Owner-reported complaints naming the driver-assistance system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2003 Dodge Dakota submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 11 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
The front end got a hard vibrate i replace the shocks two times and its not fix the problem seem like something going too brake off like a wheel or something dont feel safe driving it
2003 DODGE DAKOTA, 2WD, 5 SPD MANUAL, V6. AT SPEEDS FROM 15 MPH AND UP THE BRAKE SYSTEM SEEMS TO FAIL AS THE TRUCK JUMPS AND SKIDS VERY RAPIDLY. THE FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED I WAS ON THE FREEWAY, TRAFFIC CAME TO A HALT QUICKLY, I APPLIED THE BRAKES AND ALMOST LOST CONTROL AND HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME AS THIS JUMPING AND SKIDDING OCCURED. ALL PARTS ON THE TRUCK ARE FACTORY AND HAVE NOT BEEN MODIFIED. I AM CONCERNED AND WONDERING IF THIS HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE FRONT SUSPENSION CLUNKING. *TR
I HAVE A LIGHT KNOCKING IN MY ENGINE. THE FIRST TIME I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER, THEY STATED THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE ENGINE, BUT UNABLE TO INDENTIFY THE PROBLEM. I TOOK IT BACK AGAIN. THEY HAD IT FOR 3 DAYS, AND SAID THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT. THEY SAY ALL DODGE ENGINES MAKE THAT NOISE. UNKNOWN TO THEM, I HAVE 2 AND MY OTHER DOES NOT MAKE THE SAME NOISE. IT HAS OCCASIONALLY STALLED BOTH BACKING UP AND GOING FORWARD. THERE IS A PULLING TO THE RIGHT EVEN AFTER HAVING IT ALIGNED AND BALANCED. IT DOES NOT SHIFT PROPERLY AND WON'T STAY IN CRUISE CONTROL WHILE CLIMBING A HILL. ALSO MY OIL HOSE WAS LOOSE CAUSING A RATTLING UNDER THE HOOD. THE LIGHT SHOWING YOU THE GEAR YOUR IN DID NOT WORK PROPERLY. OVER ALL THE WORSE VEHICLE I HAVE EVER OWNED WITH A HEFTY TAG.
VARIOUS PROBLEMS WITH 2003 DODGE DAKOTA. *MR THERE WERE BACKFIRES AT TIMES, THE PEDAL WOULD BARELY MOVE AT STOP SIGNS, WHEN BACKING OUT, THE VEHICLE WOULD STAY IN SECOND GEAR FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME AND THE CONSUMER WOULD HAVE TO LET OFF OF THE GAS PEDAL THEN SHIFT INTO HIGH GEAR, SOMETIMES THE VEHICLE WOULDN'T SHIFT INTO OVERDRIVE, THEN AS SOON AS IT STARTED TO MISFIRE, THE VEHICLE WOULD DROP TO OVERDRIVE, THE CRUISE CONTROL WAS INOPERATIVE, THERE WAS A WHINE AND OR HOWL IN THE REAR DIFFERENTIAL AROUND 50 MPH, THE ENGINE LIGHT WOULD NEVER COME ON, SOMETIMES THE SHIFT LEVER WOULD BE PLACED IN PARK AND THE VEHICLE WOULD START, AT TIMES WHEN SHIFTING TO REVERSE OR DRIVE, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT MOVE AND THE WOULD HAVE TO BE JERKED AROUND ON THE SHIFT LEVER, THE HEATER CONTROLS WERE INOPERATIVE, AND THERE WERE NOISES WHEN THE LIGHTS ON THE RADIO WERE TURNED ON. THE VALVE ON THE TRANSMISSION WAS CHANGE AND HELPED THE VEHICLE, BUT SOMETIMES WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS SHIFTED UP OR DOWN IN GEAR IT WOULD BE A PROBLEM. *SC *JB
ONCE VEHICLE ACCELERATED FROM A STOPPED POSITION IT BACK FIRED. CONSUMER HAD TO PUSH THE GAS PEDAL TO THE FLOORBOARD, AND THE SPEED ONLY REACHED 2-5 MPH. *AK
I HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH DODGE CHRYSLER DAIMLER TO RESOLVE A PROBLEM WITH OUR CRUISE CONTROL. THE SAFETY ISSUE IS THAT YOU ARE NEVER SURE HOW THE CRUISE CONTROL WILL RESPOND. SOMETIMES YOU NOTICE CARS AND TRUCK WHIZZING BY AND YOU'RE HOLDING UP THE TRAFFIC. BASED THE DEALERS REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO DIAGNOSE AND FIX THE PROBLEM AND THE MANUFACTURER'S BULLETIN ON HOW TO TRY TO REMEDY THE PROBLEM BY "RE TRAINING THE COMPUTER", I BELIEVE THE REAL FIX GOES BACK TO THE COMPUTER PROGRAM AND SENSORS USED IN THE SYSTEM. CAN YOU PLEASE CHECK INTO THIS ISSUE FOR ME AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOUR ADVISE IS? COPY OF PART OF THE CORRESPONDENCE TO DEALER FOLLOWS: DODGE COUNTRY OF APPLETON 4400 WEST COLLEGE AVENUE AS YOU CAN CONFIRM WE HAVE HAD OUR 2003 DODGE DAKOTA IN THREE OR MORE TIMES NOW TO TRY AND FIX THE CRUISE CONTROL. [XXX] THERE ARE BASICALLY TWO MAIN SYMPTOMS: 1) UNEXPECTED SHIFT INTO HIGH GEAR WHEN THE VEHICLE IS ON CRUISE CONTROL - THESE EVENTS DO NOT SEEM TO COINCIDE WITH ANY SPECIFIC ROAD CONDITION. 