Upper ball joints are failing prematurely. Passenger side is worse.

- Tulsa, OK, USA

My 2002 Dodge Dakota sport 4X2 has approximately 15,200 miles on it. At approximately 13,000 miles I began to notice that the front end started to rattle and seem loose when going over bumps. After doing some research and having someone look at it, I found that the ball joints are failing prematurely.

- Charleston, SC, USA

Upper ball joints are worn out and are popping and causing front tires to cup, and truck will not drive straight.you can really hear popping noises when turning sharp and going in a driveway.

- Henderson, NV, USA

Premature wear of ball joints on 2002 Dodge Dakota pickup. This wear could result in an accident if not repaired.

- Denham Springs, LA, USA

Premature failure at 34,000 miles on both upper ball joints on my 2002 Dodge Dakota quad cab. Front-end noises (at turning, rough pavement, speed bumps) started occurring before 10,000 miles and continued to grow worse until replacement.

- Sylmar, CA, USA

Ball joint failure at 25,000 miles.

- Butler, PA, USA

Balljoints bad on my 2002 Dodge Dakota 4X4 at 35,000 miles.

- Wyoming, MN, USA

Consumer complained about a ball joint problem. Consumer took vehicle to dealer to have tires replaced when it was noticed that the ball joints were defective. The consumer stated that the grease was able to wash out and there was no place to grease the ball joints. The dealer failed to correct the problem.

- Independence, MO, USA

I took my 2002 Dodge Dakota to get state inspection and was told the left upper ball joint was worn out. Only has 35000 miles on it. I went to dealer to have it repaired on Dec 29 2003 and was told the ball joints are on back order until Jan 14 2004 and was told I may not be one of the luck ones to get it even then. My truck has been sitting since Dec 31 2003 because of the inspection has exp.

- Champlain, VA, USA

Vehicle = 2002 Dodge Dakota quad cab - V6 (currently @ 49,000 miles) took vehicle to independent mechanic for annual inspection and was told that both the upper and lower ball joints were worn excessively and would totally fail in approximately 1000 miles. After further investigation on numerous websites I have found this problem to be quite common and is what was causing the feeling of loss of control when hitting bumps in the road at speed, strange noises when turning slowly, and it also seems this is what could have led to my premature brake failures (which I had to have my rotors ground at approx 25K miles). I will be speaking to my dealer tomorrow directly - my girlfriend had called them for me because I was out of town for work and it sounds as though they are claiming they have never heard of the problem. This appears to be quite a common problem and had my mechanic not caught the problem doing the annual inspection it would have definitely caused an extreme safety hazard. Hopefully something is being done to remedy this problem. Thanks.

- Saltsburg, PA, USA

While having vehicle serviced for a brake issue dealership noticed that all four ball joints wore out prematurely, and the tie rods were defective. Dealership could only replace the upper ball joint, but was unable to replace the lower once due to part being on back order.

- Cadillac, MI, USA

Premature failure of upper lower ball joints. This started at 20K at which time I brought it into a dealership, but the "front end" guy was sick that day (how convient), so no one would look at the truck. Very loud popping noise from front end especially when turning at low speed on icy conditions. When turning sharp the wheel feels as if its about to colapes under itself. Very dangerous. Now that im over the 36K warrenty Dodge tells me I have to pay to have it fixed. I will never purchase a Dodge again. This is a life threatening condition should it fail. I have children and no longer feel safe transporting them in this vehicle. I cannot even trade it in untill I fix it as all the other car dealers are quite aware of this defect....help please!!!

- Ham Lake, MN, USA

Consumer took vehicle to dealer for tires to be serviced. Mechanic noticed that upper ball joints were defective. Also, consumer remembered hearing a noise when turning corners.

- Barryville, NY, USA

2002 Dakota pickup truck with 29,600 miles loosing front steering stability and front end rattling. Check with local mechanic reveals both left and right upper balljoints failing and need to replaced asap to prevent wheel failure. Also tires wearing out. Dodge contacted, no recall yet"?"

- Spencer, MA, USA

2002 Dodge Dakota club cab is making clanking, creaking noises while turning at low speeds. This is at 46K miles. Has been making this noise since 40K miles. Found many complaints of upper ball joint problems with other Dakotas and durangos. Very concerned and suspicous.

- North Kingstown, RI, USA

2002 Dodge Dakota quad cab has had grinding/jumping/bumping condition when braking since 4/03 @under 24K miles. Private mechanic has checked brakes twice for this and has found no problems stemming from brakes. Condition persists, and am wary of problems with this make/model and ball joint wear. Is Dodge covering this as a warranty repair now or not?

- Glenolden, PA, USA

I own a 2002 Dodge Dakota. At 27,000 miles, the dealership replaced all four ball joints. They also worked on the 4 wheel drive. At 34,000 miles they replaced three ball joints and worked on the 4 wheel drive. At 42,000 miles they replaced the rack and pinion on the passenger side and worked on the 4 wheel drive. At 49,000 miles I had to replace wheel bearings in the passenger side. Fortunately, I have not had any accidents. I have heard noises and taken it to the dealership or my mechanic. I am very concerned about driving it. I do not feel safe driving it anymore. I think they have some serious front end problems that they should be addressing. I don't think I should be footing the bill for it. I am also very upset that the dealership and Dodge have known about the problems and chose to blame them on other conditions caused by the owner.

- Ellington, MO, USA

The upper ball joints wore out prematurely.

- Clayton, NC, USA

At barely 39000 miles on my 2002 Dodge Dakota SXT, we have discovered that the right upper ball joint is nearly shot. The problem is that the noise and problems began way before the 36000 mile mark but we never considered that it would be something that needed major repair. Now we are beyond the 36000 mile warranty and we have to pay for the repair ourselves. After research we have discovered that this problem is quickly becoming a common problem with these vehicles. So we would like to make our issue known in conjunction with any other owners with the same problem in hopes that maybe Dodge will take some corrective action.

- Arlington, WA, USA

Ball joints had to be replaced due to being worn out on my 2002 Dodge Dakota quad cab 4X4. Dealer never mentioned the ongoing investigation or problems with ball joints. Subsequently viewed the cbs report on Dakota ball joints and ongoing investigation the night we got truck back from dealer with new ball joints.

- Campbellsport, WI, USA