Problems with 1999 Dodge Durango STEERING

Several months ago, i took my 1999 dodge durango in for a "check engine" light malfunction. the dealer informed me that the speed sensor was bad, and would need to be replaced. additionally, they also informed me that the inner tie rod ends were worn and would also need replacement. i was extremely shocked to hear this. at less than 38000 miles, this suv should not be experiencing problems with such a major suspension component. i asked the technician to show me what he was talking about and he proceeded to show me the amount of play in my front suspension due to this faulty component. when i inquired as to why there was no grease fitting on much of the front end, he replied "thats the way dodge designs em" and left it at that. i opted to perform the work myself so as to save the outrageous labor charges here in california, and also to ensure that a higher quality part was installed that included grease fittings. shortly after i completed the repairs, i began searching the internet for similar experiences from other durango owners. also to my surprise, i found a sustantial number of complaints about the front suspension on this suv, and also for models of other years. any auto manufacturer who installs non greasable suspension components on an suv designed to go offroad is simply engaging in cost cutting measures at the expense of their customers lives. i believe that my wife,family and i were lucky that this issue was identified early and there were no accidents or fatalities. it could have been much more serious. additionally, i am curious as to why a technician would even inspect the front end on a vehicle that was brought in for a simple electrical problem. unless the technician expected the damage and noting the milage on the truck, simply inspected the components on his own, i find it hard to believe that this would occur otherwise.*ak

I own a 1999 durango and was told that my upper and lower ball joints ( left & right ) along with the tie rod ends were worn out after i took it to the dealer because of tire wear and was told it would cost $1,400 to repair. this suv only had 65,000 miles on it and was never taken off-road. i am now aware that this problem is not limited to a few owners. i have been telling every durango owner i see about this safety issue ( many already have had the ball joints replaced ) and encourage them to complain to the nhtsa about this problem. *ak

Upper balls joints and outer tie rod seem to have worn out prematurely. *ak

My 99 dodge durango had both lower ball joints and an inner tie rod(driver side) replaced with the truck having only because 20,000 miles on it this problem made this vehicle very dangerous to drive because you were not able to steer it properly it was always pulling. *nlm

When i purchased the vehicle in june of 2002. the upper and lower ball joints had to be replaced. the vehicle had 49,000 miles on it. the cost was over $900.00. less than a year later, at 62,000 miles the upper ball joint and tie rod ends and brakes and rotors need replaced. *ph

I own a 1999 dodge durango. i have had alot of trouble with it. at first when i would call or take it by the dealership, they would tell me that nothing was wrong. the first problem was with the steering wheel making a rattling noise between 20-30 mph. they first told me nothing was wrong it was tire noise. then i brought it back a week later and they replaced the catalytic converter. when it was still doing it a week later, i took it to another dealer and the steering column was found to be bent and replaced. not long after that i had trouble with the engine, when i would stop, the engine would idle down and almost stall. i stopped at a gas station and found i had no oil. i put in two quarts and called the dealer. they found the plenum gasket had a leak. i had that replaced for over $450. shortly after that i was traveling home on the highway and it hesitated and the check engine light came on. i took it into the dealer and they ran a diagnostics test and couldn't find anything wrong. i notice that the rpm's had started revving up and down while you were driving right after this happen. i called and questioned about it and they said to change the oil. it still did it after an oil change. while on our way home to ny, we had stopped and it stalled in the middle of the road and the check engine light came on again. when we got home i took it in and had another test done on it. they replaced the output speed sensor and said that was going to fix it. it still did the rpm thing after that, and they told me that i would have to pay for another diagnostics test. i have since, gotten a tune up and oil change, and it still does it. the check engine light keeps coming on and going off. i am sorry that this is so long, but i feel like i have tried everything and no one will help. my questions are, have you heard of anything like these problems before, are there any related recalls, and is there anything you can do to help get this resolved? i would appreciate any help! ...

