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.

- Hot Springs, AR, USA

Brake calipiers will freeze and get stuck, causing damage to pads.

- Spokane, WA, USA

The piston inside the brake caliper on the driver's side got stuck, which locked the caliper and the brake pad against the rotor. This happened all of sudden while driving about 30-35- mph when driver applied the brakes.the dealer stated that the slides on the caliper became unseated whick became stuck causing the brake pad to lock against the rotor causing extensive damage to the rotor and wheel.

- Taylor Mill, KY, USA

I took my truck to 4 different brake shops and all 4 told me that the front driver side caliper had failed and that my rotor was ruined. A couple of the shops actually said that Dodge has a history of having bad calipers. I asked the GM at chapman Dodge what he knew about the question of "bad" calipers and he admitted that there were problems 2 years ago. My truck is 2 years old.

- Phx, AZ, USA