Driveshaft problems of the 2007 Dodge Nitro

We were driving like every morning to our work and when we try to pass the intersection we have to stop on a yield sign to let the other traffic pass. When I try to hit the accelerate all the lateral air bags exploded without reason and the1st thing we thought was that someone hit us. I try to move the car and the car wasn't running at all also I cannot stop it so I have to turn in off. We go out of the car to see if we got hit but the car didn't have anything so we try to see under the car and all the drive shaft was cracked in half! the sheriffs come to the scene and they can't believe that the car was in that condition if we didn't have a wreck or anything! they say that everything looks like a safety recall, we did a research online and was right my car has a safety recall since 2013 and they never send me a letter or call me to let me know about it! I drove that car everyday to work,to pick up my kids from school etc. . Etc. . And I can't believe what happened I could die if my car wasn't stop! I was very lucky that I was on a yield sign when everything happen. Now my car insurance didn't want to pay anything because they found out about the recall and told me that the agency has to pay for everything because that was a manufacturer problem! but the Dodge don't want to pay or fix anything they also have the nerve to told me that my car didn't had a safety recall at all even when the mopar page say that my car did had a recall! now I'm without car and dealing with the expenses of towing my car etc. . Etc. .

Air bags went off when the driveshaft just blew because apparently it was made out of aluminum which is magnetic and causes it to wear quickly and draws other parts to it causing it to rub and rupture; also the a/c always goes out. I had it repaired 3 times all for freon leaks. Nothing gets covered because not all of the vehicles were made with this terrible aluminum. This is a huge safety hazard!!! I was only going 40 mph on a side road when this blew with my girlfriend in the car. The driveshaft blew, side airbags deployed. She injured her neck and back from the jolt. There is no reason corners should be cut to make a cheaper vehicle that is unsafe!.

Took my 2007 Dodge Nitro to the dealership for engine lights. After all issues were repaired related to engine lights, I was told the heat shield had fallen and was resting on the drive shaft. This caused a shaving off of the metal along a 6-8 inch space. The dealership said they would no longer honor the power train warranty. I was told by the dealership service dept. The only way this could have happened was for the car to be in high water thus damaging the heat shield causing it to wear down the metal on the drive shaft. I noticed that there were no factory-installed fasteners holding the heat shield in place. I have not ever had my car in high water and upon my further examination including video documentation of the under carriage, I pointed out to the service tech that the factory label on the drive shaft was in excellent condition, my oil pan lacked dents or dings, and there appeared to be no other damage to the under carriage, nor did I have any water related interior issues. The service department still refused to cover the drive shaft and heat shield repairs under warranty. The service department suggested I make a claim to my insurance company and to contact Chrysler customer service to see if they would open a claim. I called Chrysler customer service and was told their service tech determined the issue was caused by water damage and after asking for clarification I was told, "I am not technically trained to answer that question. ” I called my insurance company, based on their review/evidence they were unable to substantiate any claim of water damage. I also researched this issue online and determined that this has been reported several times. The repairs will cost over $1k. This seems to be either defective or a faulty design as there are no factory fasteners holding the heat shield in place.

The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Nitro. The contact stated that while traveling at unknown speeds, the driver and passenger's side curtain air bags erroneously deployed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was determined that the drive shaft had failed and caused the air bags to deploy. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000.

On December 06, 2012 was stopped at a red light. Light turned green and I proceeded to accelerate, I then hear a loud thump and veh shut down. I looked under the veh only to find that my drive shaft had exploded and broke in two, falling to the roadway. Looked like a bomb went off under my veh. See that this is s recurring problem with this model. Why is their no recall??? if I were going at st higher rate of speed could of resulted in injury or lost of life. Why is Dodge not taking responsibility??.

The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Nitro. The contact stated that while accelerating from a stop sign, there was a explosion heard from under the vehicle. The seat belt automatically locked and smoke started emitting into the vehicle. The contact mentioned that after inspecting the vehicle, he noticed that the driveshaft had become separated from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician was unable to determine what cause the failure but stated that the drive shaft needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 120,000 and the current mileage was 148,000.

