My 2000 Dodge Dakota SLT V8 has always been a great vehicle. The only real complaint I have about the vehicle is one of the most annoying. The clear coat is peeling, making the vehicle look terrible. The roof of the cab, the hood, the tops of the rear fenders and now, the fiberglass cargo cover is peeling. I take great pride in my vehicles because I take great care of them. This is the most annoying, horrible-looking clear coat issue. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with the truck, but I am going to trade it in and get a different make because of this problem. I understand from friends with similar problems that Dodgy Chrysler will DO NOTHING to help with it. If they offered to fix it and make it look like new, I would do it and probably keep the truck until it fell apart. I have 55,600 miles on it, and it irritates the crap out of me that it looks OLD!
Is there a warranty or recall on this issue ? I see many Dodge Dakotas and other similar Dodge products from the same timeframe with the same issue. Otherwise the truck is fine with 175k miles.
Even though my 2000 Dodge Dakota Quad-Cab is almost 13 years old, there is no reason that the paint job should be deteriorating like this :( There are 2 spots on the hood where the clearcoat has peeled off and now the paint is faded, additionally, the hood is completely void of any clearcoat and is faded to the point that it looks like primer.
THIS IS CLEARLY A DEFECT AND IF THERE WAS A RECALL, I WAS NOT NOTIFIED. DODGE, WOULD YOU PLEASE REPAINT MY TRUCK???
I love my truck and will continue to pay for any maintenance needed until the day it dies, however, I don't have the money to repaint it :( Please restore it to it's original beauty?
I regularly washed my Dakota and waxed it twice a year to protect the finish. The hood started fading and the clear coat wearing off then the hood started. Now the clear coat is peeling from above the front doors. I know the truck is 11 years old but I have had older vechicles and none of them have had this problem.
This paint job really SUCKS! The value of my vehicle is diminished because of the condition of the paint. It has been given good care but the last two to three years, there's been nothing I can do but see it continue to erode! As a retired individual, I can't afford to have it re-painted. I have had the Dakota since it was new---spent lots of money on it---and have enjoyed lots of miles---but I still shouldn't have to drive it looking like it came from a junk yard!
- bianco,
Kingman, AZ, US
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Used to love my Dakota, but it seems to be falling apart! I'm really concerned about the paint on my roof "crackling" and the plastic trim covers around the windshield cracking and curling off the crome trim. My truck is parked outside, however it's washed once a week at least and waxed every 3 months. Nothing seem to slow down the problem! Repainting seems to be the only answer, but since it's not inexpensive to procede, I'm wondering if it would be worth the effort. I know the Florida sun can be brutal on paint, but I believe it's the paint's quality that is causing the failure. (My 1995 TOYOTA's paint looks as good as new!... and even gets less care.)
I seen many Dakotas with paint failure occurring, but I don't believe consumers know where to turn. Dodge needs to look into the paint failure problems and remedy the situations... or just quit selling Dodges in the Southern states! (I'll probably just drive my Dakota until it dies and then by a TOYOTA TUNDRA!
Paint faded and is now down to white layer. Big white stripe on roof and on top of cab railing. Looks awful. Extremely disappointed in truck and Dodge. Of course they offer no resolution.
At 77,000 miles gaskets and heads blew, coolant leaking in heads. Cost is $3400 to repair. Completely unfair that this truck should be having this problem at this age! What a piece of junk.
Crappy dodge paint. It actually started after 4 years. I thought I could stop it with wax. Dealers and DOdge do not even want to work with you and offer 50% off paint job, etc. I'll never buy another dodge vehicle and that after My dad had so many.
Paint has completely faded off in crackle finish looking pieces. Affected areas include the hood and roof mainly.dodge needs to support their products and paint it
The paint on my roof started to delaminate and Dodge told me it was because I did not park my truck in a garage. Now it has started on my roof. It is Flame Red paint and I have seen 3 other trucks in town that look the same. I feel that it was a bad on the paint line and they need to fix it for free... and not say it was my fault.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
My 2000 Dodge Dakota SLT V8 has always been a great vehicle. The only real complaint I have about the vehicle is one of the most annoying. The clear coat is peeling, making the vehicle look terrible. The roof of the cab, the hood, the tops of the rear fenders and now, the fiberglass cargo cover is peeling. I take great pride in my vehicles because I take great care of them. This is the most annoying, horrible-looking clear coat issue. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with the truck, but I am going to trade it in and get a different make because of this problem. I understand from friends with similar problems that Dodgy Chrysler will DO NOTHING to help with it. If they offered to fix it and make it look like new, I would do it and probably keep the truck until it fell apart. I have 55,600 miles on it, and it irritates the crap out of me that it looks OLD!
- George L., Orlando, FL, US