My 2003 4x4 groaned in reverse when I bought it new. Dealer promised to fix it before delivery but never did. I took it in soon after for service and the dealer said he was unable to find and fix the issue. We've taken it back to them at least four times and get the same answer.
They replaced the rotors on the back wheels once because they were warped, and now they need replacing again. Truck has less than 30,000 miles.
Last time I took it in, they wanted to do an exploritory rebuild of the transmission to see if they could identify the problem, but no one there could explain to me what they hoped to find, so I declined.
My question is: has anyone else experienced a groan in reverse and/or had recurrent problems with warping rotors?
Thanks in advance,
Delin Wareham

Hi Dwareham,

Do you ride the brakes when you drive? If you do, this causes premature brake wear and can also overheat the rotors causing them to warp.

No, no brake riding here.
The groan also (although infrequently) occurs when making sharp turns at low speed.
The guys at the dealer's shop told me 8/10 Dakota trucks they service have this problem and they anticipate a recall. I have no way to verify this statement; I haven't found bunches of people complaining about this online.

sounds like the rear diff to me... is it one direction only? or both?

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I have replaced the rotors in my Dakota quad cab 4x4 several (3) times, and had the existing re-turned. I've also gone thru 5-6 brake jobs since I've owned it. I attributed it to beating the crap out of it off road. I've been told that the oufit who was doing the work did not know what they were doing, I have not had a problem for several months since I switched machanics.

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Kevin P. Laursen

Spend the money and go with aftermarket rotors. Slotted or slotted and drilled rotors vent heat better and are less prone to warpage. My fronts on my '00 warped at 3K and again at 25K. I put slotted and dimpled and the front (drums on rear) and have not had a problem in 20K miles, and I am hard on brakes.

HAd to replace the rotors on my 01 QC by the time it had 30K. We lived out in the country to. The rotors on the truck were garbage. Napa had some good replacements from what I hear.

I went through the rotor problem too. do not waste your time with stock replacement rotors unless you enjoy going back for more. JUNK THEM! call SSBC and get there slotted rotor kit with pads. problem solved.

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