2004 Dodge Durango. Consumer writes in regards to a defective engine. The consumer stated the vehicle shook vigorously and the noise grew louder. The dealer advised the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle also had a continuous oil leak.

- Jamaica, NY, USA

I have a 2004 Dodge Durango slt 5.7L hemi. Never had any big issues with it until in 2014 I was driving home from work on the highway when I heard a loud bang and loud knocking noises followed shortly by an abrupt shut off. I tried immediately to get to the side of the road but when I lost power steering from the engine ceizing and couldn't correct myself enough so I went down the hill off the side of the highway while trying to break with no brake booster anymore as well. I ended up running into a couple small tree's and finally stopping. Air bags didn't deploy and I only jammed my finger and hurt my back some but I only missed a larger group of tree by inches. My front bumper was ripped off, my drivers side headlight was broke as well as my grille and my windshield cracked. I took it to my mechanic and found out that the engine "hydrolocked" and a piston rod punched through my engine and broke a lot of other things internally. Needless to say the engine is gone. After doing some research I have found that there are hundreds more people that had this happen to their 04 and 05 Dodge Durango with the 5.7L hemi. Apparently the water runs right down onto the engine and pools up and the intake is faulty so it sucks that water up and causes a catastrophic hydrolock with the engine which could kill someone if they lose power steering and power brakes within a second. I've been trying to save to get a new engine (which will cost about $3800 alone) because I bought this for too much and neither Dodge or my insurance would cover it so it's now a pile of scrap until I hopefully can get a new engine or have Dodge buy this death trap back. Dodge needs to buy these back or fix them! this is by far not an individual case and it is very dangerous and costly!

- Paw Paw, MI, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled when driving through a car wash and rainy conditions. Prior to stalling, the vehicle would shake violently. The cowl screen was repaired by the dealer, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who discovered that the injector O-ring, plug wires, and gaskets around the intake manifold needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

- Covington , GA, USA

I have had the cam position sensor fail approx. 5 times. When the sensor fails or starts to fail the check engine light will come on intermittently and occasionally while the light is on the engine will shut off when the engine shuts off the brakes will not work. The said situation when the brakes will not work has occurred 7 times. At times the check engine light will light up and be not lit when the truck is restarted. On one occasion my wife was driving the truck, the light came on for the cam sensor, the engine shut off, the brakes would not work and she rolled through an intersection unable to stop the vehicle.

- Spanish Fork, UT, USA

While driving my 2004 Dodge Durango 5.7 hemi the svc 4X4 light went on at the time I was driving 35mpg in 70 degree weather and did not have my 4X4 on. I took it the mechanic shop and they said I needed to replace the 4X4 shift motor, so I bought a new 4X4 shift motor and they replaced it but my 4X4 was still not working. I have taken it to two different mechanic shops and they keep saying its the 4X4 shift motor so I exchanged the new 4X4 shift motor thinking it was defected and once again bought a new one and had it replaced and at this point the mechanics don't know what else it could be because it still didn't work.

- Denver, CO, USA

I am also adding to the rapidly growing number of complaints with the same issue that my 2004 Dodge Durango slt 5.7 hemi has with the blown engine. As majority on this site have expressed, my Durango was well taken care of with maintenance performed at regular intervals. I bought my Durango used in 2007 with 1 owner prior to myself. I have experienced the recall for the electrical panel, along with the egr valve 2 years back and engine stalling in the rain. The first time my engine idled poorly while in the rain was around 2008. As many others have stated in their formal complaints, I drove home from work with no problem. As I returned to my truck 15min later I went to start the ignition and the engine knocked and shut down. I attempted to start the ignition again, and once again the engine knocked, shaked and had shut down once more. After the 3rd time starting the ignition, I got no response just a click. I let my truck sit for a day and had it towed to a private mechanic. After checking my fuel pump, started, battery, and alternator, my mechanic figured the root of my problem had been my engine had blown. Afterwards, I researched the issue with engines in this particular models durange. After doing extensive research and viewing this website, to my surprise I found I wasn't the only owner of this model & year truck having this very same issue. What makes this more surprising is the growing number of complaints about this very issue and nothing is being done. As a single parent of 2 children I rely heavily on my vehicle, that it why I take all necessary steps to ensure my vehicle remains in good running condition. This incident has caused me alot of emotional and financial strain. And I would hope that very soon the company would recognize that this is a major problem that needs to be rectified.

