Manifold/header/muffler/tail Pipe problems of the 1999 Dodge Durango

I bought a 1999 Dodge Durango slt 5. 2 ltr engine as of 3 to 4 yrs ago, and in some cases like mine, it absolutely does mean it can be an absolutely unreliable & absolute dangerous vehicle!!!!! . . Everything that can happen, has happened to this vehicle. Engine stalls out, the front differential exploded on the highway 4 miles after I had to put in 4 wheel drive & almost caused me to wreck,I had to replace the whole front differential axles. . The back (rear) breaks have never worked since I bought the thing, the exhaust manifolds got so hot that the bolts that connect it to the manifold pipes burned off and is now, and has been sitting for a month since I can't keep it together. Right now all three of my front brake lines have rotted into, at the connector from the master cylinder that sends the fluid to the front 2 wheels!!. . That's just the start of all of the terrible danger that it poses to me and other drivers on the road. This vehicle should be considered a complete recall of the 1999 Dodge Durango slt. The Dodge manufacture should not get by with this. Its almost like selling a device to get hurt in. I paid over 4,000. 00 for this Durango, just to spend that much more money and the chance of getting hurt or worse while having it rebuilt where it is suppose to be safe. . . . . Other things that have stopped working also. . Motor oil & transmission leaks & slips, windows (2 of them) have stopped working up & down, glove box latch broke, ash tray broke off, rear hatch will not open, hatch wiper shorted out, front end tires spraddle out like they are going 2 different directions, the paint finish has completely faded from the hood & starting in other places, starter solenoid clicks 10 to 30 times before it will crank the engine. . . There is more also!. . This is not a safe vehicle!! I have never had trouble like this with any other automobile in all of my 45 driving years.

Coolant leak due to gasket failure on intake manifold. This is the 3rd time this has happened, twice in just over one year.

I don't who else to go to, Dodge Durangos need a recall on several issues. Ball joints for one, plenum gasket, and the computer brain system is junk and Dodge will not take any responsibility for these issues. These trucks cost too much money to have the issues they have. These are lemons and once you buy it your stuck with it. I have owned mine a little over 2 months and I think I have been able to drive it a total of 3 weeks, not all in a row. It is junk and how can I resell junk? I don't want to have someone come back to me because I sold them junk, but I can not afford to own this vehicle. Something should be done.

We have been told by our local dealership that the ball joints are worn, and are excessively wearing our brand new set of tires. We are very upset that Dodge is not doing anything about this obvious problem. We have never had a vehicle with so many issues before, the intake gasket, the abs sensor, the seal on rear axle, a seat belt that wouldn't work, and now this. Very unhappy with the vehicle as a whole.

I purchased my 1999 Durango in March 2001. In Dec 2003 I had to get the driveshaft rebuilt. The velocity joint had worn out. Then in Jan '04 I was traveling about 65mph on an interstate just outside of town. My check engine light came on. I started to here a knocking sound along with feeling like there was a cylinder down. I got my truck towed back home and replaced the disributor cap since the points were worn. Didn't take care of the problem. Towed my truck to my mechanic. After checking several items he determined that cylinder 1 and 8 were not firing. He also checked the oil. It had gunk in it and told me that the manifold gasket and/or plenum gasket had failed and the oil looked like it was mixed with antifreeze. I then had checked to see if anyone else had experienced problems of this kind. I was suppressed to find out that there was 30 to 40 similar complaints like mine on your website alone where the engine had failed with the oil gunking up. I have not had the oil pump checked but since reading the complaints, assume that this had some cause to the problem. My truck only has 72000 miles on it. I agree that the 5. 2 engine that Dodge had put in the Durango is junk as well as everyone else. It is a shame that Dodge does not stand up behind the engines it builds. If you have this many people with problems, then it is time to do something about it. I am going to trade this off as soon as my mechanic can get it running. I will back up the next person that happens to buy my "now" piece of junk when they have to take it back to Dodge. I will not buy another Dodge product!!!.

Oil consumption was in excess after oil change. Changed oil and checked it after approximately 400 miles and found it was a quart low. Watched it close and it was consuming oil fast. Took it to dealer and was told the intake manifold seal/gasket would need to be replaced. Called a mechanic and he told me that this was a common occurrence with the Durango, he did one every couple of months! even the dealer mechanics says they saw this quiet often. One mechanic told me that the seals were made out of a paper like material but now used metal type so the problem will not recur! this is a know defect in this engine. There are several complaints of this nature when I searched on line. The cost is $675. 00 + tax. I feel I should be helped with this know engineering defect. This is a very costly repair!.

