Problems with 1999 Dodge Durango POWER TRAIN

We were driving east on i-90, just east of gary, in. our suv caught fire, we could smell smoke, and we made an emergency stop at exit 17. another car pulled up behind us, and the driver said he saw flames under the car. my wife and i ran from the car in fear. the car had a full tank of gas, and we felt our lives were in jeopardy. i told the toll booth attendant that my car was on fire, got a fire extinguisher from her, and she volunteered to call the fire department. i put out the fire that was on the driver's side of the front axle. we called our state farm agent to report the incident. the suv was towed to gregory dodge in highland park, il to assess the damage, where it is still being evaluated. as a result of the fire, the front axle and drive shaft disintegrated. *jb

Our transmission would not shift to 3rd gear,removed,rebuilt and re-install, exchanged torque converter needed, replaced all solenoids and switch 12/31/04 started around 80,000 miles. work done @ 80751. i am one of 3 people that i know who have (or had) a 99 durango on my sons hockey team, all have had trouble with tranny, 1 at 64,000 miles, fixed and traded, other has same symptoms as ours, has 72,000 miles.-- online stories seem to indicate this is not an isolated problem, transmission shop said seems to be very common with early models tranny 42re?--date of build 9/98-- vin#1b4hs28y3x535962-- not to mention the new "0 oil pressure" reading that happened this past w/e, which seems to be popping up, will clean pan and replace pvc to see if that problem is solved as research indicates, and last but least- ball joints---and new tires will be needed due to uneven inside wearing, even if "rotated" every 7500 miles. long term chrysler owner, all vehicles over 125 k miles, never a problem--what recourse/satisafaction is there for this ?*jb

While pulling out of a parking lot there was a loud knock and the vehicle shook. the check engine light came on, 75,000 miles. i had the vehicle towed home. the next day the check engine light was not illuminated, i had a mechanic diagnose the problem and he said there wasn't one and that sometimes the lights just come on and reset themselves. at 83,000 miles my transimission began to slip. the machnic stated that the loud knock that i experienced earlier was a rod the connects the transmission the the engine breaking and that i needed a new transmission. transmission was replaced with only 83,000 miles on a well maintained vehicle. *ak

Automatic transmission suddenly went out, while out of town, at 60,500 miles. dealer and company refused to assist in any way since 500 out of warranty. vehicle was not abused or used for towing heavy equipment. maintained regularly, but no assistance even after contacting chrysler/dahmler. cost $1,600 to replace at a transmission center.*ak

I have a 1999 dodge durango, brakes repaired. the vehicle overheated, radiator, air compressor and more problems. *bf the consumer was told that the ball joints were gone and the transmission was sticking. *sc *jb

The consumer was run over by her own vehicle while standing behind it. suddenly the vehicle slipped out of park and into reverse. this was due to the inter-locking brake transmission. *jb

Transmission slipped into 4 wheel drive by itself. transmission exploded while driving at 65 mph. aamco has car no parts available due to high demand dodge sent product update to address issue, never notified durango owners. *ak

Excessive tire wear, road noise. upper balls joints bad. replaced. now they are shot again, same problem, excessive tire wear and road noise. 62k on first repair. truck is used 90% highway driving, no towing, and no heavy loads. i have also had to replace lower ball-joints, tie rod ends, etc. transmission has gone out twice. front wheel bearings, and on and on. front suspension design is junk!

I have a 1999 dodge durango, on tuesday 11-2-04 the front axle fell a part. this required the vehicle to be towed, i had to rent a car and the vehicle is still in the shop at this point 11-9-04. there are only 80, 177 miles on the durango. *ak

10/29/04 drove car from jax, fl to sav. ga. approximately half way there, check gauge and no oil pressure. had car towed to service center. said that the screen in the oil filter or pump was clogged and tons of sludge in the engine. they flushed the screen and the engine out and changed the oil. car ran normal from there and drove back to jacksonville fine. once back on jacksonville, the check gauge and no oil pressure is back. car sitting in driveway, afraid to drive to work and no money to replace what is wrong this time. second chrylser vehicle owed and should of learned the first time when i had a dodge caravan that had the transmission replaced 3 times and other numerous problems. apparantly, this is a manufactuer defect in numerous products and they need to own up to the middle class people who cannot afford problems like these. *ak

