2004 DODGE DURANGO Complaints

CALLED DEALER ON 10 OR 12 TIMES IN ZIP CODE 30067 OVER PASS 2 YEARS TO TAKE CARE OF RECALL NEVER HAD PARTS, ALWAYS ASKED ME TO CALL BACK ASK ME TO PAY FOR AIRBAG RECALL THEN APPLY FOR SOMEONE TO SENT ME MONEY BACK. ALL THE WRITTEN DOCS I HAVE RECEIVED FROM TK HOLDINGS INC IT CLEARLY STATES FREE REPAIR REPLAEMENT OF AIRBAG

IT WAS A RAINI DAY AND DECIDED TO GO TO THE STORE TO GET GROCERIES. I WAS DRIVING MY VEHICLE TO GET TO THE STORE FROM MY HOME TO THE WHOLE FOODS IN SAN FRANCISCO CA ON FREEWAY I-280 NORTH NEAR THE EXIT ON GENEVA I HEARD A LOUD NOICE COMING FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT, SO I DECIDED TO GET OUT ON THE EXIT TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON, I TURN LEFT ON GENEVA AV I WAITED ON RED LIGHT ON GENEVA AV AND HOWTH ST WHEN LIGHT TURN GREEN I LET GO THE BREAK AND STARTED TO GO SO I CAN PARK ON THE STREET AND ALL OF THE SUDDEN I HEARD A LOUD SOUND AND SAW A LOT OF SMOKE SO I PULLED OVER ON 33 GENEVA AV SAN FRANCISCO CA AND LOOKED AROUND AND FOUND PIECES OF THE ENGINE ON THE ROAD AND NEAR THE STARTER ON THE VEHICLE, THIS IS WHEN I KNEW IT WAS DONE ENGINE WAS BROKEN AND HAD TO CALL AAA TO GET A TOW TRUCK. LATER I DECIDED TO DO SOME RESEARCH ON WHAT JUST HAPPEN AND FOUND THAT A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE HAD PROBLEMS ON THIS VEHICLE JUST LIKE I DID.

CAR HAS A NEW ENGINE AND THIRD WATER PUMP. IT FAILED AFTER 5000 MILES AND ENGULFED IN FLAMES CAUSING THE FAILURE OF THE BELT, TENSIONER, MAIN DRIVE PULLEY AND AC COMPRESSOR. TODAY DODGE JUST RECALLED THESE PUMPS FOR THE VERY SAME REASON BEARING FAILURE AND SUPER HOT CONDITIONS CAUSING FIRES AND FAILURE. I WAS JUST REDRIVING ALONG THE TRUCK HAS BEEN RUNNING WELL AND SHOWED NO SIGNS OF ISSUES, NO NOISE, SMELL, LIGHTS OR STRUGGLE. CAR WAS AT NORMAL OPPERATING TEMPURTURE AND DAYTIME TRAFFIC. STOPPED FOR GAS STAYED FOR A COUPLE MINUTES THEN DRIVE ON, WITHIN TWO MILES WITHOUT ANY WARNING OR NOISE THE CAR STARTED SMOKING PULLED OVER AND SMELLED A RUBBER NOTICES NO LEAKS IN THE WATER DELIVERY SYSTEM OIL, TRANS, OR POWER STEERING, THE BELT WAS RED HOT AND SMELLED LIKE A HOUSE FIRE CAR WAS TAKEN 200 YARDS TO PEP BOYS AND REPAIRED AT THE COST OF $1300. SHOULD NOT HAPPEN WITH 5000 MILES ON THE WATER PUMP AND 20,0000 ON A NEW ENGINE.

HAS HAD PROBLEMS WITH ENGINE ON DURANGO 4.7L OVERHEATING, I DRIVE 15 MINUTES TO WORK WHEN ITS WARM OUTSIDE AND ITS ALREADY OVERHEATING, IVE CHECKED VARIOUS FORUMS ONLINE EACH ONE HAD NUMEROUS PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE SAME ISSUE, WITH ALL THE PEOPLE COMPLAINING I FIGURED DODGE WOULD FIND A SOLUTION, OR FIGURED SOMEONE WOULD FILE A CLASS ACTION SUIT, BUT NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE.

INTERIOR LIGHTS STOP WORKING WHEN THE DOORS OR HATCH ARE OPENED YOU CAN MANUALLY TURN INTERIOR LIGHTS BY TOUCH OF BUTTONS . THEY WILL NOT COME ON BY DASH SWITCH EITHER . PARKED IN A GARAGE ALL THE TIME

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 DODGE DURANGO. WHILE AT A STOP, THE BRAKES FAILED TO WORK, THE ENGINE REVVED, AND THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED WITHOUT WARNING. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 152,845.

