After it had been raining all night I went to start it this morning and I heard a loud thump then nothing! Tried to start it again a couple times and nothing. I sat there in tears trying to figure out how I would get to work tomorrow then tried starting it again and it did start. Now making a loud clicking noise. After reading all of the same complaints I am having it towed to my local repair shop but today is sunday so I have none to look at it until tomorrow. I checked under the hood and yes there is water leaking through the base of the front windshield! Then I looked under the dashboard above the foot pedals and couldn't believe I seen a trickle of water running down behind all the fuses, plugs and wires!! This is ridiculous!! Now I have to borrow a car for work and pray that my engine is not shot! This widowed mom of 3 needs a dependable vehicle now!! I think there are enough complaints to warrant an investigation. I need help getting my truck fixed please!!
2004 Dodge Durango engine complaints
Page 8 of 20: complaints 191 to 220 of 575, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Drove vehicle on 12-22-13 everything running fine went to drive on 12-23-13 and started truck just to hear a loud bang and thump checked out by mechanic and it has a busted connecting rod and engine block is shot and cant even rebuild this is a real problem that needs to be addressed quickly before any more hard working americans have to dump $7k dollars in their vehicle because some one wants to cover up a real problem. Dodge recommended replacing the intake manifold as well when do the repairs. If you know anything about engines the intake manifold shouldn't have to be done because of a rod failure. Upon doing research there seems to be another issue with the windshield cowl that leaks down directly to the manifold that may crack because is faulty which in turn allows water to drain on top of the engine. Well even though there is thousands of complaints on here and with dodge nothing has been done. A v8 engine should not fail between 60-80,000 miles if properly maintained like ours was. Oil changes religiously and all maintenance done to dealership specs. If this rod would have failed while driving at highway speeds it could have easily caused death or injury. Why hasn't anyone looked at this problem. There is obviously a trend here if thousands of people's engines are failing at such low mileage.
Backed vehicle into driveway next morning got in to crank and it made a horrible noise. Took to mechanic and motor was shot!! This is not the way I thought dodge company would be; will not have another. No help from dodge.
One morning, at startup, the engine failed due to broken rod. All maintenance was always kept up and recorded. The vehicle was taken to local dodge dealership for inspection and all maintenance records were handed to them. Upon inspection of the engine, the local service person told me I had a good case against dodge since the engine was in great condition and the rod should not have broken. The regional dodge inspector show up and inspected the engine and determined that the damage was due to lack of maintenance. I attempted to talk to the local service person that I had spoke with before but the dealership manager would not allow me to. The national dodge representative I was assigned called me and told me that the engine failed due to a water pump failure. The story changed. In either case, I was left with a large bill because of faulty engine parts that dodge (chrysler) uses on their vehicles. This has happened to thousands of other dodge durango hemi owners.
When starting it made load knocking noise. Had it towed to local auto repair shop they said that the engine had thrown a rod through the block. They found that rain water was coming through the cowl below the windshield onto the engine intake manifold. Water standing on the intake manifold seeped into the engine and allowed cylinder to hydraulically lock.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 dodge durango. The contact stated that when starting the vehicle, an abnormal sound came from the engine and the vehicle would not start. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer where a diagnostic was performed, which determined that the connecting rod was damaged. The dealer replaced the connecting rod however, the repair did not remedy the defect and the failure later recurred. The contact inspected the vehicle and discovered a two-inch hole in the engine block. The contact took the vehicle back to the dealer where the dealer indicated that the connecting rod was damaged and caused the two-inch hole in the engine block. The dealer replaced the engine as a repair. The failure mileage was 72,000.
After returning from a week long business trip, I went to my durango that was parked at the airport. The battery was dead for some reason, and used a jump box to start the vehicle. Immediately upon started, the engine started to make a long rattling noise, then shut down. Upon further review, I found oil leaking from under the vehicle, and a piece of metal as well. After having the durango towed to my home, I checked out the engine to find a whole in the engine block just in front of the starter on the passenger side. It appears that this is a recurring problem with many people for the 2004 5.7l hemi engine. I am surprised that this has not been addressed yet. I am thankful that I was not driving when this happened as it has with some, but I suppose it will take a fatality until it is deemed serious enough for a recall.
