CarComplaints.com Notes: The second generation Durango was introduced in 2004 and instantly came under fire for, well, catching on fire.
From 2004-2006 electrical overloading in the driver's side instrument panel caused numerous reports of interior fires. The interior infernos became so commonplace that Chrysler eventually issued a recall.
The problems didn't stop there, however. Owners of the recalled vehicles complained about being treated unfairly and given take-it-or-leave-it low ball settlement offers. "They offered me $2000 under NADA retail as a settlement," said one owner, "and have been rude and hostile to deal with." Nothing says awesome service like treating your customers rudely after their cars have caught on fire.
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that water penetrated the engine and caused a rod to bend. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where the failure was confirmed. The vehicle was being repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.
Water got into cylinder and bent rod. My understanding is this is a common issue with the 2004 Durango hemi due to design issue of water draining around the engine. Required rebuild or new engine. Unacceptable for a well maintained engine to have this occur, much less, repeatedly occur for many vehicles.
Water is getting under the cowl and onto my motor. I have taken my 2004 hemi Durango to several shops/dealers and the water is causing all kinds of problems. The cylinders are misfiring, some of the metal parts under the hood have rusted irreparably (ie. Motor heat guards), the windshield gets ice on the inside of the vehicle, my headlights blink on and off while driving, the heat works only sometimes due to the wires under the passenger side dash getting wet, and this water getting through is also causing my car to stall or almost stall every time it rains or take it through a car wash. This water is causing electrical problems. It is also rusting horribly fast near the wheel wells and on the back trunk hatch. Within only 2 weeks of cold weather I now have a solid hole from the rust. Why can't they recall some parts and fix this? the dealer is no help, they only want to charge me huge amounts of money to repair problems that were factory defects.
Driving vehicle around 40 mph heard a banging noise, saw smoke pulled over and saw oil spilling from engine. Had vehicle towed inspected and found #7 connecting rod snapped. No good reason!
For the past couple of weeks my wife and I have experienced our 2004 Dodge Durango stalling as we made low speed turns. Fortunately neither of us ended up getting in to an accident when the vehicle stalled each time. I told my wife I'd have the service shop have a look at it when I took it in for its needed oil change next week. On the morning of 12/30/13, I went out to start my Durango to let it warm up some before I left. When I turned the key the engine made a loud clanging sound (like someone put a fork in a garbage disposal and jammed it) and then stopped. It wouldn't turn over at all after several attempts. I had roadside assistance tow it to a local dealer who called me to tell me the diagnostic test said it was the starter and starter relay. They put the new parts on today (12/31/13) and then called me to tell me that it wasn't the starter and that the motor has seized up. The service tech said he would look in to estimates for a re-manufactured motor and a new motor. Knowing how much I have babied our Durango (full synthetic oil changes on a regular basis, other scheduled maintenance and all records to show), I went online to see if this has happened to others..boy oh boy has it!! apparently the cowl does not let water flow away from the engine properly and as the motor ages the intake gaskets flatten and allows water to enter the intake, causing problems to the cylinders and seizing the motor. I realized this is exactly what happened to our Durango. On 12/29/13 we had very heavy rain in the mid-atlantic region and the Durango sat in front of our house all day/night as neither one of us drove it. Needless to say, I like many others am very mad that Dodge/Chrysler has not accepted responsibility. Not only are we facing expenses because of some serious medical issues right now, we now have to pay for a new motor when this could have been corrected years ago.
- Perry Hall, MD, USA
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After it had been raining all night I went to start it this morning and I heard a loud thump then nothing! tried to start it again a couple times and nothing. I sat there in tears trying to figure out how I would get to work tomorrow then tried starting it again and it did start. Now making a loud clicking noise. After reading all of the same complaints I am having it towed to my local repair shop but today is Sunday so I have none to look at it until tomorrow. I checked under the hood and yes there is water leaking through the base of the front windshield! then I looked under the dashboard above the foot pedals and couldn't believe I seen a trickle of water running down behind all the fuses, plugs and wires!! this is ridiculous!! now I have to borrow a car for work and pray that my engine is not shot! this widowed mom of 3 needs a dependable vehicle now!! I think there are enough complaints to warrant an investigation. I need help getting my truck fixed please!!
