Gas Recirculation Valve (egr Valve) problems of the 2004 Dodge Durango

04 Durango slt 4. 7 v8. Rattling/rapping noise on start up that worsened through the day. Noise coming from right side of engine bay. Brought to mechanic and identified valve seat(s) in the aluminum head(s) have 'disintegrated' and/or 'dropped' causing the valves to slap on acceleration and multiple other catastrophic engine issues. Fca (Chrysler/Dodge) has been notified of my complaint and they're fully aware of this fatal engine flaw in their late model v8 engines yet they refuse to acknowledge or even advise owners of repair options. They must be told to go good for this situation. This occurred at 110,000 miles. My options now are: a $2000 engine repair, $4000 engine replacement - or - to 'junk' the vehicle - don't get me started about the damned rust on this thing, either. . . I feel ripped off from a few different angles here by Chrysler/Dodge and I know there are thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of fca owners out here who will never purchase another piece of shit from these thieves.

I am also adding to the rapidly growing number of complaints with the same issue that my 2004 Dodge Durango slt 5. 7 hemi has with the blown engine. As majority on this site have expressed, my Durango was well taken care of with maintenance performed at regular intervals. I bought my Durango used in 2007 with 1 owner prior to myself. I have experienced the recall for the electrical panel, along with the egr valve 2 years back and engine stalling in the rain. The first time my engine idled poorly while in the rain was around 2008. As many others have stated in their formal complaints, I drove home from work with no problem. As I returned to my truck 15min later I went to start the ignition and the engine knocked and shut down. I attempted to start the ignition again, and once again the engine knocked, shaked and had shut down once more. After the 3rd time starting the ignition, I got no response just a click. I let my truck sit for a day and had it towed to a private mechanic. After checking my fuel pump, started, battery, and alternator, my mechanic figured the root of my problem had been my engine had blown. Afterwards, I researched the issue with engines in this particular models durange. After doing extensive research and viewing this website, to my surprise I found I wasn't the only owner of this model & year truck having this very same issue. What makes this more surprising is the growing number of complaints about this very issue and nothing is being done. As a single parent of 2 children I rely heavily on my vehicle, that it why I take all necessary steps to ensure my vehicle remains in good running condition. This incident has caused me alot of emotional and financial strain. And I would hope that very soon the company would recognize that this is a major problem that needs to be rectified.

It started with what I thought was just an egr problem about two years ago, and I replaced it. It kept dying, especially when it was raining pretty good, and I thought something was getting wet. I thought it was the starter or battery, and replaced the battery. A few days before the last incident, it didn't want to start again, so I thought I guessed wrong and was going to replace the starter. May 3, 2013, on the way to work, it started running real rough, and the check engine light started flashing. It was raining very hard. I pulled over, and smelled burned oil, and then saw a multicolored sheen on the wet, rainy pavement. The engine died before I got the hood up. I can start it, but it sounds like someone is inside with a hammer. The guy that towed it said it threw a rod out the driver side of the engine, by the motor mount. It starts, but sounds like someone is inside the engine with a hammer. From what it sounds, the rod broke, and went through the side of the engine. With almost 700 complaints, something should be able to be done. I owe almost $8000 on this car, and it will cost at least half of that to fix it. It isn't worth anything the way it is, and it costs more to fix it than it is probably worth. A simple internet search brings up all of these same symptoms for this 5. 7l hemi engine, without even mentioning the issues. There are that many problems with it. It isn't a safety issue when you lose all power steering, brakes, and pour out oil at highway speeds in the rain? please do something. Thank you.

2004 Dodge Durango limited 5. 7l hemi 4x4 my vehicle was already running for approx 3-5 minutes, warming up, after I had finished working a full 12-hour night shift. Time is 0640 hrs, outside temp is approx 30 degrees. Vehicle running normal, no alarms, no warning indicators. I was pulling out of driveway of my employment onto the roadway and accelerating on a completely straight roadway. As vehicle was passing 20-25mph and with no fore-warning, heard loud 'bang' from the engine compartment and vehicle started shaking. Vehicle's reaction was immediate. Violent vibrations, tappings and metal to metal sounds, I immediately shut down the engine and drifted off to side of road. My vehicle has never been pushed or worked hard. Never hauled heavy loads or trailored. Body is in very good condition and vehicle maintenance has always been performed on regular basis (approx 1000 miles into current oil change). At first I thought I had thrown the serpentine belt, but within seconds I knew it was much worse, shutting off the engine. Two checks of the oil level, assured me that there was in fact oil in the engine. There were no external leaks found and there did not appear to be any oil/coolant mixing. After towing the vehicle, to my mechanic, they have since reported what they believe to be as a "catastrophic loss of the engine". I have reported this failure to Chrysler corp. And they have opened a case number for me, but they have not made any commitment, if they will cover the failure. After some of my own investigating, I have discovered there are numerous complaints, of the exact same nature as my failure, with this identical make/model year and 5. 7l hemi engine, with many failures occurring in the 80-120k mile range (my mileage 97k). Very angry and upset about this failure, but thankful I was able to safely pull over without any further incident and injury.

The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that the pistons on the vehicle have started to disintegrate. The failure caused the vehicle to stutter and then stall. The check engine light illuminated prior to the failure. The dealer performed a diagnostic test which indicated that the number six cylinder misfired. The dealership took the vehicle to a regional test site, dismantled the engine and found that the number six cylinder was disintegrated. The dealer stated that the engine had to be replaced. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 92,000 and the current mileage was 92,600.

My wife was driving alone to work. Suddenly and without warning, the engine stopped, lights went off and power steering went off. She managed to use the car momentum to direct the car into a side road, without hitting any other cars. She was 30 secs. From the freeway entrance). She managed to get out of the car ( all other doors to the car were locked except the driver door - what do you do when you are in the back seat ?)) and noticed blue smoke coming from under the hood. She tried to restart the vehicle but without success. She called aaa and was eventually towed to stateline Dodge in fort mill. The battery and connections were so hot the tow truck driver could not touch them. . And still smoking. The garage examined the battery cables and verified they were melted together(see invoice). We would need a new battery and cable. I called the garage to inform them that a NHTSA safety recall d40 was issued in 2004, concerning re-routing the battery cable as it could lead to an underhood fire. I was expecting not to be charged with the battery and replacement cable. However the recall notice talks about cable contact with the upper control arm of the suspension and in my case the contact was with the exhaust gas recycle tube, which is 1" away from the control arm. I was charged $460 for the work and am now writing to Chrysler for recompense. This is a potential serious issue for Durango owners, especially if you are on a freeway and the engine cuts out or your car is parked in your garage at night and the battery is red hot. This safety recall campaign should be extended to cables contacting the egr tube.

I have had numerous engine stalling/loss of steering problems with my vehicle once the mileage exceeded 70,000 miles. It has stalled while stopping at a stop sign, upon accelerating into a turn, and many others. After diagnostic testing, we replaced 2 O2 sensors and the stalling still occurs. After a second diagnostic testing, we replaced all the spark plugs and ignition coils and the stalling still occurs. After a third diagnostic testing, we replaced the fuel pump and the stalling still occurs. Now the diagnostic testing indicated we need to replace the egr flow sensor. I currently have 74,836 miles. I have spent approx $1000 in parts alone to repair these items and the problem is still not fixed.