Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING - COLUMN | |||||
| 10023 | 10/01/2002 | 10009241 | Steering column service. information. service information tuneups. *tt | 09/20/2004 | |
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST - POWER STEERING FLUID | |||||
| 1900701 | 08/03/2001 | 623172 | Information on new power steering fluid.*slc | 10/26/2001 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||
| 08/22/2012 | 139836 | 1 | |
| Pulling out of driveway and the bottom of the control arm broke free letting the wheel come free from the vehicle..... *tr | |||
| 07/15/2009 | 59642 | 1 | |
| Lower u joint in the steering shaft breaks. mine luckly broke in my driveway but it could have been bad. the part is unavailble aftermarket. dealer is back orderd for weeks. i had to drive over 2 hours away to get the shaft at the closest dealer. *tr | |||
| 06/01/2009 | 127000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 dodge dakota. the contact was experiencing issues with the steering component on her vehicle. he stated that the tires were wearing quickly. the dealer stated that they could not repair the vehicle because the cv joints needed to be replaced. the contact refused to service the cv joints. the manufacturer stated that they could not cover the repairs because the previous owner already had it repaired according to the recall. the vehicle has not been repaired. the nhtsa campaign id number was unknown. the failure and current mileages were less than 127,000. | |||
| 10/01/2007 | 40000 | 1 | 10/01/2003 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 dodge dakota. while cleaning out the vehicle, the contact was able to move the drive gear shift without the key in the ignition. the contact owns three other dodge dakota's and none of them have experienced this type of failure. the failure and current mileages were 40,000. updated 01-11-08. *kb the consumer was told there parts broken in the steering column. updated 12//12/07 | |||
| 10/18/2004 | 37000 | 2 | 09/24/2004 |
| Upper and lower ball joints required replacement after 2,000 miles of ownership. this was brought to the dealers attention. the dealer would not fix the problem, stating it was a wear item. it should have been caught and fixed before offering the vehicle for sale, but they claim otherwise. i was forced to replace both sets of ball joints on my own. since then, dc has recalled the upper joints. the upper joints created a situation causing the lower joints to fail also and should be covered in their recall. they also do not specify covering the alignment needed after joints are replaced. the recall should be reissued covering upper and lower ball joints along with alignment to remedy the situation in this recall failure. *jb | |||
| 08/01/2003 | 17000 | 2 | 09/01/2002 |
| Problems with vehicle's upper ball joint, lower control arm, and steering.*mr *cb | |||
| 01/01/1901 | 25000 | 1 | |
| 2002 dodge dakota front end failure.*mr when the consumer was maneuvering a curve the power steering failed and the vehicle hit a guard rail. the truck sustained some front bumper damage. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where they replaced the steering shaft. the consumer still hears a popping noise when making sharp turns. the consumer plans to take the vehicle to another dealer for a second opinion. the consumer believes that since dodge is have problems with their suspension that the dealer needs to look at the ball joint, tie rods, rack and pinion. *nm | |||
| 05/07/2004 | 43000 | 1 | |
| While driving/turning or braking front upper ball joints made a popping noise. upon inspection of the vehicle by the dealership, they noticed that the upper ball joints were defective, and needed to be replaced. the ball joints were replaced.*ak additionally the steering shaft needed to be replaced and august 2003, the dealer replaced the steering gear box. *nm | |||
| 02/15/2003 | 1500 | ||
| The truck has had sever problems with acceleration and stalling. it also makes a clunking noise when turning the vehicle. there have been numerous amounts of problems with at leat 15 days total in the shop. | |||
| STEERING - COLUMN | |||
| 07/27/2003 | 10000 | 9 | 02/01/2002 |
| The vehicle stalled while driving. *nlm *ak the vehicle experienced the following: knocking in the suspension(4 attempts to fix), the vehicle pulled to the right, the driver door had a wind noise and water leaked, the tailgate handle was loose on the right side, the lower steering column coupled, and the upper control arm bolts were found loose. *scc | |||
| STEERING - GEAR BOX (OTHER THAN RACK AND PINION) | |||
| 11/01/2001 | 11/01/2001 | ||
| Excessive play in steering. top of steering wheel must move about 8 inches to change directions. 4 inches from center to each side. | |||
| STEERING - GEAR BOX - SHAFT SECTOR | |||
| 35000 | 3 | ||
| When making a left turn there was a popping noise in the steering. dealership replaced the steering shaft sector, rack and pinion, and upper and lower ball joints. *ak | |||
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST - PUMP | |||
| 01/10/2005 | 46950 | 1 | 09/24/2004 |
| Slight noise, loud noise. power steering pump. *ak. | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES | |||
| 04/13/2002 | 1 | 03/01/2002 | |
| No summary listed for above vehicles. *ak | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES - KNUCKLE - SPINDLE - ARM | |||
| 10/11/2004 | 16134 | 2 | 09/14/2001 |
| Reported a popping sound on the right front of vehicle to dealership appro. one year ago, informed nothing was wrong. upon a personal inspection during a routine oil change i noted that the right upper control arm ball joint had prematurely failed. *ak(current vechicle mileage 16,000) purchased replacement control arm and installed per manufactuers instructions. i have saved the old part. my concern in this matter is, if these same parts are used on both dodge dakotas and dodge durangos and this part is prone to premature failure, what will be the end result? | |||
