general problems of the 2003 Dodge Dakota

While driving the valve spring broke and dropped the valve into the cylinder causing engine damage. This is a common problem on the 5. 7 hemi engine . One that Dodge is well aware of . There should be some sort of favor given on the matter . Out of all the engines I have owned as well as worked on this is the only that has had this as a common failure and it really needs to be addressed.

I have owned a 2003 Dodge Dakota v6 for the past 3 years and never had a problem until I took it to the dealership in union city GA yesterday for a routine oil change. After waiting 2 hours, they told me they were having a problem getting oil in the engine because there was sludge in the engine which was causing the oil to go in slowly. They recommended adding an oil additive. An hour later they returned my car to me. I started driving out of the lot my car was running rough. Two blocks later the oil light came on, engine started a little ticking and ran rougher. I turned around, driving about 5 mph, barely made it back to the dealership. They said there was 6 qt of oil in the engine. They would have to start over. Half hour later, they came out and said now they had no oil pressure at all and they would had to remove the oil pan and maybe have to replace the oil plump and other parts. I may need a new engine or have it rebuilt. They would call me today and let me know. Mind you, I have never had a problem until they did the oil change this time. Now that I check the computer, I find hundreds of people have a problem with sludge and loss of oil pressure in the Dodge Dakota for no reason. This is very dangerous. All of a sudden there is no oil pressure while you are driving.

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.

When the truck is started and put into drive it hesitates then shifts really hard. Also when the truck is started and allowed to warm up for around three minutes it dies when it is put in reverse. When it does this none of the lights on the instrument panel come on. The truck just dies. I have had the truck into the dealership four times now. The first time I took it in, the dealership told me that they couldn't get the problem to replicate and told me to bring it back when it got worse. I am now on my forth attempt to get the problem fixed and they are continuing to tell me that they can't get the problem to replicate. So I went to the dealership and replicated the problem for them. That was on 10-27-03. It is now 11-06-03 and they called me today to tell me that they still can't get the truck to replicate. But they have hooked up a "CO-pilot" which will read the trucks computer and hopefully catch the problem. I am having a really hard time believing that they can't replicate the problem. I have had the truck for three months now and the damn thing has died every single time I have put it in reverse. I am positive that I am being bent over. I know that I will never buy another Chrysler again.

The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Dakota quad cab. Whenever the brake pedal was applied, the brakes would pulsate, overheat, and lock up. The stopping distance would also increase. The dealer stated that wet conditions and high speed braking caused the rotors to warp. In addition, the vehicle idles high and roughly when approaching a stop sign or traffic light. When accelerating from a stop or merging into traffic, the vehicle would idle roughly. There was no throttle response for approximately 10 to 20 seconds, but then the vehicle would surge forward. The vehicle has been taken to a dealer approximately five times for these issues, but the failures still persist. All the sensors were replaced, but the failure is becoming worse. The dealer replaced the front rotors three times and the contact replaced them four times. The current mileage was 132,655 and failure mileage was 5,000. Updated 11/06/08. The rotors and brakes were replaced several times. The consumer was told the vehicle had a faulty master cylinder that was not letting the rear brakes ever work. The air conditioner was built to drain into the front passenger floor. The computer in the vehicle would not accept updates. The intermediate shaft was replaced. The wiper motor was replaced. Updated 11/06/08.