1999 Dodge Durango SLT Plus from North America - Comments

I purchased my 1999 Dodge Durango on October 12, 1998. I have had nothing but trouble and disappointment since the purchase of this vehicle. The battery went dead within the first 90 days. This should have been my first clue to the inferior products used by Dodge Company.

At the time of my purchase, I still owned my 1991 Honda Accord, so the Durango was driven mainly on the weekends and on long distance trips. This infrequent driving did not afford me the opportunity to clearly determine the inferiority of the Dodge products. If I had known what a poor product I possessed, I would have replaced the clutch in my 10 year-old Honda for $535 instead of keeping the inferior Durango. I gave my Honda to charity in 2001. I regret not keeping the Honda and junking the Durango. I am glad that I did not donate this moving nightmare to charity. Owning a Durango has become a continuous repair nightmare. I have had to replace the front brake pads and rotors, ISP motor, O2 sensors, a leak in the coolant system, and last but not least, a transmission rebuild in July of 2004 for the tune of $2022. At the time of the transmission rebuild, I had approximately 72,000 miles on the Dodge Durango. I have spent at least $4,000 in repairs over the past 5 ½ years, not even to mention the cost of rental cars and missed time at work. I did not begin driving the car daily until 2001.

My nightmare continues daily as the oil pressure gage has been dropping to zero and back. I fear engine failure will be next. Each time this occurred in the past, I was told it was a different problem by the dealership (i.e. ISP motor, oil plug was not tightened from my last oil change, etc.). I think they were trying to evade an engine rebuild. I believe there should be some kind of class action lawsuit because Dodge continues to deny any awareness of the problem. This is not a safe vehicle for me to drive on long distance trips. I never know when the oil pressure will drop and the engine will fail. The mechanic who rebuilt my transmission says that all the Dodge transmissions are built the same and that is what keeps him busy rebuilding transmissions. He would have nothing to gain by sharing this information with me. I know he speaks the truth. I am a veteran and value loyalty and trust above all else. Dodge, you have lost a customer for life. ----------Stephanie Marietta GA.

This car is not worth the money you will be required to spend to keep it running.

" so the Durango was driven mainly on the weekends and on long distance trips."

So in other words it sat for a week, then you jumped in and took it on a long trip. Now, if that's not hard on a cars battery then nothing is. Batteries tend to lose their life when they sit a long time.

My girlfriend has same year dodge durango and she needs new transmission too now. I have 1999 intrepid 108000 miles and no problems with trans.

You need to heavily document your oil changes & maintenance and the oil pressure drop. (your in trouble and soon) From what I have read the oil gets sucked out of the engine (not sure how) thus you have no oil and bingo it's your fault for not checking the oil. My 99 5.9 liter was a $5,500 dollar bill. If you have been changing the oil yourself your in big trouble.

PS: my battery blew up (literally) when the car was a year old. and now my engine stalls without warning (most forum's are saying crank sensor or PCM or 3 or more other things) lets hope the dealer guesses right. This is very dangerous by the way my wife barely rolled out of the way of a semi truck today.

If I wasn't upside down in this I would sell it.

Good Luck.

AC in Portland Oregon.

I have a 2000 Durango...Nothing but trouble since it was 4 mo. old. Now...4 yrs later, still trouble. I go to start the truck and it will not turn over. It's not the battery or a fuse issue. Checked all major equipment and all seems well. No one can figure out why the car just decides to not start! So much for reliability...

I have a 1999 Dodge Durango that will stall after about 15 minutes of running and if you let it sit for about 5 to 10 minutes it will start back up. I have changed the distributor cap, rotor, spark plug wires, crank sensor, temp. sensor, cam sensor and the computer. I don't know what to do next has anyone had this problem before???

My best friend has a 99 Durango 5.9 liter, and soon after purchase, the right rear door became stuck closed, eventually began opening again, now whenever attempting to lock the doors the lock in that particular door makes a loud buzzing/electrical sound. The vehicle is very luxurious with Infinity sound, leather and tons of power, but now it's in the shop because of "Check Engine" light coming on, might be O2 sensors?? I Hope my friend isn't stuck with a lemon, but from what I have been reading on this web sight, I'm beginning to wonder if this is just the first of his troubles.

James-Corvallis, OR.

Yeah my car stopped after 10-15 minutes.I had to change the computer cost like 500 bucks man! good luck does anyone have a problem with their headlights? My headlights won't turn on. Fuses are fine. Switch is good. Mechanics couldn't find anything imma take it the dealer any suggestions before I spend a bunch of money thanks!

I have a 1999 5.9L Durango and the drop in oil pressure has been a known problem. They have a problem with a gasket in the cylinders coming loose and getting sucked in the engine, allowing all of the oil to be blown out of the engine. I've heard of it happening to someone and it blew the engine in 30 miles.

I just happened to get lucky and caught it right away, but of course it still cost $450 and I've been living with a severe knock. But I will give the engine some credit, it's lasted 5 years and 60000 miles since that happened. I just have to carefully monitor the oil level before every trip.