Search for Dakota suicide door cable repair kit. Roughly $10. These are metal clips that hold the cable in place. OEM are plastic and they break, not allowing the cable to be pulled but the entire mechanism which won't unlatch the door. You remove the interior panel while closed and then you open the door. Fix is straight forward for a guy like yourself. I had a fleet of them and agree with everything in the video.
I own an 08 Dakota SLT crew cab 4.7L, and its got a few dings and dents here with 101K miles on it. Bought it about a year ago with 93K miles for 8 grand, and it still works like a charm and it even has a few mods like a train horn kit and a bit of a sloppy paint job that I did myself. I love it anyways. I'd love to get my hands on a 2nd gen though.
Bought 05 4.7 Dakota 1 year ago. I love this truck. Seat heat up and drives so good when it’s working! 4 of the 12 months it’s been at the dealer lol. But I still love it. Really does do everything. And I think now I’ve gotten all the kinks out 😂
I love and miss my '10 dakota with the 3.7l v6. While the mpg savings(?) over the v8 are minimal at best (22-23 highway) , id say in the time i owned mine (i had to sell her so we could move to our home), the v6 was honestly an adequate performing, reliable engine. The extended cab was basically useless for transporting people, but i didnt care. Really, the only thing i would have done to make it better was make the 5-speed available for the v6. I had issues with the tpms sensors and the factory remote start working only half the time, but she was mechanically sound. :)
I have the 05 Dakota Laramie V8 with dual exhaust. I beat the heck out of this truck daily and its still going with over 230k miles. Its a terrible riding truck empty, youll feel every bump but with a little weight in the back it feels ok. My truck is only getting about 15 mpg. The radios on these always have a messed up volume control but theres another volume button behind the right side of the steering wheel that lots of people dont know about. It has alot of issues but I love it.
"none of the rear doors open" was not a problem that I remember on my '05 Club Cab Dakota that a) I ordered at the start of this series' run, II. was built in December 2004, 3) that I drove into 2017 and replacing it with a new Ram 1500 'classic'.
I work at a salvage yard. I drive around in super bumpy gravel picking parts from cars and throwing them in the back of the bed. We had gmcs and Chevy s10s. They shit the bed within a couple months of being in the yard. The rangers lasted longer but ultimately suffered the same fate. We have 2 and gen Dakotas and 1 3rd gen Dakota. We’ve had them in the yard for over a year now. They’ve proven to be much more reliable trucks. Mind you, these trucks are dirty and usually don’t get worked on unless absolutely necessary. Also they have more clearance on bumps than the rangers and s10s. I drive a ranger in the yard because that’s what was given to me. However I own a Dakota as a daily. Don’t sleep on these trucks. They’re still priced pretty fairly and you can still find them everywhere. Not to mention the 2nd gen Dakota imo is the sexiest truck of all the small size trucks maybe besides a good taco.
13:17 Neon and the K car before it. Glad you mentioned they don't have a entry car nowadays. Mopar needs to build a long term customer base, they can't do it with a 30k Hornet.
Based on the amount or Mopar and Dodge videos you post I know you're a closet Mopar fan...you can't hide 😂 I really like the look of the first gen Dakota after the refresh when they rounded it out a bit...on3 of my dream vehicles is a '95/'96 Dakota ext cab with the 318. My dream truck as a kid was a late 90s Dakota red on red ext cab with the 318 or 5.9 Magnum special edition...those were super cool and while I don't get the 4.7 hate (my uncle has an 06 ram 4.7 with over 300k, all he's done is maintain it and it still runs great) the Dakota with the old 318/360 Magnum are cool as fuck, great engines
Mom had one of these, bought brand new, was nothing but problems, more warranty work than you can image. Traded it in for an f150 and didn’t have an issue since
My 06 I had filled with gravel in the back for my grandmother's driveway and it was 2200 pounds, I maxed out the suspension and it drove like a boat. But it still drove across town without a care in the world
They are NOT a small truck. If you want a small trick get a S-10 or a Ranger. They are mid size truck even in Dodge advertising. Personally I have two 1st gen Dakota's which I perfer for mechanical reasons.