The consumer stated the steering was very unstable. took vehicle in for a front end alignment and the dealer noticed that the front ball joints and tie rod needed replacement. *ak the dealer also removed and replaced both control arms. *ph *nlm the engine light was on. when the vehicle was started the rpm's are high. engine control modulator and injector wire harness was replaced. *tc

I have a 1999 dodge durango with 54,000 miles that is already needing new front ball joints. the vehicle has started shaking at various speeds. this problem was diagnosed by a garage mechanic who is not connected to dodge. after checking with the local dodge service manager, who checked the ball joints, i was told the ball joints were within specification and that a new idler arm was needed. i have since replace all 4 tires and shocks but the problem still persists. i'm concerned that i am driving a safety hazard. *ak

1999 dodge durango - premature wearing of front tie rods and ball joints.*ak

Lower ball joints broke while driving at 25 mph, and vehicle came to a complete stop. mechanic indicated this was due to a factory defect.*ak lower ball joints were replaced by service dealer. also, noise from front of the vehicle. dealer replaced both inner tie rods. *la

The consumer purchased the vehicle on 4/22/03 and drove it for 3 days. while driving, there was a popping noise in the steering . the consumer took the vehicle back to the dealer on 4/25/03 and was told by the dealer they could not take a look at the vehicle that day, but to bring it back on 4/28/03. he took it back today, and the dealer stated the popping noise the consumer heard was the steering gear box which had failed, and the cost for replacement was between $700.00 - $1000.00. *jb

While driving over bumps, the vehicle would shake, making it very difficult for the driver to control the vehicle. *ak the consumer noticed that the vehicle was to the right. the service dealer stated that the upper/lower ball joints and the inner tie rods were prematurely worn and an alignment would have been of no help. the service dealer recommended a replacement of the worn parts as the problem would only get worse and would become a safety issue. *scc the consumer was informed the vehicle needed brakes. *jb

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

Told by dealership that upper control arms are going out on my 1999 dodge durango. vehicle has approximately 97,000 miles. also indicated that rack & pinion was leaking.*ak

After only 55,000 miles the entire front suspension system failed. both upper control arms, ball joints,tie rods needed replacement. $1700 repair on a $30000 truck!*jb

On feb 20, 2003 when i brought my dodge durango in for routine service (49,070 miles) i was informed that, "the upper ball joints and tie rods were worn out and needed replacement or the steering could suddenly fail." i was charge $865.28 for this repair which was not covered by the warranty. i protested that it was premature for this sort of wear after only 49000 miles but the mechanic insisted the work needed to be done for "safely reasons" and that chrysler would not cover the cost. i have the receipt for the work.*ak

Annual inspection of 1999 durango "failed" due to unsafe ball joints and tie-rods. ball joints and tie rods replaced at my own personal cost.*ak

While traveling on highway vehicle will go from side to side and vibrate. had to replace ball joints and tie rods. please fill in additional information. ts. *ak

Replacing wheel bearings on my 1999 dodge durango....$800+ dollars and it's an industry problem? why weren't 1998 & 1999 included in recall? makes absolutely no sense. *ak

I was on my way to work one morning and was just down the road from my home when all of a sudden, my steering wheel just started spinning around in my hands, a bolt about 3-4 inches had worked it's way out of the linkage. i applied my brakes, but the truck was coming down a hill and i ended up at the bottom of a 20 foot culvert. luckily the vehicle didn't roll, or i probably wouldn't be here today. we had work done on it 6 months after we leased it (dec, 1999) and were told they had to remove the steering column to fix the heater--after the accident, they had no recollection of doing any such work and even tried to tell me that we had not leased the vehicle from them, they never had that vin# in their system. my insurance company investigated it and told me that over time, the vibration made the bolt fall out of the vehicle.

Front ball joints/steering arm failure, brake failure, causing loss of steering and brakes to lock up, steering arms replaced three times, on both sides. rear leaf spring snapped when vehicle was 3 months old. steering wheel locks up when vehicle is shut off, and cannot be unlocked in certain positions with key. *nlm

Consumer took vehicle in for a routine inspection. mechanic stated that inner tie rod was bad. please provide any further information.*ak

Car shuts off at varrious speeds without any prior warning. two dealers say nothing is wrong, there are no fault codes recorded in the computer. very dangerious!! car loses power steering, brakes, etc. i have already come close to being hit twice. vehicles are you have no idea that the durango has totally lost power . fives times after this occurance the durango restarted after sitting for a few minuites, once it did not re-start and had to be towed. as soon as it came off the roll-back it started like nothing was wrong. dealers say they drive it and they haven't been able to duplicate the failure. they have cleaned & replaced several parts, but the problem persists. there are at least 12 other complaints on this data base with the same problem. help

Grinding noises and uncontrollable pulls to the right made the vehicle hard to control, especially when travelling on the highway - this causes an extreme safety problem. brought the durango to auto mechanic, he told us the left front tie rod needed replacement. replaced tie rod end and found out left front wheel bearing is gone and is subject to seizure at any time. if this is not a safety hazard, i don't know what is because this front end suspension problem has the propensity to cause the vehicle to rollover when travelling on the highway or to tip on its side when driving upon back, city or suburban streets.

