2004 Dodge Durango from North America - Comments

At least 5 times as many as 6 warning lights have come on as well, as the check engine light. The last time it happened I hit the brake at the same time the warning lights came on and the brake pedal went to the floor. We were all nearly killed in an intersection. When I stopped, I had a brake pedal again, but also a check engine light. Took to the dealer (for the third time) who reset check engine light and told me that nothing was wrong and that the brakes cannot go to the floor. I told him to drive it for a month and see, He refused. They did a recall for a control unit under the dash and hadn't had problem for 4 months. It happened again yesterday.

I have also reported that the engine sometimes revs way up and I barely make any headway. This goes on for 5-10 minutes and goes back to normal. Checked twice by 2 dealers and was told they cannot duplicate the problem. I am not driving the car, and have 9 mos. left on the lease and it's sitting in the garage. It's trash.

This car is a death trap and should be banned from the road.

I have a 2004 Dodge Durango and have been experiencing the same issues, braking, engine revving up and engine stalling out. Each time I have taken to the dealer and they said nothing was wrong with the car.

The braking problem happened today, February 8, 2009, in an intersection. The pedal went to the floor, but the Durango did not stop. It made a buzzing noise. The road was dry. Lucky for me nothing was coming. I had to turn off the 4.7L Durango and restart it. The brakes worked fine again, although my confidence is low.

As for the revving issue and going nowhere, the dealer told me it was a common problem with a All Wheel Drive Durango, and would not cause any problems.

As for the Durango stalling out, it mostly happens when I am backing out of my driveway, stop, and put the Durango into drive. I turn the wheel and it shuts off completely, and I mean completely. No warning lights, nothing. It is just as if the Durango had the plug pulled on it. I restart it and everything is fine again. The Dealer cannot find anything wrong with it at all.

The reason your Durango is shutting off when pulling of from the driveway is because it is not being warmed up properly. Same thing happened with my Durango. My mechanic told me to let it heat up for 5-10 minutes. You should try it.

"The reason your Durango is shutting off when pulling of from the driveway is because it is not being warmed up properly."

Back when we had the oil crisis in the mid 1970's, there were a number of laws passed to improve fuel efficiency. One of them was intended to eliminate gas wasted by cars having to idle to warm up before being ready to drive off. I forget exactly how long the time limit was. But I think I remember it was something like a car had to be ready to drive off within 20 seconds of it being started. I am sure it was not something really long like 5 minutes. Also I am sure when the Durango was new, it did not require such a long warm up time. There is no way Dodge would even try to get a car like that approved for sale in the US.

Something is wrong with that vehicle, and there is a even some chance it qualifies for repair paid for by the manufacturer since this would be in violation of federal emissions laws. There are quite a few special requirements on manufacturers for mandated emissions and safety features. For instance, federal law requires any seat belt defect has to be paid for by the manufacturer for the life of any car, no matter how old it is.

I had a Honda Accord, it was the wort car I have ever owned, terrible quality from the first week. My Durango with Hemi is a far superior car in every way. No problems with what your talking about.

Yes, on a modern fuel-injected car, it is ridiculous to have to "warm up properly" before leaving the driveway. You start it, maybe let it idle in neutral for 10 seconds to circulate the fluids, and you should be ready to go. If not, there is something wrong. The "warming up" bit went out with carburetors 25 years ago.

I have a 03 Durango and it started with the stalling also. Mostly on a turn, and yes the vehicle is always warmed up before driven. This Durango 4.7L is a peach, is treated very well and only has 58K on it, and still looks and drives like new.

So, here's what started to happen before stalling - Blower motor resister burned out 2 times, the second time it took the plug with it. I noticed, after fixed again for the 3rd time the blower motor would turn off on when making turns, then it started happening when I was idling in the drive way. Then the stalling started!!! As if the key was turned off, it stalled in driveway and it stalled just after making a right turn. Like I said this truck is a peach and over maintained, and garage kept. After a minute or so - it would start again with no warning lights or check engine light on - as if nothing ever happened - Weird!

This is what I found and I hope it helps - I'm going to check over my truck tomorrow and test this following recommendation I found on another forum, and here it is!

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ef9e8e7/196#MSG196

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ef9e8e7/201#MSG201

OK - Found the problem!!!

The last comment I put was for my 03 Durango stalling after it burned out 2 blower motor resistors.

OK, found the issue with the stalling and it is simple and not pretty either.

What happens is the short in the system due to a defective blower motor (that seemed to work properly) that was actually bad. The motor works fine, but there is too much resistance or load on the blower motor. This then feeds back to the resistor and blew it out.

WHAT EVERYONE DOESN'T KNOW THAT I AM SHARING IS THAT - NOT EVEN THE DODGE GUYS KNOW ABOUT THIS ONE, AND HERE IT IS!

The short actually worked its way back to the ignition control box, which is on the left side (inside) of the steering column. The short puts too much of a load on the main power lead in the switch, and it gets warm and then just shuts the engine off without warning, and will even show NO CODES OR LIGHTS FOR THIS PROBLEM.

The switch is a black box that has a large cannon plug on it, and it controls the access/power/and start/run function of the truck. So when it shorts out - it's as if someone actually turned the key off on you while driving. Until I let it sit for a couple of minutes - the truck would start back up with no issues.

This black box works in line through a little shaft to the key that starts the truck. Since the short happens under normal key running operation - when it shorts the truck will actually crank strong, but will not start. This is because the contact in the box for continued running once you let the key go after starter kicks motor over is burned out.

So - I opened the box to find some things that were sad, - ONE - the black burn mark on the contact was noticed, TWO - The black box switch inside is a cheap 1920 style, cheap plastic 3 piece switch with no stamp on it where it was actually made. The stupid blower motor resistor from Dodge says - Indonesia, LOL. The Black box (ignition switch) said nothing but VELCO on it.

So if your truck stalls and the truck is equipped with a Power Steering Pressure sensor and it's fine, but still stalls - DO NOT GO CHANGING SENSORS THAT DO NOT TRIP A CODE, OR CHANGE A BATTERY UNLESS IT ACTUALLY NEEDS ONE, AND BY THE WAY? DO NOT CHANGE THE IGNITION KEY TUMBLER LOCK AND KEY SET FOR NOTHING - IT'S THE IGNITION CONTROL BOX!

PS - Recommend changing, cleaning and adding a few extra grounds to the truck - it helps. Also take note if the stalling happens when the blower motor is on. Most people leave them on while driving even if it's on low.

Also if anyone is sick of factory wiring harnesses and dealer crap. Go to "Painless" wiring - they will make a new harness for a fraction of the cost of dealer imported cheap crap replacement parts.

Aftermarket baby!

Cal at www.SpectorsInvestigations.com

The truck is our Ghost Rig - "Hallow 1". Love mo-pars, no matter how many times the factory tries to bend me over - I just go aftermarket and fix it myself. They can go pump themselves!