NHTSA Complaint #10432648 — 2004 DODGE DAKOTA

POWER STEERING WENT OUT AND TOOK IT IN TO FLUSH THE FLUID. DIDN'T DO ANYTHING BUT WAS TO GIVE IT A FEW HUNDRED MILES. I WAITED TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN AND AFTER 1 MONTH AND NOTHING CHANGING I REPLACED THE FLUID AGAIN WITH SOME CORRECTION FLUID. DIDN'T WORK, THEN ANOTHER MONTH LATER THE STEERING RELEASED BACK TO NORMAL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TURN. TWO WEEKS LATER THE POWER STEERING BECAME INTERMITTENT AND SOMETIMES IN THE SAME TURN. AT THIS POINT I SEARCHED DEEPER ON THE INTRANET AND FOUND MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS ABOUT DODGE DAKOTA STEERING AND MANY THAT WERE SPECIFIC TO A 2004 DAKOTA AND MORE THAN A HANDFUL THAT HAD ABOUT 70K MILES LIKE MINE. AFTER SPRAYING PENETRATING OIL ON THE U-JOINT WITH A SHORT TERM CORRECTION, I'M CONVINCED THAT I NOW HAVE ONE OF THESE FAULTY STEERING SHAFTS. *TR