ok i am thinking about trading my underpowered ranger in on a quad cab dakota...
i have already found ot that the best engine is probally the 4.7, and i want to get a v8 anyhow i have a few questions...

what are some common problems with the dakotas? for example, with Ford their 4.0s timing chain rattles at 3000 rpm and of course there is no fix for it...

are they pretty reliable? i dont want to have to fix a tranny or stuff like that...

how do you tell what gearing is in the rearend?

whats some gas mileage numbers?

was keyless entry an option in 2002?


i know ill have more but thats it for now...

 

Hey man. First off welcome to the site. One thing you would have to look into would be if the recall has been done or not on the ball joints. A dealership would be able to help you out with that and if it needs to be done it won't cost you a thing. The other thing is the brakes. The factory ones suck. But thats most of the Chryler products. The brakes are just terrible. Upgrading them with performance rotors and ceramic pads will solve that and you'll stop better. Other than that I haven't had any problem with mine. To tell what gearing is in it, I have a sticker in the glove box that gives me a lot of info and specs on the truck. Thats where I found out the gearing on mine. The 4.7 is great on gas. It gets better gas milage that Dodges 6 cyl. I think most guys are getting like 17/20. Something like that. The best I got was on a 300 mile trip. All highway, I got 25mpg. And yes keyless entry is an option on the 2002. Well I guess that it for now. I think you'd be real happy if you got one. I love mine. If you have any more questions let us know. We're glad to help.

 

See below thread from 8 Jan "Should I buy a dakota, truthful thoughts needed". You'll get a wide range of opinions and problems. I have a 2002 QC, 4.7 and absolutely love it. Knock on wood, no problems so far.

As far your other questions:

1. I have codes in by glove box which told me my rear end.

2. In town 13-14 and 18-21 highway

3. My 02 has remote keyless entry.

 

thanks guys... the biggest thing i am worried about is thoes "they just do it, but it wont hurt anything" problems... id like to avoid them if all possible...

 

I've got an 02 QC with the 5.9, not so great on gas (12 combined since I bought it according to the computer) and after 10k of me driving it the rotors are warped, but they've got over 50k on them so I'm not surprised. My 99 grand cherokee with the 4.7 warped the rotors 3 times in 15k miles from new.

One of the things that "they just do" is the electronic 4wd system dies. Dad's Yukon did it too. I'm not sure what causes it, but it's several hundred dollars to fix at the dealer. Mine died within a month of me buying it (bought it used with 42k on the clock). Since then I've been making sure I pop it in 4wd 2-3 times a month as I'm driving along, just to keep everything lubed or corrosion free, whatever good it might do.

 

This may be of some help to your brake problem. My wife had another brand vehicle that had to be taken back to the dealer 4 times for warped rotors within 20K. They accused her of driving through water and causing the warping on the last visit......and it was a 4WD SUV. What a bunch of idiots! They refused to repair the problem under warranty. I got HOT......real mad if you know what I mean. She was being jerked around by the system, so I called the manufacturers complaint line and refused to talk with anyone else but the person in charge.

I explained our total disappointment with the quality of the vehicles braking system and the way we had been treated by the dealer. In less than 30 minutes from the time I had placed my call, I had the dealer calling me to bring my SUV back to be repaired. We received totally new rotors and a big apology from the dealer..The problem.....incorrect brake pad compound for the vehicle. After that...we drove another 75K without any brake problems.

I use lifetime warranted Raybestos brake pads on my 98 V8 Dakota and they'll stop on a dime even after 50K. Hope this helps!