Model year report

2004 Dodge Dakota: what breaks, and at what mileage

What breaks on the 2004 Dodge Dakota

On the 2004 Dodge Dakota, the failure owners report most often is steering rack, gear or tie rod failure, and the reports cluster around 57,500 miles. The earliest to appear is other powertrain problem, reported by a median of 2,400 miles. Overall it scores 67 out of 100, high risk for a 2004.

High risk for a 2004 — 157th riskiest of the 329 2004 vehicles we can rate. 287 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork.

The failures owners actually file about

Owners have reported 51 named failure modes on the 2004 Dodge Dakota, and the three most-reported carry 28% of everything filed, which is an unusually even spread for one model year.

Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure leads with 36 reports, about 0.6 per 1,000 vehicles and with the middle half of reports between 25k to 85,000 miles.

Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure follows with 24 reports, usually reported between 3k to 75,000 miles.

Other steering problem follows with 21 reports, usually reported between 53k to 120,000 miles.

By system, the reports fall mostly into steering (87), suspension (38) and brakes (29).

When these failures get reported

227 of the reports on the 2004 Dodge Dakota came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 46,000 miles.

Cumulatively, 54% by 50,000 miles, 83% by 100,000 miles and 94% by 150,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed, with 5 filed above the top of the chart.

The busiest stretch is between 0 and 10,000 miles, which alone holds 27% of the dated reports.

44% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles, which is early enough that a fair number of these cars were still under a factory warranty when the owner complained.

In the order they tend to show up: other powertrain problem around 2k, power steering pump or fluid leak around 9k, CV axle or driveshaft failure around 10k and premature brake pad or rotor wear around 14k.

Median

Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure

57k
Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure

43k
Other steering problem

63k
CV axle or driveshaft failure

10k
Premature brake pad or rotor wear

14k
Steering column or shaft failure

57k
Power steering pump or fluid leak

9k
Other suspension problem

37k
Other powertrain problem

2k
Other electrical problem

39k
Other body or interior problem

50k
Blower motor or climate control failure

60k

Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens

Showing the 12 most-reported failure modes of 51. The full list is in the table below.

How reports accumulate

Share of reports filed by each mileage

half by 45.5k

Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A further 5 reports came in above that, which is why the line stops short of the top. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.

Line share of reports filed by that mileage
Dashed the median reported mileage

How bad it is when it goes

Across the named modes, 8 mention a crash, 5 a fire, 4 an injury and 2 a fatality. Those are the words owners used in their own complaints, and NHTSA does not verify them, but they are the closest thing in this data to a measure of what a failure actually did.

The average severity weight across every report on this year is 4.16, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.

What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: steering rack, gear or tie rod failure at $700–$2,600, control arm, ball joint or bushing failure at $400–$2,200, other steering problem at $350–$2,400 and CV axle or driveshaft failure at $450–$2,200. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.

16% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures.