Engine failed shortly (10 seconds) after start-up, making a loud knocking noise and then seizing tight. Engine could not be re-started as it could not turn-over. Engine was inspected before removal, and #7 piston was found to not be moving when the crankshaft was rotated in reverse rotation manually. Engine was removed and torn down for inspection. Cylinder #7 connecting rod was found to be broken midway through the I-beam section, and the remaining parts of the connecting rod showed evidence of being bent or bucked previous to the failure by one or more hydrolock events. Root cause was determined to be a defective design in the throttle body to induction resonator joint that allows windshield water runoff to be drawn into the engines induction system. This vehicle had experienced rough running in heavy rain conditions, which was thought to be ignition related per a chrysler tsb due to a defective cowl design that allows rain water to deposit directly on the ignition coils, and throttle body, in large volumes. Chrysler re-designed the cowl piece but did not mandate its replacement.
Prior to the engine failure the motor would shut off during any heavy rain storm, then after one rain storm in july of 2012 the next morning went outside to start the truck the motor had locked up. Took it to the garage and was told by the mechanic that dodge had a major design defect in the 2004-2005 durango that caused engine failure with rain water getting into the engine. So if that is the case then chrysler needs to refund everyone that has had these issue due to there mistake and not penalize the customers.
Right after I purchased this used vehicle without any service contract, I started to have problems when it rains the truck will start shaking,stalling and then the check engine light will come on, also after taking the truck thru a car wash it will do the same thing, I need help because I paid 11,000 dollars for these pos.
The electrical portion started after I first purchased the vehicle. The issue worsened after someone broke into the vehicle. The car wouldn't stay charged, and I ended up needing a tow every other week. My car insurance went up to $550.00 a month. I was always stranded. The problem was worse in the rain. Sometimes the car would cut off while driving, it did it once on the highway and I saw a semi coming down the highway and I thought I was dead. I got it started and pulled over to the shoulder because I didn't have enough speed to get out the way. Eventually it couldn't' start anymore. I had it sitting for a year as I kept making loan payments. I fixed one thing after the other...thinking it was the problem...the car would start and die a few days later. This last time I changed the starter for the third time. A rod was thrown and the engine is locked. I wasn't even driving the vehicle, it started after 3rd starter was installed and a crunch noise sounded a few minutes later while trying to give the battery some juice. I towed it into another shop and they confirmed the engine is gone. I had to pay full coverage insurance because it's financed and a car note for a truck that's gone. I've searched online and dodge knows and hasn't taken responsibility. Involuntary repossession would be futile because after the fee for repo, towing, storage..I will owe more than what I have left to pay, $5000.00 and still not even scrap metal. I've read so many discussion board post, consumer blogs on this model and 'm floored. I guess the complaints are recent because one you get to like 70,00 mile you are toast. I don't drive to work, only on the weekends and I take good care of my truck and now I have nothing but payments and metal that looks pretty on the outside.
The vehicle was kept in good condition oil changed ect. Vehicle threw a rod at around 30 MPH.
My truck was parked in the driveway, it was raining and then the lights started flickering without the keys being in the ignition. I tried to move the truck to the inside of the garage and the smoke came out of the hood and from under the dash. I turned the truck off and the engine remained running, we had to call the fire department because it was smoking and the keys were off. The fire department came and removed the battery and said it may be a short when it rained. The truck is in the garage I cant drive it when it rains because water goes in to the truck from the front I can actually see water leaking into the floor. I owned the truck for 3 years and never had this problem until it reached 100,000 miles.
Vehicle stalled out on me during a heavy rain. I was going about 60mph on the highway, when vehicle started to shake. About 5 minutes after heavy rain, I lost all power and had to pull my vehicle off to the side of the road. I waited about 30 minutes and rain began to slow to a drizzle. Vehicle cranked right up after that. This is a very dangerous situation as I could have been rear ended on the highway. I have looked into this issue as I have had rough idles and stall outs when in automatic car washes. The issue seems to be with the cowl and a replacement cowl is available through the manufacturer at our own cost. If this issue has been addressed as a defect on an oem part then why should the consumer who has already paid for a vehicle be liable? I hope that this is more thoroughly investigated and it does not take the fatality of an unsuspecting consumer for issue to be addressed.
