general problems of the 2003 Dodge Dakota

Engine warning light came on for emission warning. Dealer replaced $400 of emission control components. 2 weeks later same emu warning. Read this blog site regarding gasoline fuel caps. Dealer quoted $30 for replacement. Bought plastic fuel cap @ can tire for $8. Installed on vehicle, emu warning disappeared and has not returned.

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.