On July 4th 2012 I was at a stop light. The light turned green and as I started to turn the car jumped in the air the air bags on the sides deployed. I stopped the car to see what happened. As I got out I checked the rear to make sure I did not get hit. No cars around. I looked under the car and the drive shaft was broke in half. I did not run over anything this truck has never been in a wreck. I towed the truck home started looking on line and see many other people have had the same issues. Just as the others it looks like something may have rubbed on it making the shaft thin and breakable. Most people that I have talked with said it was the heat shield. I believe that's what caused my issues. If we would have been on the interstate I believe my family and I could have been easily killed.

While stopped at a crosswalk. I proceeded to accelerate from a stopped position. . While accelerating my entire drive shaft spun apart and fell to the ground in two pieces. I had my Nitro towed to my local Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealership who was close for the weekend. I did an after-hours drop and explained the incident and told them that this obviously had to be a vehicle defect that should be covered under warranty as the vehicle has a life time power train warranty along with and extended warranty that I purchased as originally owner when I bought the vehicle. I was told by the dealership service department that the only way this could have happened was for me to have damaged the vehicle or bottomed out to something. I told them absolutely not. That wasn't the case at all. They refused to cover it under warranty and suggested I make a claim with my insurance. They also said if I wanted to have Chrysler corp see if they could still cover it under warranty I would have to call them and make a claim to push it farther. I did so and was told by warranty department with Chrysler that they wouldn't even mate a determination till my insurance made a determination if they would cover a claim or not. I told Chrysler warranty department that it should make no difference weather they will or won't cover it. That Chrysler should cover this defective drive shaft under my existing warranty. Needless to say they didn't. My issue is that after doing some research and googleing, 2007 Dodge Nitro drive share I came across and blog that listed the exact same problem I had happen to my drive shaft happening all over the country. I even explained that to Chrysler warranty department and my local service department and they said they couldn't go by a blog to determine a warranty repair and insisted I had to have damaged the drive shaft to make it fall apart . Heatshieldis causing.

About three weeks ago on 05 December 2011, I was driving my 2007 Dodge Nitro 4x2 until I came to a stop at a red traffic light. I had my blinker on and was ready to make a right turn as soon as the light turned green. When the light turned green I lightly stepped on the acceletator when a loud explosion was heard and felt in the vehicle undercarriage. The vehicle's drive shaft had exploded upwards, hitting the undercarriage and then dropping to the floor. The vehicle lost complete power and stopped immediately after the driveline fell off. My daughter and niece felt the hit in greater magnitude as they were sitting in the back seat. My insurance covered the wrecker and transported the vehicle to the nearest Dodge dealership. The dealership diagnosed the problem as a faulty heatshield that fell off the undercarriage and was rubbing against the aluminum driveshaft. Since the heatshield is made of aluminum and fiberglass, the rubbing of aluminum against aluminum has a cutting effect that caused the driveshaft to cut open and then explode cutting it in half. Luckly, I was making a turn going no more than 10 to 15 miles an hour. Had I been driving on a highway this issue would have likely caused a fatal and catastrophic accident. There is no recall that I know of. My extended warranty does not cover the repair as it is not covered under the policy. My car insurance does not cover the repairs as it is considered a mechanical failure and not a collision. Dodge should conduct an investigation on the cause of the heatshield coming off from the undercarriage, and recall vehicles to prevent any future catastrophic events.

The drive shaft broke in half. The aluminum insulation blanket located above the drive shaft sagged and came in contact with the drive shaft. Over time, the rubbing of the blanket against the drive shaft wore away a 5 inch part of the drive shaft until it broke in half. The blanket has nothing to keep it from sagging such as wire (wire is used in other places but not above the spot on my care that allowed the blanket to sag).