Through my research I have found that the second generation dodge durango's, have a real problem with the front cowl, it seems that every time that it rains heavy or I drive through a an automatic carwash. Doing so caused the engine to run pretty horrible.on august 27 we got a very bad rain in town while driving home that night, I parked my SUV went into my house and a few hrs later I go to leave for work and I start the engineer and after a few hard knocks the engine goes boom. I sent it to a mechanic and they said that I blew a rod through the engine block on my number 6 cylinder due to hydrolock. I feel that dodge should make a recall on the second generation durango's and replace the front cowl with a better design that does not allow water to leak through the cowl and kill motors. As speaking for the customer this we should not have to pay 185 dollars for a design update for free along with labor.
While driving at approximately 55 MPH the engine stalled. I was able to pull it off the road safely and put it into neutral. I then restarted the car and continued my drive. This same thing happened approximately 1 week later when I was traveling 35 MPH. I again had to put the car in neutral and restart. This time I was not able to pull over since I was on a busy street. Luckily the car behind me did not hit me. One week later the engine went out (per another complaint that I sent in last night). Dodge has a problem with this engine and should be held accountable for replacements.
My wife and I purchased a 2004 dodge durango one year ago. Luckily the engine went out while the car was in our driveway. The engine only had 139,044 miles on it. Dodge has a history of the hemi engine going out. If this would have happened while my family was in the car in traffic and someone would have gotten injured or killed there would not be enough money in the world to fix it. Why hasn't dodge admitted that there is a problem with this engine and recalled them?
While driving my 2004 dodge durango 5.7 hemi the svc 4x4 light went on at the time I was driving 35mpg in 70 degree weather and did not have my 4x4 on. I took it the mechanic shop and they said I needed to replace the 4x4 shift motor, so I bought a new 4x4 shift motor and they replaced it but my 4x4 was still not working. I have taken it to two different mechanic shops and they keep saying its the 4x4 shift motor so I exchanged the new 4x4 shift motor thinking it was defected and once again bought a new one and had it replaced and at this point the mechanics don't know what else it could be because it still didn't work.
My 2004 dodge durango limited stalls at slow speeds and when coming to a stop and also while making turns. Have had at dealership and they cannot find out what is causing this since there are no engine codes. Vehicle is becoming very dangerous to drive due to this issue. Durango has a 5.7 hemi engine. Why is there no recalls on this issue when it involves over four years of production? Are we waiting on a incident like toyota had before we react? This has happened to durango's with mileage low to high. Please help us now on this issue before it happens to you. Thanks !
On august 15, 2013, got up got into my 2004 durango with a 5.7 lit hemi engine and proceeded to drive to work as usual on my week day the vehicle showed no performance problems no check engine light or any other warnings on this vehicle arrived at work at approximately 10:30 a.m. And parked it , the car sat all day until 6:30 p.m. , I came out from work got into my car started it up and it shut back down I tried to start it once again , I ended up calling my roadside assistance to tow the vehicle to a shop the car showed symptoms that it might be a starter , so an attempt to do an engine diagnostic was done on august 16, 2013 at a local goodyear and they stated that the engine would not turn at all, they even attempted to hand turn it and to no avail it would not. At this point they said they did not have the capacity to fix it and I would have to have it towed to a shop that does major engine work so I did have it towed on august 16, 2013 to car czar and the said they were going to do a no crank, no start test on my car and on august 17, 2013 it was determined that the engine was totally seized and would not turn at all and that I would need a new engine. This auto care center also informed me that they could not fix this problem because this particular vehicle has special bolts and I would have to take it to a dealer also in my research for a new engine I ran across 41 pages of complaint from others with this same make and style of vehicle and they also describe the same problem with this car , I no some one who has also experienced the same problem with this same make and model , I bought my car off a carmax car lot a little shy of 2 years ago and it had one owner before me a very high maintenance vehicle and I'm a single mother with children I can't afford to take this kind of loss plus I'm still paying on it this is really sad.
I pulled out of my apartment and began to accelerate up an incline. I heard a loud thump, all of the lights on the dash flashed and the car died right there approximately 60 yards from my door. After having it towed all over the place, I was informed that my engine had seized. I was very confused because I am always adamant about maintaining the vehicle and all of the regular work had been done. Dodge would do nothing because the vehicle's warranty had expired. Because I still owed money, I was forced to pay over $6,000 getting a replacement engine. Separate incident 08/17/2013 started vehicle after work. Got to work fine with no indications of trouble, engine was shaking violently, thick smoke sputtering from tail pipe. Reading engine codes saying fuel injector open. Spent 200 getting injection system checked with no success. Mechanic saying that the computer system is bad in the vehicle which is likely to cost upwards of $1000 from dodge. Bottom line, this product is a complete disgrace, and I feel like the thousands of people affected by this terrible product should be compensated. I have almost had to pay for this car all over again with the time and money I have had to invest in repairs.
