DODGE DAKOTA QUAD CAB

ford250

The Dakota Quad has to be the best designed truck
at a great price in the 4 door segment.

bookitty

Frank, my experience leans toward the 5 speed and only test drove a Quad with automatic transmission. If you get the 5 speed and the 4.7, you will have sufficient power to pass considering the high level of torque output. However, it is really a matter of choice and preference. I personally like a manual, because i feel that I am in control in certain situations. Like for instance, snow and icy conditions. I can gear down to help with stopping, and the constant engagement and pull that automatic transmissions generate are not there. Again, go with what you prefer, as both transmissions are fine.

Bookitty

rooster9

Now if they would give it a cargo box we'd be all set.

bookitty

Rooster, the Dakota Quad Cab truck meets certain needs (including mine). I had a '95 Dakota Club Cab, and the cargo box was more than I needed, but
the back seat was a killer to access and/or ride in for anything but short distances. If someone needs a larger cargo box, then obviously this is not the truck for them. On the rare occasions that I have to haul more than the short bed can accommodate, I use my 5X8 utility trailer. Certain
strokes for certain folks.

Bookitty

thesandman

The Quads my wifes new "car" and see loves it. I'm driving my 66 F-100 4X4 stepside for daily use and we use the 96 F-350 4X4 Crew for hauling the big stuff.The 59 F-600 14' flatbed moves the snow in the winter and the 66 F-250/with factory buckets is for the show.83 4X4 Toy gets me to the surf on time in El Salvador C.A. and the 79 4X2 Toy is on deck to El Salvador. Yes Bookitty, certain trucks for certain folks is our way of thinking too. We are family,the truck family.

themacguy

I agree with your statement. My partner took delivery of his Ford Explosion (errr Excursion) today. My Quad was parked next to it and it is within an inch of so of being the same length. I do believe you could literally drive through a hollow Excursion in a Dakota Quad - whether it's a 4X4 or not! They ride very similarly however, and the Ford has, well - PRESENCE. Every man, dog and bookitty's cat freezes in :-O as this thing rolls past. And (his is a diesel) the little overhead trip thingy says it's getting 14.7 mpg (better than my Quad). Plus, you can tow a small house AND put most of the furniture in the cab. He calls it the Ford Valdez. THAT'S a truck (well, without the SD 250's bed)! But I'll still take my Quad and spend the 20k difference on, well, something else... the Ford is one VERY impressive vehicle. I just can't imagine needing that much truck. And he's just 5'5" tall! But one very happy camper.

thesandman

The Sierra Club Coined that phrase "The Ford Valdez".The extremeist (Sierra Club) want us driving some kind of death trap (tiny car).I'll put my family in a safe vehicle (big) cause no one is running my life for me.The Excursion's not selling as good as Ford expected.Ford was not looking for big sales just another niche in the market.The Yukon and Surburban are king in the big S.U.V. market and its a fine product.Give the people what they want,thats the American way.

bjb2

Thank you to all the responders to my post
regarding the new Dakota Quad 4x4 that suffered a
transmission malfunction the day after I bought it.
By and large, the responses were very
understanding, despite the frustrated tone of my
message.

Since so many people responded, I thought I'd
update y'all.

First, to clarify some points. Yes I did notify
the original dealership, contact Dodge, and have
the work done at a Dodge service center. Just in
case someone else has been through this, let me
clarify the specific problem. I live on a hill. I
park the truck in front of my house, facing up the
hill. I start the truck, place the transmission in
'drive' and... the truck rolls backward. I use
first gear to get off the hill, then the 'check
engine' light comes on. At the Dodge service bay,
the code indicates a "Transmission malfunction".

Anyway, got the truck back two weeks ago. They had
replaced the solenoid that handles the electronic
shifting of the tranny, and reset the thing back to
factory specs. I drove it the whole time without
incident, then yesterday the whole thing happens
again exactly as above and it's back in the shop
again. This thing has spent more weekends at the
Dodge dealer than in my garage.

