Problems with 2000 Dodge Dakota SUSPENSION

Upper and lower ball joints have failed. 40,000 miles on vehicle. ball joints should last much longer than this. dealer wants $1,200.00 to change them. truck has already had new front drive shaft, new sway bar bushings, new driver seat cushion, new fuel injectors, new electric motor in right rear window. what has happened to "ram tough". may have to go back to "like a rock". old pickup 1979 chevrolet never had ball joint problems, much less any thing else major. thanks rick worsfold. *nlm

Premature failure of right front upper control arm balljoint and lower balljoint (50,000 miles). *ak

In a parking lot while travelling less than 5mph the passenger side upper ball joint seperated without warning. the entire wheel, brake, and control arm assembly rotated under the vehicle. the vehicle had to be towed. before pulling into this parking lot i had been travelling at 55mph on a highway.

There was a ball joint problem in which the wheel separated from the vehicle while turning into a service station . *ak the suspension. the consumer was also told that there was no history of problems with this make/model. the right front tire had fallen off of the vehicle. the upper ball joint looked as if it were torched. the rubber and the ball joint were completely destroyed. *scc

The upper driver side ball joint separated. the male end of the ball joint came apart from the female part. dodge, under my extended warranty replaced all 4 ball joints and the two upper control arms.*ak

2000 dodge dakota ball joints failed prematurely and wheel hub assembly came loose.

Had seen a news story regarding 2000 dodge dakota upper ball joint failures where front wheel would come off. i suspected mine were making clunking noises so i asked the dealer to check them at about 62,000 miles. i told them i had had heard of complaints/possible issues related to this problem. they indicated they were "ok". on may 2nd ( at ~67,000 miles), while jacking the front end up to check brakes and rotate tires, the upper ball joint completely dropped out of the socket on the front passenger side wheel. i consider myself very fortunate, this ball joint didn't pop out while driving. i am furious that chrysler hasn't recalled (that i am aware of), or at least sent out a service bulletin on this problem. *ak

Right upper ball joint went bad. *la

I have had wobbling on the freeway and had to replace both upper ball joints and one lower one to get the problem corrected. my 2000 4x2 dakota only has 45,000 miles on it and i replaced the first joint at 38,000. i have sent a letter to chrysler requesting reimbursement for parts and labor and am awaiting a response. *nm

The lower ball joint snapped in half. *jb

When vehicle hit a bump a clicking sound came from the front wheels. a mechanic examined the vehicle and determined that upper ball joints were severely worn out. also, rotors on both sides were warped to the point that they couldn't be turned safely.*ak

2000 dodoge dakota - immediate, catastophic failue of upper ball joint. vehicle operated fine just days before then suddenly loud clunkomg and steering pull to the right. tandard auto parts houses do not carry the proper parts - citing dodge says you must replace the entire lower control arm.*ak

At about 30,000 miles premature failure of upper control arms, ball joints, tie rods and then tires and allignment costing over $1200 on 2000 dodge dakota 2wd . **ak

2000 dodge dakota quad 4x4, upper ball joint failed at 40,000 miles. contacted manufacturer, did not receive a satisfactory response. *la

While driving front driver side tire wobbled. dealership informed the consumer that the problem pertained to a front ball joint failure. *ak

Upper and lower ball joints wore out. makes a horrible popping sound when turning the wheel or intially going forward and backing up while cutting the wheel.*ak

At 31450 miles dealership replaced lower ball joint and left upper ball joint. *ak *la

I have a 2000 dodge dakota, i have been to the dealer a countless amount of times complaining about my from, every from noise to instability, excessive bounce. i am given every excuse in the world about this problem , i have even told them what it is , the ball joints, the tell me that it wheell and they replaced them, but have same trbl over and over again , i believe something jsut need to be done, it you need professional advise or complaint go to dodgedakotas.com. *ak

Ball joints failed. *nlm

Front brake rotors continue to warp, causing truck to vibrate wildly under braking. front brake rotors were turned @ 9k, 15k, 31k. now at 45k unable to turn them again and have had to replace. front shocks also being replaced due to excessive wear.

