I bought a new 1998 Durango SLT with a 5.2L engine in December 1997. At 35K miles my rear end started whining, and eventually I lost power to the rear wheels. I had it replaced with the warranty (miraculous that it didn't happen at 36,001 miles, because I had a 36K mile warranty) but other than running it in to things (my fault) and some minor electrical issues, I have never had a major problem. It has 187K miles on it and it is all stock, no modifications at all. Just regular oil changes. Maybe I am just lucky.
You know that I have had a lot of the same problems. My Durango 1999 SLT has 98,000 miles and just recently has the oil pressure guage dropped to zero. They replaced the oil sensor and everything was OK for awhile. I also had a lot of problems with the power windows. Several of the motors in the windows had to be replaced. If this is a universal problem, then I wonder why nothing has been done by Dodge.
I own a 1999 Durango 2WD with the 5.2 engine. I have experienced similar oil problems as described here. I have also had all four window motors replaced and the drivers window motor I had to replace a second time myself. It has just over 100k miles. I started putting 40W oil in the engine because I live in a hot climate and the disappearing oil problem slowed down. I checked it two days ago after a few hundred miles and I was shocked that it was still full. This took over a year of using the higher weight oil. Now, the A/C is not cooling properly and everything seems to work correctly with proper freon levels etc. I too would join a class action suit for the Durangos. I have two more Mopar vehicles with no troubles. They are Jeeps.
Rtippett@gt.rr.com.
I have a 1999 Dodge Durango that has been loosing coolant since 19xxx miles, and they said it was the thermostat gasket. It still leaks. Now my speedometer do not register until 35mph, can anyone help me with this problem. I have also heard a knocking noise since about 40xxx. I have been happy with the truck other wise.
Gary
GL_68@Hotmail.com.
We bought a 1999 Dodge Durango less than 2 months ago, it had 54,000 miles on it when we bought it. Twice now it has just stopped running while I had it in park and running, and it would not start back up for 5 hours. The security light came on, so we thought it was the security system. Yesterday while driving down the road it just quit. It did however start back up after 20 minutes this time. We took it the local mechanic and found out the Intake center gasket is blown and burning oil rapidly, and the Body control module is faulty. We are looking at 2-3 weeks with the Durango down and well over $1,000 to fix. The mechanic told us the intake gasket thing is a big problem in the Durango's and this is why so many engines blow, ours is the 318, 5.2 engine. I Love the look and how this vehicle drives, but when you pay as much as I did you expect the truck to be reliable. Thank goodness I didn't sell my Toyota 4runner, I am now driving that again.
We are seriously thinking of selling the Durango and buying a newer Toyota. I thought we would be good Americans and buy American, I am rethinking that. I have always bought Nissan's and Toyota's.
We purchased a 1999 Dodge Durango a little over a year ago. We also have the dropping oil pressure, check gauges, and disapearing oil problem. Last week the trans coolant return line came off while sitting parked at work. Of course when I left work in the morning I didn't notice that when I drove out of work that I was leaving all my transmission fluid in the parking lot. It went about 2 miles before it didn't have enough fluid in the transmission to run anymore. We discovered the problem, reattached the line, put 8 quarts of transmission fluid back in it and drove it home. The transmission would slip a little when you initially took off, but was fine once you got it up to about 30-40 mph. Last night it started fine and when I got about 6 miles down the road it decided that the transmission didn't want to go anymore. So now my Durango is sitting on the side of the road waiting to get towed in and find out what is up this time. If you are like me you are in for too much, and owe to much not to try and fix them. Why isn't Dodge addressing these problems? Is it going to take one of us losing power and causing a major accident before they own up to the fact that these vehicles have some serious, expensive problems? Add me to any class action suit that you are able to get started because they need to be held liable for this. I would feel guilty trading this off or selling it to another unsuspecting customer.
Taylor7664@sbcglobal.net.
I just bought a 1999 Dodge Durango 68k and now I'm scared about my oil. If a law suit comes up please let me know. Ryan@installsdirect.com.
My husband and I purchased a '99 Durango in June of 2002. I wish we had seen these comments before buying it. We bought it for the added space, appearance, and drive (as we did not want a mini-van). One of the window motors went out shortly after buying the vehicle. A second motor went out a couple of months ago. We have also had the oil pressure gage problem. We put about $1000 into getting everything fixed just a few months ago, and yesterday started with the gage problem again. We have also had with the ABS and brake warning lights staying on (brakes have been fixed). We have also had the previously mentioned problems with transmission fluid and air conditioning. Dodge really needs to address these issues, especially being that they know it is a recurrent problem.
Outside of these problems we have loved the Durango. We had the Durango for about 2 years before any of these problems came up. Does anyone know if the newer models (2002-2004) are still having these problems? acjmom@bellsouth.net.
