NHTSA Complaint #10188470 — 2002 DODGE DAKOTA

BOUGHT 2002 SLT QUAD CAB DAKOTA NEW FROM DEALERSHIP. FIRST EXPERIENCED TRUCK STALLING WHILE DRIVING ON ROADWAYS (VERY DANGEROUS!), WITHOUT WARNING AND WITHOUT CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMING ON. SOMETIMES, IT WOULD ALSO STALL IF PUT INTO DRIVE/REVERSE FROM A PARKED POSITION. HAD TRUCK TOWED AT LEAST TWICE, BECAUSE I WAS AFRAID TO DRIVE IT HOME BECAUSE IT WAS STALLING TOO MANY TIMES. TOOK IN TO DEALERSHIP THREE TIMES. SINCE ENGINE LIGHT WASN'T ON, DIAGNOSTIC TEST COULDN'T DETERMINE PROBLEM READILY; PROBLEM WAS INTERMITTENT. OVER THE COURSE OF THE FIRST TWO VISITS TO DEALERSHIP, I HAD TUNE-UP, THROTTLE BODY CLEANED, NEW DISTRIBUTOR PLATE, NEW OIL PAN GASKET. BY THE THIRD TIME, I HAD THE ENTIRE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE REPLACED: THE "BRAIN" OF THE TRUCK, AS THE MECHANIC PUT IT TO ME. THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN WHEN A BRAND-NEW TRUCK IS ONLY FOUR YEARS OLD; THE "BRAIN" SHOULD NOT DIE THAT SOON. THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE, ESPECIALLY IF THE PCM/STALLING PROBLEM IS CONSIDERED "CHARACTERISTIC." ALL OF THIS COST ME ABOUT $2,500. THE QUALITY OF THIS TRUCK HAS NOT, AND STILL DOES NOT, MEET MY EXPECTATIONS. THE TRUCK IS TOO YOUNG TO BE HAVING THESE SORTS OF PROBLEMS. I EXPECT TO PUT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS INTO A 10 YEAR-OLD TRUCK, NOT A FOUR YEAR-OLD TRUCK. I AM ALSO EXPERIENCING TRANSMISSION ISSUES WITH THE TRUCK NOT SHIFTING PROPERLY. I WILL OUTLINE THAT IN SEPARATE COMPLAINT. *JB