Problems with 1999 Dodge Durango SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

The ball joints wore out on the vehicle. the consumer also had problems with the rotors, drums, worn brake pads and bald tires. the consumer bought this vehicle two weeks ago and the dealer promised that various problems would be fixed but has not honored his promise (pe 03-032 front susp. upper ball joint failure). *nlm

Upon starting vehicle consumer noticed abs and brake lights were illuminated. dealer replaced the rear wheel speed sensor.*ak *ts *ph

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 dodge durango. while driving 50 mph, the abs and brake lights illuminated. the dealer stated that the control module failed and they replaced it on two occasions. approximately six months later, the check engine light illuminated and the dealer stated that the transmission output sensor failed. they made the replacement. approximately one year later, the reverse light and rear power windows were inoperative. the dealer installed a neutral safety switch. the failure mileage was 30,840 and current mileage was 72,000. the consumer stated when spoke with mechanic at superstition they informed her that the problem was the emission coil which controls the spark plugs. updated 10/24/07 *tr updated 12/12/07 *tr

Consumer took the vehicle into the dealer for a front end problem. the dealer stated the lower ball and the upper ball joints needed to be replaced. *ak the abs light illuminated and also the engine seemed to bog down, the dealer found excessive oil in the intake manifold. *jb *nlm

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.

I recently purchased a used 1999 dodge durango slt 4wd with 49000. when the abs light came on in the vehicle i had it checked and determined it was a speed sensor in the transmission. the dealer replaced this. the dealer also advised the front brakes needed immediate replacement. i took the vehicle to a local meineke shop to have the brakes replaced and the manager advised me the brakes had 70% of the pad left but the driver's side front lower ball joint was bad and needed immediate replacement. he recommended the vehicle not be driven for safety concerns. i had meineke replace the ball joint. i wrote the gm of the dealership and advised him of what had occured to try and determine why i was told my brakes were bad and the ball joint problem was not mentioned. i saw a greater danger in the front wheel falling off than the brakes not stopping the vehicle as effectively. i have yet to receive a reply regarding this issue.*ak

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

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

While driving consumer applied brakes abruptly for a quick stop, but the vehicle slid through the intersection and the abs light illuminated. took vehicle to dealer, who diagnosed that the brake sensor had failed.*ak

Stop abruptedly on dry roads under 45 mph and the consumer thinks that the front brakes locked up and the vehicle skid into the intersection. dealer said nothing wrong with the brakes.

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

Applied brakes and ran into the back of another vehicle. the air-bag didn't deploy. ph

Poor brakes with the 2 wheel abs system at dodge durango 1999. the breaking power is mainly on rear tires, and when they lock up the abs system release the brakes which result in an not acceptable braking length, especially at slippery surface and/or bad tires. this is due to the combination of 2 wheel abs system togheter with the main braking power on the rear tires, i have had my vehicle checked, it is in good working condition. this is a major safety issue at the durango, poorly designed braking system. i have not had an accident yet due to this, but i am afraid it might happen even though i drive extra carefully because i am aware of this problem.*ak

The front rotors rusted which caused the front brakes to be replaced. ts *jb

Consumer states, when he apllied the brakes is a intermitently brake light. dealer inspected the vehicle and told consumer has to replace the abs module relay switch. please provide further information. ts

When i pushased my 1999 dodge durango the brakes was nosiy...took it back to the dealer.they charged me $90.00 to do a brake service.after the brakes was used a couple of times they started making nosie again...took it back and dealer stated that it was the pads and they could not do anything about it. well after that i was fed up with them and took it to a goodyear shop where they replaced the brakes.(stopped the nosie) and also found out the upper ball joints was bad along with the shocks...so they was replaced costing me $1,300.00. so much for the extended warenties that i purchased with the vehicle..the dealer also charged me for fliud after two sensors went out that was located inside the transmission..wich the warenty was to cover the drive train..this vehicle is a 1999 dodge durango 4x4....new tires had to be purchased because of ball joints was bad causeing tires to wear wrong

While on the highway, my durango suddenly pulled to the left. all attempts to steer or use the brakes failed and my car went into a spin and hit the barrier wall of a bridge two times. the police report states that the cause of crash is that the driver "lost control of her vehicle when the left rear tire/rim separated from the axle."*ak

While driving applied brakes, and they did not work properly, causing front collision. replaced master cylinder to correct the problem.

