Brake Disc Caliper Problems of Dodge Dakota - part 2

I purchased the vehicle used with 39k miles I had it for a month and noticed vibrations when braking from 50 - 40 mph. I figured the brake rotors were warped. After about a year of this I took the rotors off and into a parts store to have them checked, they were warped and too thin to turn (lathe). I bought new rotors and pads, cleaned and greased the caliper slide pins and reassembled the brakes. After this the braking vibration went away. Recently I was driving in heavy traffic and once I got to my exit I noticed smoke from the left front of the vehicle, also the brake pedal felt hard. I pulled over to find that the front brakes were smoking. I jacked up the front of the vehicle (wheels off the ground) and found that neither wheel/tire could be turned by hand. After the vehicle sat for approximately 5 hours to cool down the wheels could then be turned. Took vehicle to repair shop that confirmed the brake pad wear indicated that for the most part the pistons and slides seemed to be operating properly. I am an a. S. E. Certified master mechanic and have never seen brakes overheat like this and cause caliper lock up. Happen. I believe there is something inherently wrong with these vehicles.

See all problems of the 2001 Dodge Dakota 🔎.

2002 Dodge Dakota front brake calipers sticking. Left, right or both calipers will not fully release after multiple brake applications resulting in heat build up in rotors, pads & calipers. This can be reduced by using the brakes less or expedited by using them more. The failure occurs consistently with multiple brake applications. The result is hot brakes and wheels with speeds <40mph or very hot, once igniited brakes at highway speeds. Pad rotors, and brake fluid have been changed & sliders greased, zero change. First incident occured at approximate incident date, then exponentially more frequently after.

See all problems of the 2002 Dodge Dakota 🔎.

The contact owns a 2002 Dodge Dakota. The contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal, he noticed that the brakes were getting hot and seizing. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic, but the mechanic was unable to diagnose the failure. The brake pads, shoes, and calipers were repaired. The failure continued. The manufacturer had not been notified. The failure mileage was approximately 54,000.

The contact owns a 2002 Dodge Dakota. While driving approximately 30 mph, the contact noticed smoke rising near the front passenger side wheel and the vehicle began to veer to the right. The contact discovered that the front passenger side brake caliper failed. The failure occurred numerous times. The contact replaced the front passenger side caliper and rotor and remedied the failure. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was 50,000.

Knowing the Dakota's have brake issues, I replaced the front rotors with aftermarket slotted rotors in hopes that the rotor would stay cool & not warp. However even after adding new rotors I have had on three separate occasions one or the other front rotors have locked up. After the first incident I completely drained & replaced all the brake fluid w/synthetic brake fluid. I had no problems for about 2 months before they locked up again. This time I replaced both calipers, it's only been a month everything is working for now. Dodge should recall! either there brake booster or calipers are flawed because the brake caliper tend to stick causing overheating, wrong to the point where the pads are so hot your engulfing other vehicles in smoke!.

. . Front passenger brake seized. Occurred during high traffic time with along with pull to right/could cause accident. . Came clear the next morning/ occurred again 1 mo. Later. . I replaced brake hose ,caliper ,rotor and brake pad, only been about 3 days since replacing.

The front brake caliper bolts to the steering knuckle on a 1997 Dodge Dakota, 4wd. Due to the nature of the design, the threads that hold the brake caliper mounting studs can strip out, thereby leaving the caliper to float on the knuckle. Under prolonged use, these studs can back out, letting the caliper fall off, which could lead to a crash. On my particular vehicle, this has happened for the third time now, once on the driver's side and twice on the passenger side. The threads strip out, and the mounting boss section is so small that a larger thread cannot be retapped without danger of breaking the hole out. Auto parts suppliers sell slightly oversize, self tapping studs, but these do not last long. The steering knuckle is a very pricey part (on the order of $600 just for the part) and continuing replacement is cost prohibitive. My vehicle is apparently not the only one with this problem, as a search of salvage yards revealed numerous stripped out threads on vehicles where the steering knuckle was actually available.

