general problems of the 2006 Dodge Dakota

At about 62 k mi. Steering became stiff, especially in cold weather. Check power steering fluid and topped off. Problem seemed to disappear over time. However more recently at about 70k mi. Problem has returned with stiffer steering and then with looseness. Seemingly that I am overcompensating my turns. My power steering fluid is normal.

Has developed loose steering. Problem exist whether moving or not. Though an accident has not happened yet, believe there is great potential for it to happen.

The contact owns a 2006 Dodge Dakota. While driving 65 mph, the steering wheel began to lose steering power and seized without warning. The failure was persistent. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rack and pinon failed and needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.

Tl-the contact owns a 2006 Dodge Dakota. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in for routine maintenance, the contact was informed that the sub frame of the vehicle was bent. The contact was also informed that the passenger's side front axle was towed in. The contact also stated that while driving at 70 mph there was an abnormal vibration in the steering wheel. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 139,584. Ah.

My truck has started having trouble with steering. It seems to happen at just about any speed, but is most noticeable once I get to ~45 mph. As a turn the wheel to the right or left of center, I feel like I have no power steering and really have to wrestle the wheel. When I come back to center, it feels like it's working again, and I end up cranking the steering wheel too hard because of how much power I needed to use to turn away from center.

Tl-the contact owns a 2006 Dodge Dakota. The contact stated that while driving various speeds, there was a loss of power steering without warning. The steering wheel became difficult to maneuver however, the contact continued in operation. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who replaced the power steering assembly. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage and VIN were unavailable. Js.

With the truck at only 53,000 miles I will have had to replace the whole front end. The cost to me is $1085. 00. This is obviously from defective parts! Dodge already has a recall on the front end of their full size trucks. Should it also, include the Dakotas? I have approached Chrysler about this & was denied compensation.

While driving my 2006 Dodge Dakota p/u truck started noticing noice while making any type of turning of the steering wheel. I took to my mechanics who put in some steering fluid. He told me this should help and if problem does return the problem is most likely the steering shaft that will have to be worked on & will be expensive to fix. It was fine for a couple of weeks but now the problem has returned & I'm making plans to take it back to my mechanic to fix the steering shaft. After reading numerous problem other owners are also facing concerning the steering there should be a recall for this.

Steering spontaneously became intermittently stiff / loose in both directions with loss of return to straight after cornering.

Hard steering. Steering wheel will not straighten out when driving.

We were driving down hwy I-5 in seattle washington. My husbands knee bumped the key in the ignition and the vehicle turned off. This happened 3 times since we have had the vehicle. We have only had the vehicle for year.

I am experiencing "binding" while driving the vehicle at all speeds. Extra pressure is necessary to correct the situation; potentially, this corrective action could lead to the vehicle turning more than desired thusly causing an accident. The problem is erratic - usually ne problem - and can occur unexpectedly during all driving conditions. An independent mechanic has advised that the likely problem is the steering shaft where steering knuckles are located. He stated that the situation can sometimes be corrected by lubricating the components within the steering shaft with penetrating oil. This temporarily alleviated the problem but the problem is re-occurring. I understand that the next step is to dismantle the steering shaft which may lead to the replacement of parts. I live in ohio with severe winter weather and road salt and suspect that there is a design flaw that allows corrosion to occur within the steering shaft.

The contact owns a 2006 Dodge Dakota. The contact stated that while driving 50 mph, he heard an abnormal noise. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection where they stated that the pinion nut on the rear differential needed to be replaced with a newly manufacturer pinion nut. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 54,000.

1. Drivers airbag light comes on when driver. 2. When making a u-turn I hear a loud clunking noise around the tire area. 3. The emergency release brake cable snapped off the release handle. 4. Nhtsa just sent me an email regarding a recall on my 2006 Dodge Dakota quad "left tire rod assembly". ( this could be the cause of my #2. Loud clunking noise making a u-turn).

The steering gets hard to turn like it is going to lock up. I spray it with wd40. This happens every few days. The electrical has been screwed up forever. I turn the left turn signal on the the right one blinks and vise versa. Some times they both blink back and forth. I have talked to the local Dodge garage and all they say is that there is no recall. I wasnt notified by Dodge about the driver side airbag either. Looked up the VIN number after seeing a report on tv. That was 2 months ago and the Dodge garage just fixed the air bag on July 21 after I called them for the second time to see if the part was in.

The contact owns a 2006 Dodge Dakota. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the vehicle made a loud noise and the drive shaft fractured and dropped without warning. The contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a pole. The vehicle was destroyed. A police report was filed but no injuries were reported. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 50,000. Updated 4/4/cn.

In using signal lights, turn left signal on to turn and the right dash signal indicator as well as right signal light flash. If I move the tilt steering position up and then back down the lights function properly. This has happened several times. It sounds like something in the steering wheel is rubbing whenever one turns the wheel. The previous owner bought the truck new and it happened to him several times as well. Also the ball joints were all replaced by previous owner at less than 30,000 miles. Now at 55,000 miles the struts, shock absorbers, rear stabilizer links and quite possibly sway bar links front and rear need to be replaced.

On this 2006 Dakota, steering is very stiff and makes me over correct the steering with each turn, causing me to jerk the wheel hard. There have been several incidents where I have almost hit parked cars in the process of turning. I have heard many with this problem and feel our 2006 should be included in this recall if there should be one(really needs to be).

The steering wheel gets stuck and is very stiff and won't return. Lots of complaints and the all the dealers have these parts on back order. . If there is not a recall there should be the power steering pumps, steering racks and steering control rods are all on back order and not avail in NJ, del or PA. . . . If all the parts are not avail that shows there is a big problem with these trucks.

Dealership suggested stabilizer bar links need replacement. Replaced both links twice without correcting front suspension "clunking". Possible of lower ball joints failing.

Intermediate steering shaft needs replacing, clunk sound. Oem has now been upgraded to a beefier shaft because oem was not holding up. This should be a recall issue.

The contact owns a 2006 Dodge Dakota. When entering the vehicle he noticed that his knee was hitting the steering wheel because it was very low. The manufacturer stated that they could not provide any resolution since the vehicle was designed that way. The contact is aware of the risk for drivers with a larger stature. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 38,000.

The contact owns a 2006 Dodge Dakota. The contact was driving approximately 15 mph on normal road conditions. The front passenger wheel began to wobble. Immediately, there was a reduction in the speed rate. The driver continued operation with caution the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The failure was contributed to a disengagement of the steering strut. The technician replaced the front driver and passenger mounting bracket and steering strut. The failure mileage was 13,500.

Steering winds & gets stuck while turning. I called dealer and was simply told there was no issue w/that. I dropped car off for inspection at a local garage and was told to call dealer immediately. I was informed that the steering could get stuck and cause a serious crash. The shop owner told me that it was a defect from manufacturer and refused to even inspect the vehicle. The dealer again told me there were no issues with this type of vehicle. I insisted that they look at problem and inspect the vehicle. The vehicle is a Dodge Dakota quad cab 2006. They reacted as if it was no concern. This is probably because they don't drive their children in the vehicle. I did call them numerous times and was told it was okay to drive. They haven't had any reports of any steering problems. It occurs every day. Thankfully there were crashes or fatalities. The car is at dealer now. They are supposed to check it out on 4/5/2010. I do not trust them to give me a straight answer or report this problem.