Problems · NHTSA complaints

2011 Dodge Dakota problems

Owners filed 44 complaints about the 2011 Dodge Dakota with NHTSA between Apr 2012 and Oct 2024. The most-cited component is air bags (18).

Complaints
44
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
8
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
1
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Air bags18
  2. Power train8
  3. Service brakes5
  4. Electrical system4
  5. Exterior lighting3
  6. Engine3
  7. Fuel/propulsion system2
  8. Vehicle speed control1
  9. Structure1
  10. Suspension1
  11. Wheels1
  12. Service brakes, hydraulic1
  13. Other / unknown5

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 31, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20122
20137
20146
20159
20169
20172
20183
20191
20202
20211
20221
20230
20241

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Air bags

18 reports2 crashes4 related recalls
“TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 DODGE DAKOTA. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V352000 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PARTS TO DO THE REPAIR WERE UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. HALL CHRYSLER DODGE JEEP RAM VIRGINIA BEACH (3152 VIRGINIA BEACH BLVD, VIRGINIA BEACH, VA) WAS CONTACTED AND CONFIRMED THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE RECALL REMEDY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND WAS NOT ABLE TO CONFIRM WHEN THE PARTS WERE TO BECOME AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 7, 2017Air bagsODI 11044176

Power train

8 reports1 crash1 related recall
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 DODGE DAKOTA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE EMITTED AN ABNORMAL NOISE WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE PINION BEARING FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 190,000.. *BF”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 12, 2018Power trainODI 11101315

Service brakes

5 reports2 crashes
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 DODGE DAKOTA. WHILE DRIVING AT UNKNOWN SPEEDS, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS APPLIED, BUT FAILED TO RESPOND. THE BRAKE PEDAL HAD TO BE PUMPED TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE LOCAL DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 43,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 1, 2018Service brakesODI 11132736

Electrical system

4 reports
“Many Dodge vehicle models experience failure of illumination for instrument clusters. This creates an unsafe condition for the driver since information presented at the instrument cluster, cannot be determined during night time driving conditions. Dodge makes no provision to customers for replacement or repair parts and does not provide any documentation through Dodge dealers on how to address this issue. It was determined that Dodge does not offer replacement instrument clusters to address this issue.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 25, 2024Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Vehicle speed controlODI 11621880

Exterior lighting

3 reports
“The backlighting on the instrument cluster is defective. Only a portion of the gauges are illuminated. Should this occur for the speedometer then driver will not have a way to determine vehicle speed during the nighttime hours.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 4, 2022Electrical system, Exterior lightingODI 11487852

Engine

3 reports
“BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE ABOUT 5 YEARS AGO FROM A LOCAL DEALER WITH 28,000 MILES ON IT.THE PREVIOUS OWNER BOUGHT IT NEW.I HAVE ALL THE SERVICE RECORDS OF WHAT WAS DONE TO IT INCLUDING OIL CHANGES EVERY 3,000 MILES.HAVE ALWAYS TREATED IT LIKE A BABY AND BRAGGED ABOUT IT.NOW HAS 84,016 MILES ON IT AND ABOUT 3 WEEKS AGO THE ENGINE STARTED KNOCKING.TOOK IT TO A LOCAL DODGE DEALER AND WAS TOLD THAT IT IS A LOWER ENGINE KNOCK AND THAT I NEEDED A NEW ENGINE.CALLED DODGE TO SEE IF THEY WOULD STAND BY THEIR PRODUCT UP TO 100,000 MILES AND WAS TOLD THEIR WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO ABOUT IT.I BELIEVE THEY SHOULD STAND BY THEIR PRODUCT TO AT LEAST 100,00 MILES.NOW I HAVE A USELESS VEHICLE AND NOTHING TO DRIVE”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 15, 2020EngineODI 11339556
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 31, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.