Owners have filed 5,122 complaints on the Dodge Dakota, covering 1987–2011. The system named most often is Suspension (991 reports). Worst years by volume: 2000, 2002, 2001; cleanest: 1987, 2009, 2011. 415 reports describe a crash, 113 a fire, 16 a death. On average the car was 4.8 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Dodge Dakota
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 5,122 Dakota complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Suspension 991 Read
While entering highway (40mph) my vehicle went into an uncontrollable spin that resulted in minor impact damage with brush and ditch. When I removed the flat tire (left front), I found that the sway bar link had snapped. This 2005 dodge dakota only has 58,00 miles and has never been used for anything other than house…
The contact owns a 2005 dodge dakota. While driving approximately 45 mph, the rear of the vehicle aggressively swayed to the left without warning. The driver lost control of the vehicle. As a result, the contact crashed into a ditch and the vehicle rolled over several times. The contact stated that the rear axle…
The contact owns a 2005 dodge dakota. While driving 20 mph, the contact heard a bang and lost control of the vehicle. He struck two parked vehicles. The driveshaft was pulled out at the scene and there was transmission fluid on the ground. A police report was filed. The rear passenger side leaf spring snapped off. The…
Service Brakes 669 Read
The contact owns a 2006 dodge dakota truck. While driving in normal weather conditions, she depressed the brake pedal and the brakes failed. She heard a fizzing noise and the vehicle began to spin out of control until the vehicle crashed and went beyond a small steel fence. The air bags did not deploy. Someone nearby…
The contact owns a 2006 dodge dakota. While driving 20 mph the brakes failed which caused the contact to crash into a fence. Shortly after exiting the vehicle it caught fire. Dodge stated that the her VIN was not a part of the brake recall. The current and failure mileages were 79000
The entire front brakes {rotors, caliper, pads} required replacement at 33k miles, in addition several hard brake lines were severely rusted and needed replacement. This is totally unacceptable on a truck!
Air Bags 503 Read
Was involved in a car accident on 4/22/06. I was driving 55 mph and a delivery truck pulled out in front of me. I hit the truck on his driver side and smashed my hole front end in. Truck was almost totaled. My air bags never deployed. If it wasn't for the seat belt my injuries could have been worse then whip lash. My…
Airbags did not deploy during a head-on collision with another vehicle. At about 70 mph impact, you think there would be some kind of protection
While driving attemped to switch lanes and struck another vehicle from behind and the air bag did not deploy
Power Train 408 Read
Case nunber:[xxx]. I contacted you 12/04/15 concerning brakes on this truck and I also told you that every time I would try an discuss this issue with efird chrysler florence, sc they would tell me the brakes are antilock system and it was normal for them to make noise when applied for emergency stopping. I took this…
The contact owns a 2007 dodge dakota. The contact stated that after pulling her vehicle in driveway, she left the vehicle on to unload supplies. When she turned the ignition off, the vehicle began to roll backwards striking the contact. She could not move away from door before the vehicle began to drag her running…
Driver pulled truck into slightly inclined driveway and shifted into park. Vehicle was idling. Both driver side and passenger side windows were open. Driver put driver side power window up. The button to raise the passenger window from driver side does not work. So driver got out of vehicle, left the driver side door…
Steering 393 Read
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…
I was traveling 55-60 mph on the highway in a straight line with the cruise control engaged when I hit a dip in the road and the truck literally jumped off the highway. It completely left my lane and drove itself out of control across traffic and to the right into a ditch. It caused front end body damage (moderate)…
The contact owns a 2005 dodge dakota. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph, she lost control of the vehicle as it spun in circles. As a result, the vehicle crashed into a ditch. There were no inuries and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified…
Engine And Engine Cooling 231 Read
The contact owns a 2007 dodge dakota clubcab 4x2. When the contact attempted to shift into reverse, the gear became stuck in first gear. He was unable to change gears. He inspected the vehicle and noticed smoke coming from the engine. A few minutes later, the vehicle caught fire and burned to the ground. Fire and…
Vehicle stalled while driving at any speed. Sometimes it took 10 minutes, sometimes 2 hours before vehicle will restart. Vehicle was serviced by the dealership six times. Diagnostic test was done, but no engine failure code was found. No parts were replaced. They only reflashed the engine, but this failed to correct…
The contact owns a 2002 dodge dakota. The contact was driving approximately 50 mph when he noticed a burning odor. The contact then noticed smoke coming from under the dashboard area. The contact disconnected the blower from the resister. The dealer was notified of the failure who informed the contact to call the…
Electrical System 213 Read
Risk of fire by wrong sized fused in power outlet. I almost burn the truck charging a drone (57w charger) parking and left alone for about 20 minutes, when I back the cabin was filled with smoke. First I think in the lithium batteries catching fire, but no, the smoke comes from behind the dash. Quickly I removed the…
The contact owns a 2006 Dodge Dakota. The contact stated that while her son was at a complete stop at the red traffic light, the driver's side air bag deployed unexpectedly, and the driver noticed that there was white smoke and dark smoke coming from the air bag. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact…
March , 2011, as I was in the front passenger seat, smoke filled the truck . We immediately stopped and I got out. The seat back was smoking and burning and a hole was burned in my coat. I reported this immediaely to chrysler. It was investigated and chrysler replaced the element and put a new seat cover on the seat…
Visibility 83 Read
The contact owns a 2004 dodge dakota. The contact stated the the wire connected to the heater blower melted and the contact was concerned with the potential of a fire. The dealer repaired the failure numerous times, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the fialure but denied any assistance with…
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)…
The contact owns a 2001 dodge dakota. The contact was driving approximately 30 mph with the heater in activation and suddenly the heater failed to operate. In addition, there was a strong burning odor and smoke emitting into of the vehicle. The contact was able to continue driving and the vehicle was taken to an…
Dakota years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Air Bags | 8 | — | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 11 | 2 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 19 | 6 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 25 | 26 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 9 | 5 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 14 | 4 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 42 | 14 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 30 | 9 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 42 | 11 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 32 | 5 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 34 | 1 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 33 | 2 | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 15 | 5 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 27 | 3 | |
| 1994 | Air Bags | 23 | 3 | |
| 1993 | Air Bags | 12 | 2 | |
| 1992 | Electrical System | 17 | 6 | |
| 1991 | Air Bags | 9 | 3 | |
| 1990 | Electrical System | 5 | — | |
| 1989 | Electrical System | 3 | 2 | |
| 1988 | Electrical System | 1 | 2 | |
| 1987 | Engine And Engine Cooling,fuel System, Gasoline | — | 1 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 2,367 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.2 |
| Worst single series | 21 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.8 years |
A model average of 2.2 hides a worst series at 21. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Dakota?
By complaint volume, 2000, 2002, 2001 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Dakota years are the cleanest?
1987, 2009, 2011 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Dodge Dakota have?
5,122 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1987–2011. Of those, 415 describe a crash and 113 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.