CarComplaints.com Notes: The second generation Durango was introduced in 2004 and instantly came under fire for, well, catching on fire.
From 2004-2006 electrical overloading in the driver's side instrument panel caused numerous reports of interior fires. The interior infernos became so commonplace that Chrysler eventually issued a recall.
The problems didn't stop there, however. Owners of the recalled vehicles complained about being treated unfairly and given take-it-or-leave-it low ball settlement offers. "They offered me $2000 under NADA retail as a settlement," said one owner, "and have been rude and hostile to deal with." Nothing says awesome service like treating your customers rudely after their cars have caught on fire.
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.
On May 27th I drove my car home from work and noticed that my interior lights wouldn't cut off. When I got home around 5:30 I went inside my home. My niece come in the door around 6:15 and told me that my 2004 Dodge Durango was on fire. My husband tried to put the fire out with a garden hose. I called 911 and the fire department come out and filled out a report. I have contacted Chrysler about this problem because I was told by my insurance company that there was a recall that could have caused this.
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that when he puts his seat belt on, a spark comes from the retractor area and the radio shuts off intermittently. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and they changed the battery twice, yet the failure still persists. The current mileage was 59,439 and failure mileage was 40,000. Updated 07/29/08. The consumer stated the radio burned out. Updated 07/29/08
On Saturday 2/16, the dome lights were not dimming and going out and there was a slight smell of hot wires. By Sunday the smell was very intense. We left he car parked and planned on getting it to the dealer on Monday. Monday morning I went out and started the truck to let it warm up before I took it to the dealer. I went back inside for a couple minutes. While I was inside, a neighbor rang the door bell and told me that the car was on fire. I called the fire department they came and extinguished the fire. We had the fire inspector come out so we could have a report on file. Both the fire investigator and the insurance claims agent felt that the fire was caused by the wiring under the dash. The car was a total loss with a gaping hole straight through the dash, behind the instrument cluster and the interior completely gone.
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Durango. While driving 35 mph, the interior light illuminated. The contact pulled the vehicle over after driving for one mile. He noticed smoke coming from the light switch and instrument panel. He exited the vehicle before it burst into flames. The vehicle was towed and a police report was filed. The manufacturer stated that the fire was not caused by a manufacturer defect, but appeared to be from aftermarket wires. The manufacturer also stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign id number 07V092000 (electrical system: Instrument panel). The contact has a video of the incident. The current and failure mileages were 59,900.
Veh problem on 1/1/08 -- 2004 Dodge Durango www.datatown.com/Chrysler/ 1/3/08: Called Chrysler dealer ' 1-800-992-1997 spoke to amy (ref 17081406 (id#AJ267) she requested the vehicle id no ' the last eight ' I gave her ' she ask what our address was and telephone number ' I gave it to her. She asked if I contacted the shop where I get it serviced at ' I said, no I was contacting you first. I told her I wanted to see if this was covered under the 7 year/70,000 mile warranty ' she said, I did not have that ' I said yes I did that's what made us buy the vehicle. She said to contact the place where we bought it from ' in roxborogh - she said, what problem are you having. I told her that the problem started when I got the recall fixed for instrument cluster. We had wiring harness to the 8 cyclinder. Then the oil light came on. But I did not need any oil ' I get my oil done regularly. Three days later the Dodge started revving very high like someone is pushing on the pedal. The car jerks and the engine light is on now. She put me on hold to check the warranty information. Spoke to leslie, supervisor. She told me there is nothing they could do for me ' what you do out side of Chrysler is your problem. I told her there is all sorts of notes on line from people having problems with engines and transmissions. She said, there was no recalls on this.
- Hatfield , PA, USA
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The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Durango. The contact heard a clicking noise when he turned the key in the ignition. The dealer previously performed electrical repairs on the vehicle, but the failure still occurred. The current mileage was 38,000 and failure mileage was 4,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Durango. While driving 5 mph, the lights on the instrument panel illuminated. The dealer stated that they repaired the failure, but did not inform the contact of what caused the failure. The contact received recall notice # 07V092000 (electrical system: Instrument panel). The dealer made the repair listed in the recall. The contact stated that the ABS light on the instrument panel illuminated the same day as the recall repair work was completed. As of July 5, 2007, the dealer has been unable to diagnose the cause of failure. The current mileage is 30,000 and failure mileage was 200.
