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 already caught on fire.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
131,518 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
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.
The vehicle doesn't want to drive like the brake is on this happens even worse when trying to turn.the service 4 wheel drive light is on.I got on a forum and was blown away by all the people having the same problem.some say electrical some say transfer case.they was 2005 or all in this area.the vehicle only has 69000 miles on it.
The transfer case puts itself into 4 wheel drive while driving. It also seems to be affected by the door locking mechanism as you can hear the transfer case moving. When it's in 4 wheel drive it makes turning very difficult and dangerous because it just won't turn. I am grounding this vehicle and will have it towed to Dodge but after reading all the posts about these vehicles it appears Dodge doesn't know how to fix it either.
While traveling on I-90 eastbound at 70 mph my 05 Dodge Durango suddenly lost momentum and the engine RPM went up. I managed to get to the shoulder safely. The engine was still running and the vehicle still in gear but the vehicle failed to move. The vehicle was towed to a repair facility just off the next closest exit. Examination showed the transmission fluid was okay, the repair facility found the torque converter had been stripped out. This vehicle had been displaying problems with the transfer case shifting without touching the selector switch. Also you could hear the transfer case motor activating while unlocking the doors "?" research has shown that there are many such incidences of problems with this vehicle. Repair costs me $1403. But the vehicle is still doing the same thing. There are reports of people changing out parts with no fix. I feel this vehicle is unsafe and the dealer should recall before someone gets killed. Repair facility said my torque converter had been totally stripped out as a result of whatever caused the problem. I am disheartened as I like this vehicle but can't afford to spend thousands of dollars chasing a fix that many including dealers have been unable to resolve. Whatever assistance would be greatly appreciated. See https://www.cargurus.com/cars/discussion-T4148_ds482593
4lo light blinks or stays on for short periods and the 44 locks for no apparent reason causing the vehicle to jerk and become hard to control in turning and nearly impossible to make a sharp turn until it disengages. This happens in city driving or stopping and starting or on back road driving. It can be fine when I park it and when I unlock get in and start out it may or may not lock into 44 but when it does it becomes extremely difficult to maneuver in tight parking spaces. I feels like the power train is going to fall completely appart.
My Durango shift into 4WD lo while driving and turning. The motor also engages when the the car is locked and unlocked. The motor also engages and disengages for unknown reasons when it is parked and the key is off. This has happened multiple times. I have had it in the shop on multiple occasions to fix this problem
The contact owns a 2005 Dodge Durango. While driving at any speed, the vehicle lost power without warning. The vehicle was pulled over and restarted. The dealer was unable to diagnose the failure. The failure recurred several times. The manufacturer was made aware of the complaint, but did not assist. The failure was not remedied. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.
4 wheel drive engages by itself. Vehicle can be running at highway speed, idling, or completely off and the four wheel drive will shift from AWD to locked to low.
Vehicle engages and disengages into four wheel drive on its own. Will engage while driving at high speeds on freeway, while vehicle is off and when unlocking doors with key fob. Stereo changes stations and volume adjusts on its own. Have unhooked transfer case to avoid an accident.
Driving the Durango the vehicle will shift into 4 wheel low at any speed, also when I turn the car off and take out the key you can hear the transfer case or transfer case motor engaging, also the service 4WD system light blinks on and off all the time.Dodge dealer have no clue whats wrong.
Shifts from AWD to 4lock and 4low on it's own while parked or even when driving down the road. Also, can hear the transfer case trying to shift even when the vehicle is off.
