Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| VISIBILITY | |||
| 07/05/2009 | 111000 | 1 | |
| My husband and i had driven our 2003 dodge dakota quad cab about four or five miles when we smelled smoke. my husband looked in our rear view mirror and noticed smoke coming from between the cab and truck bed not from the engine area. at the same time, i glanced in the side mirrors and saw something liquid (or melted) dripping behind us on fire in the road and leaving a burning trail on the asphalt. we immediately pulled over (thank god there was a spot to do so!) but had no brakes. due to the sandy nature of the dirt and slight uphill he was able to throw it into park. i bailed out my side and ran. randy tried to exit his side, but the flames were already too high so he luckily was able to get out my side as well. the entire underside of the truck was engulfed in flames and when randy hit the ground he noticed what he thought was the catalytic converter hanging down and on also fire. the truck exploded about 10 - 15 seconds after we escaped. this was a well maintained vehicle both inside and out and we had absolutely no warning that we were in any danger or that there was anything wrong with the truck. *tr | |||
| VISIBILITY - POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS | |||
| 09/27/2008 | 1 | ||
| Have had to replace 2 of 4 window cables and motors. truck is now back in for third window in a seven month period. windows are hardly ever rolled up or down. vehicle has 46000 miles on it, proving not a lot of wear and tear. first window, was rolling back up, got half way and fell down. second window fell while in parking lot and no one was around. third window fell when closing door. *tr | |||
| 07/08/2008 | 92800 | 1 | |
| Window regulator fails when shutting door, dropping window down in door channel. window regulator must be replaced. has just happened for the 3rd time in past 1 year. each time a different window of this dakota quad cab pickup i purchased new from dealer. vehicle has been in no accidents. *tr | |||
| VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD | |||
| 12/09/2004 | 30000 | 1 | 08/18/2003 |
| Windshield no top rubber, windsheild becoming loose. *ak | |||
| 10/30/2003 | 0 | 1 | 06/30/2002 |
| On 2003 and 2004 dodge vehicles, the piece of trim and weather stripping are not being put at the top of the windshield. the gap between the top of the windshield and the car body ranges from none to 3/8 inch wide by 1/2 inch deep. water could get in this gap and freeze causing the windshield to come loose, crack, or shatter. water expands as it freezes and the pressure from the expansion could cause severe problems if the windshield came loose, cracked, or shattered when driving. water is naturally going to collect in this gap either from rain, car washing, or snow melting. the movement of the vehicle would cause the water to freeze faster in below freezing conditions. i notified daimler-chrysler and they said to take it to a dealer, which i did and the dealer said this was done by the factory starting with the 2003 model year. customer service at daimler-chrysler acts as if you are bothering them with problems like this but i feel it could be a real serious problem in the colder northern states like ohio. the gap runs the full width of the body. thanks.*ak | |||
| VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER | |||
| 01/15/2003 | 17605 | 10 | 03/23/2003 |
| 2003 dakota quad cab. in cold temperatures below 15f the fluid sprayers will freeze. causing low to zero visibility in winter weather driving. when truck is parked and warmed up for 10-15 mins fluid will spray for as long as you want, after you stop it pools up in the tips of the sprayers, and will freeze once you move again. the hose's are also not insulated to protect from the cold so they don't freeze as well. this can and will cause zero visibility, causing the drive to not be able to see and possibly getting into an accident. *cb | |||
| VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER - MOTOR | |||
| 04/24/2003 | 5000 | 2 | 03/31/2003 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 dodge dakota quad cab. whenever the brake pedal was applied, the brakes would pulsate, overheat, and lock up. the stopping distance would also increase. the dealer stated that wet conditions and high speed braking caused the rotors to warp. in addition, the vehicle idles high and roughly when approaching a stop sign or traffic light. when accelerating from a stop or merging into traffic, the vehicle would idle roughly. there was no throttle response for approximately 10 to 20 seconds, but then the vehicle would surge forward. the vehicle has been taken to a dealer approximately five times for these issues, but the failures still persist. all the sensors were replaced, but the failure is becoming worse. the dealer replaced the front rotors three times and the contact replaced them four times. the current mileage was 132,655 and failure mileage was 5,000. updated 11/06/08. *lj the rotors and brakes were replaced several times. the consumer was told the vehicle had a faulty master cylinder that was not letting the rear brakes ever work. the air conditioner was built to drain into the front passenger floor. the computer in the vehicle would not accept updates. the intermediate shaft was replaced. the wiper motor was replaced. updated 11/06/08. *jb | |||