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

Consumer states that when trying to apply the brakes the brake pedal will go to the floor causing the vehicle to have extended stopping distance. replaced master cylinder to correct the problem. no prior warning before failure. brake light came on after failure. road surface was dry.

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

Dodge durango 1 service brakes - warped rotors locking brakes even with antilock system ball joints - premature wear, leading to poor steering response. *ak

Consumer states that the lockout switch has to be replaced on two occasion and now the problem is reocurring dealer mfr notified. ts

Abs light on dash came on. dealer replaced abs valve. please provide additional information.*ak

While driving, upon pressing brake pedal it pulsates erratically. *ak the outside surface of the rotors was smooth while the inside surface was rough and uneven, indicating that it was defective. *yh

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

When brakes were applied pedal became hard, causing extended stopping distance which resulted in a collision. nlm/*ak *tt

Engine check guage light came on. checked gauges no change. within 5 minutes, clicking started. pulled off road, car shut off. aaa towed to nearest dodge dealer. fixed.(?) shut off same way after fix. went back to dealer, stated different problem, abs sensor added additional charges. went to 2nd dodge dealer fix sensor for several hundred dollars less. shut off again 2nd dealer refused to work behind original dealers work. had aaa tow to auto clinic, clinic stated that parts originally stated by 1st dealer as good were infact damaged. (head gaskets, bad pistons and valves. help!

After the brakes were serviced they continued to squeak upon applying the brake pedal. the loud squeak seems to get become worse over time. *jb

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

There's a snapping noise whenever vehicle is being driven at low speeds. took vehicle to dealer and they realigned and replaced bearings, hubs, and rotors. *ak consumer states vehicle continues to make the noises under the front end, dealer has attempted to fix this problem 8 times. *slc

Brakes have been a intermittent problem on vehicle since it was purchased. consumer had dealer check vehicle before going on a road trip. dealer assured consumer there would be no problem. consumer went to apply brakes, and brakes went to floor, causing consumer's vehicle to rear end another vehicle. dealer has test driven vehicle by putting 221 miles on it, and couldn't find anything wrong. consumer has been very concerned about safety of vehicle because children wer being transported.*ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

When the brakes were applied, they locked up, which caused extended stopping distance, which resulted in an accident. *ts. at 81,000 miles the engine failed, and the master cylinder, brake booster and lines leaked. *jb

Traveling on the freeway in rush hour traffic when suddenly i had no brakes,steering,and all gauges were flatlined.it was rush hour traffic so i was able to muscle the steering to get into the break down lane and used the emergency brake to come to a safe stop. shut the vehicle off and called the dodge dealer. after about 5 minutes the vehicle restarted and all systems were operating correctly. my husband took the vehicle to the dealership. i explained what happened and thanks to a persistant tech they feel the problem has been rectified. the temp that day was in the 80's and i had the air conditioning on with the traffic moving slowly. they feel that the idle air control motor which should normally be in the teens was operating at 54+and barely moving then when the compressor kicked on for the air conditioning it caused the motor to overheat and stalled the vehicle. the dealership worked very hard to help resolve this problem and if this is the answer than hopefully what he found will help other technicians who are having durango's brought to them with the same problem repair the vehicle. i really cannot express enough how hard the technician worked to help me with this. he went so far as to take the vehicle home one evening to see if he could get the same problem to happen again. *ak

When applying brakes pedal went all the way down to the floor. the brakes pulsated and there was a vibration. dealership was aware of problem.*ak consumer states the problem was premature warping of rotors, the rotors were so severly warped that under moderate to heavy braking it would cause front wheel to lock up. *jb

Brakes pulsate when applied. dealership is aware of problem. *ak rotors were pitted. *slc

Abs/brake light comes on and various component within the system have failed 3 times

Pe 03-032, front suspension upper ball joints: front upper ball joints have completely worn out. also, the brakes did not engage properly. *ak *scc *jb

Intermittently when applying brakes pedal would pulsate and harden, resulting in extended stopping distance, even with both feet on pedal. feel free to provide any further.*ak

