I own a 2004 Dodge Durango 4.7. the miles are 117,000. My wife noticed a loud ticking sound coming from the engine. After doing some research online about the Durango I came open another owner that reported it being the exhaust manifold. I bought a new exhaust manifold gasket and when I went to install it I noticed that 6 of the bolts had been broken off. On the drivers side the heat shield was completely missing. I went to the dealer and purchased a new heat shield and replacement bolts. After I installed them the ticking continued, I took it to my mechanic and he told he was sure it was an exhaust leak and to go ahead and replace the drivers side manifold. I purchased the manifold from the Dodge dealer and once I got the old one out I noticed they did not match. The factory exhaust manifold that came with the vehicle did not have the two holes closest to the rear of the car. I believe because of this it cause excessive heat causing the bolts to break off. I believe it also to be a fire hazard. I have contacted Chrysler I have not heard back yet.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

Exhaust manifold bolts broke off.

- Tampa, FL, USA

Recently our Durango began making a loud ticking noise at initial start up of the vehicle, which would decrease and ultimately go away as the car warmed up. I took my car to my local service shop (not Dodge) to have other work performed and asked them to try and determine the cause of the problem. The said that the back two bolts connect the manifold to the block of the engine and the heads of the bolts that secure the heat shield were broken. They instructed me to contact the dealer because it looked as if the heads of the bolts and the bolts themselves had just broken off, probably due to heat from the engine. My vehicle has 68,000 miles so I called to see if it was covered under the 70,000 mile warranty. Without looking at the car, they told me that someone had to have broken the bolts off, because that just wouldn't occur. I told them that the engine had never been worked on other that routine maintenance. They said they would not cover it because I have not used them for other service, so they did not know if the bolts had been broken off by someone else. I paid for the repairs and they started the vehicle and the same two bolts on the passenger side have the same issue and is causing the same noise. When questioned about this, they stuck to their initial response that someone in the past has broken the bolts, even though I stressed again that no other work had been done on the engine or exhaust. When asked to have the owner of the dealership give me a call concerning the issue, the call was never returned. So, I guess I am going to have to pay to have the repairs made to the passenger side as well, even though it seems to be an issue with the bolts that were used to secure the manifold and the heat shield.

- Hendersonville, TN, USA

Noise/low vibration at 70 mph. Made complaint at service interval. Could not be duplicated. Next time I took it in 1500 miles over warranty they mange to duplicate. It will cost $500 and they think it will fix it. Replace all hangers and tail pipe. Next all plastic on front seat cracked again no plan until after warranty miles.

- Crestview, FL, USA