general problems of the 2003 Dodge Dakota

2003 Dodge Dakota. Consumer writes in regards to electrical issues. The consumer stated the vehicle veered off the road into shrubs. The consumer slept in the vehicle over night. The vehicle was towed.

I have had electrical issues since last year. First time the wipers, lights and blinkers quit working late in the evening, almost didnt make it to the auto shop. Told me the computer was the issue but they got the truck working again. Then it happened again but I knew to try the disconnect the battery trick and that worked. Yesterday I was in line to pick up a food box, idling and the truck just quit, I tried to get it to restart with no luck. Thankfully this did not happen while I was actually driving so I was safe where it happened. I got it towed and am pretty sure it is the tipm based on the steps I took, switching out the working relays with the one for the fuel pump. Still wouldnt start so pretty sure it is a bad tipm.

1. While sitting in park on a automatic transmission. In a still position rolled front or back more than a couple inches. Had to step on brake while in park and had to block wheels when engine was off to keep from rolling. Emergency brake does not hold or work properly either. 2. The heater has only high position working now. The dash gets to hot to even keep heat on very long. Fuel cap with key. When getting fuel truck has to be turned off before pumping otherwise engine light comes on the dash and needs to be reset or driven miles before engine lightor goes back off. 3. The upper ball joints had to replace twice now. Breaks had to replace twice also due to suspension being out of whack and problem above. Now there is noise in front driver side wheel area. 4. Put all new break lines on it because they kept blowing out. Leaking in different locations by too much pressure build up in sections of lines. 5. I bought it in 2018 used from a dealer. But I have put so much work on it that now there's a transmission problem. 6. Having no or little breaks all of sudden in a crowded intersection or having to block wheels so it doesn't roll into another car but no accident yet but could happen.

Lost exterior lights (parking lights, license plate light, tail lights, and instrument panel lights) while driving. Headlights, turn lights, and brake lights functioning. Ctm was diagnosed and replaced to correct the issue, however safety concerns caused the vehicle to be unused in low light conditions until problem diagnosed. Repetitive postings about this models ctm failures all over the internet and adjoining safety consideration with only a limited recall, which did not include my vehicle. No after market parts were found and replaced with a item for a local junk yard which may simply fail again.

The fan in my truck randomly shuts off so in turn, my ac does not work nor does the heat when this occurs. This happens every three months. It is not working again this week and there has been a heat wave all week of course. It happens at all different times. It starts out shutting off then it will work for a day again then it will go out permanently. This is probably the fifth time in two years.

Head lights intermittently start blinking and eventually go out all together along with dash and dome lights. Online forums say it's the ctm. The next day it's fine then out of the blue it starts acting up again. Very dangerous when traveling at night. Any recalls for this? seems to be quite common for this year Dakota.

I recently bought a used 2003 Dodge Dakota. The truck was great except that at night when I would turn on the headlights all of the interior and exterior lights would flash off then back on approximately every two seconds to 30 seconds. After driving for about half an hour with this happening I became very frustrated. After doing some research on the internet, I narrowed down my problem to the Dakota central timing module. It appears as if many Dodge customers have this exact issue with these Dodge model trucks. It is very unsafe to operate a vehicle under these conditions. This issue did not depend on whether I was driving in rough terrain at night or during the day. No matter where I drive the truck, if the lights are on it will begin to start blinking off and then on intermittently. Please fix this problem! I have since had to purchase a used central timing module off of the internet because when I went to the dealer, they told me that they were not able to get the part and if they were it would cost over $500 just for the part.

Pig tail connection to control blower motor for a/c and heat will melt. The fear is that it will cause a fire in the cab. There seems to be a history of this same problem and nothing is being done about this hazard.

My passenger doors, front and rear, will not function with the power lock and the windows can only be rolled down from the drivers controls. This is a safety concern to me as it will make it difficult or impossible for someone to quickly get out of the vehicle if they need to bail out, or get out in the event of an accident. If the driver became ill had a medical emergency, passengers would be unable to get out of the vehicle. The electrical wires in the door harnesses have broken and caused the issue to occur.

The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Dakota. While driving over a bump or making a turn at any speed, the contact could hear an abnormal noise coming from the vehicle. The dealer stated that the central timing module needed to be replaced. The technician also stated that the ball joint was rusted and corroded and might fracture. The contact discovered that the underbody was corroded. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 04v596000 (suspension) and NHTSA campaign number: 08e064000 (suspension). The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 92,000.

