1998 DODGE DURANGO Complaints

TAKATA RECALL - I WAS IN A CAR ACCIDENT ON 8/11/2015 AND THE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY. ACCIDENT OCCURRED ON ROADWAY AND WAS IN MOTION MAKING A LEFT TURN WHEN STRUCK ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF VEHICLE.

"TAKATA AIRBAG" I WAS IN A ACCIDENT WHERE A PERSON RAN A RED LIGHT, GOING ABOUT 45 MPH AND I T-BONE THAT PERSON'S VEHICLE, WITH ME GOING ABOUT 40 MPH. THE AIRBAG DELAYED ON DEPLOYMENT IN MY VEHICLE. I HAD MY SEAT-BELT ON BUT I STILL ENDED UP HITTING MY CHEST ON THE STEERING WHEEL AND HITTING MY HEAD ON THE WINDSHIELD BEFORE AIRBAG DEPLOYED. I AM TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF MY AIRBAG CAN GET DEFECTIVE OVER YEARS BECAUSE OF THE DELAY OF DEPLOYMENT. I DON'T KNOW IF IT IS A TAKATA AIRBAG THAT ISN'T ON THE RECALL LIST YET OR NOT. I STILL HAVE THE VEHICLE AND THE AIRBAG PART ITSELF THAT I CAN GIVE YOU THE NUMBERS OFF OF. SOMEONE REMINDED ME ABOUT THE TAKATA AIRBAGS SO I FIGURED I ASK.

BOUGHT MY DURANGO NEW IN MAY 1998. THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION STARTED SHIFTING IMPROPERLY IN JULY 2000. TOOK IT TO A DODGE DEALER BECAUSE IT WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY (31,418 MILES). THEY DROPPED THE TRANSMISSION PAN AND PRONOUNCED IT DOA (PAN WAS FULL OF METAL SHAVINGS). SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE WRITING ON THE WALL BUT I LOVED THIS VEHICLE. TOOK IT TO AN INSPECTION STATION FOR SAFETY & EMISSIONS TESTS IN MAY OF 2006. IT FAILED FOR BAD BALL JOINTS. I ASKED THE MANAGER WHY HIS MECHANICS SEEMED TO PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE FRONT END DURING INSPECTION AND HIS REPLY WAS IT WAS VERY COMMON TO FIND BAD BALL JOINTS ON APPROX. 50% OF ALL 1998-2000 DURANGOS. HAD MY MECHANIC REPLACE UPPER & LOWER BALL JOINTS, BOTH SIDES, AT 74,064 MILES, TO THE TUNE OF $701 PLUS TAX. I THEN STARTED HEARING ABOUT OTHER DURANGO OWNERS WITH SIMILAR BALL JOINT WOES. I WENT ONLINE AND STARTED RESEARCHING. FOUND A SITE WHERE FOLKS LIKE MYSELF WITH THE SAME BALL JOINT PROBLEMS, SOME WITH ACCIDENTS, WERE TRYING TO GET NHTSA TO DO SOMETHING. I GUESS PEOPLE ACTUALLY HAVE TO DIE FIRST BEFORE NHTSA WILL STEP IN AND TELL AN AUTO MANUFACTURER THEY NEED TO FIX THEIR FAULTY PRODUCTS. I ALSO LEARNED THAT THE 1998-2000 DURANGOS WERE BUILT ON THE DODGE DAKOTA PICKUP CHASSIS. A DAKOTA WEIGHS ABOUT 4,600 LBS. WHILE A DURANGO 4X4 WEIGHS IN AT 6,400 LBS. IT'S NO WONDER THE 1998-2000 DURANGO FRONT-ENDS WERE FALLING APART. SERIOUSLY, WHAT KIND OF IDIOT ENGINEERS DOES DODGE HAVE WORKING FOR THEM. SOMETIME LATER I HEARD THAT DODGE RUSHED THE DURANGO INTO PRODUCTION IN 1998 TO COMPETE FOR THE SUV MARKET BUCKS AND DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO ENGINEER A NEW CHASSIS SO THEY JUST MODIFIED THE DAKOTA CHASSIS WITHOUT BEEFING IT UP. WHEN PEOPLE STARTED TO COMPLAIN ABOUT BALL JOINTS AND SUCH, THEY BUILT A WHOLE NEW CHASSIS FOR DURANGOS IN 2001. I STUMBLED ACROSS THIS SITE TODAY WHILE RESEARCHING ANOTHER VEHICLE I'M THINKING ABOUT BUYING.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 DODGE DURANGO. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IDLING, THE ENGINE SUDDENLY SHUT OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS EXAMINED BY AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE FUEL INJECTION LINES WERE FAULTY. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE CONTINUED TO OCCUR. WHILE DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, THE CEILING LIGHT INSIDE THE VEHICLE WOULD ERRONEOUSLY TURN ON. IN ADDITION, WHEN DEPRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL, A BANGING NOISE WAS PRESENT COMING FROM THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS EXAMINED BY AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 156,000.