On a final note, as a last word to those who
latched onto my apparent enthusiasm for the quality
of Toyotas and Hondas - I clarify: I've owned two
Toyota 4x4 trucks and two Honda passenger cars and
had zero problems with the lot of 'em. But you're
right - I chose the Dodge Quad because it is damn
near the perfect truck for a family man who needs
to haul stuff. The Toyota didn't even come close.

So, please God, let them fix my truck this time!!!

steve234

From your discription, I wonder if the torque converter check valve is working right. I am just going buy my experience after my F150 transmission was rebuild by a $%&* national chain shop, but it sounds similar. Except for permanently sealed units, a torque converter will drain down after a time. There is a check valve on these models that prevents that, but they can fail or become clogged. An easy way to check this is to park overnte on a flat surface. The next day, as soon as the vehicle is started, put it in gear. If it starts moving normally without giving it throttle, If it doesn't start moving until you give it throttle and is sluggish at first, ask the dealer about the check valve.

quadrunner

I have a Quadcab with the 5.9. My mpg is 10-12 in town and 14.8 hwy. I read a posting where one of you put dual exhaust and a special air filter system on and improved the mileage. What are the particulars for me to try. Help!

mizunoman

If any of you have the 4.7L V8 in you Quad cab, could you please let me know what kind of mileage (city/hwy) you are getting with it? I am considering a Quad Cab Dakota, but am uncertain of which engine option is my best bet. I am familiar with the thirsty habit of the 5.9L, but would like to know about the 4.7L.

Thanks,
Dean

themacguy

You'll get lots of responses, so here's the first: mine is a 4.7 / 4-auto / 3.55 non-lsd / 2WD model. I've run 3 different factory tire / wheel combos: 17" RT's w/255/55R17's (VR's), and both of the 15's (7's & 8's). My BEST mpg was achieved with the lower rolling resistance (narrower) 15X7 std. (stock) set w/235X15 tires. That was 18.2 at 45 psi inflation on a LONG trip - mixed 10% @ 45 mph city & 90% @ 70 mph hwy driving. TYPICAL overall mileage for my usual (albeit very quick) driving is almost exactly 14.5 mpg on just about every fillup with quality fuel. When I'm broke for a whole tank's worth of driving and putter around a lot, I get about 16.2 in 50%-50% mixed driving. Towing 4,500 lbs. (Porsche on a 16' double axle trailer) w/ O/D OFF is about 11.5 mpg on the hwy (NO city whatsoever). Towing 1,500 lbs. on my little 5X9 Sears trailer I get about 14 mpg in mostly hwy (75%) driving. I can tell you, as others no doubt will, that 65 mph driving has a profound upward effect on mpg in an unloaded Quad.

I've got 15,000 miles on mine and have also looked into, purchased and installed (for $1400+) the 3.21 rear for the regular Dakotas. Spank, spank: Bad Dog. Added about 1 mpg and turned the 4.7 into a 'strange beast.' It appears that the tranny ratios are optimized for the Quad, and are NOT worth messing with. In hindsight I wish I'd opted for the 3.92 rear. I might just change mine out at some point down the road, or buy the future HEMI.

snowedin

4.7L,5-speed,3.55lsd,4x4,t&h package,ac,3,300 on the odometer,no additions or modifications: highway mileage @70mph is a touch over 17mpg, city is about 14mpg. My driving style is definitely not sedate. ;->

ahasher

I posted this on the other Quadders topics but it's worth repeating. My latest MPG update: 4400 miles on my QC SLT+ 4.7, 3.92, T&H package, K&N air filter, tonneau, about 75% highway, 25% moderate city, A/C on most of the time (New Orleans area..and it's been HOT!!) and the occasional lead foot to keep my ego happy with that 4.7. MPG after yesterdays fillup: 18.1 MPG no complaints here...

stvdman

4.7, auto, 15x8 rim and tire pkg. Highs/ City-15 mpg, highway 19mpg at steady 70mph. Turn the A/C on and you can knock about 1.5-2.0 mpg off, add a little bit more of a heavy foot and take another 1-2mpg off. Generally my driving is with the A/C on (west central florida) and a heavy foot. Driving like that nets me about 12.5mpg city and 16.5 mpg highway.

yank2

I get about the same mpg with the 355 rear in west central florida 4.7 auto, 15x8 tire pkg tonneau,running boards,bug shield,ventshades

sfonseca1

I finally got my 2000 Dakota Quad Cab. Man, what
a great truck! I've had Fords most of my life (I
traded my 97 F-150 for it), but the
price/value/useabilty of the Dodge Quad Cab is
unbeatable.

