Two problems related to automatic transmission torque converter have been reported for the 2007 Dodge Dakota. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Vehicle: 2007 Dodge Dakota st club cab, 2wd, 3. 7l v6, 42 rle automatic trans problem: at road speeds of 34-50 mph the vehicle shudders, vibrates, and sounds as though on a rumble strip. My research indicates that the powertrain control module has an error that incorrectly tells the torque converter to start the lock up range at too low an rpm, resulting in the engine and torque converter to not be synched correctly. This problem began shortly after I'd bought the truck at 71,100 miles. I'm at 71,500 miles now. The remedy is as little as reprogramming the pcm flash to as much as replacing the pcm, the torque converter, and transmission. I fear that the problem could result in catastrophic failure of the drive train components in a way that could result in a vehicle crash. There are two technical service bulletins of which I'm aware on the matter.
On August 25, 2007 I purchased a brand new 2007 Dodge Dakota quad cab pickup from geweke Chrysler/Dodge in lodi, California. . A couple days after purchasing this vehicle I noticed what can best be described as engine "surge" when cruising at 35-45 mph in city traffic. In addition I also found that the only way to get rid of the "surge" is to accelerate harder. This requirement of harder acceleration in heavy city traffic can under certain circumstances present a safety hazard, as occurred with me on August 27, 2007. On this day I was cruising along at about 40 mph in my Dakota, during rush hour traffic, when my engine begin to ?surge? I stepped on the gas pedal a little harder to get rid of the ?surge? when at that very moment traffic in front of me came to abrupt halt. This abrupt halt in traffic almost caused me to rear-end the car ahead of me. Had I been ?tailgating? the car ahead of me in the moments immediately preceding, before applying heavier throttle, it is almost certain that I would have rear-ended the car ahead of me. On August 30, 2007 I took my new Dakota back to the dealership to have them correct the ?surging? problem. At the end of this repair appointment the geweke?s service department informed me that they consulted with the Chrysler engineering group and was told that there is ?no? fix for the ?surging? problem, which I had experienced with my new vehicle. The service department went on to tell me that the engineering group at Chrysler further suggested that I work-around the ?surging? by accelerating ?quicker? when I am in the 35-45 mph speed range. I find their suggestion not only dangerous, but impractical as well, because most of my driving is in this speed range, during heavy city traffic. What I would like to see Chrysler do is to immediately come up with a ?fix? for the Dakota. Or if they can not fix the problem, replace my Dakota with an exact replica with the same options, minus the ?surge? issue.