1998 Dodge Dakota Consumer Reviews

We love it!

Written by: Graham on 03/17/2008

Vehicle

1998 Dodge Dakota 2 Dr SLT Extended Cab SB

Review

We have 175,000 miles on it, have driven it fairly hard, pulled trailers with it, towed a large trailer with a bulldozer on it, etc, and we have no complaints. We got our money's worth! 318 5.2L V8 should never have been discontinued. We have just (3 weeks ago) put a rear end in it, and that might have been damaged in an accident a few years ago. No engine/tranny trouble (no rebuilds or repairs on either). The only things that have gone wrong are the ball joint (and I hear those go bad regularly, but Dodge has made parts available so you don't have to buy a whole new assembly) and the AC evaporator. We tell people we're planning to give this to our first-born, who hasn't even been born yet!

Favorite Features

318 V8, solid build (was hit in the rear end at a stop light so hard that my seat broke and wouldn't stay up, yet the damage to the rear was less than $2000!), optional wide mirrors for towing, fuel economy not bad (15-16 mpg), all electronics and controls still work perfectly, except light switch.

Suggested Improvements

Ball joint redesign (little too late now), better headlight switch (same design since the 70's), better design for the electric window and lock panel/housing, separate the vent/recirculate function on its own knob. Sorry, these are petty, I know, but they asked.

4 out 4 people found this review helpful

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Poor Paint

Written by: Poor Paint on 01/02/2008

Vehicle

1998 Dodge Dakota 2 Dr Sport 4WD Extended Cab SB

Review

I ordered the truck with everything I wanted and was blown away when I went to the dealership to pick it up. So far, overall, it's been a very good reliable truck. The 318 V8 has plenty of power, but with any V8(and 4WD larger tires), fuel economy is poor. The interior is functional, durable and neat. Mechanically, it's been solid overall. I've had multiple ball joints replaced. No major problems with mine other than delamination of the paint which is very common for this Dakota. I've seen many others with the same problem.

Favorite Features

Love the exterior. Best looking Dakota yet. The newest Dakotas are unappealing. Hate the fuel economy at 13.6 mpg/hwy, but love having the power and durability of a V8. With gas t $3.00+, I'll eventually get a 4 cylinder car and keep the truck for home use.

Suggested Improvements

Chrysler needs to take responsibilty for the paint issue. They repainted problem areas when I still had an active warranty, but they declined any further repairs when the warranty expired. The paint problem started only 3 years after it was built and it continues to spread.

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Flash2Speed

Written by: flashtube on 11/27/2007

Vehicle

1998 Dodge Dakota 2 Dr STD 4WD Standard Cab SB

Review

The best mid sized truck I have purchased. Runs like a hot rod. Outside paint is a beautiful emerald green. When I turn the key on I can hear a deep thrum from the exhaust.

Favorite Features

I love the mean looking front end. It just tells you, look out, I can fly, here I come. It rolls like a fighter plane down the runway.

Suggested Improvements

You get and extra 4 miles to the gallon and increased horse power by 20% if you install a more flow catalytic converter and even more by installing lighter wheels.

7 out 7 people found this review helpful

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Dodge Rocks

Written by: Krude 1966 on 10/07/2007

Vehicle

1998 Dodge Dakota 2 Dr Sport Extended Cab SB

Review

I bought this truck brand new, ordered just the way I wanted. V6 , 5 speed manual tranny, sport edition 2wd. I bought it to haul firewood and it has hauled anything you can imagine. It now has over 120000 miles and the only major problem was replacing the tranny in the spring of '95. That has been my only complaint is shifting from 1st to 2nd is very clunky. It gets reasonable mileage of 22mpg on the highway and 18mpg in town. This truck will be in my possession until I die, a very worthwhile investment in my book.

Favorite Features

Bucket seats are very comfortable and lots of room under the hood for easy maintenance. Big smokey burnouts in the first 2 gears

Suggested Improvements

Smoother shifting would be nice

3 out 3 people found this review helpful

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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Written by: J. Garcia on 09/14/2007

Vehicle

1998 Dodge Dakota 2 Dr Sport Standard Cab SB

Review

The Good: Good interior, lots of truck for the money. Fairly decent fuel mileage. The Bad: Ball joints were completely worn out. Replacing them requires chiseling and/or grinding steel rivets off. Cheap plastic interior pieces, not very well put together. The Ugly: Designed by an accountant. Control-arm bushings are not replaceable. The whole control-arm needs replacing at over $300 per. Rubber plug in the differential cover. Non adjustable clutch master/slave cylinder. Very notchy 5-speed, with completely wrong ratios for the 4 cylinder engine. Will not pull even a moderate incline at highway speeds in 5th gear. 50 year old pushrod engine design. Not even a crossflow cylinder head.

Favorite Features

Even the shortbed has a fairly good capacity. Nice highway ride. Parts are relatively cheap and plentiful. Decent interior room even in the standard cab version.

Suggested Improvements

Move the ignition coil location from the side of the engine block where it absorbs great amounts of heat. My coil was lazy and weak. Replaced it with an Accel high performance coil, which improved acceleration and overall engine performance. I also raised the drivers seat i inch.

4 out 4 people found this review helpful

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Peppy Mid-Size Machine (V8)

Written by: Joe on 08/15/2007

Vehicle

1998 Dodge Dakota 2 Dr SLT Extended Cab SB

Review

Now that I have the Dakota I am very happy that I bought it. My friends always talk about their fast little cars, and to be in my 5.2 and beating all these sporty little cars makes me laugh so hard. They are relatively easy to work on and I love punching it when I am going slower than 40 mph because getting it to chirp is sweet. The Dakota to me is a fine truck I would buy them for a long time but only from 1997-1999 because of the 5.2 and body style because the new body style to me isn't that good looking.

Favorite Features

Acceleration, power, exterior/interior looks, and the ability to roast them without a problem

Suggested Improvements

Fuel economy, and if you're going to put infinty speakers in it make them somewhat good speakers. Another thing put a limited slip in there stock!

1 out 1 people found this review helpful

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Stuck With It

Written by: Blessed Anyway on 05/18/2007

Vehicle

1998 Dodge Dakota 2 Dr R/T Sport Extended Cab SB

Review

I rarely buy vehicles and only once bought new which was this one. Ball joints and brakes were bad news for this model. Several manufacturer recalls: steering, two exhaust related ones. Brakes warped (Underengineered). Oil pressure has been issue this past year. Had oil pump replaced and only slightly improved pressure. Overall, performance was great compared to other small trucks, especially power/acceleration from 4-cyl, but the quality of parts and durability was quite poor. Several interior items failed, some more than once. Emergency brake handle, glove box handle mechanism, and cup holder assembly all failed. Overall, it took a beating from me, but I feel I didn't get full value.

Favorite Features

Baddest 4-cylinder performance in a pickup!

Suggested Improvements

Better beefier brakes, more reliablity on components.

3 out 3 people found this review helpful

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Dodge Dakota the Best Mid Size Truck

Written by: justin on 04/30/2007

Vehicle

1998 Dodge Dakota 2 Dr SLT Extended Cab SB

Review

I think it is the best mid size truck you can buy. I have hade no major problems with it. It does use a lot of gas, but with a few mods and laying off the gas, the mileage goes up.

Favorite Features

Body

Suggested Improvements

More horsepower, needs a 5 or 6 speed automatic transmission.

4 out 4 people found this review helpful

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Just something about Dakotas

Written by: R/T_Jarrod on 03/23/2007

Vehicle

1998 Dodge Dakota 2 Dr R/T Sport Extended Cab SB

Review

What can I say, it is my second Dakota and I have to admit I just don't think there is another small truck out there for me. How can you beat something that drives better than anything else as far as trucks go, performs beautifully, and has enough power and torque to pull a house off of its foundations? I guess there just is nothing better than driving the best looking, best overall, small truck ever. The best thing is, you can still use it like a truck, even though its a sporty ride at that. Unlike the Ford Lightning, which can haul/tow an astonishing 1500 pounds! Wow, that is weak. Dodge reached as close to perfection as you can get with this truck.

Favorite Features

Lots of power and it is the best handling truck you can buy for way under $40-$50k! If you like a hearty truck sound, install a flowmaster dual exhaust system and watch the sports car guys frown with envy at the sound.

Suggested Improvements

Maybe another 20 hp or so and a slightly higher gear ratio for better cruising mileage. But then again, I'm picky.

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Lots of Power...Lots of Gas

Written by: JakeD on 11/10/2006

Vehicle

1998 Dodge Dakota 2 Dr SLT 4WD Standard Cab SB

Review

I bought my '98 Dakota 4x4 about a year and a half ago and it has been a great truck. The 5.2L 318 has plenty of power, and the limited slip rear end makes for great burnouts. The 4 wheel drive is unbelivable. I've had it burried in mud to the point where the ground was even with the bottom of my window and I put it in reverse and it crawled right out to my suprise, and to the dissapointment of the angry hunters chasing after me. The only things that have been replaced in 63,000 miles are the water pump, ball joints, exhaust ( wasn't loud enough) and tires. The water pump and ball joints were a lot cheaper and easier to install than I thought they would be. The tires not so much.

Favorite Features

5.2L V-8, limited slip rear end, 4- wheel drive, nice interior, skidplates, overdrive button.

Suggested Improvements

Instead of spending time making fancy gadgets that tell me that I'm getting 13.3 MPG, Dodge should have figured out how to make it get better gas mileage. Better stereo, Infinity stinks. It should have stock 31" tires. 2nd gear is kind of slow. The V-8's need 4- wheel disk brakes.

2 out 2 people found this review helpful

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