1999 Dodge Durango SLT from North America - Comments

1999 dodge durango slt,109,000 miles. bought new in 09/12/1999. have replaced water pump, ball joints, and have to flush the engine with kerosine twice a year to keep oil pressure up. pressure just drops while going along and have to slow or stop. if you have this problem do not keep driving with no pressure or it will blow up. it is not the gauge. sometimes it will come back up if I slow or stop and turn off the motor for a few seconds. also the transmission will not shift properly when its cold. after it warms up its fine. i hope dodge has fixed the problem with the oil intake screen getting stopped up on newer models. Rockingham NC. thanks...

We own a 1999 Dodged Durango, V8, and had problems with the ABS light, check engine light, and parking brake light staying on, even the speedometer quit working. We took it everywhere and none of these well trained people could figure it out, but charged us anyway, so I took a chance and repaired it myself. I am not a mechanic. I replaced the speed sensor on the rear differential and took the negative battery cable off for about 15 minutes then put it back on and started it up and everything is fine now, none of these lights have popped up. The vehicle runs better also. Recently though, I have had all the power windows and locks just quit. I checked all the fuses and they are fine, any suggestions? Thanks.

I also have a '99 Durango 318 (5.2) 4x4 that I purchased used four years ago. Since day one, we have had an ABS system problem. I have had to replace the tranny sensors twice, the transmission went out last year. I have been trying to solve the oil pressure problem for over two years. We have dropped the pan and cleaned the sludge out of the bottom twice. I have done a lower-end (bearing?) replacement. All of this helps the oil problem for about 1000 miles and then it starts up again. We have checked the distributor drive gear as well. I had finally decided to just remove the oil pick up screen all together when I visited a 5th mechanic from Chrysler who recommended replacing the intake seal. The Chrysler report indicated that this seal frequently goes out in this engine and in turn causes oil to leak (it has always used about 1 qt./week) and allows air to penetrate the oil and create a sludge-like consistency which can cause the gauge to drop... This is my next step. I can't afford to be out of wheels for the time it would take to tear down and clean the whole block, so I will try the intake seal and see what happens. It is amazing that most Dodge/Chrysler people act like they have never heard of such an ailment, yet the internet is filled with complaints of this exact symptom... This forum is a great help, and any other suggestions would be appreciated! mich.sinclair@gmail.com.

I had my 1999 Durango serviced a couple weeks ago and they dropped the auto transmission with my permission to check for any faulty parts as they found metal filings in the oil pan.

The transmission was normal and they concluded the metal filings were due to normal wear and tear on gears.

Now my son that has been driving it to work noticed the mileage is like 50% of what it was. 16 miles per gallon turned into 8 miles per gallon. Did they use the wrong transmission fluid? or they did not re-install the transmission properly or it would be due to a bad sensor for the computer to adjust fuel mix? I would appreciate any expert advice on this before I confront the service shop.

Thank you.

Pierre.

OK, we bought our Durango new in 1999.It is a 5.9L, are all these problems on 5.2L?Our truck has 55k on it, been wrecked 3 times (these things are tanks).I have always used synthetic oil and changed the oil filter every time, I also put Slick50 in it at 3k. (our model is an SLT Plus 5.9L 4x4)

We have had no problems so far, I just went and checked valve cover oil fill and see no sludge build up. Know I guess, I will be pulling off the oil pan to change the gasket and check it for problems. I was more worried about the transmission.

So are you folks buying these used and having these problems?Are they 5.2L?

We have pulled cars, pop up campers, trailers loaded with wood. We recently bought a travel trailer, I now have concerns. I guess I will pull pans and check everything.

The only issue we had was bad paint and shipping damage not pointed out by the dealer. Which lead us to never purchase another Chrysler vehicle again.

I bought a 1999 Durango 4x4 in May 2005 with 78,000 miles. I did the research and found the two main complaints were the upper and lower ball joints failing and the oil pump failing. Since the ball joints were replaced, I took the chance with the oil pump issue and bought it. I had a complete tune up done and all fluids replaced when I bought it. I now have 152,000 miles on it and its run great for the last 3 years. I now have to replace the water pump, (making noise) and steering gear box, (leaking). Not bad for a 9 year old car. I've always used Castrol part synthetic oil and changed it every 3 to 4 thousands miles. I have not experience the other problems that many of you have, I guess I got one of the better Durango's.