Every reported failure mode

Mileage figures are percentiles of owner-reported readings. Click a column to sort.
Failure mode	System	Reports	With reading	25th	Median	75th	Per 1,000	Typical repair	Severity
Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure	steering	36	29	25k	57k	85k	0.6	$700–$2,600	High
Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure	suspension	24	18	3k	43k	77k	0.4	$400–$2,200	High
Other steering problem	steering	21	19	53k	63k	120k	0.3	$350–$2,400	High
CV axle or driveshaft failure	drivetrain	18	18	2k	10k	10k	0.3	$450–$2,200	High
Premature brake pad or rotor wear	brakes	17	14	10k	14k	70k	0.3	$300–$1,400	Moderate
Steering column or shaft failure	steering	14	14	40k	57k	68k	0.2	$600–$2,500	Critical
Power steering pump or fluid leak	steering	14	14	9k	9k	28k	0.2	$350–$1,600	Moderate
Other suspension problem	suspension	14	11	313	37k	69k	0.2	$350–$2,000	Moderate
Other powertrain problem	transmission	11	8	533	2k	79k	0.2	$400–$4,500	High
Other electrical problem	electrical	7	4	—	39k	—	0.1	$250–$2,000	Moderate
Other body or interior problem	body	7	1	—	50k	—	0.1	$200–$2,000	Moderate
Blower motor or climate control failure	hvac	6	5	—	60k	—	0.1	$250–$1,200	Moderate
Other engine problem	engine	6	6	—	8k	—	0.1	$300–$4,000	High
Fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure	fuel	5	5	—	95	—	0.1	$250–$1,800	Moderate
Cruise control failure	adas	5	3	—	4k	—	0.1	$200–$1,400	High
Other brake problem	brakes	5	3	—	28k	—	0.1	$300–$1,800	High
Other visibility problem	glass	5	4	—	56k	—	0.1	$150–$1,400	Moderate
Parking brake failure	brakes	4	4	—	71k	—	0.1	$250–$1,300	Moderate
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault	airbag	4	3	—	63k	—	0.1	$300–$1,600	High
Seat belt or retractor failure	airbag	4	2	—	51k	—	0.1	$200–$900	High
Radiator or coolant leak	cooling	3	1	—	18k	—	0.0	$350–$1,900	High
Wiring harness or short circuit	electrical	3	3	—	42k	—	0.0	$400–$3,500	High
Window regulator or power window failure	body	3	3	—	10k	—	0.0	$250–$900	Moderate
Headlight failure or clouding	lighting	3	3	—	134k	—	0.0	$150–$1,800	Moderate
Wiper or washer failure	glass	3	1	—	71k	—	0.0	$120–$800	Moderate
Other lighting problem	lighting	3	2	—	130k	—	0.0	$120–$1,200	Moderate
Overheating	cooling	2	2	—	100k	—	0.0	$400–$3,500	High
Wheel bearing or hub failure	drivetrain	2	1	—	38k	—	0.0	$350–$1,200	Moderate
Fuel gauge or level sensor failure	fuel	2	0	—	—	—	0.0	$300–$1,200	Moderate
Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure	electrical	2	1	—	46k	—	0.0	$700–$3,000	High
Instrument cluster or gauge failure	infotainment	2	0	—	—	—	0.0	$350–$1,400	Moderate
Loss of braking	brakes	2	1	—	12k	—	0.0	$400–$3,000	Critical
Airbag failed to deploy in a crash	airbag	2	2	—	43k	—	0.0	$1,000–$5,000	Critical
Loss of power steering	steering	2	2	—	80k	—	0.0	$600–$2,800	Critical
Wheel, stud or lug nut failure	wheels	2	2	—	125k	—	0.0	$150–$1,500	Critical
Air conditioning failure	hvac	2	2	—	115k	—	0.0	$400–$2,800	Moderate
Other wheel or tire problem	wheels	2	1	—	5k	—	0.0	$200–$1,500	High
Other speed control problem	adas	2	1	—	150k	—	0.0	$250–$2,000	Critical
Timing chain, belt or tensioner failure	engine	1	1	—	239	—	0.0	$1,200–$4,500	Critical
Stalling while driving	engine	1	1	—	500	—	0.0	$300–$2,500	Critical
No-start or intermittent start failure	engine	1	1	—	68k	—	0.0	$200–$1,800	Moderate
Water pump failure	cooling	1	1	—	18k	—	0.0	$500–$2,200	High
Torque converter failure	transmission	1	1	—	53k	—	0.0	$1,100–$3,200	High
Fuel pump failure	fuel	1	0	—	—	—	0.0	$600–$2,600	High
Alternator or charging system failure	electrical	1	1	—	15k	—	0.0	$450–$1,600	High
ABS module or sensor failure	brakes	1	1	—	4k	—	0.0	$500–$2,400	High
Airbag inflator rupture	airbag	1	0	—	—	—	0.0	$0–$0	Critical
Tire blowout or tread separation	wheels	1	1	—	441	—	0.0	$200–$1,500	Critical
Paint peeling or clear coat failure	body	1	0	—	—	—	0.0	$600–$6,000	Low
Rust or structural corrosion	body	1	0	—	—	—	0.0	$500–$6,000	High
Exhaust leak or fumes in the cabin	emissions	1	1	—	55k	—	0.0	$250–$2,000	High
Unclassified problem	other	5	5	—	56k	—	0.1	—	Moderate

Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.

How often, against how many were built

Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 2004 Dodge Dakota draws about 4.5 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 79th percentile of complaint rates among 2004 vehicles we can rate.

That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound.

The working figure is 64,037 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2004 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.

What owners wrote

Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.

Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure

Got dodge dakota 4x2 brand new. Brakes squealed after 6,000 miles, fixed under warranty. At 12,000 miles there was a loud clunking noise while turning, taken to dealership, said it was fixed. It was not fixed. At 14,000 miles, both tie rods snapped while making a turn from a complete stop. Fixed under warenty. Now at 15,000 miles, the clunking noise is back while brakes are applied and making turn. These cars are not safe to drive. *ak

6,000 miles NHTSA complaint 506977 filed 2004-11-16

Dt: the consumer stated that there was a shimmy/vibration in the front suspension. The vehicle was taken to the dealer three separate times for inspection and repair. The rack and pinion, front shocks and all four tires had been changed. The problem still exist. The consumer had been in contact with the manufacturer. *ak (12/05/05) the vehicle had been to three different dealers with no results. *sc

6,000 miles NHTSA complaint 561724 filed 2005-11-07

Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure

I have a brand new 2004 dakota that has a ball joint squeak starting already at just over 4000 miles. The local garage I took it to tells me that it is the start of the ball joint problems that dakota's are notorious for. My short investigation on the internet turned up all kinds of discussion and expensive horror stories. My son has a 2002 dakota which has had the ball joints replaced 3 times also. Obviously, this is a major design flaw and a significant safety hazard. According to the article on cbs, if these aren't taken care of, they will separate and the wheel comes off. Replacement of these parts by daimlerchrysler is not enough. Daimlerchrysler needs to redesign these and the NHTSA needs to insist that they recall the effected vehicles and replace the ball joints with the redesigned parts. And soon, as far as I'm concerned this problem is very much the same as the ford tire problem. Let's not wait until all the loss of life that was experienced with that problems begins with the dodge dakota's and durango's. I don't think the NHTSA wants that on their conscience. Please let me know what your investigation has found and what…

4,600 miles NHTSA complaint 463676 filed 2004-03-31

We just bought a new 2004 dodge dakota quad cab. We have just over 2000 miles on it, mostly expressway miles going to work. A few weeks ago my girlfriend (who ia a daimler-chrysler employee) pulled out of her parking space at work to go home and got about 20 feet and the drivers front wheel fell off in front of the other employees going home. There was no nut on the upper ball joint, but the pin was still in place. And the following saturday after the incident she found the nut (not broke) lying on our garage floor, right where we parked the truck. She could have been killed on the expressway going to work that day, or killed someone else. After the tow truck driver got there after 4 hours (he got lost), he pulled the dakota up with chains on the flatbed tow truck while the truck was in park. Then when he got to adrian dodge in adrian michigan (where we bought the truck) he backed up to another tow truck, hooked up the dakota with chains and pulled it off while still in park. Also he did some damage to the fender flare. We took pictures of the truck before it was towed. There was no body damage. We wanted a new truck, because we…

2,323 miles NHTSA complaint 488029 filed 2004-08-02

Recalls on the 2004 model year

NHTSA has issued 5 recall campaigns covering the 2004 Dodge Dakota, affecting an estimated 64,552 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.

The campaigns cover exterior lighting:headlights, exterior lighting and suspension:front:hub. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.

Recalls also distort complaint counts. Publicity about a campaign reminds owners that complaining is possible, so reports for a recalled component often spike after the recall rather than before it.

09E025000

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS

42,540 vehicles 2009-05-11

Defect: Dope, inc. Is recalling 42,540 combination corner and bumper lamp assemblies of various part numbers sold for use as aftermarket equipment for various passenger vehicles. These headlamps fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment." these lamps do not contain the required amber side reflectors.
Consequence: Decreased lighting visibility may result in a vehicle crash.
Remedy: Dope, inc. Will notify owners and offer a full refund for the noncompliant combination lamps. The safety recall began on july 28, 2009. Owners may contact dope, inc. At 1-626-272-1798.

09E012000

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

16,270 vehicles 2009-04-07

Defect: Sabersport is recalling 16,270 combination corner and bumper lamp assemblies of various part numbers sold for use as aftermarket equipment for various passenger vehicles. These headlamps fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment." these lamps do not contain the required amber side reflectors.
Consequence: Decreased lighting visibility may result in a vehicle crash.
Remedy: Sabersport will notify owners and offer a full refund for the noncompliant combination lamps. The safety recall began on may 11, 2009. Owners may contact sabersport at 1-909-598-7589.

08E064000

SUSPENSION:FRONT:HUB

2,805 vehicles 2008-10-20

Defect: Skf is recalling 2,805 hub units, part no. Br930361, sold as a service part for 1997-2004 dodge dakota vehicles and 1999-2003 dodge durango vehicles equipped with 2-wheel drive & rear axle ABS. Due to a specification error, the rotor pilot for the hub unit may be too long. This results in the wheel to not be seated fully against the hub flange face during mounting.
Consequence: Improper seating of the wheel can result in excessive vibration, brake rotor noise, difficulty removing the wheel after installation and operation of the vehicle, and possibly wheel-end separation during vehicle operation. Should wheel-end separation occur, the driver could loose control of the vehicle, possibly resulting in a crash.
Remedy: Skf will notify owners and replace the defective hub units free of charge. The recall began on november 5, 2008. Owners may contact skf vsm north america customer service at 1-800-644-8999.