Vehicle began to spontaneously lose oil at around 78,000 miles, causing oil pressure to drop and spark knock on acceleration. Chrysler admits to intake manifold pan gasket oil leak in their technical service bulletin 09-05-00 but will not assist this consumer with the steep price of repair. Out of warranty - too bad - a defect of this magnitude should be considered as a recall item! Honda, here I come.

Consumer took the vehicle into the dealer for a front end problem. The dealer stated the lower ball and the upper ball joints needed to be replaced. The abs light illuminated and also the engine seemed to bog down, the dealer found excessive oil in the intake manifold.

Drove vehicle from phila, PA area to scranton area for ski weekend. Experienced no problems during this trip or previous to this trip. Return ride back to phila area, oil pressure gauge began to fluctuate to zero then normal. It did this several times before hearing a ticking under he hood at highway speeds, pulled to the side of the road and engine shut down. Vehicle had 28,800 miles at the time and six months left on 3/36 warranty. District manger for Chrysler placed a restriction on the warranty due to excessive slude found in the valley of the engine. Vehicle owners manual has two maintenance schedules for oil change, every 3k or every 7. 5k; I produced maintenance records for oil changes every 7. 5k. I have since found several TSB's on this vehilce regarding oil consumption, etc. I finally had the vehicle towed to the phila area where murray Dodge in conshohocken, PA replaced the engine for $5. 7k. The oil pump and oil pick up tube were covered under warrantee, but not the long block. It is distressing that the manufacturer will not warrant the repair even with maintenance records. I have found an article in a syndicated newspaper column which indicates that Chrysler is at fault for having a mainteance schedule of 7. 5k miles in the owners manual, the article also mentions a possible ventilation design flaw which causes condensation and sludge to build up. TSB # 9923 is in regards to oil seepage past the engine oil filter adapter plate gasket. My mechanic indicated to me that this may cause a ventilation problem with this engine. TSB#090699 is in regards to engine oil consumption due to intake manifold pan gasket oil leak. TSB# 090500 is regarding oil consumption due to leak also. I am uncertain if this is an engine problem or an oil pump problem. When I asked customer relations at Chrysler, they indicated there were no reported problems with this engine. Scranton Dodge and murray Dodge service managers also denied any problems with this engine. *a.

Check gauge lights goes on and off when making turns or braking. Oil pressure gauge drops down to "0" I had replaced one quart of oil every two weeks. Replaced intake manifold gasket and intake cover pan gasket. Happened while vehicle was still under warranty.

Oil pressure dropped to zero and engine stalled. Luckily I was on a side road going very slowly. The vehicle was towed to a Dodge dealership where the manifold was removed revealing sludge covering everything inside. Chrysler claim problem caused by lack of maintenance. The vehicle has had regular oil changes according to the owner's manual which is at 7500 miles as I do all highway driving. Chrysler will not replace under warranty and say we need to replace the engine. After having the car towed home and looking at the block it is obvious that there is not enough drainage in the block. There are pockets all along the inside where oil could not possibly escape unless the car was literally turned upside down. These engine are defective. All Durango owners need help to ensure that Chrysler replaces all of these lemons. Please help us.

The contact owns a 1999 Dodge Durango that experienced an excessive oil consumption problem. The oil was disappearing nearly every 500 miles. There was no smoking or any type of leaks. The contact felt this was a mechanical problem. The vehicle was using four or five quarts of oil rapidly. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic shop for inspection. The mechanic replaced the intake manifold. The upper plenum and throttle body was removed to determine the leak site. The gasket that was supposed to seal the intake of the engine block had apparently not adhered to the bottom on the intake and along the engine. The mechanic noted that Chrysler made some design corrections, but the cylinder heads will collect and blow over into the engine, and eventually will be expelled from the vehicle on the ground or burned out. It could collect eight to ten quarts before expelling. The repair was made , and a gasket was replaced. This was the second time it was replaced. The gasket did not necessarily fix the problem because the gasket did not permanently adhered to that area. They retracted it due to hot and cold temperatures, and could not adhere as needed. The contact has another 1999 Dodge Durango that experienced this problem. Also, there was a pinhole on the air conditioner evaporator that allowed the freon to escape and enter in to other Durangos.

Engine sludged. Motor destroyed-oil was changed regularly-coolant leaking into oil system. Leak at intake manifold area.

Dodge Durango 1999 ball joints failure. It has same problem as 2000 and up models. The consumer wants to know why the manufacturer excluded the 1999 model. The exhaust manifold had gone bad and was replaced, the drivers side window was inoperative and was replaced three times, and the a/c had gone out. The consumer requested reimbursement. The engine had a ping sound and was repaired 4 times but still pinging.