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.
I pulled into the middle of an intersection at taylor road and sr 256 in reynoldsburg, oh and what sounded like an explosion was a rod that shot through the oil pan into the side of the engine block causing the car to stop moving while in traffic.
My 2004 Dodge Durango has stalled on me 6 times now without 'any warning', it simply shuts off and I have no control over the vehicle. The first two times it happened, we dismissed as some weird 'fluke', as the two times were about a year apart, so we never thought much about it. When it happened for the third time we realized something was most definitely wrong. We were shocked to see how many people were having the same problem, when we began to research the problem on line. Right after it happened the 3rd time, we took it in to our local mechanic; who indicated that it might be part of a faulty cluster problem that had been recalled. They replaced the cluster, and I felt so much better and safer. Approximately 4 months later, it happened again! I sent an email to the service department of the dealership to tell them what I experienced, after several unanswered emails and 4 months later, I decided that I needed to go in person. Just this weekend, before I went; it happened again as I was entering the freeway. I am scared to death to drive this Durango anywhere but on the side streets now. I had a child in my car when this occurred this past weekend, and they were very scared. Each time it has occurred has been at a slow rate of speed and always making a right turn. It is extremely frightening to lose complete control of your vehicle, and it is only matter of time before someone is going to die or cause a horrible accident when this shut down occurs. Why is Chrysler/Dodge not being made to address this problem? I was shocked to see still more complaints about this problem, the most recent was June 12, 2012 however these concerns are dating back to 2005! what needs to happen before this situation can be addressed and dealt with appropriately. This is not a small problem, this is a problem with potentially life threatening consequences, and no one is doing anything about it.
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that the vehicle emitted a loud banging noise upon start up. An independent mechanic examined the vehicle and advised that an engine rod was fractured. The vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 123,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle emitted a loud noise and failed to start. The contact also stated that the engine was destroyed because water came down the windshield and entered the engine. The water was able to reach the engine because the gaskets on the intake manifold were defective. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who stated that a hydro-lock occurred when the engine was started and water was sucked in. The VIN was unavailable. The vehicle was not able to be driven. The failure and current mileages were 90,000.
My 2004 Durango limited equipped with the hemi 5.7 liter engine developed a ticking sound and and failed while merging onto a highway fortunately I was able to avoid a accident. I later found out that this a frequent problem that occurs with the 5.7 hemi engine in this model year, how come nothing has been done to rectify this. The engine is a costly repair that Chrysler doesn't want to acknowledge.
- Secaucus, NJ, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
I was approx 1/10 of a mile down our local road when I heard a sudden explosion under the car. It sounded as if the tire blew. I immediately started pulling over but I continued to hear a rumble from the car. Upon inspection, I noticed there was oil running down the front passenger tire. The mechanic has confirmed a thrown rod through the engine block. No previous warnings of issues with the 122,000 mile engine. Car has been regularly maintained (but not at a Dodge dealer). Now I'm faced with a $6,000 bill to replace an engine that should have lasted another 100,000 miles. As I researched this on the internet I found that this has happened to numerous other owners of this model engine (5.7 L hemi 2004 Dodge Durango limited). No recall has been made on this engine although it is evident that this is a common, costly, dangerous manufacturing defect with their engine.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Reynoldsburg, OH, USA