- Washngton, DC, USA

I was driving down the road when there was a loud clank. I immediately pulled over. It was then towed to a repair shop and we were told the vehicle's engine threw a rod. I had no prior problems with the engine before this. We were then told that by the repair shop that they were unable to find a rebuilt motor as they are on a two year waiting list. We were also told that Dodge was aware of this problem and that we can buy a new engine from them because they fixed this problem with the new engine.

- Ashland, OH, USA

My husband and I were driving to the store after work on April 24th. We stopped for a stop sign, slowly took off and heard a bang! we had to have the 2004 Dodge Durango towed to a mechanic and found that the rods were bent in the engine...particularly the #7 rod. Not one single warning, no check engine light, nothing!! we kept the oil changed according to schedule! the truck is in excellent condition too; top of the line vehicle with dvd player and everything! now we're facing a $4-6,000 replacement bill. Why would we replace it with an engine that is going to do the exact same thing in a few years because of poor quality?! we are done with Dodge products and we're going to tell everyone we know what has happened to us.

- Carrsville, VA, USA

Vehicle engine started knocking, the vehicle lost power and shut off. Took to a mechanic and diagnosed it as a camshaft failure. The car does not start.

- Mount Kisco, NY, USA

Truck driving just fine on April 15th. April 16th it rained and on the 17th my engine failed. I did not go anywhere on April 16th due to the rain, but when I attempted to start my vehicle on the 17th, at first it wouldn't start but when it did the Durango sounded like boulders were in my engine and the truck was idling up and down on its own and shaking violently. My 3yr old and 18 month old were in the back seat scared to pieces. This is a shame! I have read hundreds of complaints against the 2004 Dodge Durangos and I'm just disgusted. I've only had my truck for 2 months and it is still under a 3 month 4500 mile extended warranty, but the warranty, (I'm just finding out) only covers $1,250 in repairs. As a newly separated single mother this is unacceptable and I'm furious! something has to be done.

- Dickinson, TX, USA

The odometer just turn 70,000 and the engine block has a hole of 3", two mechanics checked for me and both diagnosis same, that the piston and rod made hone on the block. Searching thru a car dealer on internet I found out that there is probably around 100 people that had posted all of them Durango 04 hemi 5.7 just like mine with around the same mileage with the exact same problem. Now I have to pay a whole motor. There should be a recall to see how many people come forward.

- Mount Pleasant, TX, USA

Car stalled for no reason. Lucky this happen in a parking lot at 10mph as all the controls went out. Stopped the car turned it off and it started right back up with no issue. This has happened again 4 more times all at low speed. I have called the Dodge dealer and they told me there was nothing they could do for me as my vehicle is out of warranty even if the NHTSA had opened an investigation on this issue a long time ago. It is nice to see how Dodge stands behind their products and after reading the NHTSA website it looks like I am in store for many more issues that Dodge will not help with. This is a safety issue and I do not understand how Dodge is able to get away with this. I wanted to pass this vehicle onto my daughter so she would be a proud Dodge owner so much for that. Why keep the service at the dealership up to date when in the end there is no added value to paying more for servicing your vehicle at the dealership.

- Sterling Heights, MI, USA

My wife was driving the Durango home and it began to knock loudly. Brought the vehicle home for inspection. The valve train is fine, but the bottom end has 2 bent connection rods. These rods just randomly bent. The heads are fine, there is not water leaking, gaskets are fine. This seems to be a problem with the quality of materials of the rods.

- Royse City, TX, USA

Started to warm up in morning, something broke under the hood. Turns out a connecting rod broke and need a new engine. Fantastic. Has been sitting at the shop and still is there while I take a cab to work every day. Will never buy Chrysler again and have told everyone I know. What a joke!

