2000 Dodge Durango SLT 5.9 liter

Summary:

A good SUV, but unpredictable reliability.

Faults:

The transmission started to make a knocking noise and needed to be repaired.

The driver door lock started to make a buzzing sound which got louder over time and stopped working altogether.

Every time it rained or snowed the vehicle would drive o.k. for a little while and then would drive rough, then it would stop all together. Took it to the dealer 3 times and no one could figure it out. They gave it a tune up and had the spark plug wires and distributor cap changed twice and the problem was still there. Even asked the dealer to wet the engine and still the problem was there. I found the problem myself one day when I was filling the windshield wiper fluid and some spilled on to the ignition relay, which happens to be real close to what I was doing. The car was running and started to run rough. I poured the windshield fluid right on to it and the truck shut off. I took it to the dealer and told them what happened, they were shocked and was convinced that that was my problem and fixed it after they did there on water test on it.

The rear "fold and tumble" seats don't "fold and tumble" smoothly. The lever to fold the seats does not unlock easily and we have to kind of bang on the seats to unlock it.

The truck now has a cracked head or the head gasket needs to be replaced.

The floater in the gas tank needs to be replaced because every now and then the gas needle will drop down to "E" and the gas light will come on. After a few seconds the needle would move back to where it was before.

General Comments:

After owning the car for one year, our problems started to occur. Most of the problems were covered under the warranty so the costs were covered, except for the $300.00 spark plugs, wires and distributor cap.

The ignition relay problem was the biggest cause of my migraines because it took about 3-4 breakdowns in the rain and snow, 3 trips to the dealer, a few missed days at work and now my wife doesn't want to even touch the truck because she is afraid it might get stuck on her.

Now the truck is in the shop with either a cracked head or a blown head gasket and my warranty went up at 75,000 miles and the truck just turned 80,000. This is going to cost me between $2,500-$3,000 to repair.

When the truck is not causing headaches, it runs well and very strong. The 5.9 liter V8 engine is very powerful.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 30th July, 2004

4th Sep 2004, 16:31

Thank you for your write up. I own a 2000 Dodge Durango SLT. I believe that I've had the same problem, but up until now was unaware of the cause. After taking the vehicle into the shop, they were unable to find a cause. It just started on its' own after about 2.5 hours. I would really appreciate you being more specific to the cause and fix to the problem of the Durango shutting off in either rain or snow. Thank you very much for your time and input.

Alfredo Gonzalez

alfredo.gonzalez2@us.army.mil.

5th Jan 2005, 11:55

I recently took my 2000 Dodge Durango to the shop to get the ball joints fixed. I had the same problem, I would be driving down the road and all of a sudden lose power. It stopped doing this for a few months, so I let it go. Within the past few days it begun doing this again, only it takes about 10minutes to start back up again. I previously owned a Chrysler Concorde that did the same thing, my dad is a mechanic and he said it was a sensor problem. So I asked the dealer to check this out for me. My dad was right, they said it was the crank sensor that is going out. This is what tells your engine to run. I hope this helps.

2000 Dodge Durango SLT 4.7 V8

Summary:

A nice SUV, but expensive to fix

Faults:

The Fuel pump quit at 42000 miles.

At 48000 miles I had to replace the front brakes and pads.

General Comments:

A real nice SUV.

Even though I have had to put about $1000.00 in repairs since I bought it last year, It is a real nice truck to drive, But a little hard on Gas.

My only concern has been when I was in an accident this past winter (I hit a tree head on) my airbags never deployed. The dealership had no answer for that even though the whole front end was taken out.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th July, 2004

25th Feb 2006, 00:10

No kidding! If your airbags had deployed, you'd be looking at a lot more than a $3500 repair.

Happy Driving!

28th May 2007, 18:29

This is another comment from the person who wrote the original comment. My durango now has 110.000 miles on it. I have only had to replace tires and brake pads. I love My durango hope it lasts me years to come.

3rd Sep 2007, 21:03

This is from the person who wrote the original entry.

The truck would not pass inspection this year the ball joints were shot had to be replaced (the truck had 115000 miles on it).

Front brakes had to be replaced (they were only 2 years old)

It also was having issues with the Engine just stalling out at any given moment.

Just traded it for another SUV that was better on gas and is supposed to have a good reputation.

I would not buy another Durango just too thursty on gas and too expensive to keep fixing. It is a nice truck, but you need to have the check book along with it to keep up with the repairs.