28th Nov 2005, 11:36

HA! So I'm not the only one who had a Chrysler dealer put the tires on backwards!

17th May 2006, 11:17

I purchased a new Dakota Sport regular cab in October of 2000 and drove it until it was totalled in January of 2006.

It had the fuel efficient 4, which got 22mpg and delivered ample power. I never had one single problem with ANYTHING on this truck. It rode and handled great, looked brand new after 5 years and if Dodge hadn't dropped the fuel efficient 4 and the light, well-balanced regular cab I would have bought another Dakota in a heartbeat. As it was, I was forced to buy a regular cab Ranger instead. I miss my Dakota.

13th Jun 2006, 14:40

I love these people who say lack of maintenance is the reason for any problem vehicles. I know from experience that a lemon vehicle has nothing to do with maintenance. I have had terrible GM/Ford vehicles that developed problems even before a maintenance interval had occurred. Don't assume people are to blame for lemons--you sound like a Dodge dealer!

20th Jun 2006, 11:58

I bought a used 2001 dakota 4X4 V6 with 57,000 miles on it. I have had two previous Dakotas (1992 and 1995), both of which went over 170K. This is by far the worst Dakota ever made. It may appear to be a nice ride, but the transmission is junk. It shifts into overdrive too early and up-shifts into second gear after downshifting to third! It also does not want to run after it rains out for some strange reason. Brake problems, ball joints, check engine lights, and front end issues have made me really upset.

After having a horrible Ranger and now this Dakota, I will definitely look into a Tacoma or a used S-10 when I get some of this truck paid off. The resale is horrible too, so I must double up on the payments for six months. Maybe I can find a rare 1992-96 Dakota with low miles, but I will never buy a recent model ever again.

Why does my neighbor's 1994 Toyota Tacoma 4X4 with 230,000 miles run better than my 2001 Dakota?!

8th Jul 2006, 10:57

People who bought the V-6 and V-8 Dakotas with tons of options seem to have a lot more problems with them than those who bought the basic trucks with the 4. I bought a new 2001 Dakota Sport in October of 2000 and paid $10,899 for it. It had the 4, and only had power steering, power brakes and A/C, so it was a pretty basic truck. It did have the alloy wheels and White letter Goodyear Wrangler tires.

I drove the truck 50,000 miles, kept it in absolutely immaculate condition and sold it in January of 2006 for $9900. I'd call that pretty good resale value. I never had one single problem of any kind with it.

22nd Jul 2006, 17:48

Final review of the vehicle;

Traded this POS in for a Nissan Maxima. Enough said about that as there is no comparison between any DCX vehicle compared to a Nissan.

Before I traded it in, I replaced the water pump and also had the front seal replaced. Mind you my truck looked like it only had about 30000kms when I traded it in (135000kms at time of trade in).

Those people who claim that their trucks are trouble free made their statements because they never had too many miles on their trucks. I doubt that most provided the same care that I did on this truck as I wanted to keep it till it died, but that lack of power, constant spark knock, and poor gas mileage were the deciding factors on the trade.

I will never purchase a DCX vehicle again. Never. Looks do not make a vehicle last - good parts do.

4th Aug 2006, 13:48

I am another owner of a 2001 Dakota four door pickup.

I have kept up all the required maintenance on schedule and still this truck requires more and more attention. At 73,00km I have had three engine service lights come on. The first required a new gas cap, the second an Oxygen sensor and the third a new vaccum hose. Now the rear differential gears all need replacing. If you need a work truck, these are not the ones to buy.

7th Aug 2006, 13:04

I bought a 2001 Dodge Dakota 3.9 standard cab 2WD, with 11,000 miles on it. It was like new and I have changed the oil faithfully every 3,000 miles or less without fail. I have sludge build-up very bad. I had to replace the rotors at 36,000 miles and now have to replace the water pump at 48,000 miles. My husband now tells me I need to get rid of the truck while it is still running. I love the truck and hate to think it is dying.

1st Nov 2007, 10:25

I bought my 2001 Dakota ClubCab new and ordered it with the 4.7 v-8, towing pkg, heavy duty cooling/radiator/battery pkg.

I treat my vehicles like I'm going to keep it forever. I was getting 17-20 mpg in town and on the road. It developed a rough idle at 8500 miles. Took it to the dealer and they flashed the computer with an upgrade. After that, it got 14 mpg! After going around and around with the dealer for over 6 months, there was nothing they could do to restoe the previous mileage. I found out during this mess, all it needed was to clean the throttle body.

Also, I have replaced the front rotors 4 times in 85K miles, repaired the HVAC system 3 times, replaced rear pinion bearing, 3 EKG valves.

The truck runs great, looks wonderful, but it is the first and last time I buy a Mopar product. I've purchased 30 vehicles in my 45+ years of driving and only bought foriegn once. It lasted 16 years and had over 275K miles.