Bed Liners: I've read ALL the comments posted on the bedliner topic pages about them, and I've just about decided on a drop in, mainly because of response #20 of 34 above: He says "...The thing about the spray-in liners that I couldn't handle was that they sand the bed down to bare metal and acid etch so that (the product) adheres properly.."

He's right, I'm freaking out about a little
scratch I put on one rail over the weekend, I doubt that I could take someone pouring acid on my bed so their stuff "sticks better".

Only comment is: Most of the writers talk about
GM, some Ford, but NO DODGE owners with bedliner
stories. Anyone out there has any experience with
a Dodge-brand liner? They're about $250 for the
over the rail, same price for under rail. Is an
under rail better if I add rail protection after?
or should I get an over the rail and be done with
it. They also have some good looking mats, but for 60 bucks more, I'd get the whole liner. I had an over the rail in my Ford and it looked good and fit good.

I'd appreciate any help/comments.

Santiago

andy_jordan

to this post in the bedliner topic

iowabigguy

mine is a 4.7 / 5-speed / 3.55 lsd / 2WD model/ T&H package / K&N air filter. I have almost 1100 miles on it. Mileage is as follows;
tank 1 - 17.21
tank 2 - 17.99
tank 3 - 17.6

Tanks 1 & 2 while babying truck/breaking it in.
Tank 3 normal driving with some aggressive acceleration (rubber between 1-2 and 2-3).

bigal31

After reading some of yours I feel a little better.
4.7L-4x4
31' tires
Automatic
3.55 LSD
"Not a real heavy foot"
2300 miles to date.All of my driving is under 55mph,30-45mph mostly.I have gotten as low as 14.45mpg and as good as 15.25mpg. It seems to be going up every tank full(MPG) all be it "slightly"

With 15mpg mostly city.I am thinking I could get 17-18mpg on the highway.I'll take it.Not bad for an automatic with big meats on it.
Allen-

rooster9

I thought you owned a Chevy Silverado?

colbates

I'm at 1,200 miles and I've gone from 15.45 mpg up to 21.5mpg. Mostly hwy and secondary hwy driving. My vehicle is a 4.7 auto with the HD group and towing package.

thesandman

4.7/4X4/auto/3.92/31.5 tires/75%freeway/10%city/15% mountain,dirt=15-16.5 MPG.at around one mile high.

quadrunner

Nope, a Quadcab, 4wd, 5.9, 3:55, must be another quadrunner. I inquired about the K&N Filter and in checking with my local parts house, K&N has not made a conversion for the 2000 5.9. But I did have dual exhaust installed and will wait for the K&N.

bigal31

Was wondering which type of exaust you went with.Also are you planning on going with a drop in K&N or with a new intake(Cone free flow)
Allen-

towcrazy2

Totally happy with my Quad 4X4 with 5.9, auto, all toys... But unhappy that I haven't been able to unload the '95 Ram yet.

Spoke with the fellow at Ziebart who's going to be praying the Rhino Liner in it over the next week or so... Much of his business is direct with dealers, spraying liners in full-size pickups BEFORE they're delivered to buyers. He indicated that portion of his business has fallen 50% over the past month - A knee-jerk fall in sales due to continually rising fuel prices.

On the other hand, he's spraying LOT'S more compact pickups!

stonehamdave

Well, not sure which is the QC forum now so I posted in both....

For the record..QC SLT 4.7 Auto 4x4 T&H and a
bunch o' other wonderful 'stuff'...
Almost 1000 miles and I like this truck more and
more. The ride is still great, and even better when fully loaded with firewood and camping gear.

Gas mileage has been averaging mostly in the 13 -
14 mpg range with 75% highway driving, although I
did hit 15.5 once.

