8.8
pretty badTypical Repair Cost:
$1,724.00
Average Mileage:
125,375 miles
Total Complaints:
8 complaints
Most common solutions:
- not sure (4 reports)
- rebuild the transmission (3 reports)
- replace transmission (1 reports)
transmission problem
This problem may be covered under warranty. Ask your Dodge dealer.
Helpful Websites About 1998 Dodge Durango transmission failure
2007Nov 30
Durango 4/4 V6
- Automatic transmission
- 156,000 miles
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Complaint Photos
im really mad about dodge only because lot's of people said go dodge this is my first truck like car and now i need a tran im a single mom and my car will sit tell i can afford to fix it sham on dodge i will never by one again not only that i have to pay fot the dam thing because it's mine and if i don't it will ruin my score..i does work but i get's stuck on 2 and 3 i have to put it on nutl and back to drive just for it to get a gear any help out there?they told me i needed a new tranny and then some one else said tranny sensors help a woman allways getting the run around bye mec.?
2007Sep 06
(reported on)Durango SLT 5.9L
- Automatic transmission
- 67,000 miles
Okay, I own a 1998 dodge durango and recently the transmission started acting up. It would not shift into third gear. I brought it to a transmission shop, replaced the filter, and two days after it started acting up again. I brought it in a second time, and this time the computer that triggers the speedometer was not working. Therefore the transmission could not tell if car was moving. Again it broke down, and finally for the third time again was towed, thank god for AAA. I was told filter was clogged again, my bill for first transmission shop was $800.00! I decided to take it to another shop. This time I was told the trans had to be overhauled, along with leakage car was in shop for almost 2 weeks total cost $2,700.00. I really loved it until it started acting up. I finally decided to put it up for sale and get me a chevy tahoe or suburban, or maybe a toyota 4 runner or seqoiua!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2007Aug 19
(reported on)Durango SLT 5.9L
- Automatic transmission
- 133,000 miles
Would not shift out of 1st gear. 1998 Dodge Durango 5.9, I got this used with 20K miles and at 133K miles the transmission just would not shift, no noise at all. I got to a shop and he told me it would take a total rebuild and that he see a lot of them, Overhaul kit, rebuilt torque con. front pump, bushing kit, the list goes on. He told me that it was just worn out. Yes, I did expect more out of it than 133K miles. This is big shop here in Pensacola and they have 6 bays for cars and trucks and they are busy. He tell me he sees about one per week: " Durango" and need a rebuild.
2007Mar 14
(reported on)Durango 5.2L
- Automatic transmission
- 130,000 miles
My wife's transmission to her 98 Durango is not shifting into 3rd / passing gear. rpms get to 3000-3500. she has to let rpms go down to 1000 and it usually kicks in once she gives it gas. but it's getting worse. Help me cause i don't want to buy a new vehicle. and I'm tired of her reminding me of it. I had the transmission oil filter changed did not help at all.
2005May 11
(reported on)Durango
- 150,000 miles
Let's hear it for Dodge.... BOOOOOOO! Seriously, it is a great vehicle when it is running. We put ours in the shop last September because the transmission went out. My husband drove it to work and then got stuck on the side of the road because it wouldn't shift anymore. The tow truck came and got it.... and then we had the pleasure of paying a $1500 repair bill for the transmission. We had the Durango back for 5 days... and I noticed it wasn't shifting right AGAIN! It was going all the way up to 8000 RPM's before it would shift into any gear! We took it back to the shop.... it needed ANOTHER TRANSMISSION. When they called to say it was ready again... my husband told the man to drive it over the weekend and see how it does. Low and behold, Monday morning, the repair shop calls and says the transmission went out again... Well we finally got the Durango back... and everything was okay for 6 months. We just got back from a 6 hour trip to visit family... pulled up in front of our driveway to back in so we could unload the Durango and my husband put it in reverse and the Durango died. He cranked it up, put it in reverse and it died again. He tried several more times and it always died. Luckily we were at home... we pushed the Durango back into the driveway (by the way, they are very, very heavy to push!!!) and I called the repair shop. They towed it off and right now it is getting another new transmission. My husband and I both love the Durango, but not the inconvenience of having one.... we won't ever buy another Dodge.
