NHTSA Complaint #10102511 — 1998 DODGE DAKOTA

I'VE SUBMITTED A COMPLAINT ABOUT MY PLIGHT PREVIOUSLY BUT I HAVE ANOTHER EPISODE TO REPORT. MY FIRST COMPLAINT (LAST YEAR) DETAILED PROBLEMS WITH MY 98' DODGE DAKOTA TRUCK. THE BALL JOINTS ON THIS VEHICLE ARE SUBSTANDARD TO SAY THE LEAST AND ARE ACTUALLY DOWNRIGHT DANGEROUS. MY TRUCK HAS LESS THAN 70000 HIGHWAY MILES ON IT AND I HAVE REPLACED TWO BALL JOINTS ALREADY (AS NOTED IN MY PREVIOUS COMPLAINT) AND NOW A THIRD IS FAILING AND IN NEED OF REPAIR. YOU MAY ASK HOW I KNOW IT FAILING WHEN I HAVEN'T HAD IT REPAIRED YET?... BECAUSE IT'S HAPPENED SO MANY TIMES BEFORE AND I KNOW THE SYMPTOMS. THAT MAKES 3/4 OF THE BALL JOINTS ON THE FRONT OF THIS TRUCK THAT WILL HAVE BEEN REPLACED IN THE LAST TWO YEARS. I WAS ELATED TO SEE WHERE THE NHTSA HAS REQUESTED CHRYSLER TO RECALL THE DAKOTA AND DURANGO AS A RESULT OF THESE BALL JOINT FAILURES. I WAS EQUALLY DISMAYED TO SEE THAT IT ONLY COVERED 2000-2003!!!! WHY?!!! AS YOU READ ABOVE, MY TRUCK HAS FAILED EQUALLY IF NOT WORSE THAN THE MODELS THE NHTSA RECOMMENDED BE RECALLED. NUMNEROUS WEB SITES ARE FILLED WITH COMPLAINTS ABOUT THESE SAME ISSUES ON VEHICLES THAT ARE OLDER THAN 2000. I SUSPECT IT HAS TO DO WITH MONEY = ANYTHING MORE THAN 4 MODEL YEARS AND CHRYSLER WILL START SCREAMING. IF THE FAILING BALL JOINTS ARE DANGEROUS ON THE 2000-2003 MODELS, THEN THE SAME FAILING BALL JOINTS ARE DANGEROUS ON THE OLDER MODELS TOO. PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHY MY SAFETY IS LESS IMPORTANT THAN THOSE WITH TRUCKS TWO YEARS NEWER THAN MINE. THANK YOU.*AK