I read about this in the newspaper, called dodge, and found out teh ntsb was looking into the problem.i purchased a 1999 dodge durango in february of 2000, and it had 45,109 miles on it. before i took possession they had to replace the ball joints (not sure if it was upper/lower or both). then in december of 2001 i was told they were bad, and it wasn't under warranty. they (forest lake dodge) replaced upper & lower ball joints on both sides, both tie rod ends, and aligned it. the total cost to me was $1,772.63. *ak i now have a problem with the stabilizer bar which has come apart on the drivers side; this fitting is like a ball joint. also, i think the front end is gettig bad again.

Steering wheel locked up, it was impossible to steer the vehicle. it skidded and crashed. driver sustained minor injurues. vehicle was totaled, no defects were found. *ak

Consumer was about to switch lanes and steering got stuck. consumer slammed brakes and vehicle landed up on right side of road and went into bush. dealer claimed that water pump/ serpentine belt failed. *ak

Noise coming from steering wheel air bag compartment when turning. dealer wa s notified, and unwilling to assist in t*ak

While approaching tucson on i-10, on inside lane, at legal speed of 75 mph, total loss of engine power,power steering and dash lights.narrowly missed getting hit by passing cars and trucks.lucky to get to side of road for towing without accident.failure of power control module(computer malfunction)& required replacement.same problem when suv 6 months old,requiring replacement.loss of all power occurs without warning.two failures of critical part in two years too much, very dangerous.

No summary listed for abov evehicle. *ak

Current problem: ball joints and tie rods need to be replaced, although i complained several times about feeling there was a problem with the arms or something in that area, nothing was ever looked at because they could not produce same bump i felt, so they repeatedly told me there was no problem. when i took my durango for new tires on may 1, 2001; the tire place robertson tire in tulsa, said the ball joints all needed to be replaced and the left front brake was toast. since i did not put my concerns of the arms or ball joints in writing i have no proof that i had mentioned it to them the several times before when they performed other work on my vehicle. also, we had numerous problems with the abs brakes. we had to take it to the dealer 5 times before the problem was corrected, also i was told my brakes were fine on febrary 23, 2001 only to find out on may 2 they were not fine. the engine is using oil, which the dealer said is a gasket problem. the 4 wheel drive stays in 4 wheel drive even after taking it out. the left front window power window had to be replace early on because it was defective. transmission seems to start in 2 at times but then goes away. east tulsa dodge has fixed most of our past problems because it was still under factory warrenty. the ball joints and tyrods are not even under our extended warrenty we purchased. after reading your customer complaints, i am very concerned with the drive shaft problem, the air bag and seat belt problems and engine stalling problem. *ak

While coming down a steep hill consumer was unable to turn steering wheel. during colder times of year steering wheel won't turn. took vehicle to dealer, and they could not duplicate problem. *ak

1999 dodge durango, same problem as the 2000 up. the recall was done on those but dodge has not been forced to recall the 1999's. we purchased our vehicle in august 1999, it never did drive good, wandering, we thought it might be the tires, and continued to drive until unable to go anywhere in safety. took the vehicle to larry miller 12/22/2003 they recommended replacing both inner tie rods, idler arms, alignment etc. cost of $796.00 this was approx 55,000 miles. since they would not warrant the car, we took it to a private shop russ' alignment in salt lake. and paid $779.00 2/4/2004. we replaced all 4 tires. we had this vehicle into alignment shops constantly, tire repair, balancing etc the tires were so badly worn in directions that should never have been on a vehicle. these things should have been done 30,000 miles sooner. i contacted chrysler and submitted the receipts the file # 13542683, phone # 1-800-992-1997 option #5. i spoke with "brandy" brandy instructed the durango was out of warranty and they had no requirement to compensation. when asked to put that in a written statement they refused and said it was in my file and they did not have to submit that information nor could i speak with a superviser. but that i would receive my original bills back in 7-10 days. this is a recent claim and have not received my original receipts yet. 5/18/2005

Pinion shaft snapped off jamming into gear box, causing rear wheels to lock up. power steering pump failed causing loss of control. car crashed into curb.*ak

Upper and lower ball joints on 1999 durango and inner tie rod end wear. *ak

Noticed steering wheel off center. vibration in the steering column. tie rod right side loose. replaced tie rod and adjusted steering.the purpose of this complaint is to notify and push for recall on ball-joint issues.

