The seat belt latching mechanism stopped working, it will not latch anymore. Upon contacting the local dealerships parts department to order new oem seat belt latch assemblies I learned that this part for this truck is on a "national back-order" with no expected ship date. This seems to infer that this part is in high demand, thus meaning there is most likely a problem that originates at the manufacturer. This latch assembly has been inoperable on my truck for almost (1) year now, and I have been unable to get the oem part for the same amount of time.

- Hemet, CA, USA

I had to brake suddenly for a deer. The driver side seat belt locked properly and held me away from the steering wheel. The passenger side seat belt did not lock and my wife was thrown forward into the dash. I subsequently checked the seat belt and found it would not lock at all. I took the vehicle to the dealer and they ordered and installed a new one from the manufacturer. When I picked up the vehicle the new seat belt did not work either. The service manager tried to convince me that if I first would let the belt go back and then yank on it it would work. I assured him than in a frontal crash a body at rest does not go back and then forward. I reminded him that einstein figured that out a long time ago. He showed me a Jeep in the shop whose seat belt also worked the same. I asked him to show me a new Dakota and compare the results. Upon checking the new Dakota he found that the seat belt indeed locked properly each time it is placed under rapid deceleration load. He agreed to order me another seat belt. I am convinced that since I already have a defective belt and they sent me another defective belt that Dodge has a large inventory both on the road and in their warehouse of bad and unsafe seat belts for the Dodge Dakota.

- Russellville, KY, USA