2) NON - RESPONSIVE CRUISE CONTROL - THE VEHICLE SPEED DRIFTS DOWN 10 MPH OR MORE OFF OF SET POINT ON A VERY GRADUAL INCLINE WITH NO RESPONSE AT ALL BY THE CRUISE CONTROL. ONCE YOU REACH LEVEL ROAD THE SPEED WILL VERY SLOWLY CREEP UP OVER WHAT SEEMS LIKE SEVERAL MILES. THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN CONSISTENTLY OR REPEAT UNDER ANY SPECIFIC ROAD CONDITION. SOMETIMES AT 60 - 70 MPH ON BOTH GENTLE AND STEEP INCLINES THE CRUISE WORKS FINE. SPEED MAY ONLY DROP OF ONE OR TWO MPH AND THE ENGINE DOESN'T EVEN SHIFT INTO A HIGHER GEAR. YET UNDER IDENTICAL CONDITIONS, SOMETIMES AT THE SAME SPEEDS OF 60 - 70 MPH THE CRUISE WILL RESPOND BY KICKING INTO THE NEXT HIGHER GEAR AND OTHER TIMES THE CRUISE WILL NOT RESPOND AT ALL LET THE SPEED DROP DOWN 10MPH. TOO SLOW A SPEED IS JUST AS DANGEROUS AS TOO FAST A SPEED. ANOTHER PERSON I ASKED WITH AN IDENTICAL VEHICLE INDICATED SIMILAR PROBLEMS. UPDATED 07/26/2012 *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
CRUISE CONTROL LOSES SPEED UP LONG INCLINES. *LA
VEHICLE (1)SHIFTS HARSHLY, (2)DOES NOT UPSHIFT SMOOTHLY/UPSHIFTS AT EXCESSIVE RPM, (3)STALLS WHEN MAKING LOW-SPEED LEFT-HAND TURNS, (4)IDLES ROUGHLY, (5)FAILS TO MAINTAIN SPEED IN CRUISE CONTROL, (6)DOWNSHIFTS HARSHLY AFTER LOSING SPEED IN CRUISE CONTROL, (7)TRANSMISSION GEAR INDICATOR DID NOT INDICATE ACTUAL GEAR VEHICLE WAS IN, (8)VEHICLE FAILED TO SHIFT FROM REVERSE TO PARK, AND FROM PARK TO REVERSE, AND (9)VEHICLE EMERGENCY BRAKE FAILED TO RELEASE, THEN FAILED TO HOLD.
THE DAY I BROUGHT MY 2003 DODGE DAKOTA QUAD CAB HOME, I NOTICED A HOWLING NOISE COMING FROM THE REAR BRAKES WHEN IN REVERSE. TOOK IT BACK TO DEALER TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS THE CAUSE AND FOR IT TO BE REPAIRED. SERVICE MANAGER SAID THAT THE BREAKS NEEDED TO BE BROKEN IN AND THEN THE NOISE WOULD STOP. TOOK TRUCK BACK FOR OIL CHANGE AFTER 3000 MILES AND INFORMED SERVICE MANAGER THAT THE TRUCK WAS STILL MAKING HOWLING NOISE. TOLD ME THERE WAS A SERVICE BULLETIN ON THIS PROBLEM AND THAT AS SOON AS THE PARTS CAME IN HE WOULD CALL . I'M STILL WAITING. ALSO I AM HAVING TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. WHEN I AM CLIMBING A GRADE THE TRANSMISSION SEEMS TO GET STUCK IN SECOND GEAR. I HAVE TO LET OFF THE GAS FOR IT TO SHIFT. SOMETIMES THE SHIFT IS VERY HARSH AND AT OTHER TIMES IT MISSES A GEAR ALTOGETHER. TRUCK HAS A HARD TIME MAINTAINING SET SPEED WHEN CRUISE CONTROL IS SET. SEEMS TO WAIT TOO LONG TO SHIFT TO BRING THE TRUCK UP TO SPEED
CONSUMER STATES WHILE DRIVING WITH CRUISE CONTROL ON VEHICLE BEGAN TO ACCELERATE. CONSUMER TAPPED THE GAS PEDAL ,AND THERE WAS NO RESPONSE. CONSUMER RESET CRUISE CONTROL, AND 2 MILES LATER VEHICLE ACCELERATED AGAIN WHILE IN CRUISE CONTROL. *AK *TS
WHILE DRIVING WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL ENGAGED THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY BEGAN TO ACCELERATE. THE CONSUMER HAD TO TAP THE BRAKE PEDAL TO GET THE VEHICLE TO DECELERATE. ABOUT TWO MILES LATER THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO ACCELERATE AGAIN. *AK *CB *NLM
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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