Alright I'm done with the dealer. $300 to replace two sensors seems a little steep to me, especially without a guarentee that they aren't working.

Does anyone have a writeup or tips & tricks for replacing these sensors? I know they are both on the transmission, just not exactly sure where.

Oh here's the best part.

The truck is throwing codes for right & left rear wheel ABS sensors that it doesn't even have.

 

I thought all the Dakotas came with 2 wheel rear ABS standard?

 

If they do then the dealer it's at is even dumber than I originally thought. According to the guys yesterday the 2005 used a ring gear sensor...but who knows. POS truck.

 

there is a service manual on here have you tried down loading it see if there is anything in there

 

There is a wealth of information in this forum as well as the aforementioned service manual that has been provided for free....I always try to educate myself on my vehicles, thats half the fun. I like working on them, I like to troubleshoot and fix things. 9 times out of 10 it is something simple, but you do occasionally run into that #10 thats a real doozy...I have never owned a Dodge before, I did my research, saw the potential problem areas, weighed the options/costs of repairing/replacing/living with it and still decided that for the midsize truck segment, there really is no competition when it comes to size and engine, I wanted a V8 but don't need a full size truck. I've owned chevy's, fords, nissan's and taco's. They all have their share of problems, but I really love my Dakota and, sorry, but whatever the problem would never refer to it as a POS and if I did ever get to that point with any vehicle, I would get rid of it as soon as possible and cut my losses, learn from my mistake. Hope you can find the answers you need by using the search function. Someone else may have had the same issue but honestly this is the first I've heard of the problem you are having.

 

I Did find that - and a thanks to whoever posted it. There's not much in there in terms of the VSS' though other than a generic idea of where they are. I'm going to order the parts today and get working on it.

I usually do all of my own work on my vehicles, but I've been busy with work the last couple days and figured "hey, it's got the extended drivetrain warranty, I'll let them fix it since the parts are about $60 and the warranty cost would be $100." But for $300, I'll get the parts myself and spend an hour underneath it.

Jkeaton, sorry if I offended you, but I'm just overly frustrated with this truck, and now dodge in general. And, unlike a lot of other people out there, I'm stuck with it as I can't afford to run right out and trade it in on something else. Since it was new, the truck has had minor issues and (as I mentioned in another post) the dealer has never been able to track down since it wasn't throwing codes. This thing would stall at stop lights, lope at idle, run rough, etc. but according to dodge there was nothing wrong with it. at 37K miles, the MAF crapped out entirely. Go figure, no warranty.

At 25K miles, I had to have the exhaust manifolds replaced....out of my pocket since it was a "normal wear and tear item." BS. If I lived in the NE, I MIGHT see them rusting out, but I live in Oregon and there's no salt on our roads.

oh, did I mention the brakes? and from digging through the forums, looks like everyone's had issues with those? Really? c'mon. Someone wasn't thinking when they put the "tow package" on the sticker and never thought "hey maybe the brakes are a little small for a vehicle this heavy?"

I don't mean to be overly negative, but I've never owned a vehicle with this many problems. I'm just frustrated (and venting, obviously.) I enjoy driving the truck when it's running (not as much as the mx5, but little different animal!) but I never know when it's going to break next. At least you seem to have good luck with yours (knocking on wood for you.)

 

no offense taken, just sorry yours is giving you so much trouble. I guess I'm still on my honeymoon (since May) and find it hard to believe anyone would not like their truck!!! lol

 

sorry the manuel dosnt help you out here and I haven't had many problems with mine knock on wood a couple sensors and a battery but I guess its like anything else there's just a lemon in the bunch sorry your having so many issues

 

If you have the 9.25 rear end. The ABS sensor is located on the top front of rear end. Real easy replacement. At least thats where it was on my Durango when I replaced it.

 

yeah that's the easy one

the two on the side of the tranny are a little more difficult. They are right on the side, but there's a darn crossmember right in the way. Ugh....

I'll take some pics though and writeup a report while I'm doing it though so if anyone needs the help down the road it's there.