2000 Dodge Dakota Sport 5.9 V8 Magnum
Summary:
A beautiful piece of junk!
Faults:
Most recently the head gaskets have blew.
It kept overheating; which turned out to need a new clutch motor fan, thermostat, and a new radiator cap. The total out of pocket cost was $168 since I had purchased an extended warranty. Not to mention the time lost at work.
The ball joints were bad; but I received a refund on the replacement costs since there is a recall on them.
The transmission keeps slipping. I now have to have a rebuilt transmission.
The door lock stopped working. It cost $100 to have it fixed.
I have to weight it down in the winter or it slides really bad!
It had to have a tune up; which was expected seeing it had over 100,000 miles on it.
General Comments:
A beautiful piece of junk! I've always wanted a Dakota. It drove great for the first 8 months! Then everything seemed to go wrong. I did regular maintenance on it.
It has a lot of power! I even outran a Mustang!
4x4 is great! No complaints there!
It is a comfortable ride. I have no problems with the steering that most people have.
Gas mileage is HORRIBLE! I only get around 11 miles to the gallon! Of course I will admit that I have a lead foot; so that may be the reason!
All in all my Dodge Stratus drove better than my Dakota though! For looks I have to give the Dakota a 10!
There isn't much room in the extended cab! Forget putting anything, but small children in the back seat!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 28th June, 2005
25th Feb 2005, 04:55
I could not agree with you more! My 03 Quad Cab 4X4 is the perfect family man truck. I have my 6-month olds car seat installed right behind the driver seat, so I can still flip up the other 3/4 portion of the rear seat for more storage space. My Dakota has the 4.7 liter V-8 and it really can move if you want it to. I can only imagine the power you have with the 5.9 liter in yours. Additionally, I average 16 to 18mpg, which is on par with most V-6 engines out there, with more power and torque to boot.
Where did you hear about flushing the transmission every 30K miles? Mine has 28K and I wonder if I should have this done now?
Thanks-