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.
2004 Dodge Durango 4X4 w/5.7 hemi engine. Catastrophic engine failure: All service performed as per manufacturers specifications at an authorized Dodge dealer. Turned the ignition to start the truck and heard a loud noise. Afterward, the ignition would not turn over and the vehicle made a ticking sound. Had the truck towed to the dealer thinking it may be a failed battery. After replacing the battery (the service technician also suspected a battery) the car failed to hold a charge. Upon further inspection on the rack the mechanic identified a significant hole in the engine block and a significant crack in the transmission to engine interface. The mechanic deduced that as an engine component blew, the force of which shorted the battery, the starter and cracked the transmission interface. After removing the battery, the terminal to the negative ground was dislodged, the battery was bulging at the sides, and the engine is dead. Chrysler motor company says they have no prior knowledge of any problems with hemi engines, and given the car is out of warranty..sorry nothing they can do. This is a problem that exists and is documented on NHTSA and other public forums. The option presented by Chrysler is $5500 plus labor for a re-manufactured engine. Estimated labor is $1900. The dealer doesn't get much of a break from Chrysler for this engine, but gets all the hassle for the shoddy work the company sells. This is a heavy duty truck, an engine should not die at 125,000 miles.
2004 Dodge Durango 5.7 stalling at low speeds at intersections. Starts up right away but causes a safety hazard when stuck in the middle of the road with traffic coming. Happened 1 time about a month after I purchased the vehicle in 2007. Has happened 4 times in the last month.
When driving at low speeds it stalls. I am able to restart it but it is not always easy to tell when it has stalled, because all electrical things still work radio, lights, etc. Steering wheel does lock though and it takes almost a minute to get it into neutral and start it again. Also while driving as you press the gas pedal it acts as though it is going to die and then lunges forward. I have not yet corrected either of these issues.
This morning while taking my kids to school, my truck cut out in the middle of a right hand turn. It took everything I had to steer away from another vehicle waiting to turn. After I coasted within 6 inches of the other vehicle I put the truck in neutral and restarted. It started fine. I had my 2 kids in the truck and we came very close to being in an accident this morning. This happens often. I started searching the internet this morning and am shocked by what I found. This has been an issue it seems for alot of people. My question is, why hasn't this issue been resolved. I would think it would be close to the top of the list. Considering this vehicle seems to be stalling in traffic. That's not good. It is an accident waiting to happen and it could actually kill some one. When I purchased my vehicle, I thought I was getting a safe and reliable vehicle. Not an accident waiting to happen. I am a single mother trying to make a living in this economy. I don't have money to throw away on another vehicle. This issue needs to be solved before some one gets really hurt or dies.
- Montgomery, AL, USA
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While slowing down, or at stop light, or starting to accelerate, the engine cuts out with out warning. Usually while taking my kids to school. This is very dangerous, it happens a few times a week. I have done my own research and it seems to be a major problem. Dodge has done nothing to correct the issue and probably wont until some one dies. Its a shame that some one has to die to get the attention of the right people to solve the problem. I have read so many complaints about this problem that I am disgusted with Dodge. I loved my truck until this started. Some one needs to act on this and get Dodge to take responsibility before someone dies.
2004 Dodge Durango 5.7 hemi slt, stalls with no warning. Usually stalls while slowing down at an intersection or when making a turn. Has stalled on the freeway. Happening for over a year on and off. Dealer said nothing wrong with vehicle. Also stalls while backing up.
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Durango. While driving 8 mph it stalled and shut off. The electrical instrument panel displayed a muffler sign and the lights shut off; however, the dealer stated that it was not related to recall 07V092000, electrical system, instrument panel. The electrical instrument panel was replaced on three occasions. The dealer stated that the replacements were considered as good will repairs. The dealer also advised them to have the vehicle diagnosed by a dealer in the state. The manufacturer and the state attorney general have been notified; however, the manufacturer has no record of the complaint. The failure mileage was 3 and the current mileage ia 86,384. The dealer diagnosed the failure and stated there were other components that caused the failure including the battery. The steering wheel also locked and the vehicle shut off. In Jan 09 another dealer stated the failure was not related to the instrument panel; however, the diagnostic machine indicated that it was. The consumer stated the vehicle overheats at times. It may occur at anytime whether the vehicle is in idle or while driving. Also, if the doors are opened for more than 5 minutes the vehicle will not start. In order to get the vehicle to start, a jumper cable must be used. The consumer was informed recall 07V092000 did not apply to her vehicle. Updated 08/07/09. Updated 8/18/09 the vehicle stalled on the highway, during rainy conditions. Updated 08/21/09.