This is the second time this problem has resulted in an accident. the first time i wasn't sure what happen but after some investigation i found that the abs system was not working properly. instead of the brakes pumping like they are suppose to. when excessive force is applied the brakes lock up and the truck goes into a slide. also if you are appling the force to the brakes and you hit a hole or any object in the road this causes the brake to release resulting in loss of brakes. it is like trying to stop a freight train, i spoke with dodge today and the chrylsler's investigation team is going to look into this problem. in the mean time, this problem has resulted in two accidents for me causing me several thousand dollars in damages to my truck. i think there is a serious underlying problem with my vehicle and has made unsure that i want to continue to own this truck. please help me with this matter, i don't think dodge feels that it is their problem and i dont think they are willing to fix it.*ak

When driving at 30-35 mph and upon depressing brake pedal to make a normal stop consumer noticed a loud noise, brake pedal got very hard, making it very difficult to stop which caused an accident. dealer foud nothing wrong with the brakes. also neither driver's side nor passenger side air bags deployed.

Brake drums warped in both front and back. replacement cost approx. $750.00

Brakes on 99 durango do not work at times. other times the brakes work fine. it seems that when the road is wet or high humidity the brakes do not work. it is a very scary feeling to hit the brakes and not have any response. after a 1 to 2 second delay the brakes finally engage. i have had to swerve to the shoulder on numerous occasions when trying to stop on the freeway so as to not hit the car in front of me. i have replaced the brakes and rotors at my cost and the problem persists. the biggest problem is that you never know when the brakes will work and when they will not. i am not a mechanic, but i wonder if it is in the abs system. reading this forum it appears that many others have experienced the same problems. *cb

Approaching a stop while driving 30 mph driver applied brakes and abs locked up, causing a rear end crash. there was almost $2,000 damage to vehicle.. prior to this incident, vehicle has been to the dealership numerous times for this problem. dealership has not been able to correct this problem. please provide any further information.*ak

On 5/01/2000 took vehicle to be serviced told dealer that something wrong with brakes. tires were rotated and told me nothing wrong with them. on 8/07/2000 after sliding through a stop sign for the second time they verified that i had no brakes all the way around because the rear end was leaking and it took out the back brakes and then the front because there was no back brakes. it cost $ 547.04 not including whatever they billled for warranty work on the rear end. but if the rear end leak had been caught on 5/01/2000 then i wouldn't have lost all the brakes , which on that date they said were fine. *ak

The consumer had the brake pads replaced and the rotors resurfaced, however after repairs the brakes are making noise. *mjs

Anti-lock brakes failed, causing vehicle to skid, and resulting in near miss on two occasions, clutch fan wasnt working since date of purchase engine sounded like jet engine getting ready for take off asked dealer if normal, said yes. transfer case started growling after put in to four wheel drive for first time. output bearings in transmission had to be replaced.

After being stopped at a semaphore controlled intersection, the light turned green and traffic proceeded to cross the intersection. as i was entering the intersection, traffic ahead of me came to an abrupt stop. with plenty of time to stop, i stepped hard once on the brake, but the vehicle did not slow down. i even had time to look down to be sure that my foot was indeed on the brake before looking up to watch as i hit the vehicle in front of me.*ak

2 weeks ago i had the rear brakes lock-up under less than moderate pressure. the dealership adjusted the brakes and charged me 35.00. then on 5-15 they locked-up again with the same amount of break pressure. there is virtually no warning except the brake pedal is a little stiffer. after the brakes were adjusted i did notice that my mileage increased almost 2mpg (so it's obvious they must have been draggging) i contacted chrysler customer service and they said it was a vehicle maintence problem. the vehicle is less than 2 years old and less than 16,000 miles so it shouldn't need any rear brake adjustment. the rear are self adjusting anyway. i feel that this is a major safety concern especially since i transport my wife and child in this vehicle. chrysler said my complaint was the only one which i understand i may have "lemon" brakes on my vehicle. i commute on the capital beltway everyday and have locked-up the brakes at around 55 to 60 mph a few times. i hope this issue is taken seriously because my wife is afraid to drive this vehicle any longer. thank you for your time. paul d. allen. *ak