiple times. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 12,000.

Brake caliper got stuck open while driving. The vehicle was impossible to control. No one was injured. Also there was no warning and we have done regular maintenance as suggested in the owners manual.

The contact owns a 2002 Dodge Dakota. The contact stated that the driver side front brake locked up and began smoking. The vehicle pulled over until it cooled off and then it released itself. He was able to continue driving. He changed the front brake pads and rotors himself. The failure continued intermittently. At 50,000 miles, he changed the front brake pads, rotors and calipers. The failure occurred again so he changed the front brake pads, rotors and calipers again. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified. The current mileage was approximately 60,000. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.

The contact owns a 2002 Dodge Dakota. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 mph both front tires locked up and the steering became difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician replaced the brakes and upper ball joints. The failure continued to occur after the vehicle was repaired. The technician stated that the front calipers had to be replaced. The contact stated the vehicle was repaired four times. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 20,000.

Felt pulsing in front brakes due to rotor overheating and warping. Brake failure, no accident or injuries.