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that the vehicle has been randomly overheating. The failure occurs while the vehicle is being driven between 30- 55 mph. The contact must pull the vehicle over and wait for it to cool down. If the doors on the vehicle are opened for more than five minutes, the vehicle will not start. In order for it to restart, the vehicle must be jumped with jumper cables. The vehicle has not yet been taken to the dealer. Through online research, the contact found NHTSA campaign id number 07V092000 (electrical system: Instrument panel). The manufacturer stated that the recall did not apply to her vehicle. The failure mileage was 40,000 and current mileage was 80,000.
The problem started about a month ago, I had experienced my car overheating in the winter with temperatures in the teens. I took the vehicle (Dodge Durango) to my local dealer, he stated he will run a diagnostics report, 3 days later he called me to say the vehicle if fine, however he noticed the fan ran slow therefore he decided to replace the fan clutch and a belt also replaced the thermostat, I paid him $600 dollars and within 3 days it's overheated again and I had to return the vehicle back to the dealer. He stated he will look at it and he cannot make any promises. I declined to let them service the car. I have now placed it in the hands of my mechanic, after several days trying to trouble shoot this problem he replaced the water pump, this would not relieve the problem, after many hour on the internet I came across a review that suggested the problem was with the radiator. We decided to replace the radiator; the mechanic discovered the radiator was not able to support the engine capacity, which caused it to overheat.
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Durango. While making a turn at less than 15 mph, the vehicle stalled and the steering became locked. On a separate occasion, while idling at a stop sign, the steering locked and failed completely. In addition, the oil warning indicator was illuminated on the instrument panel. The manufacturer advised him to take the vehicle to the dealer for a diagnostic. The dealer was unable to produce an error code because the check engine warning indicator was not illuminated. The dealer cleaned the carburetor in an attempt to correct the failures. The current and failure mileages were less than 51,000.
SUV stalls while driving or stopping, ruff idle. This thing is a death trap, have you ever tried stopping or steering while the car is not running, not safe and I have kids, save lives and fix this before someone gets killed..
Hello I have a 2004 Dodge Durango hemi 5.7 and it stalls while driving and sometimes at stop lights, it stalled today while driving almost causing me to crash. It has done this several times..
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Durango. When the contact first purchased the vehicle, the oil light would illuminate, indicating that an oil change was needed. The vehicle also shut off at least five times on the freeway. It would usually immediately restart, but then kick back after it would start. She took the vehicle to the dealer and asked about recalls and other complaints and was informed that none were available. She received a recall notice for NHTSA campaign id number 03V528000 (electrical system:wiring:interior/under dash). The contact took the vehicle back to the dealer and was informed that they did not have the parts available. She took the vehicle back to the dealer numerous times, but was informed that the parts were unavailable. She constantly changed the oil in the vehicle and would go three weeks before the oil indicator would illuminate again. The vehicle began to smoke under the hood and she returned to the dealer. The contact noticed a chemical smell and used an extinguisher to prevent any further damage. Someone attempted to place the vehicle into drive, but it would not budge. The vehicle was then placed into reverse, which caused more smoke emission. The vehicle was towed to the new dealer and the cluster was replaced with a defective part. The contact then noticed headlight, dome light, vanity light, and window issues. She took the vehicle back to the dealer and they charged her for the diagnostic and stated that the cluster was defective. After they repaired the cluster again, the issue seemed to worsen and the horn began honking intermittently. She spoke with the dealer and manufacturer, but they offered no assistance. The current mileage was approximately 72,300 and failure mileage was approximately 5.