2004Jul 20
(reported on)Durango
- 80,000 miles
well on july 15th my family and i was on our way to st louis mo which is 2 hours away from where i live my durango started driveing funny and makeing some awfull noises so we pulled over and called someone to come pick us up well monday my durango got back home and the upper and lower ball-joints went out of it on the left and right side of the truck and the wheel bearing went out on the left side also so i get it fixed that cost 800.00 on monday i drive it from the place i got it fixed at got right to the bottom of my drive way and it decides not to drive no more so i call the man back to see whats going on with it and with in 2 blocks from where it was fixed and my house the transmission cracks into the man said that he has only seen 2 vehicles in his 30 years working on them do that he also said that its very rare for that to happen i have looked at alot of complaints else where on durango's and there pretty much all the same problems so something needs to be done about it my dodge i will say that this is the 1st dodge iv owned and it will be the last i hated it and they shouldnt be able to sale there vehicles to anyone everyone i know that owens a dodge has had trouble with them
2003Dec 11
(reported on)Durango
- 67,000 miles
My transmission recently started slipping. Yesterday, we had a snow storm & I had to put it in 4-wheel drive. Unfortunately, I only made it 6 blocks & pulled over into a parking lot because it wouldn't shift at all. I put my Durango in park & it sounded like metal being scraped together. I tried to take it out of 4-wheel drive - but it wouldn't budge. I then tried to put it into drive to pull into a parking space. It wouldn't go into any gear. Finally, I put it in neutral & got it out of 4-wheel drive & tried to move it again. No Luck. Did I mention that we had a snow storm... The parking lot I pulled into was the Parks & Recreation parking lot. So, I was stuck fully blocking the exit drive for the city's snow plows & salt trucks to exit for over 1.5 hours until AAA showed up. Imagine how much they loved me. My bastard Durango is in the shop & I have no idea how much it will cost to fix - but I will post again when I get the bad news.
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2008Dec 02
Durango SLT 5.9L
I bought this vehicle with 220k miles on it. I didn't find out about this site until after I bought it. Luckily I only paid $900 for it, but I'm still going to be losing money on it even if I sell it now because of how much work I am needing to put into it. and I'm doing all the labor!
Anyhow, I knew when I bought it the tranny was most likely bad. The person had a rebuilt tranny installed when they got it @~120k miles so that tranny lasted for awhile. The only thing they did with this vehicle is change the engine oil which is probably why it failed. The tranny was grinding when trying to shift into overdrive and first gear was starting to slip after about 10 mins of driving. Replacing the transmission was hell.
From a mechanics perspective, this car is garbage for the most part. Those stupid engine-to-transmission brackets were difficult to maneuver to get the stupid torque converter access cover off and the books never said anything about the top nuts that holds the brackets down. The rear crossmember was worse. It couldn't come straight down like on my Chevy or every other car. Oh no, the frame is tapered at that point so it has to slide back first before it comes out and because I couldn't pull the exhaust out seeing how I don't own an acetylene/oxygen torch I had to just slide it awkwardly back enough to get the tranny out. I�m just glad I was able to get it out and back in without pulling the exhaust.
I got the rebuilt tranny from ebay which was for a �98 jeep with a 5.9. Same 46re tranny, but just to be safe and make sure it would work in my Durango, I called the local dodge dealership and asked and the guy said it will and I asked him if he was sure and he said yes because a 46re is a 46re. Cost $800+$310 for shipping (which was way too much IMO). When I got it, I opened it up and to my surprise, it had a different bolt pattern. I was so mad and there was nothing I could do because I didn�t get a name. No one there was any help. The first guy I started talking to about it, hung up on me! The next time I called, I got a manager, but he wasn�t really any help either and I can see why seeing how I didn�t really know who told me. This is the last time I buy a dodge! I really liked the look of the Durango�s which is why I bought one, but never again! I called the local tranny shops and one quoted me $250 to swap out the internals and clean the old housing. That took like 5 hrs and I had it back and started installing it.
One improvement I did that I recommend everyone do if they are going to get a rebuild or even just to make their tranny last longer is buy a �shift correction package� by superior transmission parts inc. I bought one and it�s basically a shift kit which reduces wear on the internals/reduces heat and also eliminates the drain back check valve that can clog or just restrict flow and cause your tranny to overheat and fail. I installed everything but the new seals for the direct drum because I don�t have the special tools to disassemble the tranny and I didn�t think to do it before I took the tranny to the shop. It still works great. Shifts nice, I just set the shift setting to regular duty and you can make it harder if you want. Now for the rest of the problems�
metaldrgn
Panama City, FL, USA
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