My son has a 2004 Dodge Dakota SLT - pre-owned, certified, purchased from a dealership. At the time of purchase, DS noticed squeaky brakes, brought it up the sales crew -- they assured him that it was normal, that the brakes had been checked out, yada, yada . . . After he had it for a couple of months, the squeak was AWFUL -- took the truck to a friend's car repair shop, he put in some kind of fluid (??)which was supposed to help the situation -- made it worse.

We eventually replaced the brake pads even though they didn't need to be replaced. The squeaky brakes were gone!

For awhile, .. now the squeak has returned. Have taken it to the Dodge dealership .. they gave the same song and dance that the squeak is normal.

Problem #2 -- the truck has slipped out of gear on a few occasions -- going into neutral. Has never happened on the freeway, just surface streets or in a parking lot.

Taking it in to the dealership today to have it checked out. Has anyone experienced this??

Gas gauge -- not an accurate read. The gauge can say empty or close to it, and take about 5 to 6 gallons less to fill it than it should. We've even had the tank capacity checked out to make sure it's the original tank and holds what it should. The gauge is actually minor, in my opinion, but it's one more thing that's making my son nuts. He thinks he got a lemon, with all this stuff going wrong with it.

Aside from the above mentioned things, the truck is really nice -- very sturdy, also, which is important to me. If it wasn't for these things, my son really does like the truck. Also, the truck wasn't cheap for a first vehicle.

Over 18 K, when all was said and done. He paid for half, we matched him, so he has a really vested interest in this!

He researched trucks for MONTHS before purchasing this. Actually could have purchased a new 2005 for less than what this cost, but it was stripped down, plus there appeared to be a huge blind spot --

Any input on this would be greatly appreciated --

Thanks in advance --