2004 Dodge Durango: engine knocking or ticking

Filed Jul 20, 2020 · Engine · 200,000 miles · CA

The problem happens to every hemi vehicle. As it age. Exhaust manifold will start to leak. Making a ticking sound.

Filed Dec 31, 2019 · Electrical, Engine · IN

Went to go start durango & heard a loud boom, & now it seems to be knocking & not drivable now, after do research online we cam across that on these models (2004 dodge durango 5.7 hemi magnums) it seems too leak water into where the engine is due to hood manifold is designed horribly & water leaks on wires, spark, plugs, engine etc. Etc. We've noticed when we drove in the rain or even going through a carwash that the durango would sputter as if it was going to die & it has a couple times & took about 15 mins to start again, after this event has happened we thank god that it happened at home & not on the interstate around other vehicles because this is a serious safely issue that needs to be addressed & now we are out of a vehicle at the moment and we are still currently making payments on this vehicle for another year and a half at-least.

Filed Jun 25, 2019 · Body, Engine · 240,000 miles · MO

I was getting gas and as I pulled out of the gas station I was getting a load ticking noise. To find out later my 5.7 himi lifter and cam shafts needs to be replaced. I get a regular oil change and filter change. I am not sure why this is happening but I did see that this is normal and 5.7 himis dodge durangos and not understanding why it hasn't been recalled. I'm a mother of 3 little ones and I'm terrified we can get stranded if my engine decides to go out due to this issue.

Filed Nov 2, 2018 · Engine · 178,000 miles · PA

After a night of raining I started up my vehicle to a terrible knocking sound. Blown motor due to defective cowl allowing water to lay on top of intake. And sucked through intake gaskets.causing a hydraulic and blown motor. Comprehensive insurance said mechanical failure. Internet says enough about this viehicle. Rods through the block upon ignition.

Filed Apr 27, 2018 · Engine · 113,543 miles · CO

I purchased my '04 durango in 2014 with 70,000 miles on it and just paid it off last month. I haven't even received the title yet but yet I have a truck that doesn't run anymore. About a week or so ago I went out to start my truck and the engine began to knock very loudly. We had a small rain/snow event the night before and the truck had been sitting outside in the elements. I immediately turned off the truck and went back inside to make some calls and get on the internet. I found out that there has been an ongoing issue with this truck concerning water leaking into the engine causing it to hydrolock the engine causing catastrophic engine failure/ engine replacement. Prior to this, I had issues with the truck concerning idling and/or stalling during the rain or when going through a car wash. I read so many comments from fellow vehicle owners that have experienced this issue and have had to replace the engine. There is no other fix. The estimated fix for this is a new/used engine costing thousands of dollars (I was quoted 7000, I only paid 10,000 for the truck when I bought it). I had a mechanic come look at it and he said the truck dropped a valve, it was cylinder #3. My engine has just over 113,000 miles on it. There is no reason I should have to replace an engine at this mileage. None whatsoever. Delving into the issue it seems as if there is a replacement part (cowl fitting) that needs to be replaced that dodge/chrysler never issued a recall for although they knew there was an issue and it was causing its engines to blow rods and suffer irreparable damage. If I had known that this I would never ever have bought it especially from a company that doesn't correct their mistakes even when they know about them. I have never owned a dodge before and I will never buy another again or recommend them to others. They should stand by their product

Filed Jun 30, 2017 · Engine · 88,000 miles · WA

While driving in the rain all of a sudden there was a loud noise and my engine started knocking loudly. I was able to pull the engine and pull it apart and found there was water in the intake and the number 5 cylinder rod had broke. Luckily the part that broke went down and the oil pan gasket/windage tray slowed it down enough to not go through the block. After further inspection I noticed that the intake gaskets were not sealing properly and allowed water to be sucked into the intake and then hydra locked the number 5 piston. When I put it together I noticed the "seal" on the cowl wasn't even touching the window and that let the rain go directly into the engine compartment and sit on the engine. Put those two problems together with the rain and now I have a motor that is broken. I called dodge and the lady tried telling me that her "master" mechanic had never heard of this problem and yet when I typed in a search on this model and year that was the first thing that popped up. I know that this is a problem with the 2004 dodge durango. I have inserted pictures of their intake gaskets and then I held a ruler up to the intake flat and you can clearly see the light shining through the gasket which means that this was definitely not sealing. Also I put a picture of the cowl seal and showed how cheap it is. Also while we were waiting to get the funds to repair the engine it sat through the winter completely covered and the engine hadn't even been taken apart yet and when we pulled the intake off it was completely "full" of water which in turn filled the heads and the cylinders with water.

Filed Feb 9, 2016 · Engine · 153,174 miles · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 dodge durango. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, a loud knocking noise emitted from the engine as the front end vibrated severely. The vehicle stalled without warning. After restarting, the vehicle resumed with an abnormal noise. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to locate the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 153,714.