In Feb. of 2005 I purchased a Dodge Durango that had 96,000 miles on it. I had several problems with it like I had to replace the intake set, oil pan gasket, rear main seal, then the water pump went out so that and the water pump gaskets. I thought it was because the people that had it before me didn't take care of it. It ran better after I got all that fixed including a oil leak and the antifreeze leak fixed. A month latter after moving from Washington to Texas the oil pressure dropped to zero when I would stop, or come to a stop all of a sudden, or going down a hill. I got the oil changed and the engine flushed including putting TAF in the oil, but it was to late. My Durango started rattling so I took it to Dodge Country. They had to tear down the engine to find out what was wrong come to find out the engine needed to be replaced. Thank goodness I purchased the extended warranty or else I would be paying for a $6,000 dollar engine. Even though I pay for a warranty if I want a new engine I had to pay $3,000 of it, or I could get a used engine and just pay my deductible and what else isn't covered under my warranty. I know I am going to have problems with the used engine since they are taking it out of the same year Durango. I'm going to get it fixed and then trade it in for a Toyota. I really think there needs to be a recall on these years of Durangos.
I have been considering purchasing a used 1999 5.9 L Durango. I have found a lot of comments (on many web sites) regarding the oil sludge problem. What I am wondering is did anyone ever replace their engine? And then what? After replacing the intake manifold gasket... did that fix the problem? I really like the look and feel of the Durango, but want to be prepared before I buy.
01 durango 5.9 r/t.
Sweet truck rides great, but 34,000 miles on it and the intake gasket is misaligned? Are you kidding me.
That's why it was burning a qt of oil every 300 miles..
My 89 jeeps don't even do that and they are put to the test
a lot.
Dodge I think you should admit your failure! They tried to put 60s-70s technology in modern trucks it is garbage coming out.!!!
More people should post here great site for probs.. sharing.
Thanks
Justin in Keno WI.
Actually I think these V-8s in the Durango would have been a lot better if Dodge had borrowed something from the '60s and '70s technology. I never heard of a 318 from that era having this oil sludge problem, or having clogged oil pump inlet screens or sheared off oil pump drive shafts that cause the engines to seize. As far as I can tell, Dodge's small block V-8s of the '60s and '70s have been proven to be a lot more reliable than the "new and improved" versions. If anyone is interested in a comparison, read the Dodge Ramcharger (predecessor to the Durango) reviews on this site. You'll be hard pressed to find any complaints about the engines.
I bought my 99 Durango in 2002 with 43k on it and had no problems with it until about 2 years ago. Since then I had to replace the water pump, ABS control module, the speedometer, and all four ball joints 3 times. I have put over $3000 into it and I'm just feed up with dodge. I wrote an e-mail to dodge and they told me that they could not do anything for me because it has too many miles on it. It has 110k on it now, but, that is no excuse for these problems to be happening so much. I have replaced the ball joints 3 times within a year and a half. I got to the point were I can't afford to replace theses parts all the time. I would like answers for all this and dodge will not give them out. Now after reading all these comments my oil gauge drops to zero when I come to a sudden stop or go down hills. Thanks Dodge.
Shawn.
I bought my Dodge Durango used almost 3 years ago. It is an 01 Durango R/T. I thought is was a steal as it only had 26K miles on it. Now it has about 60k miles and this week I have had some problems with the transmission. When I travel at 40 mph, the truck shifts gear and it is a violent shift. Sometimes it seems that the truck can't decide what gear to be in and the car loses power and dies out on me. I have no acceleration and I coast to the side of the road and put it in park and shut the car off for a minute, turn it on and I can go. The truck does not always go into park either. Today I sped up to 70 mph and the rev limiter started acting up. The car never shifted gears. Seems like something is very wrong, and the mechanic I spoke to said he does Durangos all the time and he swears the transmission Chrystler put out will put all of his kids through college.
I am sad this happened. Other than tune ups and oil changes the car has never been in the shop or had any problems. Now I have to figure out how to pay for these repairs. If anyone else has had these problems please feel free to e mail me.
Cincinnatikids3@aol.com
Angela.
My wife and I purchased a 98 Durango (318 5.2l v8) that had 90K miles on it almost 3 years ago. I know the previous owner and she was not easy on the truck; hard acceleration, short stops and little maintenance were the norm. When we bought it, the first thing I did was go through the entire truck and replace every fluid and filter it had. The transmission pan had never been off! Since then, I have changed the transmission oil/filter every 20K miles and have religiously stuck with the severe service maintenance schedule. We live in the SF Bay area and I can't imagine anything more severe than stop and start driving on the highways and these mine fields they call roads out here. The bottom line is that in the last 50K miles, the truck runs and looks like new we have not had a single failure. I have replaced things like brakes and tires and I had to replace the rear bumper cover after we were rear-ended by a Toyota that was not able to stop as short as the Durango was.
One thing I think makes a difference is that we always let the truck warm up for a minute (we don't start it and floor it) and we take it very easy on the car for the first mile or so until it comes up to temp. I really think that makes a difference. This is not to say that this truck is babied- we tow trailers all the time and drive a lot of paved and unpaved mountain roads.
The funny part of all this is that the day after we bought the Durango, I read the horror stories on this forum and was, to say the least, concerned. I have owned lots of Dodges over the years including my 93 diesel pickup with 257,000 miles, my '87 Dakota that had almost 300K on it when I sold it and my '63 Plymouth Sport Fury that only has 105K on it- it's the Sunday driver! The Durango is a solid truck and since I know it will be properly maintained, I fully expect to get it to 200K before we retire it.
Good luck to all!
Dan Koepke
dkwwp@yahoo.com.