Drove vehicle on 12-22-13 everything running fine went to drive on 12-23-13 and started truck just to hear a loud bang and thump checked out by mechanic and it has a busted connecting rod and engine block is shot and cant even rebuild this is a real problem that needs to be addressed quickly before any more hard working americans have to dump $7K dollars in their vehicle because some one wants to cover up a real problem. Dodge recommended replacing the intake manifold as well when do the repairs. If you know anything about engines the intake manifold shouldn't have to be done because of a rod failure. Upon doing research there seems to be another issue with the windshield cowl that leaks down directly to the manifold that may crack because is faulty which in turn allows water to drain on top of the engine. Well even though there is thousands of complaints on here and with Dodge nothing has been done. A V8 engine should not fail between 60-80,000 miles if properly maintained like ours was. Oil changes religiously and all maintenance done to dealership specs. If this rod would have failed while driving at highway speeds it could have easily caused death or injury. Why hasn't anyone looked at this problem. There is obviously a trend here if thousands of people's engines are failing at such low mileage.
Backed vehicle into driveway next morning got in to crank and it made a horrible noise. Took to mechanic and motor was shot!! this is not the way I thought Dodge company would be; will not have another. No help from Dodge.
One morning, at startup, the engine failed due to broken rod. All maintenance was always kept up and recorded. The vehicle was taken to local Dodge dealership for inspection and all maintenance records were handed to them. Upon inspection of the engine, the local service person told me I had a good case against Dodge since the engine was in great condition and the rod should not have broken. The regional Dodge inspector show up and inspected the engine and determined that the damage was due to lack of maintenance. I attempted to talk to the local service person that I had spoke with before but the dealership manager would not allow me to. The national Dodge representative I was assigned called me and told me that the engine failed due to a water pump failure. The story changed. In either case, I was left with a large bill because of faulty engine parts that Dodge (Chrysler) uses on their vehicles. This has happened to thousands of other Dodge Durango hemi owners.
When starting it made load knocking noise. Had it towed to local auto repair shop they said that the engine had thrown a rod through the block. They found that rain water was coming through the cowl below the windshield onto the engine intake manifold. Water standing on the intake manifold seeped into the engine and allowed cylinder to hydraulically lock.
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that when starting the vehicle, an abnormal sound came from the engine and the vehicle would not start. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer where a diagnostic was performed, which determined that the connecting rod was damaged. The dealer replaced the connecting rod however, the repair did not remedy the defect and the failure later recurred. The contact inspected the vehicle and discovered a two-inch hole in the engine block. The contact took the vehicle back to the dealer where the dealer indicated that the connecting rod was damaged and caused the two-inch hole in the engine block. The dealer replaced the engine as a repair. The failure mileage was 72,000.
After returning from a week long business trip, I went to my Durango that was parked at the airport. The battery was dead for some reason, and used a jump box to start the vehicle. Immediately upon started, the engine started to make a long rattling noise, then shut down. Upon further review, I found oil leaking from under the vehicle, and a piece of metal as well. After having the Durango towed to my home, I checked out the engine to find a whole in the engine block just in front of the starter on the passenger side. It appears that this is a recurring problem with many people for the 2004 5.7L hemi engine. I am surprised that this has not been addressed yet. I am thankful that I was not driving when this happened as it has with some, but I suppose it will take a fatality until it is deemed serious enough for a recall.
Engine failed shortly (10 seconds) after start-up, making a loud knocking noise and then seizing tight. Engine could not be re-started as it could not turn-over. Engine was inspected before removal, and #7 piston was found to not be moving when the crankshaft was rotated in reverse rotation manually. Engine was removed and torn down for inspection. Cylinder #7 connecting rod was found to be broken midway through the I-beam section, and the remaining parts of the connecting rod showed evidence of being bent or bucked previous to the failure by one or more hydrolock events. Root cause was determined to be a defective design in the throttle body to induction resonator joint that allows windshield water runoff to be drawn into the engines induction system. This vehicle had experienced rough running in heavy rain conditions, which was thought to be ignition related per a Chrysler tsb due to a defective cowl design that allows rain water to deposit directly on the ignition coils, and throttle body, in large volumes. Chrysler re-designed the cowl piece but did not mandate its replacement.
