While driving 55 MPH vehicle shook uncontrollable. Consumer was able to maintain control of the vehicle, and drove it to the dealer. Mechanic determined that both frontal upper and lower ball joints needed to be replaced due to corrosion.
1999 Dodge Durango suspension complaints
Page 17 of 38: complaints 461 to 490 of 1,102, newest first, as owners wrote them.
When driving at undetermined speed steering wheel shook. Consumer took the vehicle to the mechanic for inspection, and mechanic determined that right upper ball joint failed.
Independent repair shop replaced the lower and upper ball joints at consumer's expense. *ak the mechanic stated that the ball joints were seriously worn.
The consumer complained about a ball joint problem. The consumer heard a noise from the front end while driving at any speed. *ak the vehicle was taken in several times during the warranty period and the dealer was unable to find the cause of the noise in the front end. *sc
The upper and lower ball joints wore prematurely. The cause has yet to be determined. *nm dodge refused to pay for the repairs. Most of the vehicle's repairs were covered under the extended warranty.
While driving 60 MPH, the vehicle vibrated uncontrollably. The driver was able to maintain control of the vehicle and drove it to a body shop. The mechanic informed the driver that the upper and lower ball joints needed replacing due to worn parts. Please provide further details.
The lower ball joints have cracked without warning. As a result while driving the vehicle vibrates violently. The cause has yet to be determined. Please provide additional information.
Excessive tire wear,failed safety inspection. Ball joint failure (all) required replacement. Contacted dealer, they would not replace even though failure was premature. Replaced all ball joints at my expense...$1,289.
Premature wear on ball joints. Dealer inspected at my request during routine 37,500 mile maintenance. I was told that the ball joints needed to be replaced, which involves replacing the entire upper control arms on the vehicle for a cost of over $800. Not replacing them could cause wheel to come off. Replacing major suspension components on a light use, low mile vehicle is outrageous. If they were ment to be replaced at 38,000 miles they would not be integral with the control arm.
Steering became loose and front wheels began to make loud creaking noises. Having been aware of the tendency for durango ball joints to fail, I took my car to the shop. Ball joints on front required replacement as well as bearing on one side.
Consumer felt that manufacturer should be responsible for the repair on vehicle. *la the vehicles lower ball joints were loose and have excessive wear. Prior to this failure the vehicle's leaf springs broke. The dealer replaced both rear leaf springs.
While driving at 35 MPH, the consumer heard a scraping sound coming from the front end. Vehicle was taken to a mechanic who determined that the upper and lower ball joints were worn out. Also the left hub bearing was worn out.
I began hearing a horrid squeal in the rear wheels of my 1999 dodge durango. I took it to a dealer who said the joints were worn, and it would be over $1500 to fix it, and it was not under warranty. They said there might be a recall, but had not been. I had two joints replaced fixed at another repair shop, but now the squealing has started again, and also is accompanied by the front end shaking when I drive over 50 MPH.
At 39000 miles, 1999 dodge durango had to have ball joints replaces as they were dangerously worn. Since grandchildren ride in vehicle, ball joints had to be replaced at a cost of $764.22. Dodge refuses to stand behind vehicle even though ball joints were obviously defective and worn at 36000 miles when warranty ran out.
My 1999 dodge durango VIN [xxx] has around 58,000 miles on it. I took it to a local 5-star dodge dealership for some scheduled maint. Including new tires. When the dealer went to do the alignment for the new tires, I was informed they could not get the car properly aligned due to excessive wearing of the ball joints and control arms. They told me I need to replace both ball joints and control arms to fix the problem so as not to wear out my new tires prematurely. This is the exact same issue I've seen reported on cbs' evening news and their web site multiple times. I can personally state that I would have never known I had problems with this equipment as there were no warnings whatsoever. I have a two year old, and use this as a commute car and to transport my family. I've read how others have state they had no warnings and their wheels broke off! As with others who are lucky enough to find out about this problem before a wheel breaks off the car, I am getting stuck with the repair costs as it isn't an official recall. The dealer advised me to write a complaint to chrysler, which I plan to do, trying to seek some compensation for this. I've never owned a vehicle where I had to replace control arms and ball joints ever. The car usually wears out before that does. Especially with only 58,000 miles and babying the car, maintaining it well. I have never abused or gone "off-road" in this car. I am writing to officially complain that I am the next victim in the ball joint fiasco. And I'm stuck with the bill. This really shakes my confidence in chrysler with them stating that there is "adequate warning before a failure." when mine are worn out to the point the car can't be aligned, and I have absolutely no warning of a problem, then I can 100% say they are lying about that...they aren't experiencing this, so they don't have a right to say that...especially since I can attest to it, as have many others. *ak updated 07/26/2012 *js information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia),
Pe 03-032, front suspension. Upper ball joint failure: while driving at any speed and when turning corners a clicking sound was heard from the front end. Also, when driving straight there was a groaning sound coming from the front. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the upper and lower ball joints were worn out. *ak *sc
There was a squawking noise in the front end when the vehicle was driven over a bump. The mechanic replaced the front wheel bearings because they were defective. *ak *sc
Upper and lower ball joints had to be replaced on my 1999 dodge durango, 4wd, 5.2 liter v8.