Complaint regarding the failure of the ball joints on my 2000 dodge dakota pick up.*ak

my husband and i use to own a 2000 dakota quad cab.i don't recall exactly when we discovered the problem, but i do remember the cost to fix it was going to be approximately $2000.00. we originally thought it was a tire or brake or an alignment problem. ours didn't squeek or clunk, ours shimmied so bad our watches on our arms (while driving) rattled. when we took it in to the dealer they told me that it was caused due to us not putting the original tires back on the truck when we replaced the tires. putting original tires back on the truck did alleviate enough of the problem that we traded the dakota for another vechicle without taking a tremendous loss as was the situation when we tried to trade it in before returning the tires to original. for those who might believe it was due to oversize tires that was not the case. we only put cooper tires comparable to the originals on the truck, but goodyear is the only maker of the size of tire we needed and those tires were on back-order.

I don't have access to vehicle at this time for additional info, accident was vs tree, front end. *ak

Vehicle was taken to the dealer for a routine inspection, and mechanic determined that both frontal lower ball joints needed to be replaced due to worn out parts. *ak

When making tight turns and backing up consumer can hear a loud noise coming from rear end. vehicle at dealership at this time. please add further details.*ak

Kept feeling a vibration in the steering and an occasional clung. took it into the dealer who diagnosed it to be a loose upper ball joint. the dealer replaced the upper left control arm and problem was resolved, but at my expense. i have been hearing about balljoint problems on these vehicles so i thought i would file a complaint to add my problem to the list.*ak

Premature wear of factory ball joints on my 2000 dodge dakota and water leak that fills up my passenger side floorboard. dealer has never been able to find water leak problem.*ak

While driving 35 mph vehicle started to shake and could not turn. after stopping and looking at vehicle saw front tie rod had come apart.towed vehicle to dealer who determined tir rod came apart and the upper and lower ball joints are bad.*ak

While driving there was a popping metal noise in the front end. dealership replaced the upper then the lower ball joints because they were worn out. *ak the ball joints were replaced at 27k miles and again at 65k miles. *sc

While driving at 15 mph the consumer turned a corner and the right front wheel snapped off. the dealer found that the upper right ball joint</a> has malfunctioned. this caused considerable damage to the under body of the vehicle. also the right control arm broke after the right ball joint was replaced. *tc

My 2000 dodge dakota has worn out ball joints. there is no way these things should have worn out. i could not find anyplace to grease them. my dealership said that there is nothing they can do about it. my teen son is driving this truck as little as possible. i can't believe chrysler is sticking there heads in the sand!

During normal operation there was a noise coming from front of vehicle. dealership examined vehicle, and determined upper left ball joint and upper left control arm were beginning to separate. dealership performed repairs, but problem occurred again as consumer was driving away from dealership. second incident resulted when mechanic failed to tighten bolts, allowing problem to reappear. please provide any additional information/ attachments*ak.

2000 dodge dakota, bought with 27,200 miles, ball joints progressively gotten worse in two years time and unable to replace parts vehicle now has 74,000 miles a vehicle this young should not have this type of problems. *la

Numerous front suspension problems. bad ball joint/control arm assemblies/ bad tie-rods/bad shock absorbers, and bad strut bushings. all of these issues have been replaced by the dealer. most of the problems started at about 15000 miles, and have continued. way too many problems at low miles. i still have problems at 51000 miles.*ak

Upper ball joints were loose and have been making clunking noise when turning. contacted dealer. *ak

2000 dodge dakota,4.7l aout transmission/upper control arm ball joint assembly defective.replaced at 1.100 miles,lower control arm assembly ball joint came apart at 9,200 wheel came off. *ak

Upper and lower control arms failed. the parts were replaced twice. however, the problem still exists. *ak *mr

There was a loud noise in rear axle. manfacturer's representative was sent out and acknowleged the problem,but could not fix it. *ak the rear axle was replaced after keeping the vehicle for a period of nine days, come to find out the axle was not replace the axle was just repainted that just justifies that rear axle is noisy the front suspension is the same.*jb

