What are the common problems with the 1990 Dodge Dakota?
Owners of the 1990 Dodge Dakota have filed 63 complaints with NHTSA, most often about steering (27) and the powertrain (14). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, none of its 63 complaints lists a mileage, too few to say when problems were reported; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
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See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 63 owner complaints on the 1990 Dodge Dakota. Owners named steering most often: 27 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 63 complaints, 5 report a crash, none reports a fire and 3 report an injury (3 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 1990 Dakota
NHTSA's file holds 63 owner complaints on the 1990 Dodge Dakota. Owners named steering most often: 27 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steering | 27 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Power Train | 14 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 11 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Structure | 4 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 3 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
Of the 63 complaints, 5 report a crash, none reports a fire and 3 report an injury (3 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 1990 Dakota
Too few complaints on the 1990 Dakota list a mileage to say when owners reported problems: none of its 63 complaints lists a mileage, and a median is given here only with 10 or more.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 1990 Dakota wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Every model year together: Half of the 3,138 NHTSA owner complaints on the Dodge Dakota that list mileage came after 52,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Dodge Dakota last? →
Is the 1990 Dakota a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 1990 is a good or a bad Dakota: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 1990 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 63 complaints, the 1990 ranks 19th of the 25 Dodge Dakota model years from 1987 to 2011 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most, tied with 1989. The most: the 2000 (806). The fewest: the 2009 (18).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 Dakota | 20 | 1 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1988 Dakota | 55 | 2 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1989 Dakota | 63 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1990 (this page) | 63 | 0 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1991 Dakota | 128 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1992 Dakota | 216 | 8 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1993 Dakota | 134 | 11 | 80,000 |
| 1994 Dakota | 166 | 15 | 120,000 |
| 1995 Dakota | 208 | 24 | 96,850 |
| 1996 Dakota | 189 | 24 | 88,500 |
| 1997 Dakota | 446 | 140 | 72,000 |
| 1998 Dakota | 545 | 210 | 68,000 |
| 1999 Dakota | 641 | 329 | 60,000 |
| 2000 Dakota | 806 | 359 | 52,000 |
| 2001 Dakota | 678 | 413 | 50,000 |
| 2002 Dakota | 678 | 503 | 39,000 |
| 2003 Dakota | 296 | 222 | 34,290 |
| 2004 Dakota | 206 | 167 | 51,000 |
| 2005 Dakota | 470 | 328 | 58,500 |
| 2006 Dakota | 285 | 161 | 55,000 |
| 2007 Dakota | 145 | 95 | 50,196 |
| 2008 Dakota | 91 | 60 | 51,243 |
| 2009 Dakota | 18 | 10 | 38,000 |
| 2010 Dakota | 35 | 22 | 49,800 |
| 2011 Dakota | 44 | 25 | 42,000 |
1990 Dodge Dakota recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 3 recall campaigns that name the 1990 Dodge Dakota. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 01V232000 | Jul 6, 2001 | STEERING:GEAR BOX (OTHER THAN RACK AND PINION) |
| 96V094000 | Jun 13, 1996 | STEERING:GEAR BOX (OTHER THAN RACK AND PINION) |
| 89V237000 | Dec 27, 1989 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 1990 Dakota lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 1990 Dakota.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- None of the 63 complaints on the 1990 Dodge Dakota gives a usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000).
- NHTSA name counted: DAKOTA. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: DAKOTA.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
1990 Dodge Dakota questions
What are the most common 1990 Dodge Dakota problems?
NHTSA's file holds 63 owner complaints on the 1990 Dodge Dakota. Owners named steering most often: 27 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 63 complaints, 5 report a crash, none reports a fire and 3 report an injury (3 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 1990 Dodge Dakota?
NHTSA's file gives no mileage figure for the 1990 Dodge Dakota: none of its 63 complaints lists a mileage, and this page gives a median only with 10 or more. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 1990 Dakota can cover.
Is the 1990 Dodge Dakota a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 1990 is a good or a bad Dakota: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 1990 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 63 complaints, the 1990 ranks 19th of the 25 Dodge Dakota model years from 1987 to 2011 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most, tied with 1989. The most: the 2000 (806). The fewest: the 2009 (18).
How many recalls does the 1990 Dodge Dakota have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 3 recall campaigns that name the 1990 Dodge Dakota. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 1990 Dodge Dakota before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 1990 Dodge Dakota.