Complaint 1, (minor). The trip odometer. I like to
use it to gauge distance to travel to a particular
point and I like to have it constantly visible, not a toggle between T.O. and regular odometer. Also, because of where I position the steering wheel, iti s hidden from view. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I wish it was a dual odometer positioned within the speedometer.

Complaint 2, (minor but less so). Placement of the cupholders. I believe that with a little more thought on placement of the power outlets/cigar lighter, Dodge could have had the cup holder come out of the dash. The way it is now, it is unusable if a 3rd person is sitting in the front, (not very common here), but more importantly, it is right next to the seat so that if your coffe cup has been overfilled, there's a good chance that it will splash back onto the seat. I keep a facecloth draped over the middle part of the seat to prevent that from happening.

Whine: I went over a small curb, (rounded asphalt)and the front end went out of alignment, Its going in Wed to the dealer to be fixed. I wonder if something wasn't tightened properly at the factory
Other than that no other problems.

Story:
Last night my wife took the truck to the
supermarket at about 10. I asked her
to park away from everyone else which she did, the
only car near her was one directly in front of her, but separated from the QC by a big travel lane that runs between the parking rows.
As she returns to the Quad after shopping she sees
that the white car that had been parked across from her is gone. While she is putting the groceries in, an older gentleman who was doing
the shopping cart retrieval comes up to her and
tells her that he saw the car that had been in front, hit the truck.
So now, she is looking all over the truck to see
where the damage is and the guy says to her
'is ok, you got biiiig truck, was little car, no hurt truck'
She keeps looking and he must think she's getting
upset, (she was nervous!), so he keeps repeating
'no problem, biiiig truck, little car' then he
shows her pieces of the car's taillight that
were on the ground in front of the Quad, all the
while saying 'biiiig truck,little car, you ok, car
not'. Now, while all this is happening, a couple comes walking to their car, located a few parking spaces away from the quad. They are both carrying bags of groceries and, although the wife stopped at their car, her husband just kept walking past it, over to my wife with his bags
still in his hand. He comes over and starts saying
'Wow! Now this is a truck! This is a big truck!'
His wife is standing at theircar, groceries in her hands waiting fo him to unlock the doors and he's looking into the back of the Quad, ('cause my wife had the door open from loading the groceries).
He yells to his wife 'Wow! Now this is a truck !'
and then starts talking to my wife, 'This is a truck ! this must have set you back a lot, what didthis cost 35 grand, 40 grand' The guy's wife
tarts yelling at him about why is he asking her the price of the truck, its none of his business, and he keeps saying 'Wow! This is a truck, this is a big truck', and
at the same time, the shopping cart guy is still
saying to my wife, 'is ok, biiiig truck, little
car'.

So, when the show was all over, it turns out that
the shopping cart guy was able to write down the license plate of the car,(apparently he sees those things pretty regularly in his job there).

Of course when my wife got home I HAD to go
outside with the flashlight and check it out.
All the lights were fine and I only found a
barely visible, < 5 inches long, rub mark on the
lower passenger side of the bumper,(which is where the car's taillight pieces were).

jkinsley

Took delivery this week of my new QC 4x4 Sport, Black, 4.7L, automatic, T&H, all the toys. Only have 200 miles on it so far, but love the truck!

I ordered the agate interior. However, the headliner and overhead console is light beige. Back in April, when I looked at several dealers' stock vehicles with agate interiors before ordering mine, I seem to remember the headliner/console being a matching gray.

Just for giggles, .... do any of you with the agate interior have a beige headliner and console?

When the truck first came in, I was happier than a puppy with two peters and didn't really notice it. It doesn't look bad and I can live with it. Guess I'm just wondering if it's a normal combination or if I was a victim of the 'end-of-the-production-year-we're-out-of-those-let's-use -this-instead'.

