Problems with 2000 Dodge Durango STEERING

The steering, suspension, and wheels suck!!! on my 2000 dodge durango.n feb. 15, 2003 while driving my durango, it totally lost control, causing me to side swipe one car, then cause damage to a second and third car. i continue to drive a vehicle that i do not feel safe in. with four children i can not afford to purchase another car. if i could get out of my contract with dodge and trade it in for a safer suv, i would. when riding i constantly experience my rear wheels sliding to my right; this usually happens whenever i ride over pot holes or bumps in the street, which is practically evey couple dozen feet in the city. my driving experience with my 2000 dodge durango is so unsatisfying. prior to me purchasing my dodge, i was the owner of not one, but two toyota camry's. i made the choice not to go back to the toyota dealer to purchase an suv. instead, as a token of my appreciation to my country. i thought it was best to purchase an american made vehicle; you know, keep the money at home. every day i questioned that theory. usually i'm not this harsh of a person, but when it comes down to my children's safety; well, i get pretty pissed. we limit our long distance traveling time. i totally do not drive when its raining, unless i absolutely have to. on highways i drive at least 5-10 miles under the speed limit; for fear of losing control. and to top things off i have this grinding type noise up and around my axle thing; that no one at the two dodge repair garages seems to know what it is exactly. i had my ball joints replaced twice. one month after i got brand new brakes put on, they started to squeak. i was told that the majority of dodge suv's brakes squeak, its just how the manufacturers make them; go figure. *ak ...

After two weeks of purchasing our (2 years old @ that time)durango, as we were driving we heard a loud screaching noise, we found a piece that appearantly broke off, it had to do with the brakes we were told. later our transmission wasnt functioning properly, it needed new sensor. when steering it screaches (had problem right after purchasing) and its been getting worse, we took it to dealer and they flushed power steering fluid and we also had to have right ball joint replaced at the same time. when steering it still sounds bad. we had to replace the battery a year after purchasing one at the dealership and a month after that our transmission went out. dealer wanted to charge $3700.00. we took it somewhere else, hope to pick up today from shop will be paying $2570.00. *ak

Consumer stated that while driving at any speed and without warning the steering bolts are lose and it is causing steering wheel to jump. dealer notified. ts

At 55mph consumer lost control of vehicle, went into a ditch, and vehicle rolled over. upon impact, none of the airbags deployed. please provide any further information.*ak

Steering wheel grip wore down, steering became slick. dealer replaced steering, and 10,000 miles later the grip wore down again.*ak

Had to replace rack and pinion power steering unit on 2000 dodge durango when vehicle only had 48,800 miles, also, had to replace upper ball joints, was hard to keep vehicle on the road when hitting any bumps. *la

Power steering

Discovered information about defect on the 2000 durrango from the media this morning 3/4/2004 close friend considered family was killed in a head on collision on highway 156 in may of 2002. entire family still to day was wondering what happened to make his vehicle go into another lane which cause the crash at 3:00pm. autopsy report no drugs, no alcohol, no physical evidence of a heart attack or strock. it's been bothering us from that day as to what happened. on the picture of the vehicle front page of the hollister paper the durrango he was driving it's clear as day that the wheel on the driver side is bent and could have snap causing the fatal head on accident that not only killed leonardo marquez upon impact but also killed the women driver of the other vehicle upon impact. the article is on the front page of the free lance local paper hollister california tueday may 14th 2002 vol 129 issue 149. this steering defect information was never known by myself or the family until discovered on kpix channel 5 news 3/4/2004 which lead me to this web site. *ak

When getting into third gear transmission would not shift, transmission will roar up, dealership replaced transmission twice. *ak consumer is stating that the mechanic told them, that dodge has had a history of problems with bad seals in their transmissions,consumer feels that dodge should pay for the second transmission replacement. *yd

September 13, 2001 my husband curtis joyner was killed in a crash in hernando, ms due to poor wheel base structure and poor wheel balance structure of durango's of handling curves, was stated by accident reconstructing crew that's what caused the vehicle to rollover in curves. i hired attorney mcgraw of olivebranch, ms; who later stated he did not have the time to put into this matter, but was certainly a good case. i emailed dateline regarding this matter also. i say one night on their show where they showed how the durango's did not pass the crash in curves or on the road. *nm