All suspension ball joints on my 1999 dodge durango went out at once making it almost imposible to drive and almost lost the front passenger side wheel with all my children in the car. Vehicle only has 82,000 miles on it with regular maintenance and this should not have happened. Took the car to the mechanic and had all ball joints replaced. He informed me that I was very lucky not to have had an accident and that he has seen this problem with the dodge durango many times. From my research on this subject I can see it is a common problem with potential for serious injury. Please look into this problem asap. Thank you.
1999 dodge durango with about 75,000 miles. I noticed that the tires started to vibrate the steering column and I took it to a service center. They found 2 bad upper ball joints and two bad tie rod ends. One of the ball joints was about ready to fall apart. I had them replace all bad components and realign the front end. Also I had to replace the front brakes (2nd) time since I have had this vehicle and may have to replace the rotors as well as they may be worn thin.
Request reimbursement for defective ball joint repairs. *ph when the consumer heard about a report regarding defective ball joints, he took the vehicle to the dealer, however they told him the ball joints were fine. When the consumer went to have the vehicle inspected, he was told the ball joints were defective.
Tires worn uneven because of premature wear of the ball joints. *ph the consumer stated the transmission shifted up and down.
Too many owners seem to be uniformed of the risks associated with the front-end design flaw of the dodge durango. Needing upper and/or lower ball joints and control arm replacements at 50k or less should not be the responsibility of the customer. The main issue lies in the fact that this flaw requires the customer to pay for the fixes without any change in design so the need for future replacement falls on the consumer in less than 50k miles again! I feel that this issue should have efforts made with dodge to protect the safety of the consumer and the financial burden by at least paying for the fix the first time and prior to the failure causing suspension failures that can and eventually will cause harm or death. My vehicle is in need of these replacements when it was apparent that the wheel alignments cannot be preformed and warranted unless the suspension parts are replaced. For many consumer that are still making payments on the vehicle they may not do the replacement and eventually dodge may be involved in law suits that could ultimately show fault if no proactive measures are taken by them. I would certainly your help in dealing with this issue. Thank you- if dodge did pay the first bill, they seem to be able to control , at least, the fact that this is needed by the consumer in the future and could remove all liability to the issue forever.
While driving, the consumer heard a grinding noise in the front end. The dealership indicated that 3 of the balls joints were defective, and needed to be replaced. Also, the front right wheel was loose. *ak *sc
Upper ball joints cracked without warning. *ak three months after replacing the lower ball joints, the upper ball joints needed to be replaced.
While driving steering wheel was loose. Upon inspection of the vehicle mechanic determined that the passenger's side upper ball joint was loose, and the tire could fall off at anytime. Also, mechanic indicated that both the upper and lower ball joints needed to be replaced, but the parts were on a nation wide back order.*ak after parts were replaced, consumer again experienced steering becoming loose. Also, repair was made on transmission pan gasket due to a bolt stripped out of the pan.
During a vehicle inspection, the mechanic determined the right front upper ball joint was not in compliance and the right front wheel was about to detach from the vehicle. The right front ball joints were replaced, however before the inspection the vehicle showed no signs of ball joint problems. *ak
During maryland state vehicle inspection on my 99 dodge durango, I was by the mechanic that the front ball joints appeared to be defective. The mechanic found cracks, chips, and excessive wear on the ball joints, and said that they needed to be replaced asap. He told me that it was unsafe to drive my vehicle in this condition. I called the local dodge dealership and was told by the service manager that I should expect the ball joints to be in this condition considering that I have about 100,000 miles on the vehicle. He said they would only have been covered by the warranty until 36,000 miles. He did not seem to think that it was hazardous to drive with damaged ball joints, and was rude when I asked about any recalls on the vehicle. I found more information on the internet about the on-going investigation about the defective durango ball joints.
After inspecting the vehicle technician determined that upper and lower ball joints needed to be replaced.
Ball joints front end problems .
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