Front suspension makes a popping noise when the steering wheel is turned and the vehicle's front suspension is compressing and decompressing. the dealer has been notified twice and they state that there is nothing wrong with it (unable to reproduce the problem).*ak

While driving without any indication the vehicle started spinning around in circles and hit a concrete divider due to a broken axle, the rear tire and wheel rolled down the hill and hit another vehicle, the tire and wheel was still mounted to the outside part of the axle. the consumer was slightly injured. *mjs

Speedometer does not operate smoothly. on acceleration or deceleration movement is erratic (jerky); it moves as if it is getting stuck. dealer has replaced the instrument cluster 3 times with no improvement. they now say this operation is 'normal' beacuse it is electronic and computer controlled. they now appear to be unwilling to do anything else to the truck. the suspension pops/clunks when making sharp right turns. it occasionally will also pop when stopping and immediately again upon startup (going straight). the intensity of the noise varies. dealer says they can't find the problem until it gets worse. *ak

Vehicle dies in middle of traffic and backing up intermittently, causing a safety hazard. also, there is a clicking noise coming from left front suspension.*ak *slc

I own a 2000 dodge dakota 2wd. there are defective ball joints on the front end. there was a recall on 4wd dakotas, however, there has been no recall for the ball joints on the 2wd models. there was an "extended warranty" that was silently (as in i never knew there was an issue) on the ball joints on the 2wd models. i have had 6 years of continuous trouble with the front end of the vehicle (i bought it brand new 07/2000). as in i have replaced the rotors on the front end at least every 3 months for the first 18 months of owning it. i have had it aligned (front and rear alignments) over a half dozen times. all work done in the first 18 months was done at the dealer, who should have been, and probably was made aware of the issue. after 18 months of paying to fix the problem (out of my own pocket because dodge's warranty isn't worth the paper it's written on) i conceded defeat (and took the word of the dealer) that nothing was wrong, and there was nothing to worry about but maintaining the rotors and purchasing new tires ever 12-16 months. when made aware of the problem, dodge is unwilling to correct the defect. if no one has died, there is no problem. let all buyers beware, safety is not always the most important issue. *jb

When making a turn under braking, either at turn-in or just before the truck stops, a thump/clunk can be heard from the front end, possibly on the left. 3 visits to the dealer has failed to correct this, although the noise has been acknowleged by technicians.

While driving, vehicle sways back and forth, the front end is wearing tires and is too stiff. took vehicle to dealer, replaced tires and had an alignment, but problem still exists. *ak *tt

When steering to left or to right a noise will occur. dealer replaced steering shaft once, and steering column twice, but noise still occurs. *ak rear brake drums and front brake rotors failed. *yh

I have a poping noise in the front end of the vehicle (2000 dakota) this has happened since about 5000 miles , i have 50,000 on it now. i still have the problem with more frequency, it definitely sounds like the ball joint issue. we have to do something about this before some is killed, what if is was your son or daughter riding in these vehicles what would you want done. also i have had the brake rotors turned once and replaced and now they are warped again.*ak

I too am experiencing shaking, popping in the front end of my 2000 dodge dakota quad..turn the wheel too sharply and a bad shake, engine wants to die out. tires aren't wearing evenly (2nd set) and on my 3rd set of rotors (all warped, mechanic in columbia, sc said dodge put undersized rotors on...knock on wood - rotors are hanging in there so far after 1 year). tires & rotors (way too many changes have cost me over $2000 with a brake job). i now have something called a lock actuator that has gone bad, locks make horrible noise when locking/unlocking & rear right doesn't lock. humid mornings make for a rough start as the engine will race in park (high idle), then rapidly drop, dies out sometimes. dealer couldn't replicate the problem (they admitted not starting it until noon!!). *ak

When driving at lower speeds heard a loud noise ,and vehicle jerked or pulled. also, defroster puts a film on the inside of windshield. dealership suggested to clean inside the windshield with wiper fluid. contacted dealer. *ak

Consumer noticed a popping sensation coming from front end. *ak left front ball joint replaced, steering shaft freplaced, however popping noise still exists. consumer states vehicle pulls to the right and there is tire wear. *slc