How Reliable is the Dodge Dakota?

Front 3/4 view of a Dodge Dakota

The Dakota ranks 17th in reliability out of 30 Dodge models. Its overall PainRank™ of 19.71 is based on relative complaint analysis from 891 owner complaints sent to CarComplaints.com over 22 model years.

The Dakota has 3 generations and we'd recommend avoiding the 2nd generation which runs from 1997–2004.

The 5 Most Common Dakota Problems

We've pulled together a list of the most widespread problems that Dakota owners have to deal with.

Dodge Vehicles With Recalled Takata Airbags

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Takata, a parts supplier, provided automakers with a defective airbag inflator responsible for 23 deaths and hundreds of injuries. It's one of the largest and most dangerous recalls in automotive history, affecting over 37 million vehicles …

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Stuck in Park

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Can't shift the car into reverse or drive! Now what? This is most commonly reported from Dodge Avenger owners, but there have also been similar complaints about other Dodge makes as well as other Chrysler and Jeep vehicles having a similar …

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Cracked Dashboards

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Is your Dodge dashboard falling apart and breaking into pieces? Have you been watching the cracks grow bigger and bigger with each passing month? Do you feel helpless as your dashboard caves in on itself? Trust me, you're not alone.

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Ram Death Wobble

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Dodge Ram trucks are susceptible to a horrible front end vibration known as the death wobble, but what is it and how to FIX it?…

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Oil Sludge in the 2.7L Engine

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Oil sludge buildup and sludge-related engine failure is a design DEFECT in Chrysler's 2.7L engine…

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What Dakota Owners Complain About

Sometimes it helps just to tally up the complaints and see where the biggest stacks are. Use this information to learn about troublespots or to run for the hills.

Worst Issues

Worst Topics

Worst Years

Full Lists on CarComplaints.com

Dakota Generations

Generations are groups of model years where few, if any, changes were made to the vehicle which means their model years tend to break in similar ways. The Dakota has 3 generations available in North American markets.

By the Numbers

  1. 891 complaints

    Running tally of owner grievances filed to CarComplaints.com.

  2. 382 service bulletins

    Documenting the process of troubleshooting common problems.

  3. 58 recall campaigns

    Time-sensitive, free repairs for widespread safety problems.

The Latest Dakota News

Other Dodge Models