Pulled into garage and car would not go into park, reverse, drive, etc. - digital gauge on the dash showed that the car was in gear 1. the car felt like it was in park although we had a difficult time turning the car off since gears would not work properly. even though the car was in park, it was able to be rocked back and forth as if it was in neutral.we had it towed away on a flatbed to the dealer since we were not able to drive it. we were told that a part snapped in the steering column. we've complained to dealer on two separate occasions (mileage 5963 and 14120) about the problems in the steering column portion of the vehicle - the service department couldn't duplicate the problem, and told us not to worry about it... it makes me wonder what would have happened if i was driving (with my two small children) when this part snapped??*ak

Engine has had a miss in it since we purchased the car. we have took it back to the dealer 3 times complaining, with the first one was before it had 2000 miles on the car. the dealership told us the first time that it would/did not show up on the computer until it had over 2000 miles on the car. so drive it until then, and if it still did it bring it back in. we brought it back in at 3,803 miles,7,596 miles and then at 18,275. at 7,596 miles they reprogrammed the car and told us to use unleaded plus gas instead of regular. it did no good to change the grade of gas. then we brought it back in at 18,275 miles with 4 different problems and they changed the fan clutch. the car still missed after this. the dealership told us at this time that they had 3 other cars with the same problem and that chrysler does not know what the problem is and can not fix it. as far as the clock spring, they were going to replace it, but chrysler told them instead to change out the steering column instead.*ak

2000 dodge durango 2 wheel drive. i bought the vehicle new. currently has 39,000 miles on it. ave had to replace both upper ball joints on the vehicle already (approximately 23,000 miles were on the vehicle at the time). now, i am told, i have to replace the right upper again. i also have to replace the right inner tie-rod, and the rack & pinion bushings. i have had constant front tire wear problems since the car was new. i am on my third set of tires for the front end.*ak

Winding sound in steering when tuning wheel,horible sound while turning wheels and backing up,door locks are in locked position (can't open to get out of car and loud sound going off when door locks are supposed to self lock at 25 mph)bought car in 2001, after 6 mo took car to dearership to report problems while still under warranty and they said nothing was wrong. still have paperwork to show of the complaints.i have 3 small grandchildren i take care of and transport in the vehicle. hope you people do something about this before someone dies or you will really be out of pocket. i have less that 60,000 miles on suv so this can't be due to wear and tear. ( i marked oem yes if that pertains to original parts on suv). *ak

While driving steering malfunctioned, causing steering wheel to lock up. driver must jerk the steering wheel in order to return to normal which may cause a crash. please provide further information.*ak

While making a turn power steering locked up, and the air bag light illuminated. consumer was told by dealer, that the clock spring broke, and that this could cause the air bag to deploy.*ak

I have two: 1: brake rotors are once again out of round/warped suv has 37,000miles on it, used mostly on weekends. pads have over 90 percent left. first rotors were changed at 20,000 miles (about 1-2 years ago) pads then were still 80 percent left. my other car , driven just as much, does not have this problem. 2- power steering is non-existant when temp is under 32 degrees. after you let the car warm up about 1 min., it starts to work.*ak

Since day one this vehicle has been in and out of dealership, from transmisson problems, steering , noises. i stopped bringing in truck at 30,000 miles when my warranty expired, and know i just have live with it.*ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

1) replaced rack & pinion @ 41k miles 2) passenger window has been repaired 4 times at dealer and is working more poorly than ever before 3) two batteries replaced in first 2 years-i'm on my third now 4) suv towed due to air bag light. *jb

Consumer was traveling 75mph, almost hit another vehicle on the side of bridge. vehicle felt like someone was pulling it left to right. problem was intermittent, but happened alot. manufacturer didn't see it as a problem.*ak

The vehicle constantly drifts to the left and right while driving, the dealer performed a front wheel alignment but the consumer stated that the problem persisted, the dealer stated that the vehicle is operating as designed. nlm

While driving at approx. 40-45 mph steering wheel completely fell off, it was holding on by 3 wires which could have caused loss of vehicle control. dealer is inspecting vehicle. *ak

When driving vehicle steering wheel will wander off without prior warning. dealership is aware of the problem.*ak

The car is hard to control (steer) and the dealer has worked on it two times and is unable to correct the problem. the star hot line was called today, and i was told to bring the car in in six days and they would work on it again. i am concerned about how safe it is on the road.

Vehicle sold to consumer with defective rear end suspension which failed shortly after purchase (attorney for consumer). mjs