Two days ago I was driving down the highway about 75 mph when my service 4 wheel drive light came on and then it switched itself into 4 wheel drive by itself. And then I herd a load pop and it started smoking. I managed to get pulled over while it was yanking me to the left the hole time. I popped the hood to fined what smelled like burned tranny fluid all over my engine. I managed to move the vehicle to the exit in front of me and had it towed from the gas station back home. I had my mechanic from the car lot I bought it from come and take a look he said the transfer motor was ready a faulty voltage and triggered the 4 wheel drive and going 75 mph when it engaged blew my transfer case and maybe more. He have to get it back to the shop to find out more. I looked on several forums to find that for over the past 5 yrs a lot of Dodge Durango owners have had the same issue and have spent thousands to fix an issue that obviously was a defect from the factory. They replaced front control module, transfer case, transfer case motor and had it rewired. Some did part and later had to do it all just to fix. If I had not had durby driving experience when this happened I could have been killed. I feel this is a major safety issue for the people that don't have knowledge of controlling a vehicle that you have shift on its own and put you all over the road. Here is one site among others where it is a major issue www.dodgedakota.net/boards/dea/132-1.html, www.carcomplaints.com/Dodge/Durango/2005/drivetrain/power_train.shtml.
The contact owns a 2005 Dodge Durango. While driving approximately 65 mph, the vehicle suddenly shifted to 4 low and began to decelerate. The contact was unable to shift out of that gear. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 127,000.
On my vehicle the 4 wheel drive will automatically engage while I am driving. It has switched into 4lo a few times which almost caused a serious accident. There is also a clicking noise that sounds like the gears are switching back and forth, when I use the remote lock/unlock on the key fob. The Dodge dealership did not know why it was happening and said maybe I should replace the transfer case but they did not know for sure if that would do anything. So I lost over $100 and got nothing out of it. I took it to my mechanic who said that unplugging at the transfer case would stop the issue but the 4 lo and other switches would not work and the service 4X4 light would remain on. Since I have to drive I had him do this and it did fix the problem but now I don't have any 4 wheel drive which really sucks living in Utah with all the snow. The fact that the vehicle would switch into 4 lo when I was doing 70 mph on the freeway is a major safety concern. There needs to be a recall on this problem.
Having problems with the 4WD engaging on its own while vehicle sitting after shutoff as well as has shifted automatically from AWD into 4WD while driving down the road at 55+mph...totally unsafe. Have seen many complaints for this same issue going on from other Dodge owners for '04 and '05 Dodge Caravan for same issue. Appears to be related to faulty chinese manufactured part Dodge was installing and faulting out connections causing power load to not be same power load as original spec (easily corroded wiring) and then screwing up the connection and faulting the unit out to start to shift on its own. Major safety concern if occurring on many different personal over the past 5 yrs histories seen for same vehicle models. When vehicle is shutoff can also hear the 4WD selector clicking / engaging back and forth the 4WD system in / out from AWD to 4WD. Vehicle is currently stuck in 4WD lo now.
The contact owns a 2005 Dodge Durango. While driving 60 mph, the vehicle converted into four wheel drive lock and became unstable. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 215,000.
Car stalls at stop light. No reason. Car started shifting into all wheel drive by itself. I could hear it shifting as I opened driver door, and car was not on. Did not know what the noise was. Car sounded like it was grinding the gears when moved into drive. Towed to shop. Transmission guy could not figure out why it changed all by itself. Cargo lamp is one if I open rear hatch. It will only go off if I close the hatch twice. Now airbag light is on, since new battery was replaced.
The vehicle is swithing into 4wheel drive on its own and svc 4X4 flashes on dash. Also when key off and/ or after unlocking doors wit key fab I can hear it swiching in and out of 4X4. I have read forums about this problem and there should absolutely be a recall on this issue. Shame on Dodge bigtime!!
Several incidents of uncommanded engagement of the four wheel drive from the all wheel drive mode. No indication at the dash or at the switch located on the dash. This has occurred while in motion at highway speeds and while the vehicle is stopped and turned off (the sound of the transfer case servo motor operating is quite obvious). This presents a very dangerous situation since engagement of the 4WD at highway speeds, particularly when the road surface is slippery, could easily results in lose of control.
The contact owns a 2005 Dodge Durango. While driving at various low speeds, the vehicle independently switched into four wheel drive. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 150,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Grove City, OH, USA