When I got into my truck to take my husband to work the radio did not have any sound, but the power was on. As soon as this happened I knew it was going to be a repeat of what happened last month, and it was! soon after the airbag light came on and many other lights on the panel. The gauges started jumping up and down. After I heard of the recall we took the truck to the dealer, they told us this was fixed, obviously it was not. I agree with complaint# 10060005, I feel water is possibly getting into places it should not be, the dealer had already resealed the top of my truck because my driver's side door was leaking and water was dripping from my headliner!, not long ago after it rained water was coming in near the windshield on the passenger side, we called the dealer again, and they told us they fixed the problem the first time! (I have pictures of the water dripping in my truck!) I also have video of the control panel as I was driving, with the gauges jumping and lights coming on and off! I would love for Dodge to see the video, and explain how this is happening. This truck is unsafe. I am driving my mother's Toyota right now!!
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Durango. While parked the vehicle suddenly caught on fire. The fire department contained the blaze to the hood and dashboard areas of the vehicle. The fire was extinguished, but the vehicle was destroyed. Approximately three hours prior to the fire, all of the interior lights illuminated. The failure was diagnosed as electrical, and the manufacturer stated that the vehicle was out of warranty. Both a police and fire reports were taken, and the contact possessed pictures of the vehicle. The current and failure mileage were 11,000.
2004 5.7L hemi, 46000 miles, first stalled when driving 35 mph on March 12, pulled over and was able to restart. Since then engine light comes on intermittently, car has now stalled multiple times at different speeds and driving conditions. Also sudden RPM drop off at low idle. One thing is consistent, stalls leave no power steering or brakes, this is scary and dangerous !!! no accidents...yet going to call tomorrow to see if can get into dealership and have tsb applied.
I was driving down the highway for about 3 minutes and I noticed the interior lighting was on. At this time my instrument panel started smoking. Once this happened the gauges started acting crazy and the windshield wipers came on. The switch was not on and there were no lights in the dash. By the time I got to the side of the road the dash had black smoke coming from it. Within 5 minutes the vehicle was completely engulfed with flames. By the time the fire and rescue got there the traffic on the highway had slowed considerably and the smoke was so bad you couldn't even see the highway. The vehicle was a total loss. There are a number of things that could have happened. Thankfully no one was injured and my children were not in the vehicle.
On several instances beginning approximately November of 2006 the interior lights would either stay on, or not come on at all. Sometimes, upon entering the car, we would have to wait twenty minutes or more to get the lights to go out. A few instances, the lights would never go out and ran the battery down. Eventually, no lights at all would come on and at one point you could smell something burning, but never see it. When approaching the jeff wyler Dodge, and having our car serviced today (on 3-14-07), they had us pay for a diagnostics and stated that the instrumental cluster (sp?) needed to be replaced and the cost was close to $500. Due to the price of the part, we decided not to have them replace it right away. Tonight, while reading the news, I came upon an article on wlwt.com and found that if you are having an interior light problem (lights not dimming the way they are supposed to), to take your car to the dealer. I am very upset that somehow the recall is in the news, however a Dodge dealership mentions nothing to us about it? I will be contacting the dealer again in the morning to discuss.
I have had a 2004 5.7 limited Dodge Durango 2004 version and have consistent electrical problems. The first time the truck did not start when I was out of state. I needed to get towed to a Dodge dealer and it took almost 3 weeks to fix. They stated that the electric system shorted out and replaced some system within the car. After getting the car back I had consistent problems with the air conditioning system, interior lights, radio system etc. They would work sometimes and not work most of the time. I took the truck to the dealer (bridge Chrysler in New York) several times and they said there was no problem. After calling the main complaint line several times they asked me to bring it to another dealer in brooklyn.(bay ridge) the service manager dan worked with the service department for another 2 weeks to finally identify that the original time the truck died and was fixed they replaced the wrong part. The service department in brooklyn fixed the truck and I do not have major problems most of the time now but I was without the truck for over 6 weeks over the duration of the lease so far. There continues to be electrical problems with my truck but I do not have the time to leave the truck for another 3 weeks.
