125 problems related to front suspension upper ball joint have been reported for the 1998 Dodge Durango. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
I am the original owner of a 1998 Dodge Durango with 69000 miles. My passenger side front wheel is making a clicking sound anytime that I turn the vehicle. I have discussed this with a local mechanic. He in formed that he has had this complaint before and has determined it to be the upper ball joints. I have called plaza Dodge in holiday florida in which they informed me that there is no recall on this issue. I will be getting this looked into further to have it repaired by my mechanic. I have read many reports since being informed of this problem and I am concerned for all owners of this vehicle and the dakota. This problem could become life threatening if not corrected.
I had my 1998 Dodge Durango checked by my mechanic after a friend had told me of the new story regarding ball joint failure. Indeed the mechanic said both ball joints were in terrible condition and required replacement. The mechanic stated that it was very unusual to have to replace this part at such a low mileage, 72,000 miles, but that it is very dangerous to be driving the vehicle in the condition the parts are in. I feel this should be a recall item as there appears to be numerous incidences of this part failing prematurely.
While driving at any speed a squeaking sound was coming from the front end. Dealer checked the vehicle, and found that the upper ball joints were severely worn out. The cruise control never worked. (intermittent problem).
Consumer took the vehicle to dealer for tire replacement, and mechanic determined that upper ball joints needed replacement. Previous owner has already replaced the upper and lower ball joints once.
Replaced upper ball joints again,first was on 7/7/03 39,414 miles on my 1998 Dodge Durango,now again 3/25/04 45,452 miles 1st time was under warranty ,now out of warranty it cost me 853. 23 will I have to have them replaced again @6k miles, we were never told there may be a defect and to be cautious. The consumer doesn't understand why his vehicle is being omitted from the ball joint recall.
Upper ball joints wore out prematurely. The problem recurred but have not failed yet.
I heard about the problems with the Dodge Durangos upper ball joints, so I had the dealer inspect them on my 1998 that has 60,000 miles on it. They reported excessive wear to the ball joints. Therefore, I had no choice but to replace them for about $500. 00 out of my pocket. Im glad that I was not one of the many that I heard about who have lost a whole wheel assembly while driving.
Consumer took vehicle to an independent shop for a regular front alignment, and technician determined that upper ball joints needed to be replaced at consumer's expense.
Upper ball joints wear out prematurely. Consumer is concerned that the front end will collapse while driving.
Worn upper ball joints on my 1998 Dodge Durango. Were replaced by myself because of no recall and now they have a recall for 2000 through 2003. The Durango should have been included on this since it wore out at around 60,000 miles. Dodge can only say they are sorry but it is not on the recall.
I own a 98 Dodge Durango slt 4x4. Within 1000 miles after I purchased the vehicle at 57,648 miles, a minor popping noise developed in the front of the vehicle, approximately in the area of the front left wheel. The noise recently got so bad that we took it to the Dodge dealership to have it diagnosed and fixed (at 80,000 miles). Upper and lower balls joints were blamed. Chrysler volunteered to cover the cost of fixing the lower ball joints, but would not cover the upper ball joints. Due to financial constraints and the refusal of our private warranty company to cover the cost of fixing the upper ball joints, we did not have the upper ball joints replaced. The popping noise is much louder now and my wife and I are very concerned about carrying our family in this vehicle. I have never had a vehicle have ball joints ware out so quickly, even after 100,000 miles.
Upper ball joints seem to fail every three years or 36,000 mile which ever comes first. Ball joints decribe as so bad that ready to separate. It cost nearly $1,200 each time to do the reapirs. I had many vehicles and never had to replace ball joints that can be greased. These ball joint can not be greased so the comsumer has to pay again every few years large amount to have vehicle stay safe.
Suspension: front control arm: upper ball joint.
Premature wearing of ball joints on my 98 Durango.
