Overview & Reviews

The Dakota R/T, featuring a 250-horsepower V8, is available for those seeking a performance pickup. The passenger airbag can now be deactivated in all 1998 Dodge Dakotas, so a rear-facing child seat can be used. The Dakota is also available in three new colors.

• Dual airbags, tight turning circle, Ram styling, roomy cab, optional V-8 engine, optional ABS

• No third door option

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 60.00

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  Best Truck Ive Owned - 1998 Dodge Dakota
  By Chris - November 8 - 2:00 am

  Bought this truck from my father in late 2002. Had it until I sold it in Summer of 2009. It had 218,000 miles on it when I sold and was still running great. Never had to do more than change the brakes, tires and oil. Started to rust a bit at the end, but that was expected.

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  Awesome - 1998 Dodge Dakota
  By Mitch - August 16 - 8:00 pm

  Although I am only 17 and only had the truck a few months i cant complain. I have driven many other trucks and cars and nothing compares. I enjoy the power, the comfort, the sleek look, and beautiful interior. The truck has 222k and i trust it more than a new car. Although the power steering leaks you cant complain with 220k. The engine is still full of life and power and the body is gorgeous except the dodge fade job on the roof. I dont foresee sale anytime soon. gas mileage may not be the best but if my pipes werent loud it may help :)

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  Love my truck but mileage stinks - 1998 Dodge Dakota
  By Broken Hearted - July 1 - 10:48 pm

  To start with I love my truck but milage stinks. I only get 10 to 12 miles to the gallon not 15 like it say in this review. In the last four years that I have owned this truck I have put three raditators, a water pump, new heater and thermisate. Also problems with transmission locking up in reverse. But I still love my truck and still feel it is worth more than the retail value they are listing for it.

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  We love it! - 1998 Dodge Dakota
  By Graham - March 17 - 10:58 pm

  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 moneys 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 dont have to buy a whole new assembly) and the AC evaporator. We tell people were planning to give this to our first-born, who hasnt even been born yet!

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  Poor Paint - 1998 Dodge Dakota
  By Poor Paint - January 2 - 12:47 pm

  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, its 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, its been solid overall. Ive had multiple ball joints replaced. No major problems with mine other than delamination of the paint which is very common for this Dakota. Ive seen many others with the same problem.

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  Flash2Speed - 1998 Dodge Dakota
  By flashtube - November 27 - 10:14 pm

  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.

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  The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - 1998 Dodge Dakota
  By J. Garcia - September 14 - 10:54 am

  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.

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  Stuck With It - 1998 Dodge Dakota
  By Blessed Anyway - May 18 - 4:53 am

  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 didnt get full value.

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  Lots of Power...Lots of Gas - 1998 Dodge Dakota
  By JakeD - November 11 - 12:32 am

  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. Ive 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 ( wasnt 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.

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  Dakota Owner for 6 years - 1998 Dodge Dakota
  By Jim - May 25 - 11:41 am

  I liked my Dodge Dakota before my extended warranty ran out. When the warranty expired I had a hard time understanding why when one small part fails you have to replace an entire module, e.g. The check engine light bulb when out and the way to fix it is to replace the entire circut board powering the odometer, speedometer, safter lights, temp, etc. The part must be bought through the dealer and is not less than $995 plus labor of taking the dashboard apart. And emissions will not pass me without the check engine bulb working. so now Im stuck with a $1500 repair on a vehicle that only has a $4000 value. When will these designers wake up?