Jeff

teckno

My SLT w/ Driftwood exterior/agate interior has a beige headliner, overhead console and sun visors.

snowedin

I too have the beige headliner, ect. with the agate interior.

iowabigguy

I also have a Neon R/T beside my Quad. The third brake light gives about 8 quick flashes when the brakes are first applied and then he light stays on solid until you take your foot off the brake. I thought it was unique to the R/T and never thought much about it until I got behind another R/T at a light and it didn't flash. I looked in the trunk today and a module (about 1" cube) has been spliced into the third brake light wiring. I checked with the dealership since I bought it new and was told a recently departed sales manager had them installed but they could provide no other information. The cube itself says Red-Alert and patent pending, no other identification. I've done a search on the net using the most of the common search engines and keep getting refered to a computer game with the same name. Can anyone identify a source for this device. I almost got rear ended in my Quad yesterday and thought when I get my topper installed I'd like to have the Quads third light do the same as the R/T. Thanks, Rick

quark99

I traded my 1999 R/T Neon for my Quad...damn! Miss that little rocket ship. My R/T also had the "cube"..from what I was told, it was installed by DC on some of the late-model cars as part of an experiment to judge consumer opinion. I've seen the same effects on other DC products, like the Intrepid...not to stray too far off topic, but how do you like your R/T? I had installed the Mopar performance computer, UDP, etc., and enjoyed the performance aspects of the car....ultimately, after putting 42k on the car (and 167k on my 1995 Neon highline) I had to switch to an automatic, hence the Quad purchase. (Left) hip problem wouldn't heal without eliminating clutchwork in heavy commute traffic. Try asking your local dealer about the red-alert cube....they may be able to get you one.
-quark

quark99

Every Dakota I've seen has beige overhead stuff-headliner, trip computer, sunvisors, etc...
"Beige" reminds me of a joke.
Question:
"What's the difference between a hooker, a mistress, and a wife?"
Answer:
The hooker says: "Faster! Faster! Give it to me faster!"
The mistress says: "More! More! Give me some more!"
The wife says: "Beige. Beige. I think I'll paint the bedroom ceiling Beige."
-quark (I definitely need something to do, which is obvious....)

jones27

Sorry, guys......I have a Agate interior and a light grey interior. Why on earth would Dodge mix dark grey and biege.....those two colors don't even go together. Something ain't right about that color combination. I took delivery in February, maybe that makes a difference. Sounds like Dodge ran out of the grey so they started using biege (which would match their new interior color on the 2001s).

jones27

I meant to say that I have an Agate interior and a grey headliner, overhead trip, and sunvisors.

cv59

I've been reading the questions and follow up responses/comments from this conference for the last 6 months with great interest. There are a bunch of good people out there that are truly looking out for each other. I appreciate the honesty and willingness of everybodys helping of others.

My company looks like it will be changing car plans at the end of year. A lot of the guys at work are looking at getting trucks. I've been a Dodge fan even before I could drive and am in love with the Dakota Quad Cab. My friend at work likes it too but is fond of the Japanese iron and is waiting for the Toyota Tacoma 4-door to come out .

I don't need a 4x4 but I like the look and stance of it. My friend is leaning towards the Pre-Runner version (2x4) of the upcoming Tacoma 4-door because of its 4x4 look and stance and the reliability history of Toyota trucks.

Does anybody know if there will be any significant changes between the 2000 and 2001 Dakota Quad models? Also will Dodge ever offer a 2x4 Dakota with a 4x4 look. If not, how could I give one the look (4x4) and still keep its factory warranty intact?

Thanks, cv59

bookitty

Jeff, I too have the agate/beige combo. My wife thinks it is because they don't have women working
on these interior color combinations and coordinating exterior interior color schemes. She may be correct. She thought that it absolutely looked "stupid." I'm too colorblind to know the difference. That's it, "Dodge Difference!"