The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Dakota. The contact stated that the key fob failed to lock and unlock the vehicle. Additionally, the driver¿s side master window control was also inoperable and the doors could not be locked or unlocked. The contact then started the engine and the 4-wheel drive warning light illuminated. The headlights and tail lights had also failed to illuminate. The vehicle was taken the dealer for diagnosis where the dealer stated that the central timer module would need to be repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 02v322000 (exterior lighting) however, the contact was advised by the manufacturer that the VIN was not included in the recall campaign. The contact believed that the failure described in the recall was the same failure that had been experienced with his vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 128,000.

The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Dakota. The contact stated that the windshield wipers malfunctioned. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the body power module and the central timer module were defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 120,000 and the current mileage was 121,000.

Went to turn on my left directional and had a loss of directionals, windshield wipers, windshield washer and four way flasher. Checked problem thoroughly and found it to be a faulty multifunction switch installed behind steering wheel.

The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Dakota. Whenever the contact drives the vehicle, the central timing module fails and all of the lights dim. The headlights, dome light, windshield wipers, and door locks failed while driving 45 mph. Chrysler stated that his VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign id number 02v322000 (exterior lighting:headlights:switch) and would not repair the vehicle. The current and failure mileages were 33,000.

During October of 2007 the central timer module on my 2003 Dodge Dakota went bad. All lights inside and outside would go on and off intermittently. After a lot of online searching and reading forums it seemed that a lot of other owners had the same problem with their ctm's. My truck was out of warranty at the time and the cost for a new ctm was $253. 00 plus cost to get the auto keys reset. The dealer said no recall on this problem, so I had to pay. I put it in myself. I called Chrysler corp. And they were no help at all. My main question was and still is, that this is a safety issue. Traveling at night with all lights going on and off could very well cause an accident. A recall should be made by Chrysler.

Truck was sitting in driveway and caught fire in engine compartment at firewall and windshield. It hadnot been driven in about 36 hours.

2003 Dodge Dakota quad cab sport plus is having multiple check engine light warnings. This has happened upwards of 4 times. In addition, one of these was supposedly caused by cracked hoses. Cracked hoses on a car with 16k miles on it! also, the dealer replaced my breaks because they could not find the reason why the truck makes a certain noise while backing in reverse. . . The problem still exists.

Stalling when going from idle such as accellerating out of a turn, turning from a stop sign, pulling into or out of a parking stall.

I own a 2003 Dodge ram 1500 4x4 quad cab slt VIN 1d7-hu18n53s-188168 assembly point, warren, michigan. The truck stalled while in traffic making a 10-15 mph right turn. The second occurence was july15, 2004. Very close call here. I was in the smokey mountains camping. The six hour drive home towing my popup was nerve racking to say the least. Especially, since my 13, 6 and 3 year old were in the truck. I mentioned that the truck runs extremely rough intermittently to the dealer morgan Dodge durham north carolina on at least two occasions. I am also experiencing an intermittent shudder that seems to be coming from the transmission, also mentioned to the dealer on at least two occasions. The dealer simply said that they could not reproduce the shudder or stall. I also had a severe brake pulsation. They did replace front pads and calipers and cut rotors. They were supposed to follow up with me regarding the shudder and stall but as of this date, 7/18/2004 I have not yet receive a call back.

When going from reverse to drive, at times engine idles rough and rpm's drop to about 350-400 rpm. Approximately 75% of the time it happens the engine quits. The other 25% of the time it happens the rpm's increase after a short period of time (20seconds to 1 minute) and if still in gear the truck will lurch forward when rpms increase. Pressing the accelerator to increase rpm's does not affect rpm's when engine is stumbling and truck will not move. Dealer has been notified, known problem with engine programming. Problem has existed since truck was new.

I keep hearing a loud "bang" and louding creaking noises in the front end of my 2003 Dodge Dakota when I turn the wheel. I have taken it to the Dodge dealer several times, but they haven't found anything. I keep telling them it sounds like a cracked coil spring or body mount. They said if I bring it in again as warranty work, then they'll charge me for the time. Also, the turn signals keep shorting out and when you turn the left one on, the emergency flashers come on. Finally, the left power window slows down excessively when I attempt to put the window up. It goes down fine, but it won't go up at normal speed.

Towing package 7 pin to 4 pin adaptor for trailer lights frequently short or fail to make contact which causes a extreme safety situation when pulling a trailer. This has been an ongoing problem which has kept me from pulling my boat on several occasions.

Upon parking truck owner noticed a glowing under cab. A technician serviced vehicle and noticed an electrical short.