My water pump went out @ 173,000 miles.
It's a quick little truck. I haven't tried 0-60 or 1/4 mile, but I will do that soon.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 25th May, 2003
Great all purpose light-duty truck
Timing belt broke at 170k miles.
Fuel pump replaced at 180k miles.
Problem with Heater/AC blower failing intermittently. I had to follow EVERY wire of the system until I found the short.
After-market stereo installation kits always break after about a month of use.
I guess it is because they are plastic and the dash must vibrate the bracket pretty hard.
The paint job has peeled off the top of the truck. Some places on the cab of the truck it peeled off the primer also.
I have noticed this problem on many different cars and trucks of about the same time period (89-94).
This truck has been a great daily driver. The four-banger still gets 21 miles per gallon and has no problem reaching highways speeds. I do keep regular maintenance on the fluids, tires, and brakes.
The standard bench seat is fine for short trips, but for anything over a couple hundred miles you might want to borrow something a little smoother. I drove from Texas to California once and my back hurt for week after the trip.
I don't think I have ever had a more dependable or harder working truck.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 9th July, 2002
The best truck ever built with nothing but quality displayed when driving down the highway
Rack and Pinion at 105,000
Water Pump at 186,000
Valve Gaskets every 60,000
Starter at 167,000
Oil every 3,000 with Quaker State 10w 30
Dash started to crack at 135,000
Driver seat (side near handle) cracked at 93,000.
My Dakota still runs like a champ. It does not bog down or choke up at all. For as long as I have had the truck it has kept a wonderful appearance despite all the dirt I get in it and where I sometimes take it. I am sold on the Dakota...couldn't ask for a better truck for it's class. My father has ran 4 Dakotas over 100,000 miles and I am on my second (first had 167,000...1988 model).
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 30th March, 2002
It doesn't look as though this reviewer has had to do much at all to keep this truck running. He even included routine oil changes (maintenance) as repairs... As for cracked dash or seat, I'll take my (also superbly-running) 1992 Dakota with a cracked dash over a Toyota any day, on looks alone!
Not very much has gone wrong with this truck. It had the usual problems such as worn out brakes, radiator etc...
The rear end has had a slight whine sound since I got it, but it never got worse or broke. I think it will last forever. No problems with the engine or tranny.
I really have enjoyed owning this truck. It has never ever let me down since the day I bought it. But I was good to it and it was good to me.
I highly recommend this truck to any one that has a need for a midsized truck. It was not the best on gas if you used a heavy foot boot, otherwise it was very good.I did little more than oil changes and grease jobs, and it just kept ticking.
Thanks Dodge.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 25th February, 2002
Good
Well the worst thing is that the paint has almost all peeled off the cab and is coming off the sides also.
This vehicle was kept up very good. I like the engine and the truck.
The gas mileage is not as good as I would have liked.
If I had it to do over again I would not purchase the truck.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 7th May, 2001
What color was your Dakota? I'll bet it was blue, grey or silver. Look around bud, anything built from 1984 to about 1994 with those colors are peeling paint no matter who built it. The lead had been removed from the primer and there was a bonding problem. This was not a situation unique to Dodge.
My 1991 Dakota still has the original grey paint. Maybe mine's the exception or maybe they did something different for Canadian trucks, but I have no problems with clear coat, flaking, or rust. The truck is driven year round and never garaged. I wash it regularily and turtle wax three times a year. After 12 years, it still looks like new.
23rd Aug 2002, 10:22
I would hope this truck runs like a champ. You have put more parts into it then I have put in all 3 of my imports combined over the last 15 years. I like the looks of the Dakota, but thanks for the review, you have convinced me to buy a Toyota.