See all problems of the 1997 Dodge Dakota 🔎.

At about 7500 miles on 02-29-2008 the right caliper locked up and burnt the brake pads down to nothing. Took the vehicle to dealer ship and they replaced right brake pads. In August the same year at 11,000 the right caliper locked up and by the time the was taken to dealer ship they had to replace the right caliper right brake pads and right rotor. On 02-21-2012 at 45,000 miles the right caliper locked up coming down the mountain and by the time it was taken to a shop it had burnt the brake pads on the right side to the point that the rotor was again destroyed. Dodge denied an warranty or any problems with the brake system. I had the caliper, rotor, and brake pads replaced by a independent shop. Looking at the pads the original on the left showed to be less than 30 percent worn. When the caliper locks up it makes it difficult to control steering. I have dates names and case numbers from talking to Dodge. Thanks.

See all problems of the 2007 Dodge Dakota 🔎.

Continued problems with front brakes. Had to replace the rotors at 35,552 miles (see odi #10200119), had to turn those rotors at 46,295 miles (see odi #10200122), had to replace front brakes at 50, 230 miles (see odi #10200127), had to replace front left calipers at 51,116 miles (see odi #10200129). Two weeks after replacing the calipers, drove short distance (all highway miles). When I stopped the truck, strong brake smell coming from underneath the front end. I let the car sit for a while and continued on. Now it's intermittent. Calipers appear to be sticking again - intermittently. Vehicle pulls and brakes feel inconsistent like they are coming on way too hard but then pulsing.

The contact owns a 2002 Dodge Dakota. While driving approximately 20 mph, the calipers seized on the passenger side rotors. The failure occurred several times and the contact replaced the calipers himself. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 44,000.

I had been noticing some major pulsating (to the point I thought I was loosing a tire) in the front end of my 05 Dodge Dakota when I stepped on the front brake so I had the brakes looked at by meineke muffler. They showed me how the dust boot on the calipers were deteriorating and that the rotors were turning blue from over-heating. They suggested I contact Dodge to see if there were any recalls or if it was covered by my extended warranty. My truck has 24k miles on it. I contacted Dodge regarding the warranty and they said that only the calipers would be covered even though the defective calipers caused the premature wearing of the rotors and brake pads. The brake pads still had at least 50% wear on them. My truck is currently at stevens Dodge in milford CT. Tomorrow will be 2 weeks since I brought it there and supposedly they are still waiting for the parts to come in. According to their service dept the parts are not on back order but they still aren't in. This truck is supposed to be able to tow up to 7,000 pounds but with the brakes failing after only 24k of normal driving (mostly highway miles) I can only imagine what might have happened if I towed things with it regularly.

See all problems of the 2005 Dodge Dakota 🔎.

Continued problems with front brakes. In July 06, rotors had to be replaced with only 35,552 miles on the truck (see odi #10200119). In March 07, the new rotors had to be turned at 44,6295 miles (see od #10200122). In may 07, vibrations in the front end returned and there was a strange rattling noise coming from the front end. Dealer replaced the brakes at 50,230 miles (see odi #10200127). I drove the vehicle about 17 miles (all highway miles). When I stopped, smoke was rolling out of the front left side and there was a strong brake odor. I took it to the dealer the next day. Technician indicated it was sticking calipers. Technician replaced front left caliper. Total cost $121. (note - dealer did not charge me for labor on caliper replacement. ).

2004/Dodge truck/dakota, rear calipers failed by seizing. Had to replace both of them before even replacing the brake pads. Total mileage on the truck was 45,518.

See all problems of the 2004 Dodge Dakota 🔎.

Front brake caliber locked up. Stop and go traffic and brakes locked up.

The front right brake calipers locked up on the vehicle causing the brakes to be applied without pressing on the brakes. After replacing the right calipers, rotor (warped from heat), and brake hose, 12 miles away, the left caliper locked up. This is a huge safety issues because the brakes are applied without the intention of the driver.