Filed Nov 12, 2015 · Engine · 120,000 miles · NH

After heavy rains the engine would run rough and then smooth out. Then during one heavy rain I tried to start the vehicle and heard a loud knocking. I brought it to the shop and they determined that it had hydrolocked due to water getting into the intake gasket from the cowl. After two months of agruing with the warranty company and the dealer, the warranty company covered all but 1000 dollars of the engine replacement but the cowl is not replaced. I fear that this will happen again.

Filed Nov 2, 2015 · Engine · 122,000 miles · VA

Vehicle would stall during heavy rains and taking it through a car wash while driving. Sometimes it would even cut off. One day it cut off and I had to have it towed to the dealership. I bought my vehicle brand new and this problem has been going on since then. Goodyear could not determine the cause of the issue and the dodge dealership informed me that it was the fuel pump. So they replaced my fuel pump and the problem still occurs during heavy rains and going through the car wash. I replaced the battery a third time after contacting roadside assistance. Now the vehicle is making a knocking sound. I'm afraid it's the engine. After researching, there are thousands of complaints about the issue with the wiper cowl leaking. There is a service bulletin 18-006-05 put out by chrysler.

Filed Oct 27, 2015 · Engine · 151,400 miles · NY

It was a rainy day on friday oct. 2, 2015. That morning my vehicle started fine, it wasn't until I came out of work that evening when I went to start it the engine made a loud sound and it wouldn't start. I tried a few times until suddenly it turned on and it was making a knocking noise. I then called my mechanic and explained the situation and he told me to bring it to the shop so they can put it on a lift to take a look underneath. As I drove away the sound was unbearable and the faster I drove the louder it got, suddenly I heard a loud explosion and the vehicle stopped. It felt like the engine fell out, there was a lot of smoke and oil everywhere. I got the vehicle towed to the my mechanics shop for further diagnosing when they told me the engine blew out. The next day I got a call after they took the engine apart and told me the block had a hole because the piston blew through it. They told me it would cost more money to rebuild my original engine than buying a used one, I opted out on the used one. As I was home I went online and did some research when I come to find out that many people had the same problem happen to them with the same vehicle on a rainy day or when they took their car through a car wash. So as I did more research it turns out the wiper cowl which at some point chrysler came out with an upgrade tends to leak water on top of the intake manifold which is another bad design, then sucks in water into the engine eventually causing it to hydro lock. I bought my vehicle brand new in 2004 and now I'm disappointed they never issued a recall to fix this problem. I just paid over $4000 to repair it and god knows how long until this used engine goes out with the same problem. I filed a complaint with dodge and spoke to someone yesterday for them to tell me that my vehicle is out of warranty . Please help me with this matter.

Filed Sep 12, 2015 · Engine · 140,000 miles · MI · crash · 1 injury

I have a 2004 dodge durango slt 5.7l hemi. Never had any big issues with it until in 2014 I was driving home from work on the highway when I heard a loud bang and loud knocking noises followed shortly by an abrupt shut off. I tried immediately to get to the side of the road but when I lost power steering from the engine ceizing and couldn't correct myself enough so I went down the hill off the side of the highway while trying to break with no brake booster anymore as well. I ended up running into a couple small tree's and finally stopping . Air bags didn't deploy and I only jammed my finger and hurt my back some but I only missed a larger group of tree by inches. My front bumper was ripped off, my drivers side headlight was broke as well as my grille and my windshield cracked. I took it to my mechanic and found out that the engine "hydrolocked" and a piston rod punched through my engine and broke a lot of other things internally. Needless to say the engine is gone. After doing some research I have found that there are hundreds more people that had this happen to their 04 and 05 dodge durango with the 5.7l hemi. Apparently the water runs right down onto the engine and pools up and the intake is faulty so it sucks that water up and causes a catastrophic hydrolock with the engine which could kill someone if they lose power steering and power brakes within a second. I've been trying to save to get a new engine (which will cost about $3800 alone) because I bought this for too much and neither dodge or my insurance would cover it so it's now a pile of scrap until I hopefully can get a new engine or have dodge buy this death trap back. Dodge needs to buy these back or fix them! This is by far not an individual case and it is very dangerous and costly!

Filed Jul 3, 2015 · Engine · 108,000 miles · PA

Upon attempting to start my 2004 durango after 2 days of rain the motor had a loud noise and then after restarting, a loud ticking noise. Shut off had towed to garage, mechanic says rod went through block. Numerous similar complaints..water onto engine top, sucked into intake...boom! Design flaw, cowl lets water onto top of engine, sucked into valves thru intake..boom..engine trashed. Cost of new engine greater than blue book...108000 miles.