Bookitty

bigal31

Like "jones27" I too took deliverly in February so maybe they did run out of grey (or light blue) whatever color it is.All I can report is that mine does match..Beige????Hmmmm..Go figure.
Allen-

iowabigguy

We love the Neon R/T, I get to drive it maybe once a month. No modifications, but every option available. We got a deal at the end of last year and paid $11,900 for it. Bright red with the silver stripes. I actually bought it for my 17 year old daughter, I just got tired of paying for repairs used car. First it was a turbo lebaron and then a turbo daytona. Never had a turbo problem but was always repairing things like rack and pinion, struts, brakes etc. Bought the R/T with a 6 year extended warranty and now it is the dealers problem when it breaks (which it hasn't yet).
Getting back to Quads, I just got the bid for a set of 2000 Durango rims off of Ebay and drove up to northern Iowa to pick them up. About 320 miles round trip. I've been averaging about 17.2 to as high as 18.1 for gas mileage. This tank gave me 19.8 with the cruise set on 60 - 65. I was actually averaging 21.1 until the return part of the trip when we had some pretty good headwinds and my wife driving (she has a heavier foot than I do).
This truck is amazing. I, like most everyone else just look for excuses to drive it. My previous 93 CC 5.2 auto was also a ball to drive but most of the time was getting 13.5mpg and in the dead of winter would be almost in single digits.

Getting back to the rims, I bought a 2nd set to put my snowtires on so when winter comes it is less hassle. I have a set of Blizzak 235-70R-15s mounted on 15x6 93 Dak aluminum rims. They would have worked but sure looked funny on a 2x4 Quad with the fender flares added.
Thanks for the feedback on the "cubes", dealer can't help because of personnel changeover. I have found something similar but much more expensive. The cube in it requires it to be mounted vertically and it only flashes when it senses severe deceleration and then it flashes a supplemental LED array which mounts on top of your factory light. Too complicated for me, I'm gonna look at some of the motorcycle sites, maybe they have what I'm looking for.
"Long winded" Rick

stonehamdave

I took delivery in May. Agate interior with light gray (blue?) headliner

yank2

Took delivery frist week in March agate & beige?

iowabigguy

mine is gray too! Quad built May 17th. Rick

jkinsley

My Quad, beige headliner and all, was built May 23rd.

My luck, .... mine is built on the day they put Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles in charge of interior color schemes.

Everything else about the Quad is great though.

Jeff

tpmiller

went out and looked at the agate topped with beige.

iowabigguy

I just went out and looked at my headliner again. I have a feeling that all these headliners are the same color. I looked at mine yesterday in bright sunlight and it was light grey. Today, a overcast day with indirect lighting and it appears to have a slight beige cast. Its kinda like the light driftwood satin glow paint, depending on the angle and the light it looks grey or tan. Thats IT!!!!!! The headliner is really light driftwood satin glow to match the two tone paint jobs. ;-} Rick

jayb77

Does anyone have the 4x4 Quad Cab with manual transmission? Does the "shift-on-the-fly" also apply to the manuals? How well does it work?

tpmiller

looking overhead at beige in a white and black vehicle every time I drive mumbling what were they thinking? Or else I'll be trying to find the right light to park it in per iowabigguy so it doesn't look so clashy.

themacguy

andy_jordan

with his usual humility.

Now, here we go.

Ahem.

The colour (and possibly also the color)

is

BEIGE!!!!!!!

Does that clear it up???

The best place I found to look was as the headliner comes down the pillars, that seemed to have the most consistency in all light conditions.

It makes me feel all warm and relaxed when I get into my truck (agate interior), like returning to the comfort of the mother's womb........

Sorry, got carried away there ;-)

On a more serious note.....

jayb77, I have a club cab manual, but mechanically it is the same. Shift on the fly does work with the standard transmission, and speaking for myself I love it. My views on shift-on-the-fly vs ral time are well documented throughout Edmunds, so I'll admit to a bias in favour of the system, but it is as easy and convenient an application as I have seen. The shift in and out of 4wd can occur at any reasonable speed (if you are driving above those speeds and need 4wd, something is badly wrong).

If you have any specific questions concerning aspects of the system let us know and I am sure people will share their experiences.

iowabigguy

Once you get up the courage to install the overlay please upload some pictures. The photos on their ads look sooooooo good I'm almost tempted. It would be nice to see a real life install.
I keep thinking about the picture menus in McDonalds and then what you actually get bears little resemblance to the photo. Rick

quadrunner

Midas installed a 2-1/2" system with a performance muffler (not glass pacs) and I will put in the cone free flow K&N when they are available.