Under normal driving conditions in the northeast I have experienced two separate instances where the front brakes would not disengage or remained partially engaged while driving. First failure at approximately 30,000 miles, mechanic found calipers to operate normally but replaced all pads and rotors due to heat damage evident on "passenger side" front. Second failure at approximately 35,000 again found calipers operating normally but replaced front brake line, brake fluid, pads and machined rotors. Mechanic unable to determine why the brakes freeze when everything appears to operate as designed.

The brakes shake horribly and have since about a 11,000 miles, the dealership refuses to do anything about, replaced a faulty caliper I ordered in January in July. I believe the reason I was not able to stop fast enough in the accident in October was because the brakes failed to grab completely. I would not be such a big deal my this Dodge dealer treats me as an ignoramus, they did offer to upgrade my brakes for only 250 a side, which seems silly since it was still under warranty at the time. It still has the $100 ded warranty for 100000 miles.

Within 29,500. Total miles covered in 4. 5 years, there have been 5 episodes when either the front left or front right brake partially seized, which caused the vehicle to veer to one side upon application of the brakes, and emitted smoke. Two dealers have offered no plausible cause or remedy. Original brake pads, both front and rear, and the front discs and read drums were found to be badly worn at a mere 20,000. Miles of light service resulting in all pads being replaced and the rotors and drums being turned. Now at 29, 500. Miles the front rotors are showing signs of warpage. Ok, I'm not an expert, but I've driven about 15 vehicles over a total of a million miles and my feeling is that these brakes are undersized and constantly run too hot. The short brake life is nothing short of astounding. As the dealers seems stumped, my next move is to install racing brakes on the front complete with multiple piston calipers and drilled and slotted rotors. I'm betting that the smoking episodes will stop. One look at this vehicles complaints is all the NHTSA should have to see that there is a design problem, here.

: the contact stated while applying brake pressure at various speeds, there was a pronounced vibration within the front end of the vehicle followed by an increased stopping distance. The vehicle was seen by a dealer for inspection. The dealer replaced the drums, rotors, and calipers which corrected the problem.

Leased new Dakota 5/05. On 10/05 with 5344 miles rear brakes ,drums and wheel cylinders were replaced dealer and Dodge said normal wear and tear and would not warranty them said I use the brakes to much. On 2/06 truck was returned to dealer needed new rear brakes ,drums were turned,front pads were metal on metal and replaced , rotors and calipers were replaced also. Miles on truck was 9,700 dealer and Dodge said normal wear and tear again and would not cover this total cost so far 1,400. 00. I think it could be a design flaw because they put the adjuster at the top by the wheel cylinder. I kept all the parts and took pixs. So I'm now on the 3rd set of rear brakes.

While driving at various speeds up to 55 mph the truck began pulling to the left and deceleration was much greater than normal. At this time I decided to pull off the road to investigate. Noticed lots of heat coming from drivers side disk break. When restarting and moving forward the truck stopped very quickly. The failure was, the caliper did not retract, causing the disc brake to overheat and it seized up. This failure could cause the truck to pull left into on coming traffic. A tragedy could come of this if this failure is not corrected. The truck dealer had no explanation but noticed other worn parts that should be replaced unrelated to the brake failure.

- the contact owns a 1999 Dodge Dakota. While driving the contact heard a squealing noise and felt a vibration while depressing the brake. The mechanic stated that the front spindles on his vehicle were defective. The mechanic inserted a bolt that was supposed to keep the caliper attached to the spindle. Approximately a month later he heard a loud squealing. The contact checked the brake pads and notice that the pads on the driver's side were worn. The contact replaced front rotors, calipers, brake pads and bolts. There has not been any other occurrences since the replacement. The vehicle current and failure mileage were both 123,000 miles.

See all problems of the 1999 Dodge Dakota 🔎.