06E026000

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

61,944 vehicles 2006-03-23

Defect: Certain pro-a motors corner lamps, turn signals, and headlights sold as replacement lamps for use on certain passenger vehicles listed above. Some combination lamps that are not equipped with amber side reflectors fail to conform to federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment.
Consequence: Without the amber reflectors, the vehicle will be poorly illuminated, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash without warning.
Remedy: Pro-a motors will notify owners and offer to repurchase the lamps. The recall began on april 3, 2006. Owners may contact pro-a motors at 323-838-2988.

04V216000

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER

320,188 vehicles 2004-05-05

Defect: On certain pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, the windshield wiper module motor may be susceptible to water intrusion that could cause internal corrosion and result in partial or complete loss of front windshield wiping capability.
Consequence: Driver visibility could be reduced, which could result in a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the front windshield wiper module. Owner notification began on july 12, 2004. Owners should contact daimlerchrysler at 1-800-853-1403.

Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.

How it ranks in the 2004 field

The score at the top of the page, placed among its peers. The zones are the same thresholds the scorer applies, read out of the scorer itself, so the picture and the band word cannot disagree.

Risk score against the rest of the 2004 field

Scores are ranked within the model year, never across years, because an older car has had longer to accumulate reports.

Left fewer and less serious reports
Right more, or worse
Marker this vehicle

How 2004 compares with the other years

High risk for a 2004 — 157th riskiest of the 329 2004 vehicles we can rate. The comparison is always within the same model year, so an older car is never penalised for having had longer to break.

Across the 16 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 2008 comes out best at 63 and 2002 worst at 74, with 2004 itself at 67.

If the model year is negotiable, 2008 scores lower than 2004 by a margin worth acting on. Same body, same engines, different luck — usually a supplier change or a mid-cycle fix, which the complaint data can show but never explain.

Within the 1996–2004 generation specifically, 2004 is the strongest year at 67 and 2002 the weakest at 74.

Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.

Risk score by model year, out of 100

Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.

Within the 1996-2004 generation, 2004 Dodge Dakota scores best at 67 and 2002 Dodge Dakota worst at 74.

Where to spend the inspection money

The mileages below are where the first quarter of reports for each mode had already been filed, which makes them the point at which a fault is worth looking for rather than the point at which it happens: other suspension problem from about 313, other powertrain problem from about 533, CV axle or driveshaft failure from about 2k and control arm, ball joint or bushing failure from about 3k.

On a 2004 Dodge Dakota with more miles than that on it, the useful question to put to a seller or a mechanic is whether other suspension problem has been dealt with, and if so with what parts and at whose expense. A car that has already had the repair is in a different position from one that has not.

None of this is a diagnosis. It is a list of what other owners of the same model year reported, ordered by when they reported it, which is a good place to point an inspection and a poor place to stop.

What this page cannot tell you

287 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.

Of those 287 reports, 227 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 79% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".

Named failure modes come from matching phrases in the complaint text, so a badly worded complaint can land in the wrong bucket. The effect washes out across hundreds of reports and does not wash out across five.

And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.

Questions this page answers

What are the most common problems with the 2004 Dodge Dakota?

The most-reported failures are steering rack, gear or tie rod failure (36 reports, median 57,500 miles), control arm, ball joint or bushing failure (24 reports, median 45,000 miles) and other steering problem (21 reports, median 65,000 miles). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.

At what mileage do 2004 Dodge Dakota problems start?

Other powertrain problem is the earliest failure mode to show up, with a median reported mileage of 2,400 miles and a quarter of reports before 500 miles. Across all failure modes on this year, the median report sits at 46,000 miles.

Is the 2004 Dodge Dakota reliable?

It scores 67 out of 100 on our risk index, which is high — 157th riskiest of the 329 2004 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2004 vehicles, not a prediction about any individual car, and it is built from complaint rates, severity and how early failures appear.

Which year of the Dodge Dakota is best?

Within the 1996–2004 generation, 2004 scores best at 67 out of 100 and 2002 worst at 74. Same body, same engines, different luck.

Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.

What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car

Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt 20 August 2026 Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed