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rtarnie
Dodge Dakota
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7/01/2004
22:47:35

Subject: ARGH I HATE MY R/T! !!
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I need to vent really bad. I have a 2003 Dakota R/T with a belltech 2/2 drop. Its been all problems since about the 3rd month i had it. It was bought brand new off the lot too.. and the Dodge dealers ive been to dont want to help and are jerks about everything. Here goes..
My truck wont shift out of first gear at WOT.
My tranny shifts at the most random times and slips all the time.
My bed moves around and clangs and bangs and they cant find out why.
My brakes squeek,pop, squeel with only 15k on my truck.
My front tires went bad at 12,000 miles.
My front suspensions squeeks and pops.
Door panels are falling off.
Both tires will not spin when i floor it and turn.
My A/C smells bad.
My A/C is hardly ever cold.
With intake, exhaust and cut out my truck only runs a 15.9 at LACR.
I'm upsidedown about $10,000 because Dodge's can not hold their value for jack.

What the hell am I going to? I love my truck, but I hate it at the same time. Dodge wont help. They say my tranny problems are because i lowered it. Cant trade it in, still owe 25k on it and cant sell it. SOMEONE HELP ME please! Give me some advice. Thanks



hmmm
Dodge Dakota
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7/01/2004
23:03:10

RE: ARGH I HATE MY R/T! !!
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It sounds to me like you're an abusive idiot.

Think that Shlttech drop has anything to do with your problems? Or are you just stupid?



WHY
Dodge Dakota
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7/02/2004
01:42:09

RE: ARGH I HATE MY R/T! !!
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Why the h@ll would anyone DROP an R/T ?!?!?!?!?



another mark
Dodge Dakota
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7/02/2004
01:48:26

RE: ARGH I HATE MY R/T! !!
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Um, you know when you race at LACR the rule of thumb is to subtract 1 second from your E.T. since you are at 2400 feet. Maybe that will cheer you up some. I'd race at Carlsbad if you get the chance. Even Bakersfield would be better.



DeepDak
Dodge Dakota
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7/02/2004
02:47:43

RE: ARGH I HATE MY R/T! !!
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R/Tarnie,

First, LACR is a horrible track with bad conditions. If I remember right there is a .5 correction because of the altitude and conditions. This puts you at a 15.4 which is not bad but can be better.

Second, what was your 60'? You should be at 2.1s or 2.2s with some practice. If you're at 2.3s or higher, you can shave two tenths in your 1/4 mile times by dropping your 60' by one tenth. With better 60'ers, your truck could be running very low 15s.

Lastly, Mr. Why asked why drop an R/T. My response is why not drop an R/T? Dodge engineers thought the R/T needed a drop and designed all R/Ts with a slight drop! Hotchkis engineers also thought it would be good to drop the R/T an additional inch or two and introduced a sweet and successful suspension setup. But you'll probably argue that these engineers don't know anything. You probably drive a 4x4 and answer to Billy Bob.

Eli



b1llyw
GenII
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7/02/2004
07:02:24

RE: ARGH I HATE MY R/T! !!
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Might be too late now, but you should think about a lemon law case. Sounds like you just got a bad apple.

Bill White - KRC Performance
'95 CC 4x2 - 408, 5-speed, 8 3/4
'03 Neon R/T - No mods...yet

rtarnie
Dodge Dakota
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7/02/2004
09:52:58

RE: ARGH I HATE MY R/T! !!
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I was simply stating my mods, numbnuts. Thanks everyone else for your help. If they dont fix the first gear shift problem in 4 more tries, I will contact my lawyer. MY aunts Dodge was a lemon. She won. Got all her money back. Take care guys



eddy
Dodge Dakota
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7/02/2004
10:48:31

RE: ARGH I HATE MY R/T! !!
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"I'm upsidedown about $10,000 because Dodge's can not hold their value for jack"

No, you are probably upside down because you got a high interest rate and didn't make much of a down payment, if any at all.



Steveo
Dodge Dakota
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7/02/2004
11:01:36

RE: ARGH I HATE MY R/T! !!
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I too have an 03 R/T and have had NO problems at all , it only has 17k on it but it is as solid as the day I picked it up. I would have to agree with the above post ...you must be baggin the B jesus out of it.There is no way those problems occur without some help.



blue balls
Dodge Dakota
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7/02/2004
14:46:48

RE: ARGH I HATE MY R/T! !!
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I was thinking of giving my truck swimming lessons.



Yup
Dodge Dakota
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7/02/2004
16:51:28

RE: ARGH I HATE MY R/T! !!
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the Mafia car wash



2003flrt
Dodge Dakota
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7/02/2004
20:29:37

RE: ARGH I HATE MY R/T! !!
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i have had my 2003r/t since dec 03 and no problems exc. for recall on wiper motor and 7800 mi.
just a thought. my first car was an automatic and i kept dropping in to low gear and punch the hell out of it. maybe that's why i needed a new one 6months later.no, that could not be, it wasn't built strong enough for my lead foot.



SinCity R/T
Dodge Dakota
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7/04/2004
23:04:57

RE: ARGH I HATE MY R/T! !!
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>> My truck wont shift out of first gear at WOT.

You need to adjust your transmission's TV cable up near the throttle body to bring the shift point back down a bit so it doesn't bang off the rev limiter.

>> My tranny shifts at the most random times and slips all the time.

Sounds like you have a bad valve body. This can be repaired under warranty, or else you can get an upgraded version from someone like APS Precision or Martin Saine.

>> My bed moves around and clangs and bangs and they cant find out why.

If you're throwing the truck around hard in the turns, you may want to get an X-Brace, otherwise your bed mounts should be checked.

>> My brakes squeek,pop, squeel with only 15k on my truck.

Aggressive driving? You may want to upgrade your brake pads and/or rotors.

>> My front tires went bad at 12,000 miles.

You didn't check your wheels or alignment for 12000 miles? I would think that if the tires went bad you should have noticed the handling before then.

>> My front suspensions squeeks and pops.

Bad ball joints already? Or are you trying to drive your truck like an autocrosser?

>> Door panels are falling off.

It takes 5 screws to budge the door panels - are you talking about small pieces of trim?

>> Both tires will not spin when i floor it and turn.

Daimler-Chrysler put in a sort of forced traction control into the Dakota R/T's... If you get a PCM flash from B&G Chrysler it will fix this "problem".

>> My A/C smells bad.
>> My A/C is hardly ever cold.

The Dakota A/C system sucks, this is universal. The stink may come from mold or other crud where the air is drawn in from the cowl.

>> With intake, exhaust and cut out my truck only runs a 15.9 at LACR.

Sounds like you need to learn how to launch, but then again the Dakota R/T is not a drag racer - what did you expect from a 4400# truck with a motor whose powerband was designed for towing? You can certainly make the R/T platform go faster, but it will require additional parts.




hmmm
Dodge Dakota
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7/05/2004
02:01:03

RE: ARGH I HATE MY R/T! !!
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You're the numb nutz, arnie. I stand by my reply. Don't expect you can thrash the shlt out of your truck and it won't break.



GB2000
GenIII
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7/05/2004
03:46:45

RE: ARGH I HATE MY R/T! !!
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Jesus...you all act like lemons have never come off the assembly line before...I'm with Bill W., you may wanna check into the lemon laws unless you failed to mention that you've been entering it in your local demolition derby.

Josh



prple-gaseatr
Dodge Dakota
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7/05/2004
12:25:28

RE: ARGH I HATE MY R/T! !!
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hey SinCity R/T,
i noticed my truck sometimes bounces off the rev limiter after romping on it when it downshifts into first from second. you said adjust the tv cable. what cable, and how much do i adjust?
thanks!



rtarnie
Dodge Dakota
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7/05/2004
17:14:01

RE: ARGH I HATE MY R/T! !!
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WOW thanks for the info SinCIty.. btw the door panels warped and dont shift back into place..



yup
Dodge Dakota
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7/06/2004
00:45:35

RE: ARGH I HATE MY R/T! !!
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Have you brought your vehicle to another dealer? If not, do it! It sounds like you may have at least one LEGITIMATE concern. Don't feel that you HAVE to take your truck to the dealer that sold it to you for the best service. Have you contacted the customer service department at Chrysler? If not you should. Voice your problems to the people that CAN help you. If they don't help then you can take legal action and have at least one foot to stand on! Otherwise you are S.O.L.



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