For the Feb 15th commenter--you better check with your son first--sounds like a heavy foot!

My parent's 02 Durango has been having the check gauges problem! And I don't know if the engine's about to blow up or not, but this is bull; I've been reading about all the oil problems that Durangos have been having, and it annoys me that Dodge is not doing anything about it.

Email me if this suit goes on

cvc7chris@gmail.com.

I have a 2001 Dodge Durango 2 Wheel Drive with a 4.7 V8 with 125k miles. Currently, I have a anti-freeze leak, but cannot find any fluid/water leaking, but we get fumes coming inside and not all the time. The water level in reservoir goes low and then we can smell anti-freeze fumes. If anyone has the same problem, please let me know what fixed it at bigoctoman@yahoo.com.

Also, it has been using more oil lately but no oil leaks. Any advise is welcome. Climate cold 40'+ in Sacramento, Ca.

The previous problem on my vehicle was the Durango died out at a stop light, as if the idle was too low. A check engine light came on, can't remember the code, but replaced the Power Steering Pump Sensor and it helped for a while. The idle seems a bit low again 640 rpms, but not dying out.

There was a couple of re-calls on the Dodge Durango's for 1999 to 2002 +/-2. One was on the Four Wheel Drives - Ball Joints. For 2 Wheel Drives, they have to be inspected and if found bad they too will be covered under rc-call back in 2003?

The second re-call on the Durango's is for the gear shifter gauge. The car can change gears at anytime. Call your local Dealership for re-call questions.

Thanks,

The fix for the Durango with sludge in the oil pan, change your oil more frequently, use a better grade of oil filter and or oil. This should cure the problem in the pan.

As for the engine block passages, remove the engine, tear it down and boil the block and rod the passages is the only way to insure oil passage through the entire engine. You get what you pay for.

For those with oil pressure dropping try this:

Get a gallon of diesel fuel and drained about a quart of oil from the Durango. Put a half gallon of diesel into the oil filler and run at idle for 10 minutes and then drain the oil. Put in 4 quarts of new oil and the other half gallon of diesel and ran the truck at idle for 10 minutes again. Then drained the oil and replaced the oil filter and filled the oil normally.

I have had this for over a year! Finally, this worked!

I have a 1999 Durango 5.2, 4x4. I bought it in 2003 with 56,000 miles.

In the first month I went from Maryland to Orlando - it kept cutting off, shop replaced computer module and two other sensors.

I've had nothing but problems with this truck. Had belt & tensioner installed, replaced upper ball joints, tie rods, transmission auxiliary cooler, heater core (which you have to remove the whole dash board and everything else!), A/C service (evaporator & drier), coupling (steering wheel) and now after my husband changed my transmission fluid he found a "O" ring? in the pan.

We took the truck to a transmission place. After they were finished with it, the truck started slipping. I called "aamco"; the tech there told me they aren't sure where this ring drops from the transmission or the transfer, but I can drive and without this "ring" should have no problems.

I just wonder if Dodge would like to have my truck so they'll know what NOT to do next time! No wonder they're having a hard time - they might want to look at some GOOD CAR MAKERS! TOTALLY DISSATISFIED DODGE CUSTOMER.

I own a '99 Dodge Durango with 219,000 miles on it. Recently I took it to the shop to fix a recurring problem, it would randomly break down and start up like an hour later. They told me it was the computer so they put a new one in and it's been driving fine for the past week. In two days I'm driving it 15 hours from El Paso to Utah, and after reading all these comments I'm scared sh**less to be driving it that far. Any hints?

To June 17: I would say that if you haven't had a major problem in 219,000 miles then there's no sense in worrying now. It seems like most failures occur relatively quickly (within 50,000 miles), and if you haven't had trouble yet, they must have either put yours together right or you are treating it right. It will wear out some day, but that day could be years away.