I have taken my vehicle several repair places (brake specialists) including 2 dealerships (multiple times). They tell me my rotors are warped, or that they can find nothing wrong!!! starting at around 20,000 miles I started getting hard vibrations in the front end, replaced rotors and pads, fixed problem. Then, 5,000 miles later it started again, had rotors turned and replaced pads, fixed problem. 5,000 miles later it happens again, I decide to deal with it for a little while. 2,000 miles of driving with warped rotors, and right front caliper locks up, nearly causing a fire!!. Replaced both calipers, rotors and pads, problem fixed again. Problem recurs roughly every 5,000 miles. I drive very carefully to ensure that I am not causing any undue stress on the brake components. The expense of repairing the brakes every 5,000 miles is roughly $200 to $400 dollars depending on what I find upon inspection. I am an industrial mechanic so I do this work myself. I purchased copies of daimler Chrysler master tech videos to makes sure that I am not missing something. I have purchased several manuals for my vehicle , some from Dodge and some aftermarket in my search for a more permanent solution to this problem. This problem is very dangerous, to me and to others around me when driving. I am currently at 90,000 miles and have decided that this problem needs to be addressed by someone. . . I hope you can help.

I have lees than 45000 miles on my truck and the break pads on the front have been changed six times. Rotors are fine, the last three times the pads were changed in less then 18 months. When getting the pads from a national auto store the computer brought up bigger pads that would be for my quad cab. They didn't fit and I had to go with the regular cab brake pads. I contacted the dealer they checked them out and said it was the right size caliper on the truck. When I told them about the auto store only bringing up the longer pads they offered to change my rotors and break for a great deal of $400. No thank you.

- the contact stated in November 2005 while towing a boat on a bridge the brakes failed. He was able to stop the vehicle by using the emergency brakes. The contact took the vehicle to a Dodge dealer, and they replaced the brake line and caliper. The vehicle appeared to be fine until December 2006 when he heard a scraping noise. The contact took the vehicle to a firestone dealer, and was told it had two different calipers on it, one which belonged to a Dodge ram 1500. The vehicle was towed to the Dodge dealer. The contact believed the Dodge dealer replaced the caliper with an incorrect caliper during the brake line replacement. The contact stated the Dodge dealer would not verify this. The contact had new calipers and a rotor placed on the vehicle. The contact stated the vehicle had under 36,000 miles on it at the time of failure because it was covered under the warranty. The contact has the old parts, pictures and repair invoices. Updated 02/06/07.

I bought a 2005 Dodge Dakota on Feb of 2005. From the very start I had a bad vibration in the front end of the vehicle under heavy braking. We first took the vehicle after 2000 miles to have it look at. Dodge could not fix the problem so I took it back another 7 times before I asked for replacement under the ohio lemon laws. Dodge contacted me in early October wanting to look at the truck again but before I could bring it back in, I got in a accident that was a direct result of the non working brakes. After the accident, which put a women in the hospital, my wife took the truck back to get fixed and the dealer threw her out. We later learned that Dodge, during some recall work, notified it's dealer network not to do any more work on this vehicles brakes. This forced us to go hire a lawyer to sue for compensation. All along I was still driving this dangerous vehicle. I got a call from the lawyers on may 30 telling me that I should contact the dealer and sell the vehicle back. I did just that, the dealer lied to me, told me he did not have the paperwork yet, which he did, and not to call him. He said that he would contact me when he recieved the paperwork. In the meantime my wife got in a accident June 14, again because of the faulty brakes and put another person in the hospital. Now the lawyers want me to fix the truck again and hurry up and sell it back to Dodge, so they can get their money. They said that I should not pursue anything else. Dodge should not be able to trample over me like this. This isn't right somebody should be out there protecting the rights of the average person. Do I have any recourse?.