Transfer case failed, timing belt broke

1999 dodge durango. multiple problems with vehicle. 6,000 miles freeze plug; 48,691 tie rod end outer, serpentine belt; 63,851 transmission speed sensor; 66,002 miles ball joints front upper; 68,175 miles ball joints lower.*ak consumer paid out-of-pocket for each incident. i had extended insurance that was paid for when truck was bought, but was not given any information about it. never recieved any info from fedelity insurance about extended insurance. during investigation, by myself, to report incidents to daimler chrysler discovered on bill of sale that extended insurance had been paid for. contacted daimler chrysler and fidelity insurance. daimler chrysler reimbursed for parts of tie rods & upper ball joints; they refused to pay for anything else and claimed it was due to consumer's failure to maintain vehicle. fidelity insurance would only refund up to a year from initial report of 08/04/04. refused to reimburse for anything before. submitted all documentation to fidelity, but have yet to recieve any reimbursement. final incident on 09/04/04 has not yet been addressed by daimler chrysler nor fidelity insurance. truck has had multiple incidents of needing service -- all of which should not have to be replaced under 68,000 miles. dodge refuses to take responsabilty of defective parts and vehicle. i have read multiple incident on-line of other durango owners and mine is minor compaired to some. everyone has had to replace ball joint, but multiple people have had to replace transmittions a number of time. i am stuck with a defective vehicle that if not gotten rid of will cost me thousands of dollars. my truck is paid off as of 10/2004, extended insurance is up at 72,000 miles. i am unable to afford buying another car that is appropriate to my family situation.

I have a 1999 dodge durango. in 2/04 i had to replace my transmission (45.000) miles. in 9/04 (47,000 miles) i now have to repalce my rear differential. *ak

Shaking and shimmy in the front end when driving on roads front end would shake uncontrollably,need to replace both side of upper and lower ball joints and tie rod ends all was worn out at 80000 miles also transmission wouldn't shift,speed sensor bad on transmission,old parts available certified mech did replacement and had to have it re-aligned. *jb

While the vehicle was park, the driver's child was able to shift gears without applying the brake pedal. this caused the vehicle to collide into an apartment. the vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection. the cause has not been determined at this time. please provide further details. *la

Arriving home, pulled into the driveway and front passenger tire fell off. vehicle was towed, and the axle, wheel bearings, and front shocks were replaced.*ak

While driving, the consumer heard a squeaking noise coming from the transmission. the transmission would also slip gears. please provide more information. *jb *nm

While driving about 70 mph i heard a loud noise coming from under my 1999 durango, i took the vehicle to a local firestone, they discovered that the drive shaft had fell from it's housing, so i then took the vehicle to a transmission shop, cottman. the shop informed me of the following, the yoke and the bolt that retained the drive shaft in the transfer case had broken off some how, due to this occurrence, the transfer case was damaged, because all of the oil leaked out. also in 2003, had to have the ball joints replace and, also the engine head because the vehicle was burning to much oil and damage the heads.*jb

Pcm was found to be bad. this after the vehicle has stalled and come to a complete stop while driving w/o warning. i have taken it to the dealership 4 times over the past 6+ months. they could find nothing wrong. on the last stall ocassion 3/24/04, a mechanic was able to confirm a bad pcm, this was further confirmed by me visiting dodgetalk.com, others had this same problem. currently the pcm is on backorder it seems there is a huge demand for this part. i know dodge should have a recall on this. this was just dangerous, it was through the grave of god that on the 7 separate occassions that the stalling occurred that i nor anyone else was injured. stalling is not an accurate description, more like just stopped while driving.*ak

While driving transmission was hard to shift and it slipped gears. dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak

Hub failure 1999 dodge durango. *ak

We have been told by our local dealership that the ball joints are worn, and are excessively wearing our brand new set of tires. we are very upset that dodge is not doing anything about this obvious problem. we have never had a vehicle with so many issues before, the intake gasket, the abs sensor, the seal on rear axle, a seat belt that wouldn't work, and now this. very unhappy with the vehicle as a whole.*ak

While driving at 35 mph consumer heard a rattling sound coming from the front end. vehicle was taken to a independent mechanic who determined that upper and lower ball joints were worn out on both sides. also, consumer heard a clanking sound coming from the engine. dealer examined the vehicle, and found that a new transmission was needed.*ak

Rear differential pinion gear shaft broke twice. *ph the metal separated at the shoulder on the pinion shaft. the consumer has the second defective pinion shaft in his possession. *nm

We have several complaints about our 1999 dodge durango. we have had the pcm go in 2003, luckily my wife did research and found out there was a recall and it was covered. the front suspension ball joints are blown and now our dealership has informed us that we need to spend $5100.00 to repair the engine due to the oil pump is blown. the engine will seize if my wife attempts to drive the durango. there just seems to be a common thread here since most of the complaints i have read about are the same complaints we have. *la