| 12/05/2003 | 65000 | 1 | |
| While driving 25 mph, the consumer heard a noise coming from the front end of the vehicle. a few seconds later the vehicle went to one side and collided with a tree. the consumer was knocked unconscious in the collision. the cause of the collision was the spindle and the wheel separated from the vehicle. the manufacturer and the dealer were aware of the problem. *jb *mr | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES - TIE ROD ASSEMBLY | |||
| 08/04/2004 | 36200 | 1 | 12/31/2002 |
| I had a brake and rotor job done at 36000 miles by a local mechanic and found that my rack and pinion is leaking at the boot and there is to much play from tie rods. dealer ship will do nothing to help exept charge me $3750 to fix it. i do not no how long the problem has been there. anouther dealership told me it was a messy oil change ya right!*ak | |||
| 08/19/2003 | 17000 | 1 | 03/23/2002 |
| When the brakes were applied, the vehicle pulled to the right. while the consumer was getting the tires rotated, the mechanic determined that the tie rods were loose. midstate dodge replaced the tie rods with new ones. *ak midstate dodge would not replaced the brakes. the vehicle was still under warranty. *sc *jb | |||
| 01/05/2003 | 38400 | 2 | |
| While having vehicle serviced for a brake issue dealership noticed that all four ball joints wore out prematurely, and the tie rods were defective. dealership could only replace the upper ball joint, but was unable to replace the lower once due to part being on back order. *ak | |||
| STEERING - RACK AND PINION | |||
| 03/16/2005 | 47980 | 1 | 09/24/2004 |
| Rack and pinion failure 48,000 miles. seals leaking and pump whining. *ak. | |||
| 11/29/2004 | 30000 | 1 | 09/01/2002 |
| 2002 - dodge dakota: truck mechanically sound when it comes to the engine. recently had a tune-up & 27 point inspection @ 50,000 miles and was informed that the upper and lower ball joints need replacement and would cost about $1200.00 to fix. the dealers mechanic asked if i have been hear a clunking sound when making sharp turns. i advised the mechanic that this sound started happening around 30,000 miles but did not pay to much attention. i asked the dealership if it was common for this to happen so prematurely. no answer. any recalls in the works. there seems to be may issues from others surrounding the balljoints!!! if i would have known about the additional cost of $1200.00 maybe i would not have considered purchasing the truck in the first place.*ak fp | |||
| 08/04/2004 | 36200 | 1 | 12/31/2002 |
| I had a brake and rotor job done at 36000 miles by a local mechanic and found that my rack and pinion is leaking at the boot and there is to much play from tie rods. dealer ship will do nothing to help exept charge me $3750 to fix it. i do not no how long the problem has been there. anouther dealership told me it was a messy oil change ya right!*ak | |||
| 07/27/2004 | 25680 | 2 | 05/13/2003 |
| I had loss of control of my vehicle this morning which i believe is a direct result of my steering/ball joint / rack and pinion failure. it's at the dealer now being looked over thoroughly. the dealer just replaced the intermittent steering shaft last week.*ak | |||
| 35000 | 3 | ||
| When making a left turn there was a popping noise in the steering. dealership replaced the steering shaft sector, rack and pinion, and upper and lower ball joints. *ak | |||
| 12/16/2001 | 9999 | 12/01/2001 | |
| Engine stumbles at 2300 rpm, two dealers have said problem is characteristic and not repairable. steering is stiff at center very light elsewhere causing oversteering at the transition, also characteristic according to dealers. steering problem amplified starting from stop and turning corner. excessive vehicle roll and stumbling accentuates steering instability. also noticable on freeway entrance/exit ramps when steering is on the transition between heavy and light effort. | |||
| STEERING - WHEEL AND HANDLE BAR | |||
| 09/01/2011 | 114000 | ||
| Truck has been driving like something was grinding against my front right wheel for a week or so, i didnt think anything of it, it had just become an annoyance. id look under the wheel and everything looked okay and in shape, no damage was being done. the other day i drove a short distance and heard a pop, like something had popped near the wheel, i pulled over and could see no damage. i continued to drive and noticed that the grinding had stopped and my wheel seemed to be functioning correctly. i arrived to my destination with no problem. when i left the destination to return home, i started feeling heavy pull to the right on my steering wheel, if i let go of the steering wheel i would have gone into a ditch or the woods or another car. i then started noticed smoke coming from my right wheel, i was a few blocks away from home and figured i could make it, i started noticing my breaks were not working too well, and anytime id push on the breaks more smoke would arise, i went the 3 stop signs to my house and pulled in, ran around and saw that behind my wheel had caught on fire, took about 5 minutes to put the fire out with water and some cat litter we had lying around. it was so hot that it wouldn't cool down for about 45 mins to an hour. we would throw water on it and it would sizzle. i quickly removed the tire to prevent any damage to it. i noticed it had started to melt the plastic boot cover on the suspension. when you looked at the wheel you could see it had snapped off on the bottom half, causing the whole wheel to tilt inward which then caused a full on grind of the wheel and the breakpads and whatever else is down there causing such friction that it caught on fire. i then did research online and found that their had been a recall for this exact issue... :( | |||