My 2004 dodge durango sat outside in the rain while I was away on a trip when it returned and restarted it, I heard a load pop and the engine idling rough, got out to check and seen and smelled oil coming out of the side of the engine block. Motors toast, good job chrysler for a quality product!
I have a 2004 dodge durango, when it rains it shake while driving and then the engine would make some noise have it check out it was nothing, at the end of february I had park at home for the weekend when it came to monday wanted to go out car would not start, tried to power charge the battery started but died right after, had it check out mechanic guy said my engine is gone and I'm still making payment towards that car and it's about 3,000 or more to get another engine. It's not right that all of these people are complaining about the same problem, something need to be done right away. So now the car is just sitting there, while I'm making payments on it.
I was taking off from a traffic light and I heard a pop sound and the engine shut off. I got the vehicle of the road and had towed to a repair shop. They said engine is shot something in the valve train broke loose and hit the piston. I have changed the oil and filter every 3-4000 miles since I have owned this vehicle. I have found by checking the internet that there are thousands and thousands of complaints for premature engine failure for a 2004 dodge durango with 5.7l engine. It is obvious that dodge new about this because the problem seemed to go away in 2005 models.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 dodge durango. The contact stated that while parked, the engine failed to start after rainy weather. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several days but noticed a knocking sound coming from the engine. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed to determine the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 99,000.
Drove vehicle on 7-26-13 everything running fine went to drive on 7-29-13 and started truck just to hear a loud bang and thump checked out by mechanic and it has a busted #7 connecting rod and engine block is shot and cant even rebuild this is a real problem that needs to be addressed quickly before any more hard working americans have to dump 4500-6000 dollars in their vehicle because some one wants to cover up a real problem.
I have owned my 2004 dodge durango hemi for just over a year. It had 86k miles. My family recently went on vacation for a week and returned home on july 27th, 2013. My husband needed to move my durango so he could get to an electrical cord. When he turned the key my durango made an awful noise that could be described as numerous people sitting there banging hammers on my engine. I don't know a lot about vehicles but I know enough to know that's never a good noise. I still owe money on my vehicle, and I am unable to drive it. Not to mention the cost it would be to replace the motor. I have read online that rebuilding the motor is a poor choice because something about the way the engine is built, it does not allow for all the pieces of medal to exit the motor after a rebuild, only resulting in a ticking time bomb for the motor to fail again. The reason for the engine failure is rain. Or car washes. I stopped driving my durango in the car wash and during rain because it would stall out and run extremely rough. Dodge knows this is an issue, I am not the only one to complain about it but yet dodge will not stand behind their product. If dodge wont stand behind their product, I will never be a dodge owner again. ----2004 dodge durango limited - engine failure at 86,004 miles.
I only had the darn SUV since 02/12.it rained very bad friday night 7-26-13 and when I went to start the car the next morning the engine sounds like a hammer is in it or something I know I always had engine problems whenever I got a carwash but nothing like this time it's not drivable and I hope someone can get everyone a recall on these no good engines or motors whatever now I'm stuck in debt!!! Its ticking and I don't know the next step to take.
2004 dodge durango limited 5.7l hemi had a knocking noise, took it to the dealer and based on their visual and hearing inspection suspected to be the flywheel ring; dealer stated that they needed to take the trans out for a final assessment. Dealer stated that there was not issues with engine. A week later while driving at approximately 55mph a loud noise and smoke came from underneath the vehicle. The engine stopped and lost power breaks and power steering. Towed the vehicle to the dealer and I was told that there is a hole in the engine block by the 8th cylinder and engine was sized. Dealer found metal parts (piston rod parts) all over the engine compartment. Contacted chrysler hq and I was told that there are no reports of such failure and they were not interested into looking at this problem. The vehicle had less than 106k miles. The vehicle was not repaired as the repairs (parts and labor) exceeded the book value of the vehicle. This looks like a metallurgy issue of the piston rod and chrysler should address it.
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.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2004 Dodge Durango?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history