While turning corners, the consumer heard a knocking and grinding sound coming from the front end. the dealer found that the ball joints were worn and the transmission need to be replaced. *jb

Engine lost oil pressure first at 39933 miles while the car was still under warranty. the dealership changed the oil pump and advised us of sludge build up in the engine. the same problem at 63025 miles along with a transmission overhaul. the dealership at which we purchased the truck replaced the oil pump again, advised of sludge build up and overhauled the transmission under warranty. they also checked on the cost of a new engine but chrysler would not cover it, so they simply replaced the oil pump. same problem for the 3rd time at 73825 miles, less than 12 months and 12000 miles later. the service department at the dealership admits that replacing the oil pump will not help. they need to clean the sludge out for it to run better but even this will not solve the problem. unless the entire engine is taken apart and soaked clean or chrysler supplies a new engine, we will always have this problem. regular oil changes were completed on this vehicle. after the first oil pump the dealer advised that i using synthetic oil, which was done. after the 2nd oil pump was replaced the dealer said that the synthetic oil would not make any difference. *nlm

Consumer states that transmission slips when vehicle is cold.*ak

65,000 miles torque converter failed. dealer would not help. $2300 to fix.*ak

While driving 20 mph rear axle shaft broke. as a result, rear passenger side wheel separated. *ak

While driving, the consumer heard a strange noise. the dealer determined that upper ball joints had to be replaced. *ak the seal between the transfer case was leaking*jb

1999 dodge durango (purchased from family ford, waterbury connecticut) front end completly worn out. 89,000 miles. i realize this is a vehicle with many miles on it but i have never had a whole front end worn out under 100,000 miles, ever! my warranty will not cover it because they say it needs to break first???? why didnt the ford dealer tell me that??? oh! i forgot, the rear driveshaft uv joint failed and was replaced week of 10/20/03.*ak

Upper ball joint worn out , my tires have been wearing out on the inside since i had bought the durango brand new , dealership could not find out what was wrong , two weeks ago i took my durango to tire store to have new tires and an alignment , they informed me that my upper ball joints were worn out and i was lucky that the front end did not fail , they did advise me that they have had around 20 durangos in there shop that had the same thing wrong ,

If your dodge durango shuts down for no real reason it is your pcm, don't let the dealer tell you different. this is covered under emissions warranty up to 80,000 or at least it was for me, and the dealer did not want to replace it, he had me replace the ecm and it did nothing for the problem, so i demanded they replace the pcm, i did my own research on dodge forum. they don't want to replace the pcm first because it costs them not you, like it should cost them because they have a faulty pcm problem that they don't want to admit to......good luck but keep fighting to the pcm. if you want to know more from me my email is [email protected] *jb

Front suspension/ball bearings completely gone. oil pressure gage drops to 0 even after having the oil changed. transmission problems. abs and brake light stays on.

Durango has given transmission problems including high rev before shifting, and rough shifting in general.problem will always occur if allowed to idle for a few minutes before resuming movement. has appeared to slip on occasions. pinion broke with vehicle in no apparent strain with very slight acceleration on take-off- caused major rear end damage as well as ruining one rear axle. contacted dodge concering problem since part broke was 1.5 inch thick steel which broke so smoothly, it appeared to have been cut. part should have been with vehicle 50 years from now when it is in a junk-yard! was informed that since vehicle was out of warranty, that nothing could be compensated for. fortunately, this did not happen on the open road, or my wife and children could have been injured or killed. i feel dodge should at the very least reimburse us for this problem as well as the transmission woes!

I have had the vehicle in the garage since july 28, 2003. it will work for a couple days then something else goes wrong. i am putting it back in the garage on friday due to more transmission problems. i have put way too much money into this vehicle. something needs to be done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

While driving front end of vehicle shook, and the transmission stopped operating. dealer determined that the front upper and lower ball joints were worn. also, transmission pump stopped operating. without oil the transmission gears seized and burned up. *ak according to dodge, fluids were jet black. consumer had a rebuilt transmission and ball joints installed. mechanic stated failure wasn't on the consumer's part. consumer noted the transmission shouldn't fail at 55k miles. *ph

