Problems with 2001 Dodge Durango SUSPENSION

Right rear leaf spring broken at rear eye where shackle bolt goes through. no abusive action which should have caused breakage.

Noise in front left suspension of our 2001 durango with only 25,000 miles. took to dealer, first they said they were replacing tie-rod then they replaced the ball joint. @ weeks after the repair, car making same noise.*ak

Consumer stated that the front upper ball joints have worn out completely. vehicle is in a repair shop at this moment for upper ball joint repairs.*ak

One day while driving with my window down i heard squeaks when driving over small bumps, brought to the dealership and found out that my right front upper ball joint worn out and needs to replace ball joint/upper control arm and align front end ($500). my car was at 37000 mi!!! *nlm

Premature upper ball joint failure on 2001 dodge durango at approx 25,000 miles. i am a certified master school bus tech and became aware there is an investigation after reading a trade magazine. i thought i should report this. thank goodness it made a squeaking noise causing me to check the suspension and find the problem. i can see where this failure could be catastrophic to someone who does not pay attention to the warning signs. the vehicle was repaired properly and has been fine since. however, i feel there is a defect in the ball joints and they should be checked for cause of failure so a design / manufacturing upgrade can be implemented. a recall probably would be in order. this is not only an unfair expense for vehicle owners who's warranties have expired, but a safety hazard as well.

Consumer states that the front suspension ball joint is wearing out prematurely. dealer notified.*ak

I have 2001 dodge durango and recently heard noises in the front end ,and the vehicle seems to skip across the road when going over bumps. in addition, the right side tires both front and back are wearing on the outside. the left side is wearing normally. while going over bumps, the steering wheel at times, is almost thrown out of your hands. vehicle also seems to be riding very rough than when first purchased. dealer inspected front end and claimed there were no problems.*ak

Replacement of left upper ball joint, control arm and left outer tie rod at 47,000 due to premature wear. *la

*akconsumer states that the upper ball joint is failing. dealer notified.

Consumer states while traveling at 60 mph, consumer hit a dip in the road, lost control of vehicle, and hit a wall. upon impact, none of the air bags went off. *ak both airbags deployed tow truck driver informed consumer that the tie rod end failed to cause such accident. *ts

I have a 2001 dodge durango that had the upper control arm and lower ball joints wore out prematurely. the vehicle has 50599 miles. took the vehicle in to repair the a/c blower. the dealer called to tell me during the test drive, they heard popping noises in the front end. they checked the ball joints and control arms and found them to be out of tolerance and needed to be replaced. question why the took a "test drive" to check the a/c blower. i suspect they knew there was a problem with the ball joints and control arms on this model and wanted to have it corrected.*ak

The consumer took the vehicle in for inspection. the mechanic noticed that the front upper ball joints were wearing prematurely. the owner will have the dealership fix the upper ball joints. please provide any further details. *ph

Both rear leaf spring assemblies broke. *jb *scc *jb

Front ball joint failure under normal driving conditions in the 2001 dodge durango vehicles. reported cases of failure causing accidents. manufacture problem, can't be corrected. ball joints can be replaced but it will fail agian. also dash lights fail without warning. several times brake lights and blinkers not working. pull fuse out- not blown. put back in and they work again for awhile. also, middle seat, seat belt not retracting properly for passengers. risk of bodily injury or death to passengers with all above cases.

Lost control of 2001 dodge durango on broken arrow expressway between harvard and lewis , heading west there has been several times that this has happened, not all at the same location. i feel there is a problem with my dodge, and the road at this location is extremely bad. i called the highway dept. left a message but never heard back.

