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.
While driving 55 mph vehicle shook uncontrollable. Consumer was able to maintain control of the vehicle, and drove it to the dealer. Mechanic determined that both frontal upper and lower ball joints needed to be replaced due to corrosion.
When driving at undetermined speed steering wheel shook. Consumer took the vehicle to the mechanic for inspection, and mechanic determined that right upper ball joint failed.
While driving 60 mph, the vehicle vibrated uncontrollably. The driver was able to maintain control of the vehicle and drove it to a body shop. The mechanic informed the driver that the upper and lower ball joints needed replacing due to worn parts.
Excessive tire wear, failed safety inspection. Ball joint failure (all) required replacement. Contacted dealer, they would not replace even though failure was premature. Replaced all ball joints at my expense...$1,289.
- Fenton, MO, USA
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While driving, a loud noise was heard from the front. Consumer drove the vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that both front upper and lower ball joints needed to be replaced due to corrosion. While rotating his tire the consumer checked the ball joints and noticed that the upper and lower ones were extremely loose. The consumer believes this was cause by lack of grease because there are no grease fittings.
Premature wear on ball joints. Dealer inspected at my request during routine 37,500 mile maintenance. I was told that the ball joints needed to be replaced, which involves replacing the entire upper control arms on the vehicle for a cost of over $800. Not replacing them could cause wheel to come off. Replacing major suspension components on a light use, low mile vehicle is outrageous. If they were ment to be replaced at 38,000 miles they would not be integral with the control arm.
Steering became loose and front wheels began to make loud creaking noises. Having been aware of the tendency for Durango ball joints to fail, I took my car to the shop. Ball joints on front required replacement as well as bearing on one side.
While driving at 35 mph, the consumer heard a scraping sound coming from the front end. Vehicle was taken to a mechanic who determined that the upper and lower ball joints were worn out. Also the left hub bearing was worn out.
At 39000 miles, 1999 Dodge Durango had to have ball joints replaces as they were dangerously worn. Since grandchildren ride in vehicle, ball joints had to be replaced at a cost of $764.22. Dodge refuses to stand behind vehicle even though ball joints were obviously defective and worn at 36000 miles when warranty ran out.
My 1999 Dodge Durango VIN [xxx] has around 58,000 miles on it. I took it to a local 5-star Dodge dealership for some scheduled maint. Including new tires. When the dealer went to do the alignment for the new tires, I was informed they could not get the car properly aligned due to excessive wearing of the ball joints and control arms. They told me I need to replace both ball joints and control arms to fix the problem so as not to wear out my new tires prematurely. This is the exact same issue I've seen reported on cbs' evening news and their web site multiple times. I can personally state that I would have never known I had problems with this equipment as there were no warnings whatsoever. I have a two year old, and use this as a commute car and to Transport my family. I've read how others have state they had no warnings and their wheels broke off! as with others who are lucky enough to find out about this problem before a wheel breaks off the car, I am getting stuck with the repair costs as it isn't an official recall. The dealer advised me to write a complaint to Chrysler, which I plan to do, trying to seek some compensation for this. I've never owned a vehicle where I had to replace control arms and ball joints ever. The car usually wears out before that does. Especially with only 58,000 miles and babying the car, maintaining it well. I have never abused or gone "off-road" in this car. I am writing to officially complain that I am the next victim in the ball joint fiasco. And I'm stuck with the bill. This really shakes my confidence in Chrysler with them stating that there is "adequate warning before a failure." When mine are worn out to the point the car can't be aligned, and I have absolutely no warning of a problem, then I can 100% say they are lying about that...they aren't experiencing this, so they don't have a right to say that...especially since I can attest to it, as have many others. Updated 07/26/2012 information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA),
All suspension ball joints on my 1999 Dodge Durango went out at once making it almost imposible to drive and almost lost the front passenger side wheel with all my children in the car. Vehicle only has 82,000 miles on it with regular maintenance and this should not have happened. Took the car to the mechanic and had all ball joints replaced. He informed me that I was very lucky not to have had an accident and that he has seen this problem with the Dodge Durango many times. From my research on this subject I can see it is a common problem with potential for serious injury. Please look into this problem asap. Thank you.
1999 Dodge Durango with about 75,000 miles. I noticed that the tires started to vibrate the steering column and I took it to a service center. They found 2 bad upper ball joints and two bad tie rod ends. One of the ball joints was about ready to fall apart. I had them replace all bad components and realign the front end. Also I had to replace the front brakes (2nd) time since I have had this vehicle and may have to replace the rotors as well as they may be worn thin.
During Maryland state vehicle inspection on my 99 Dodge Durango, I was by the mechanic that the front ball joints appeared to be defective. The mechanic found cracks, chips, and excessive wear on the ball joints, and said that they needed to be replaced asap. He told me that it was unsafe to drive my vehicle in this condition. I called the local Dodge dealership and was told by the service manager that I should expect the ball joints to be in this condition considering that I have about 100,000 miles on the vehicle. He said they would only have been covered by the warranty until 36,000 miles. He did not seem to think that it was hazardous to drive with damaged ball joints, and was rude when I asked about any recalls on the vehicle. I found more information on the internet about the on-going investigation about the defective Durango ball joints.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Derby, CT, USA