Prior to the engine failure the motor would shut off during any heavy rain storm, then after one rain storm in July of 2012 the next morning went outside to start the truck the motor had locked up. Took it to the garage and was told by the mechanic that Dodge had a major design defect in the 2004-2005 Durango that caused engine failure with rain water getting into the engine. So if that is the case then Chrysler needs to refund everyone that has had these issue due to there mistake and not penalize the customers.
Right after I purchased this used vehicle without any service contract, I started to have problems when it rains the truck will start shaking, stalling and then the check engine light will come on, also after taking the truck thru a car wash it will do the same thing, I need help because I paid 11,000 dollars for these pos.
The electrical portion started after I first purchased the vehicle. The issue worsened after someone broke into the vehicle. The car wouldn't stay charged, and I ended up needing a tow every other week. My car insurance went up to $550 a month. I was always stranded. The problem was worse in the rain. Sometimes the car would cut off while driving, it did it once on the highway and I saw a semi coming down the highway and I thought I was dead. I got it started and pulled over to the shoulder because I didn't have enough speed to get out the way. Eventually it couldn't' start anymore. I had it sitting for a year as I kept making loan payments. I fixed one thing after the other...thinking it was the problem...the car would start and die a few days later. This last time I changed the starter for the third time. A rod was thrown and the engine is locked. I wasn't even driving the vehicle, it started after 3rd starter was installed and a crunch noise sounded a few minutes later while trying to give the battery some juice. I towed it into another shop and they confirmed the engine is gone. I had to pay full coverage insurance because it's financed and a car note for a truck that's gone. I've searched online and Dodge knows and hasn't taken responsibility. Involuntary repossession would be futile because after the fee for repo, towing, storage..I will owe more than what I have left to pay, $5000 and still not even scrap metal. I've read so many discussion board post, consumer blogs on this model and 'm floored. I guess the complaints are recent because one you get to like 70,00 mile you are toast. I don't drive to work, only on the weekends and I take good care of my truck and now I have nothing but payments and metal that looks pretty on the outside.
My truck was parked in the driveway, it was raining and then the lights started flickering without the keys being in the ignition. I tried to move the truck to the inside of the garage and the smoke came out of the hood and from under the dash. I turned the truck off and the engine remained running, we had to call the fire department because it was smoking and the keys were off. The fire department came and removed the battery and said it may be a short when it rained. The truck is in the garage I cant drive it when it rains because water goes in to the truck from the front I can actually see water leaking into the floor. I owned the truck for 3 years and never had this problem until it reached 100,000 miles.
Vehicle stalled out on me during a heavy rain. I was going about 60mph on the highway, when vehicle started to shake. About 5 minutes after heavy rain, I lost all power and had to pull my vehicle off to the side of the road. I waited about 30 minutes and rain began to slow to a drizzle. Vehicle cranked right up after that. This is a very dangerous situation as I could have been rear ended on the highway. I have looked into this issue as I have had rough idles and stall outs when in automatic car washes. The issue seems to be with the cowl and a replacement cowl is available through the manufacturer at our own cost. If this issue has been addressed as a defect on an oem part then why should the consumer who has already paid for a vehicle be liable? I hope that this is more thoroughly investigated and it does not take the fatality of an unsuspecting consumer for issue to be addressed.
Through my research I have found that the second generation Dodge Durango's, have a real problem with the front cowl, it seems that every time that it rains heavy or I drive through a an automatic carwash. Doing so caused the engine to run pretty horrible.on August 27 we got a very bad rain in town while driving home that night, I parked my SUV went into my house and a few hrs later I go to leave for work and I start the engineer and after a few hard knocks the engine goes boom. I sent it to a mechanic and they said that I blew a rod through the engine block on my number 6 cylinder due to hydrolock. I feel that Dodge should make a recall on the second generation Durango's and replace the front cowl with a better design that does not allow water to leak through the cowl and kill motors. As speaking for the customer this we should not have to pay 185 dollars for a design update for free along with labor.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Albemare, NC, USA