Consumer states that the upper ball joint is wearing out prematurely. dealer notified.*ak

Owner of a 2001 durango slt & 2004 durango ltd. the 2001 durango had excessive wear on the ball joints at about 40k miles which required replacement in order to pass safety inspection. (front wheels were loose). the manufacturer did not cover the cost of replacement parts or labor.

upper and lower ball jointproblems. vehicle was taken in to the dealer, and she was told that she should not be driving the vehicle. manufacturer was contacted, and stated that they had no other complaints but they were willing to split the charges.*ak

We own a 2001 dodge durango, no longer undfer warranty; however, it has been in for service for shaking and no one was able to find the problem. i do believe it is the ball joint problem. what is the manufacturer going to do about this to compensate the owners of these premature wearing of the ball joints? is there going to be a recall? also, what risk am i taking driving the durango the way it is? we have 3 year old son.*ak

I had to prematurely replace the right upper ball joint and control arm on my 2001 dodge durango. the vehicle only had 42,000 miles on it when they were replaced. sounds like it was a good idea that i listened to the rattle and had it fixed before something tragic happened. *ak

Consumer stated the vehicle was taken in for a routine inspection. the mechanic stated the upper ball joints were so bad that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. *ph the service dealer (g&g tire) warned the consumer that the upper left ball joint was worn then the consumer informed the dealer who actually replaced the part. *scc *jb

2001 dodge durango; ball joint needed replacement at 27,000 miles.

At any speed consumer can hear a clanking sound coming from the front end of the vehicle. also, when turning corners there is a clanking sound coming from the wheel area.*ak

The upper and lower ball joints failed at only 33966 miles. the consumer had read of many other deranges having the same problem. the dealer replaced the upper joints but not the lower joints. *ph *ak *jb

My ball joints and right contol arm have gone out again. on 12-6-02 i took my car into the dealership and they replaced my ignition switch and right control arm and hub bearings. no i have the same problem again and they do not want to help me with my problem. i just drive in the city. my ro # is 262789. it was a done at valencia dodge.*ak

There was a knocking noise that sounded like something was loose in the front end of the vehicle. the noise mostly occurred when vehicle went over a bump in the road. dealership performed a diagnostic test, but no failure code was found. *ak

The control arm and ball joint experienced premature wear. *ak. the dealer refused to replace under warranty. the spark plugs were replaced. *jb

While driving at 40 mph, the consumer heard a clanking sound coming from the front end. the vehicle has been to the dealer three times for this problem. the consumer felt that the ball joints wore out. the dealer examined the vehicle, but could not diagnose what was causing the noise. *ak the engine light had come on, the vacuum hose leaked, and there was a knocking noise in the rear compartment. it was later found that the rear door latch rattled due to internal damage. *sc *jb

Front wheel fell (from the ball joints to the tire) off our 2001 dodge durango causing the vehicle to crash into a curb. appeared to be faulty ball joint (area), chrysler investigated and said it wasn't faulty equipment. this seems to be a cover-up on chryslers part. people in my family could have died. the air bags did not deploy during this accident.*ak ea03-023

My durango is all over the road on bumpy surfaces and if you happen to hit a bump on a corner, it jumps across the road. the dealer put on new front shocks, but it did not correct the problem. i have not had a chance to return it again. *la

When making a sharp left turn there is a popping noise in the front end. consumer feels it may be related to ball joint failure. *ak

I was having difficulty making turns. i felt like my front left tire was going to come off when i would make turns. i immediately took my vehicle to my dealership. i was told that my left ball joint was bad and adviced not to drive my vehicle until i had the problem fixed. i was also told the part i needed was on a national backorder and they were unsure when it would be available. i was told that the problem i have with my vehicle is under investigation.*ak

#1-3 incidents of front brake calipers locking up causing significant steering and control problems, required the replacement of the front hub bearings as a result at the owners expense; #2-left upper ball joint required replacement to maintain safety of vehicle (right side beginning to make the same sound); #3-multiple incidents (at least 5) of cel coming on within last 9 months-the last (8/20/04) indicates that the fuel pump, gas tank, and other components will need to be replaced as the gas tank becomes concave after the vehicle runs for 15-30 minutes leading to a possible explosion. *jb

I have a 2001 dodge durango. it was making a squeaking noise around the driver side front tires. i took in to my local dealer. they kept my car for 4 days and replaced the sway bar bushings and the suspension. they then told me that it didn't rectify the problem; therefore, they would keep an open ticket on this and if anything came up similar to my problem they would notify me. well, the noise has gotten worse, and we have seen numerous things on the news about the upper ball joints. my husband then called them, and they said they had no such problem, and no open tickets or record of my brining in the car. i have 2 children and numerous nieces and nephews who are with me. i am afraid that something might happen. i don't feel this is right when you pay a fortune for a car. i think it should be safe. *jb

Control arms/ball joints on both sides of the front of the vehicle wore out prematurely. this includes both sets of upper and lower control arms/ball joints.