THE CV JOINT CAME OUT RUIN THE LOWER BALL JOINTS WHICH CAUSED RUBBING ON MY INNER RIM, AFTER A WHILE IT HAS CAUSE THE INNER RIM TO TO BREAK OUT WHILE I WAS DRIVING. WE HAVE REPLACED THE CV JOINT, WHEEL HUB BEARING, UPPER AND LOWER BALL JOINTS AND THE STEERING BALL JOINT. NOW THE LOWER BALL JOINT IS STILL HITTING THE INNER RIM AND I CAN'T DRIVE

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 DODGE DURANGO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 241,000.

I WAS CROSSING THRU A UNPAVED ROAD WHICH WAS A LITTLE BUMPY ROCKING MY TRUCK FROM LEFT TO RIGHT AN MY DRIVER SEAT SLID FORWARD AN BACK IN WHICH I HEARD A SNAP AN MY SEAT DROPPED IN THE BACK AFTER SLIDING FORWARD AN BACK A COUPLE TIMES. NOW MY SEAT IS AT AN ODD POSITION AND WHEN I COME TO A STOP OR DRIVE OFF FROM A STOP MY SEAT SLIDES BACK OR FORWARD. VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 DODGE DURANGO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH OVER A PATCH OF BLACK ICE, THE DRIVER LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND CRASHED INTO A WALL BEFORE ROLLING OVER. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY AND THE SEAT BELT UNLATCHED INSTEAD OF RESTRAINING THE DRIVER. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT NEITHER THE DRIVER NOR THE PASSENGER SUSTAINED ANY INJURIES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 96,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 124,000. UPDATED 11/20/14 *CN THE CONSUMER STATED BOTH THE PASSENGER AND DRIVER WERE IN SHOCK AND HAVE HAD ONGOING BACK PROBLEMS. THE PASSENGER NEEDED A METAL ROD IN THE BACK DUE TO THE FAILURE OF THE SEAT BELT. UPDATED 5/6/2015 *JS

DATE COMPLAINT FILED: 04/26/2014 COMPONENT(S): SEATS DATE OF INCIDENT: 04/02/2010 NHTSA ID NUMBER: 10565005 VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NO. (VIN): SUMMARY: THE DRIVERS SIDE POWER SEAT MOVES BACKWARDS ABOUT 2 INCHES WHEN I ACCELERATE AND COMES FORWARD THE SAME AMOUNT WHEN I BRAKE. I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE USED AND THE PREVIOUS OWNER SAID IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY. AFTER RESEARCHING ONLINE I HAVE FOUND HUNDREDS OF CASES OF THE SAME THING. A RECALL IS IN ORDER HERE AS NOT ONLY DOES THIS MALFUNCTION AFFECT THE SAFETY OF DRIVER AND PASSENGERS, IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE AS THE MOVEMENT WILL EVENTUALLY CAUSE THE ENTIRE THING TO FAIL. *TR

THE DRIVERS SIDE POWER SEAT MOVES BACKWARDS ABOUT 2 INCHES WHEN I ACCELERATE AND COMES FORWARD THE SAME AMOUNT WHEN I BRAKE. I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE USED AND THE PREVIOUS OWNER SAID IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY. AFTER RESEARCHING ONLINE I HAVE FOUND HUNDREDS OF CASES OF THE SAME THING. A RECALL IS IN ORDER HERE AS NOT ONLY DOES THIS MALFUNCTION AFFECT THE SAFETY OF DRIVER AND PASSENGERS, IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE AS THE MOVEMENT WILL EVENTUALLY CAUSE THE ENTIRE THING TO FAIL. *TR