I've got a 4-door '09 V6 Bighorn. Payload of just over 1,600 lbs. Bed cover installed. Factory plastic liner. Less than 100K miles. Factory wheels and factory 265 width tire size. Those are the ones you need.
V6 Magnum engine is just fine. I've owned one for 17 years. Tonneau covers for the 4 door are readily available ( I have a Lund) I have to agree you may have to order tires... But it's been a great truck in factory Detonator Yellow paint.
I have 05 quad cab dual exhaust sounds mean get complimented on it all the time have 185,000 miles on it still going strong! The best damn purchased vehicle domestic or imported Ive ever made hands down everyone wanted to bash them because the v8 magnum because its made by diamler but this truck hauls my camper no problem, actually surprised by its tow capabilities!
36k miles and the transmission went… that’s unbelievable. I wonder if it’s manufacturing error because that ain’t much miles. That sucks I like the older ones with the 5.9 in em
My 2005 Dakota has the 2 bolts to tie onto in the front under a mat and I always seen 2 nuts by the tail light and had no idea what it was for turns out it's supposed to be a tie down point only found that out because of this video
This is my exact truck and my rear doors WORK …. And had been searching and found 2 or 3 on line with intact bodies to replace mine ( but they all were out state and I didn’t have time to go get either one of them ) because I’ve got the wheel well RUST , My heated seats burned out years ago and the driver automated seat and the manual handle no longer entirely work …. Just spent 3,500 dollars on oil leak and suspension problems …. Ideally I would like to keep this or find another in GOOD CONDITION.. bought it in 07 with 25,000 miles on it , now it’s has 120,000 .. I’ve been WAITING for the new Ram Dakota ( extended cab )but every year there’s only been procrastination I may end up with that rampage with only a 4 door version 😒
The purpose of these trucks is they have 90% of the capability of a full size (more in some cases, they can have a 1800 lb payload capacity whereas a lot of Ram 1500's would have under 1500 lb payload). A LOT cheaper than the full size's in the 90's to early 2000's, but not the drawback of having to drive a big truck around. Other compact trucks (late 90's) had 500lb - 1000 lb rating, so it just blew them away, and wouldn't suffer much because of the torque. Add in Car-like handling, just great all around performer. Gas mileage was the biggest issue, automatics were a bit of a slush box. What killed them was, just like all the other compact/mid-size trucks, they kept getting bigger and adding more features, to where they were essentially the same price as a full size, so why not just buy the full size?? My parents still drive my '97 5.2L clubcab with 250k+ miles.
The mistake they made with this truck was incredibly simple. The base Ram 1500 from 2005 cost $20915. The base Dakota from 2005 cost $26295. In 2008 they replaced the front which looked worse than what's on this one. The 2nd Gen Dakota sold what the Tacoma sells like after 2005. Basically, everyone who would have bought the Dakota got the Tacoma instead. I agree the V6 is garbage. But on paper before 60k miles the issues don't show up. The power numbers are about the same despite 2 less cylinders. It's after 60k miles that the real difference shows. Bad head design and weak transmission. The good thing about the 4.7L over the 5.7L is the cylinder de-activation. The 4.7L was basically the last of the SOHC V8s from Dodge with no cylinder de-activation. The 5.7L, especially the first ones had issues. For the door, the rubber on the cables gets brittle and breaks. Only solution is to replace the cables which isn't fun. You gotta remove the top seat belt mount, pop open the panel from the top, then reach in and grab the bottom lever to open it so you can fully remove the panel and replace the cables. It's a bit easier if the cable at the top is the no good one. I tried the metal replacement for the rubber boots, but they seem to have issues, so an OEM replacement would be better in my opinion with a light coating of grease/oil. Doubt it will last 20 years like they do new since they were probably made in 2004, but probably better than the junk aftermarket rubber. Also at about 20 years, the cable for the window regulator breaks.
