This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I own a 1998 Dodge Durango slt with 75000 miles. The vehicle was pulling strong to the right. I took it into a repair shop in our town of 28000 people. They indicated that the upper and lower ball joints needed to be replaced. The repair shop indicated that this was the 4th Durango they have had with this problem in the past couple months. The repair was $975. In addition, my employer has 25 Durangos in their fleet and have discovered the same defective ball joints. There needs to be a recall on these Durangos and reimbursement for the cost of repairs.
I own a Dodge Durango 1998 and I saw that you are doing an investigation of the Durango's. I recently took my Durango to a tire specialist to get an alignment done the vehicle has been pulling for some time now. They informed me that the ball joints and the 2 outer and 1 inner tie rods are bad and need to be replaced. If I take the vehicle to the dealership its going to be about a 900 procedure where if I take it to someone else it will be a 700 procedure but in order to be re-imbursed if a recall does come out I was told that I have to take it to the dealer. I am a pregnant woman and I have a 1 year old child. I am really worried that something that other mothers have experienced will also happen to me and my family. I am the one that drives this vehicle day in and day out. Since we bought the Durango in 2002 we have had to replace tires, brakes, water pump, radiatior, now the ac is not blowing cold or even cool air and we need the ball joints and tie rods replaced. You have my word that I will never buy another Dodge. I know this is being investigated and I wanted to let you know that this is a severe problem and I hope they do something soon before people die.
- Jacksonville, FL, USA
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I have a 98 Dodge Durango and saw recently about ball joint failures, I have had ball joints replaced once (40000) and now need them replaced again (74000 miles). I was fortunate enough to have heard of other people with ball joint problems on their Durango's that I have them checked on a regular basis. I was told at more then one automotive shop about a problem with the ball joints on Durango's, including a Dodge dealership. I believe more people have a problem than is realized, only they dont know they have a problem. Why let them find the hard way? I have seen reports of wheels falling off. Is there a certain number of people that have to be injured before Dodge is forced into a recall. One can only hope that is not so.
Upper ball joints seem to fail every three years or 36,000 mile which ever comes first. Ball joints decribe as so bad that ready to separate. It cost nearly $1,200 each time to do the reapirs. I had many vehicles and never had to replace ball joints that can be greased. These ball joint can not be greased so the comsumer has to pay again every few years large amount to have vehicle stay safe.
Noise began in front wheel area and grew very loud within a short period of time. Also experienced steering issues (car shakes and pulls to right). Took vehicle in to check it out - had to replacel front ball joints and tension rods ends. We had to pay over $2000 to repair this defect, and car still does not steer properly. Dealer reported to us that this is a common problem for this vehicle.
Upper and lower ball joints were replaced twice. Also control arms, upper arms on booth sides were replaced twice since ownership of the vehicle. Replacement of tie rods were also made on vehicle.
While driving 5 mph in reverse a loud noise was heard coming from the driver side wheel. Consumer took the vehicle to a garage, and mechanic replaced upper and lower ball joints.
While driving 55 mph a loud knocking noise was heard coming from the passenger side wheel. Consumer was able to drive the vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that both upper and lower ball joints needed replacing. Ball joints failed on both front and rear suspension.
Consumer took the vehicle to dealer for tire replacement, and mechanic determined that upper ball joints needed replacement. Previous owner has already replaced the upper and lower ball joints once.
Defective upper & lower ball joints on 1998 Dodge Durango. I would like to join the rest of the Durango owners and file a complaint pertaining to the poor quality of the 1998 Dodge Durango upper & lower ball joints. I was notified by the Dodge service technicians that the ball joints needed to be replaced right away and if not dealt with soon they could cause an accident. I have children and I carpool children, so I took them seriously. I could not afford the Dodge price quote of $1200 so I went with a local mechanic shop price quote of $900. This is a lot of money to come up with in a short amount of time. In my opinion the ball joints should have lasted longer than 62000 miles. The majority of the work on the Durango is taxing kids around town.
Had to replace upper and lower ball joints after going for an alignment and being made aware of the problem. I felt this was premature for this vehicle. Obviously this was a design flaw in the Durango's.
Ball joints on my 1998 Dodge Durango were worn to the point that they could come apart with only 50,000 miles on it. I was lucky my mechanic caught the situation during a inspection and possibly saved my life and who knows how many more. The repair cost me $125 I have since traded the Durango on a new truck but I don't want this to happen to someone else.
Consumer took vehicle to an independent shop for a regular front alignment, and technician determined that upper ball joints needed to be replaced at consumer's expense.
My 1998 Dodge Durango had to have both upper and lower ball joints replaced as well as inner rods as I was told that it was extremely dangerous to drive in the condition they were in. This was very expensive. This was back in 3/02. I just heard about other reports regarding ball joints and I wanted to report this. I also own a 2000 model Durango. I'm wondering if it is safe or it I am going to have to spend a lot to replace the ball joints on it as well? thanks for you help.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Fayetteville, PA, USA