I have a concern about the ball joints on my 1998 Dodge Durango. I had my vehicle's brakes serviced on or about January 2004 at sears automotive in eastpoint mall. I was made aware that my ball joints were bad on my front end, therefore I was not able to get a front end alignment. Later that day, my wife informed me about a cbs news report speaking about the defectsa in the ball joints of Dodge Durangos and the Dodge pickups and how Chrysler was not "up to the challenge" to either extend a recall or either offer for owners of these vehicles to voluntarily bring the vehicles to the dealership for a free inspection of the possible defect. I want to make sure that I do not have to pay up to $1500. 00 for a defect that Chrysler should be responsible for correcting before anyone gets seriously injured or worse!.
The consumer heard a clicking noise coming from the front of the vehicle while making a turn. The consumer took the vehicle to the dealer and results showed that the upper ball joints needed to be replaced.
Consumer took vehicle to the dealership for inspection. Mechanic informed consumer that the upper ball joints failed.
1998 Dodge Durango front upper ball joints wore out at 40000 miles, prematurely causing tires to also wear prematurely. I was told that bad ball joints could cause the suspension to break or a wheel to come off while driving causing a life threatening accident to my wife and children.
Based on a tv story I had the ball joints on my 1998 Dodge Durango checked and they are bad. At this time I have not had them fixed because of cost. The Durango has 62000 miles on it.
We experienced handling problems with our 1998 Dodge Durango while on the highway last week. I took it to our local Dodge dealership to determine the problem. They indicated both the upper and lower ball joints were worn out and needed to be replaced immediatelly for safety reasons. When I asked them if they felt they wore out prematurely considering the mileage of the vehicle, the guy told me he couldn't comment but to hold on to my repair receipt in case there was a recall. This is a one owner vehicle with 41,000 miles driven by a soccer mom.
While driving vehicle pulls to the right, and there's a grinding noise in the front end when turning. Dealership inspected the vehicle and noticed that the upper right ball joint was loose.
Upon inspection by the servce dept of hansen(Chrysler dealer in nashville, TN. ), the upper ball joints on my 1998 Dodge Durango were deemed to be defective and dangerous. Chrysler corp would not pay for the replacement/repair. I personally paid the bill(($1004. 54).
Pe 03-032, front suspension/ upper ball joint: the upper ball joints wore out prematurely.
Pe 03-032, front suspension: upper ball joint: there is a loud clanking sound, and consumer feels that the upper ball joints are prematurely worn.
Both sides upper ball joints separated while driving and a noise was heard coming from the front. Both front tires could fall off, and vehicle was inoperable.
Upper and lower ball joints on 1998 Dodge Durango had to be replaced at approx 47,000 miles allong with the outer tie rod ends. These were diagnosed by 2 different tire shops in boise. I have never had a vehicle that needed ball joints at less than 100,000 miles. Since the vehicle only had 27,000 miles on it last year when I bought it, I did not purchase the extended warranty. Now I am making payments on the $1200 repair. Where is the Dodge toughness and durablity in this. I believe these ball joints to be a factory defect that should be fixed by Dodge.
The consumer stated that the upper ball joint were wearing prematurely. The consumer made contact with the dealership. The dealer refused to align the vehicles wheels because the ball joints were worn. The ball joints were replaced by an independent mechanic.
We have a 1998 Dodge Durango, and seen the investigation report on the evening news regarding the front suspension upper ball joint failure. We to have the same problem and have not gotten it fixed, because we no longer have a warranty.
20,000 miles front tires worn extremely bad and uneven, had tires replace, was informed that alignment could not be done due to left and right upper ball joints being bad. Truck jumps around on even the smallest bumps, front end vibrations.
Upper ball joint failure onboth driver and passenger side of the vehicle.
I bought my 1998 Dodge Durango from a small used car lot. When I got it home and had it checked out by my mechanic they told me I had to replace the ball joints and that it was unsafe to drive. That was $1000+. After finding out that this was also a problem in the later models but that they were being recalled, I thought it should be brought to someone's attention.
The upper ball joint experienced premature failure.
Independent shop replaced the upper ball joints and lower control arms. It cost the consumer $1,229. Oo. Dealer notified.
Premature upper ball joint wear noted during wheel alignment.
Upper ball joints on 1998 Dodge Durango worn out and had to be replaced.