This is a chronic ongoing problem that has never been resolved. the front end of my durango will not stay aligned for even a week. it is so bad that it pulls so hard to one side, that it becomes undrivable and extremely unsafe. i took it to the dealer, who charged me a lot of money, to continuously tell me they have realigned it and as soon as i leave the parking lot it starts pulling. they try to tell me it is just the road grade. it is not! *jb

Steering wheel pulled to right (as if someone grabbed it and pulled). steering pulled same way again (within seconds) and durango went into spin, then into ditch, then rolled. road conditions were excellent, no other traffic, weather was dry and clear.*ak

When driving over a bump at any speed vehicle is hard to control, it goes to left or right. dealer blamed this on too much tire pressure, and adjusted the pressure. consumer test drove another vehicle like this, did not handle the way her's did. *ak

Front tires started wearing excessivey on the outer edge with less than 2000 miles on vehicle accompanied by hard pulling to the right. vehicle has been to taken to two different dealers with minimal results. it was first diagnosed as an alingment problem, dealer supposedly aligned vehicle to factory specs. the second visit i was told the spring isolators were misaligned (realigned isolators and front end). "complaints about service and continuos problems addressed to service manager". i was offered a free oil change as compensation. third visit was to different dealer who identified the problem as worn right front upper ball joint (replaced parts). vehicle was taken in again recently at 36000 miles with excessive tire wear and uncontrollable pull to the right. dealer stated that the goodyear ls tires were the problem since they are only a 30,000 mile tire and cross rotated the lt. and rt. front tires as a fix. i immediately followed up with a visit to the local goodyear dealer and the first suggestion was i get a front end alignment and told me that the goodyear tires on the vehicle are 40,000 mile plus. all problems have all occured during the warranty period. additionally i called chrysler to inquire about noted problems and was told they had not received any complaints or history of front end problems with durangos. i did request to start a customer problem file and expressed my concern about both dealerships reluctance to provide quality service for warranty work. finally, when driving over a bump at any speed vehicle is hard to control, the vehicle will becomes very unstable and bounces to left or right.

I would like to file a claim regarding my 2001 dodge durango 4x4. i have experienced problems with the upper and lower ball joints on my durango. both the upper and lower ball joints were so worn out the truck would not go down the highway straight. the ball joints were both located on the passenger side. i have since had them replaced. the truck had only 59,000 miles on it. i feel this is premature wear and is a faulty design. i have seen the investigation on tv and feel this should be a recalled item. it has affected alot of vehicles from 1998-2003, why has no one forced a recall yet? this is clearly a safety issue, if the front wheels fly off, or you cant keep the vehicle going in a straight line, it is a safety issue and dodge should be forced to correct it immediatly.*ak

This vehicle and all other durangos are not safe at this speed, to stay on track over un-even road. this can cause sevear accidents on fwy use as i-75 or i-94 in detroit. please look also at the ford explore up to the new model which has finaly a indepented rear , therfore a smaller roll-over incedent rate will result. please contact me for further information.*ak

I have been with this vehicle in the shop every time you turn around. currently we were driving down the road and smoke came from the vents. it was a fire which they are still trying to find where the short is. also the convertor for the air conditioner is bad and had to be replaced. because of the short the battery was replaced two times because of the burning it up, the spring broke when i hit a bump and my daughters neck was wrenched. every other day the vehicle won't start, the locks won't work after having them redone by clio chrysler, the windows won't go up and down, the car has a bad steering rack which we reported to you quite some time ago (2 different dealerships evaluated and reported this), the ball joints were bad, the car creaks currently underneath as though it is going to fall in to pieces. the alternator had to be replaced, the sensors all were going bad at different times, so every other day the car won't run. the one cost us a mint in gasoline because the car would just drink the gas and shoot out black smoke. this is a 2000 vehicle from problems dating from day one of purchase. the vehicle. *nm