- Glens Falls, NY, USA

Bought our Durango new in 2004, with the 5.7 hemi, serviced it every 3000 miles. My wife drives it and had no problems until the other day when she got in to go to work and started it up, and it sounded like you had thrown gravel in a washing machine. Im sure it drop a valve seat and chewed it up. I have 27 years in automotive and I know you should get more than 80,000 mile out of a high tech engine like this is supposed to be.we have Dodge in our family and this is a very big dissapointment besides being very expensive. Dodge is being very closed mouth about this very huge problem.

- Springdale, AR, USA

Just like numerous 2004 Durango owners I have experienced.......a complete engine failure once I passed 80,000 miles due to unknown causes. I am the original owner, regularly maintained it, and operated it normally. Car stalled in traffic and could have been tragic. Would like an investigation opened considering the large number of owners experiencing the same problem.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

Upon starting the vehicle in the am after daily use, a loud noise as if the fan belt broke or stones throwing around was heard and oil started flowing from motor. Pieces of cast metal found under the vehicle in the midst of the oil....rod blew through!!! only 100K miles and oil was filled, maintenance always completed. We are orig owners. This was a $35K V8 engine vehicle that has been maintained. This should not have happened and as seen on the emonds site as will as Dodge, this is a common problem with this vehicle and no recourse for the owner who has done what he or she was to do as far as upkeep on their vehicle"?? again this is not a cheap vehicle and we are a family of 5 with 1 income. How and why should we have to fix this problem" we purchase what we thought was a good quality vehicle from a big 3 company!!

- Bradenville, PA, USA

I own a 2004 5.7L hemi magnum Dodge Durango..when I was leaving school the other night my Durango started fine. When I pulled out onto the road I only got about 1/2 mile before my engine made a horrible noise and jerked real hard, my check engine light came on as did my oil light. As I was pulling off the road I lost the power steering as well, smoke poured out from under my Durango. I got out as I was afraid it was going to catch fire. I called for help and waited on the side of the road. The tow truck guy got there and told me there was oil all underneath of my truck. I had it towed to my local shop to see what was wrong. Guess what? a rod has been pushed through my engine and now I need a new one. My Durango only has 85,200 miles on it. I am really mad, I have a daughter who could have been with me and we could have been on the interstate when this happened, I hate to think that was possible and what the outcome could have been. This is a serious issue and I am surprised no recall has been made.we as consumers have the right to a vehicle that is safe for us, the law is supposed to prevent this from re-occuring. I can SE if this was an isolated incident, but its not. I have started looking and I see thousands of complaints and that is only on a couple boards/forums, how is this possible, who is responsible. I encourge all Durango owners who have had this issue to step forward and complain, together we can make a difference. I already contacted my local news, and I will be sending letters to reid bigland (the president of Chrysler Corp). Chrysler/Dodge got a bailout when they were ready to be bankrupt, but where does that help the average consumer. We are all having difficult times in this economy, where is the help for us? we are left to pay well over 6000 for engine repairs that Dodge/Chrysler Corp is responsible for. We all need justice here.

- Bordentown, NJ, USA

Went to start my truck in the morning to warm up, sounded like something broke under the hood. Shut off, waited and restarted, same noise. It is sitting at a repair shop because its going to be expensive and I don't have the money. I still have years to pay on it. Been taking a cab to work and back every day. I bought my 2004 Durango brand new, never beat it up, has only 74K miles, regular oil changes. I have read other incidents/complaints online about the same thing I am going through. Its pretty sad to drive by my truck every day in a cab!

- Glens Falls, NY, USA

Noticed over the past few years water when it rains that it is accumulating on top of the engine. Noticed the engine felt like it had a miss fire on a cylinder. Seal from windshield cowl is no longer making a positive seal and water is dripping down onto the top of the engine and also into the spark plugs. Using you tube there have been numerous complaints of this issue which in turn has resulted in what is called hyro-loc of the engine which is causing push rods to break and causing the engine to completely fail, as in my case pushing a rod thru the block of the engine spilling oil out on to the street. Shutting down the engine loosing all power to steer and control vehicle. Luckily I was not on a main highway traveling at 60mph as this could have been as disastrous accident.there should be some type of recall on the water problem and this engine catastrophe resulting form this problem, as of today Dodge/Chrysler has no known issue of this sort, which is hard to believe. Please notify me of any information regarding these issues and any possible class action suits that may be pending.

- Philadelphia , PA, USA