Had a sudden stop in 100 degree weather, when pulled off, the truck felt as if it were pulling a load and a strong burning rubber smell was coming from the front end. Ended up having it towed to the dealership where it was found that the front calipers had seized up. Dealership was not certain as to what caused the problem. Truck only has 52,000 miles on it. Ended up putting all new braking system on the front end. A year ago had the same problem, brought into the dealership and they told me it was a sensor that controlled the abs. Can't figure that one out, only have abs on the rearend, not on the front. It is a scary thing when you are on the highway and you have that burning smell and smoke is bellowing from the front wheels. Dealership claims no fire would've occurred. Tained.

2002 Dodge Dakota brake calipers lock up, the date below is not the first time this happened to me. The first time was on April 20th 2005, the left caliper locked up. I had that caliper replaced. The second time the right caliper locked up on the right side on June 3rd 2005. Now the third time around and I have information that I am not the only one. On August 12th I paid for a tow charge and came close to a fire. One of the other people that informed me of the same problem had there caliper catch fire. I hope this information helps. I had no luck with the manufacturer. I will try and have them hold this caliper for you to look at. Thanks.

I have an 05 Dodge Dakota with a brake pulsation problem that the dealer can't fix. At highway speeds the truck shudders when brakes are applied. Replaced pads, rotors and calipers and problem is still present. Attempted three different times to get repairs and no solution.

The front left brake caliper on my 2002 Dodge Dakota siezed up causing the left front wheel to overheat to the point of smoking. The brake fluid was ruined, the pads destroyed,the rotor damaged, and the wheel bearing grease broken down. Fair oaks Dodge of fairfax va had no explanation for this incident. They repaired the damage at my expense with only the calipers covered under warrenty. This is not the only instance of daimler Chrysler brakes failing in this manner. Please look into this matter. Thank you, geoffrey a hamby.

While driving consumer saw smoke and the vehicle began to pull to the left and was shaking. The brakes locked up and it was difficult for the consumer to get the vehicle to move. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic but he couldn't get the vehicle's wheels to move. The mechanic told the consumer that the problem was that the calipers froze and the brake pads were so hot they appeared to be ready to catch on fire. The consumr had the problem repaired. The dealer claimed to know nothing about the failure and told the consumer to call NHTSA. The manufacturer has not been contacted yet.

Front brakes rubbing on rotors causing brake pads to smoke. This caused the warping of the brake rotors. Replaced brake pads and rotors. This fixed the problem for about 1 (one) month. This time after smelling the brakes and seeing smoke, I tried to pull off the road but the truck would barely move. This is not the first problems with the brakes. I had found the front left caliper mounting bolt had become loose and stripped the bolt hole. I heli-coiled the hole and loctited the bolt in place.

Thought I would "buy american" and get the Dodge Dakota 4 dr crew. Love its style, comforts, more power than I need (4. 7l v8) 2wd has no traction in snow or ice. Very easy to drive and comfortable 6ft. 2 220lbs. (2 trips NJ to calif. ) gas mileage stinks. . . 13-18mpg, no loads. Brake rotors replaced 28k, left top ball joint worn (no recall yet)a/c needed charging, right front hub and bearings replaced 49k, rear leaf spring noisy, transmission hesitation occasionally. Great truck to drive and haul but reliability really in question with only 49k. Probably back to Nissan or Toyota.

Vibrations during braking at high and low speeds. Pulsing while depressing brake pedal. Today the right front brake overheated while driving at highway speed on level road. The disc brakes were locked up on the rotor and would not release. Appears to be a failure within the caliper??? I have heard several other reports of similar incidents of this type. Is this a design flaw or problem that can result in an accident? the truck may have caught fire due to the overheating of the brakes, however it did not during this incident.

See all problems of the 2000 Dodge Dakota 🔎.

Rotors are warping and being severely scored. My caplipers were badly rusted with in a year which did not let it slide properly and cause uneven pressure on the pads. This cause a pad to disintegrate while braking. I have since replaced my brake pads with performance ferro carbon pads and cross drilled vented rotors. The rotors no long warp but they are still being badly scored. And I have to keep a constant eye on pad wear.