3.3

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
40,500 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2002 Dodge Dakota transmission problems

transmission problem

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2002 Dodge Dakota Owner Comments

problem #2

Feb 012006

Dakota 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 63,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Bought 2002 slt quad cab Dakota new from dealership. First experienced truck stalling while driving on roadways (very dangerous!), without warning and without check engine light coming on. Sometimes, it would also stall if put into drive/reverse from a parked position. Had truck towed at least twice, because I was afraid to drive it home because it was stalling too many times. Took in to dealership three times. Since engine light wasn't on, diagnostic test couldn't determine problem readily; problem was intermittent. Over the course of the first two visits to dealership, I had tune-up, throttle body cleaned, new distributor plate, new oil pan gasket. By the third time, I had the entire powertrain control module replaced: The "brain" of the truck, as the mechanic put it to me. This should not happen when a brand-new truck is only four years old; the "brain" should not die that soon. That is unacceptable, especially if the PCM/stalling problem is considered "characteristic." All of this cost me about $2,500. The quality of this truck has not, and still does not, meet my expectations. The truck is too young to be having these sorts of problems. I expect to put thousands of dollars into a 10 year-old truck, not a four year-old truck. I am also experiencing transmission issues with the truck not shifting properly. I will outline that in separate complaint.

- Buford, GA, USA

problem #1

Sep 152006

Dakota 4WD 8-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 18,000 miles
Timing control module, tcm is pulsing interior/exterior lights, windshield wipers, etc. To an off state at once per second continuously. When truck is parked, headlamp relay can be heard pulsing. The vehicle cannot be driven at night due to visual confusion and safety problems with other traffic. No apparent cause of failure. Truck has 18K miles and is only 4 years old. Other complaints indicate that tcm was replaced to fix problem. My concern is that the cause of failure may not be internal to tcm and replacing it will be an ongoing event. Has Dodge determined the cause of this module failure" is this not a design flaw since there have been several reports of the same problem"

- Annandale, NJ, USA

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