Exact make, model and year evidence from official US sources. Recall campaigns, ODI investigations, complaint allegations and EPA estimates remain separate.
A campaign may cover only certain production dates, plants or equipment. A zero result here is not safety clearance. Use NHTSA’s official VIN tool for the individual vehicle.
Exact model-level NHTSA results for 1996 DODGE Dakota. Campaign records are official safety actions; applicability to a particular car still requires its VIN.
CERTAIN CK MOTORSPORTS COMBINATION HEADLIGHTS, CLEAR CORNER, BUMPER, AND SIDE MARKER LIGHTS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON THE PASSENGER VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. SOME COMBINATION LAMPS THAT ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS FAIL TO CONFORM TO FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT.
Consequence
WITHOUT THE AMBER REFLECTORS, THE VEHICLE WILL BE POORLY ILLUMINATED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.
Remedy
CK MOTORSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE NONCOMPLIANT LAMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 1, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CK MOTORSPORT AT 1-909-610-7211.
THE POWER BRAKE BOOSTER VACUUM HOSE COULD BE IMPROPERLY INSTALLED AND NOT CLAMPED TO THE BRAKE BOOSTER VACUUM NIPPLE.
Consequence
A DISCONNECTED VACUUM HOSE CAN CAUSE AN INCREASE IN ENGINE IDLE SPEED AND LOSS OF BRAKE POWER ASSIST DURING BRAKE APPLICATION WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE VEHICLES TO INSURE THAT THE BRAKE BOOSTER VACUUM HOSE CONNECTION IS FULLY SEATED AND CLAMPED TO THE VACUUM CHECK VALVE NIPPLE AT THE BRAKE BOOSTER.
02 · Owner allegations
216 NHTSA complaints
Counts are not adjusted for sales, vehicle age, mileage, publicity or reporting behavior. They are allegations, not defect findings or a reliability score.
Crash mentions
23
Fire mentions
6
Injuries reported
11
Most-reported component labels
POWER TRAIN32
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING31
HYDRAULIC26
SERVICE BRAKES26
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM20
STRUCTURE18
Complaints across nearby Dodge Dakota model years
Totals for the same nameplate, scaled against its highest year here. They are not adjusted for how many were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received — an older or better-selling year will usually carry more reports. This shows where the reporting sits, not which year is better.
An investigation means ODI reviewed a possible safety issue for this exact model-year identity. Opening one is not a defect finding; closing one does not by itself clear a vehicle.
STRUCTURE · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.
04 · EPA configurations
Fuel economy & specifications
FuelEconomy.gov records are summarized as ranges where this model name has multiple engines, drivetrains or trims.
EPA configurations
9
Combined economy
13–20 mpg/MPGe
City / highway
12–19 / 16–23 mpg/MPGe
Engine displacement
2.5–5.2 L
Cylinders
4–8
Fuel type
Regular
Drive
4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive · Rear-Wheel Drive
Vehicle class
Standard Pickup Trucks
Annual fuel-cost estimate
$3250–5000
05 · Evidence strength
Exact identity. Explicit limits.
No opaque score. Evidence strength is expressed through source availability, exact match method, jurisdiction and honest empty states.
exact match
Recall campaigns
2 exact US model-year records in this bounded view.
exact match
Complaints
216 exact US model-year allegations; narratives and VIN fragments are omitted.
exact match
ODI investigations
1 exact US model-year action numbers in the approved import snapshot.
canonical only
Model aliases
Only the exact NHTSA vPIC model name is published; unverified aliases are not merged.
not published
Manufacturer ownership
No rights-reviewed official ownership record is joined to this exact model-year.
PUBLIC EVIDENCE PASSPORT
Identity, freshness and provenance.
The canonical URL is this file’s permanent public identifier. Source IDs and timestamps show exactly what was matched and when; they do not turn the evidence into a verdict.
Only NHTSA vPIC, NHTSA ODI complaints and investigations, NHTSA recalls and FuelEconomy.gov contribute to this vehicle claim. CPSC equipment notices are searched separately and never joined to vehicle fitment. UK MOT, Canadian, New Zealand and European records are not merged into this US claim.
06 · Research paths
Diagnose first. Confirm fitment.
These are transparent searches, not diagnoses or endorsed parts. Recall remedies come before purchases; exact part fitment requires VIN, trim, powertrain, production date and OE number.
32 complaint labels
POWER TRAIN
Check recalls and diagnostic information before replacing anything.
Awin US and R2 affiliate inventory are not published until a US programme, merchant and exact-fitment projection are approved. No offer currently has both merchant approval and exact vehicle fitment, so commercial links never count as evidence.