Dodge currently has nation wide back order of over 1100 2x4 ball joint assymbles.my truck is not repaired due to parts avalability.b/o promptted my request.dealer found problem at 18 mos. of service during routine alignment service. *ak

Motor, ignition, tie rods, brakes. heater/air have had hardly no heat or a/c for the last 4 years.. have replaced everything from fan, blower, cooling, water pump, heater core etc. still back in the shop on 12-28-04 got back today 01-01-05 and still no heat don't know what is wrong with it. *jb

Steering does not return at slow speed after a full turn,dealer worked on it 5 times including changing the power steering unit and then the rack and pinion. finally on the 5th trip to the dealer they told me that it was the tires, so i had two micheilen tires on the front and it did help but did not completely cure the problem and since i had the tires installed it seems to be getting worse again. the service manager now tells me "that is the nature of the vehicle"*ak

When making a right hand turn steering wheel locked up, causing loss of control, and resulting in an crash. consumer has contacted dealer, but they could not fin dthe problem. *ak *ml

Steering wheel made excessive whining, dealer replaced gear, pump, and fluid, dealer replaced steering gear twice more. *slc

Vehicle accelerates/ motor makes a knocking sound. dealer replaced sparks, it caused vehicle to loose horse power and fuel economy. a new intake gasket was put in, and the computer was scanned to add a new code for more fuel. problem was not solved. *ak

I was proceeding on a straight road on a bright, sunny day at about 45mph. i went to turn the steering wheel slightly and noticed that the tires did not respond. i turned the wheel again and there was no response. i immediately hit the brakes and the vehicle pulled to the right hand side of the road, stopping in the gravel on the shoulder. i called the chrysler 800 service number and explained the situation to a representative. a wrecker arrived 30 minutes later and the driver turned white as a ghost when he spun the steering wheel in circles without any response. he indicated he was thinking about buying a durango but not anymore. evidently a 3-4 inch bolt had come loose from the steering column somewhere under the dashboard and this is the only thing linking the steering wheel to the front wheels. if this is the case, this represents a fatal design flaw in the durango, and there should be an immediate recall. my son and i are very fortunate to be alive. having worked for ford for 10 years, i'm sure chrysler is aware of this defect, but has estimated they will pay out less in wrongful death suits than the cost of a recall. i am outraged that a vehicle with this type of design flaw could be manufactured.

Consumer stated that the vehicle had no power steering, dealer stated that the power steering shaft pump shaft had broken, dealer replaced power steering pump. *slc *yh

Poor steering, does not trail or drive without constant correction. replaced new tires and new alignment. also found vehicle was out of alignment when purchased from the factory and that it was not uncommon. this is a very hard vehicle to drive. *ak very poor quality steering. we have mostly purchased ford in the past and have an old 91 f150 that drives like a dream. we have been very disappointed in this suv. the suv is a 4x4 slt. everything else i have been very happy with. but when you work this hard to drive especially freeway miles or open road, it's too much. we didn't understand it at first, and then thought it was poor tires, and then alignment, finally we replaced everything and it is still poor. *ak

Intermittently while driving vehicle stalls unexpectedly. also, loss of power steering which may cause a crash. about 5 minutes later, vehicle will start up again. dealer cannot determine the cause of the problem. please provide further information. *ak

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 dodge durango. while driving approximately 20 mph, the vehicle veered to the left and the power assist pulled to the right. the contact heard a loud noise and smoke appeared under the hood. in addition, the vehicle was not running properly and the brakes overheated with a burning odor. the contact observed severe tire wear. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and the vehicle was repaired. on over 20 separate occasions, the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for the same issues; however, the failures still persist. the vin was unknown. the failure mileage was 20,000 and current mileage was 122,000.

Consumer stated the ball joint wore out prematurely. dealer notified. *ak the control arms, intermediate shaft had been replaced in conjunction with the ball joints to try and solve the problem with the steering and suspension. chrysler did not take any action to try to solve the problem. there was noise in the steering, rumble/rattle in the front end and had become louder, the steering had become loose, the lower ball joints were defective, and there was excessive play in the control arm. *scc *jb