We purchased this vehicle from v & h ford inc, marshfield, wi. in june 2003. the next day after i got it i started it & it started to squeal. my husband noticed transmission fluid leaking as well. we took it back to the dealer, we were told that the fan clutch & serpentine belt were shot, as well as a little leak in the transmission. they put some kind of sealer on it & continued to leak. (also during all of this time, our rpm's kept jumping.) after the 3rd time, they said they did a factory authorized repair & put what was referred to as a "cock ring" in it to seal it. this seams to have taken care of this. then when the truck was put in reverse it kept clunking, the u-joints went out next, then the latch broke on our glove box. meanwhile the rpm's keep jumping, it has been back in the shop a total of probably 7 to 8 times so far. our service engine light came on & flashed the code of fuel injector #8, when it was put through the diagnostic test, however we are learning this is still not the problem. last weekend i was going to put the truck in the garage. i put in drive, and it took off on me without me even touching the gas. it has done this several times now while on the road. now for the past week, when you leave a stop sign, it will shift once and stay at about 3000 - 3500 rpm and will not shift until you are ready to stop. when you try to stop the trottle sticks and the truck wants to go. we are at loss what to do. we have obviously purchased a lemon that it a hazard to be on the road. to trade it in or try to sell it outright seems to be a crime, because we know the horrible things wrong with it. i am certain that it is only a matter of time before my husband & i and our 2 children are seriously hurt or killed by the spuratic behavior of this dangerous vehicle. please advise us what to do. is there a lemon law or any thing ...

At 70mph, on i-75 in michigan '99 durango transfer case blew apart causing vehicle to jump with smoke pouring out the back of the vehicle. was barely able to get vehicle under control and off to side of road. mechanic stated front driveshaft cracked thus maybe causing transfer case cv joint to go blowing apart transfer case. another vehicle experienced a flat tire at high speed due to running over pieces of transfer case. have spent over $4000 dollars in repairs to durango in 3 years including (front driveshaft, transfer case, water pump, pcm, upper & lower ball joints, upper control arms, sway bar bushings, front rotors, brakes, etc. only 78,000 on the vehcile when transfer case blew up. can i file a claim for lemon law regarding ball joints. uppers need replaced again.*ak

Tires worn uneven because of premature wear of the ball joints. *ph the consumer stated the transmission shifted up and down. *jb

While traveling on the highway the transmission stalled and a grinding noise was coming from the rear. *tt

I've been complaining of abnormal noises coming from my 1999 dodge durango since may of 2003, to 2 different dodge dealer service departments. the steering is "loose" and the tires wear unevenly no matter how many times i have them rotated. after a very scary road trip where i almost veered off the highway several times, i brought the durango to a private mechanic. they immediately detected the problem of faulty ball joints and a bad rear axle and differential. when the mechanic called dodge to order parts, he was told that this is a common problem with durango's and the parts were in stock. repairs consisted of new upper and lower ball joints, new front tires (with alignment) repair and rebuild rear axle and differential. this was all paid for by me personally because my extended warranty expired in june 2005. however, i believe it would have been covered under the warranty if in may 2003 the dodge mechanics would have figured out what the problems were. *nm there was a water leak at the right rear window. updated 04/10/06. *jb

Transmission went out suddenly. we noticed it making a whining noise when shifted into reverse. this stopped when shifted into drive. after approx. two days the noise stayed in drive. changed the fan belt and checked other minor things. read manuals and suspected trans trouble, took it in and it needed to be rebuilt. the pan was filled with pieces of metal. we also had to have the left upper ball joint replaced at 55,548 miles, this was going on a long time and caused significant tire wear.

When the brakes were applied, the front end pulled excessively to the right or left. also, when making turns, consumer heard a loud "grinding" coming from the front end. dealer diagnosed that the entire front end needed to be replaced due to ball joint failure. *ak the whining noise was heard when going around curves. the marker lights had become inoperative when pulling out of "int" switch and the head lamp switch was replaced, and upon acceleration, there was a pinging noise in the passing gear. *scc. the tie rods were also replaced.*jb

While the vehicle was in park the vehicle rolled backwards and ran over the consumer. the dealer was notified. *nlm

Transfer case in dodge durango slt 4wd(1999) cracked in half while driving. took it to my local transmission place and after further review, he found the front drive shaft had weakened(broke) which destroyed the u-joint which caused the transfer case to crack. when he called dodge to order a new front drive shaft, they said they were back ordered 2-3 weeks. when asked if there was a problem with this part, he was told no. but the drive shaft is back ordered. how does that happen and not have a problem? *jb

While driving uphill the torque converter burned out. the torque converter was replaced then six months later it failed again. *ak *nlm

While driving at 90mph, the vehicle started to smoke under the hood. then the transfer case fell to the ground causing consumer to pull over. dealer notified. ph

Durango`s transmission went bad, dealer of no help ,50,000 mi. on vechicle also not the same problem that was complaned about. ts