On March 1st, 2007 we noticed that all the interior lights in our 2004 Durango would not turn off. Contacted the dealership and they couldn't take the vehicle until the 2nd. Disconnected the battery, and re-connected it to take it to the dealership on the 2nd. The dealership had the vehicle until the 6th. My wife went to the dealership on March 6, 2007 to find out if they knew what was wrong, because they wouldn't answer their phones. When she got there she learned that there had been a fire in the service department over night. It was expected that our vehicle had caused the fire. I was completely surprised when I heard the news, but know that I have seen all the reports about similar incidents it doesn't surprise me at all. I am just glad this happened at the dealership, and not at my home. Or even worse with my wife and kids in the vehicle. Dodge needs to wake up and realize that there is a serious problem and notify people before someone gets seriously hurt or killed.
Interior lights will not go out. Heated seats will not work, air panel lights do not work. Once vehicle has been shut off, I am able to turn off map lights after about 5 minutes. The light in the tailgate cannot be shut off at all. I have an appointment with minot Chrysler on 19 Feb, and was told they had same issue about 2 weeks ago, with another Durango. I was told by them to disconnect the battery, and after reading about all of the vehicle fires, vehicle will not be driven again until resolved. They believe they know the cause, which will cost me about $600. Unfortunate I have leased the vehicle, and am over the 3 year, 36000 mile warranty. Vehicle now has about 42000 miles. Also note, my lease is done on the 28th of March.
- the contact stated that while stopping at a stop light in the 2004 Dodge Durango with 38000 failure mileage, and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle completely lost power. The vehicle had to be restarted. Also, the contact stated that while driving at 20 mph down a hill and attempting to make a turn he realized that the vehicle lost power. The vehicle had to be restarted. The vehicle has not been repaired.
- the contact stated that the 2004 Dodge Durango lost power on 01/05/07. The contact stated that while coming to a stop the engine stalled. The brakes didn't engage when the vehicle lost power. This happened during an evening in which the road conditions were dry and clear. Last summer when the failure occurred, he contact the dealership, and was told that since the engine light didn't appear there was nothing they could do to the vehicle. The contact stated that he filed a complaint with the manufacturer, and they came to inspect the vehicle and found nothing wrong with the vehicle. The contact case # for Dodge manufacturers is # 15848035 and this case was done on 01/08/07. The contact found a defect investigation with NHTSA action# EA05018. Updated 03/02/07.
We bought our Durango in April 2006. It is a 2004 and just reached 40,000 miles. Today when we drove it the dome lights came on like always when we got in the car, but then they never turned off. We thought maybe our switch or something was bad. We got home and parked it, then about 20 minutes later, we went to get into it and....it was filled with smoke. The whole front of our car is burned...the dash, the windshield, the seats, the ceiling is all burned and hanging down with the wires all melted and burned. We are so lucky this didn't happen to us when we were in it, or that it didn't reach the gas tank and explode. We think probably the lack of oxygen inside of the car killed the fire before the whole car was burnt to the ground. Anyway, I have no idea what to do. I am calling our insurance in the morning, but I can't help but think after researching the internet tonight and reading so many of these exact same reports that this is a Dodge issue. I would be grateful to hear back from you. Thanks.
2004 hemi Durango, driving down freeway and vehicle shuts off. Placed vehicle in neutral and recovered. Coasted to a stop in breakdown lane. Placed vehicle in park and re started vehicle. It took 2 attempts to re start it was almost like the engine had loaded up. It then re started fine after the 2nd attempt. This has happened on several occasions during driving but only once at fwy speed.
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- Evans, GA, USA