1. RECALL FAILED TO REPAIR AIR BAG FAILURE. CURRENTLY - AIRBAGS ARE NOT FUNCTIONAL (DASH WARNING LIGHT). 2. AT APPROXIMATELY 72,000 MILES - VEHICLE BEGAN TO SHOW SIGNS OF RUST THROUGH AT BOTH REAR QUARTER PANELS AND BOTH ROCKER PANELS. BY 85000 MILES - COMPLETE BODY RUST THROUGH FAILURE WAS IRREPARABLE - VEHICLE WAS MAINTAINED EXCEPTIONALLY CLEAN. 3. AT 100000 MILES - NOTED BY WAY OF MECHANIC THAT THE ENGINE WAS 'SLUDGED UP' TO THE POINT THAT THE VALVE TRAIN WAS STARVED OF LUBRICATION AND SUBSEQUENTLY - THE ENGINE HAS ENCOUNTERED WHAT APPEARS TO BE A TOTAL CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. VALVES, LASH ADJUSTER, PISTON ROD OR BEARINGS MAY ALL BE DESTROYED DIRECTLY DUE TO POOR DESIGN AND LOW QUALITY COMPONENTS FROM FCA. THERE ARE HUNDREDS (THOUSANDS) OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ACROSS MULTIPLE MEDIA REGARDING THIS 'FAMILIAR' DODGE ENGINE BREAKDOWN. FCA - OF COURSE - DENIES CULPABILITY CITING POOR USER MAINTENANCE. I HAVE RECORDS OF ALL OIL CHANGES FOR THE SUBJECT VEHICLE AT 3000 MILE INTERVALS CONSISTENTLY FROM THE DATE OF PURCHASE (5/2004), I SAY - 'FCA? TIME TO OWN UP TO THIS PROBLEM AND DO THE RIGHT THING.

04 DURANGO SLT 4.7 V8. RATTLING/RAPPING NOISE ON START UP THAT WORSENED THROUGH THE DAY. NOISE COMING FROM RIGHT SIDE OF ENGINE BAY. BROUGHT TO MECHANIC AND IDENTIFIED VALVE SEAT(S) IN THE ALUMINUM HEAD(S) HAVE 'DISINTEGRATED' AND/OR 'DROPPED' CAUSING THE VALVES TO SLAP ON ACCELERATION AND MULTIPLE OTHER CATASTROPHIC ENGINE ISSUES. FCA (CHRYSLER/DODGE) HAS BEEN NOTIFIED OF MY COMPLAINT AND THEY'RE FULLY AWARE OF THIS FATAL ENGINE FLAW IN THEIR LATE MODEL V8 ENGINES YET THEY REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE OR EVEN ADVISE OWNERS OF REPAIR OPTIONS. THEY MUST BE TOLD TO GO GOOD FOR THIS SITUATION. THIS OCCURRED AT 110,000 MILES. MY OPTIONS NOW ARE: A $2000 ENGINE REPAIR, $4000 ENGINE REPLACEMENT - OR - TO 'JUNK' THE VEHICLE - DON'T GET ME STARTED ABOUT THE [XXX] RUST ON THIS THING, EITHER... I FEEL RIPPED OFF FROM A FEW DIFFERENT ANGLES HERE BY CHRYSLER/DODGE AND I KNOW THERE ARE THOUSANDS (IF NOT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS) OF FCA OWNERS OUT HERE WHO WILL NEVER PURCHASE ANOTHER PIECE OF [XXX]FROM THESE THIEVES. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

WHILE DRIVING IN THE RAIN ALL OF A SUDDEN THERE WAS A LOUD NOISE AND MY ENGINE STARTED KNOCKING LOUDLY. I WAS ABLE TO PULL THE ENGINE AND PULL IT APART AND FOUND THERE WAS WATER IN THE INTAKE AND THE NUMBER 5 CYLINDER ROD HAD BROKE. LUCKILY THE PART THAT BROKE WENT DOWN AND THE OIL PAN GASKET/WINDAGE TRAY SLOWED IT DOWN ENOUGH TO NOT GO THROUGH THE BLOCK. AFTER FURTHER INSPECTION I NOTICED THAT THE INTAKE GASKETS WERE NOT SEALING PROPERLY AND ALLOWED WATER TO BE SUCKED INTO THE INTAKE AND THEN HYDRA LOCKED THE NUMBER 5 PISTON. WHEN I PUT IT TOGETHER I NOTICED THE "SEAL" ON THE COWL WASN'T EVEN TOUCHING THE WINDOW AND THAT LET THE RAIN GO DIRECTLY INTO THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND SIT ON THE ENGINE. PUT THOSE TWO PROBLEMS TOGETHER WITH THE RAIN AND NOW I HAVE A MOTOR THAT IS BROKEN. I CALLED DODGE AND THE LADY TRIED TELLING ME THAT HER "MASTER" MECHANIC HAD NEVER HEARD OF THIS PROBLEM AND YET WHEN I TYPED IN A SEARCH ON THIS MODEL AND YEAR THAT WAS THE FIRST THING THAT POPPED UP. I KNOW THAT THIS IS A PROBLEM WITH THE 2004 DODGE DURANGO. I HAVE INSERTED PICTURES OF THEIR INTAKE GASKETS AND THEN I HELD A RULER UP TO THE INTAKE FLAT AND YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE THE LIGHT SHINING THROUGH THE GASKET WHICH MEANS THAT THIS WAS DEFINITELY NOT SEALING. ALSO I PUT A PICTURE OF THE COWL SEAL AND SHOWED HOW CHEAP IT IS. ALSO WHILE WE WERE WAITING TO GET THE FUNDS TO REPAIR THE ENGINE IT SAT THROUGH THE WINTER COMPLETELY COVERED AND THE ENGINE HADN'T EVEN BEEN TAKEN APART YET AND WHEN WE PULLED THE INTAKE OFF IT WAS COMPLETELY "FULL" OF WATER WHICH IN TURN FILLED THE HEADS AND THE CYLINDERS WITH WATER.

THE WINDSHIELD WIPER COWLING ALLOWS WATER TO FLOW RIGHT OVER THE ENTIRE ENGINE AND RIGHT INTO THE INTAKE. MY DODGE WAS SITTING FOR 2 WEEKS DURING HEAVY RAINS AND WHEN I TRIED CRANKING IT UP FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE ENGINE HYDROLOCKED.