In June I had an incident where my engine stalled while I was driving on a side street and at that same time the check engine light had been coming on and off. I brought it to the dealer, but of course the light was not on. They hooked it up to the computer and found no problems. I have been driving it and the light has come on and off over these few months. While driving I have noticed over the past month or two that on occasion, when I am driving anywhere below 50 mph, the RPM needle would drop. Sometimes it was a small drop but you could still feel the loss of speed. At other times it was a significant drop and you would feel the car jerk as it resolved itself. On 3 occasions the engine did stall completely like in June. Last night it become more problematic. It cont to do the above but very frequently and now if I stop at a light or to make a turn, when I push the peddle the car goes very slowly and the only way to get it to not stall is to give it more gas and this makes the car sprint forward. I had to turn into traffic and almost had an accident because of this. This is very dangerous in my opinion and it looks like many others are having similar issues. I agree with some of the others that there should be a recall. It's just a matter of time before someone gets hurt.
Dodge 2004 Durango stalled while taking a right turn onto side street. Unable to finish turn or got off the road. I was panicked, found flashers to turn on, then instructed to by helpful passerby to turn key off, and restart car. This worked, hasn't happened again. I take this very serious, my young, new drivers, children are able to drive this vehicle and wouldn't know what to do if this happened to them. I want this taken care of at Dodge expense. Mary West.
I am having problems with my 2004 Dodge Durango. My engine light and throttle light comes on and the engine light stays on and the throttle light blinks. This happened last year in July and it is happening again this year. I bought my auto to the dealer and due to the fact that the light was not on at that time, they couldn't do anything. They just cleaned out the throttle plates and I was fine until now. My auto stopped on the main road while I was stopped at a red light. I had my 2 children under 4 years old with me and very scared. Noone can find the problem. Has there been a recall on my auto in regards to this?
My wife was driving alone to work. Suddenly and without warning, the engine stopped, lights went off and power steering went off. She managed to use the car momentum to direct the car into a side road, without hitting any other cars. She was 30 secs. From the freeway entrance). She managed to get out of the car ( all other doors to the car were locked except the driver door - what do you do when you are in the back seat ?)) and noticed blue smoke coming from under the hood. She tried to restart the vehicle but without success. She called aaa and was eventually towed to stateline Dodge in fort mill. The battery and connections were so hot the tow truck driver could not touch them..and still smoking. The garage examined the battery cables and verified they were melted together(see invoice). We would need a new battery and cable. I called the garage to inform them that a NHTSA safety recall D40 was issued in 2004, concerning re-routing the battery cable as it could lead to an underhood fire. I was expecting not to be charged with the battery and replacement cable. However the recall notice talks about cable contact with the upper control arm of the suspension and in my case the contact was with the exhaust gas recycle tube, which is 1" away from the control arm. I was charged $460 for the work and am now writing to Chrysler for recompense. This is a potential serious issue for Durango owners, especially if you are on a freeway and the engine cuts out or your car is parked in your garage at night and the battery is red hot. This safety recall campaign should be extended to cables contacting the egr tube.
The vehicle randomly stalls. It has done this several times since I have owned it. I have taken it to the dealer several times. They told me they couldn't replicate and diagnose the problem then one time they said they did provide a fix. The time immediately before the fix I was making a left hand turn into oncoming traffic and the car stalled. Had we been hit by the oncoming vehicle the impact would have been a T-bone into my young daughter's side of the car. The most recent time this happened was yesterday. I was driving approx. 35 miles per hour and I could feel the car as if I had let my foot off the gas when I had not. I went to make a right hand turn and the car died. I was not able to steer and came very close to hitting another car. I will note the most recent date of this incident.
While sitting at a red light the vehicle stalled. I put it in park and it started right up. There was no sign of running rough before the stall, it just was idling and cut out. A week later on the highway at approx. 60 mph the vehicle bucked like it wanted to stall but didn't. it did this three times in less than a minute. I accelerated and it seemed to help.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Brooklyn, NY, USA