Driving in the left lane of an interstate highway at 75mph, in moderate traffic, in daylight hours, clear weather, with my young son. Sudden, unexpected decrease in engine rpm resulted in unannounced, approximate 40 mph reduction in speed. The instrument cluster illuminated stating “ service transmission continue in D. Do Not Shift or Turn Engine Off”. Such an unforeseen event, without brake light illumination, resulted in several following vehicles to take evasive actions, thus preventing a potential mass casualty accident. I was able steer towards the right shoulder at the greatly reduced speed of 35mph, collect myself, check on my upset son and try to make sense of what had happened. At this point panic began to set in. I called my Father & he was able to provide the next step being to deliver the vehicle to the local Dodge dealership. Those few miles were miserable since the dash was still presenting dismal warnings, there was reduced power and the vehicle acted like it was in a very low gear. The dealership was closed, so the vehicle was parked on lot however, once the engine was turned off the battery power remained on. Unable to lock, turn off or change any electrical device. We returned the following day and spoke to the service advisor who stated, “the vehicle had entered the Limp Mode” Addition research states it is a safety feature that activates when a critical issue is detected by a computer. Well, I guess the engineers never thought about such a radical transformation at highway speeds….without brake lights! Such a device should never allow an automobile to suddenly and without notice, startle the driver with annunciations while simultaneously downshifting and reducing engine rpm.
2016 Dodge Durango transmission problems
30 complaints (19% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 25,000. 10 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 30
- of this car's complaints
- 19%
- typical mileage
- 25,000
- crashes
- 10
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
Owners did not name a specific part.
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Dodge Durango transmission problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2016 Dodge Durango transmission
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Vehicle Rollaway
Basis â On December 16, 2016, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE16-014 to investigate 43 vehicle rollaway incidents with operators alleging they had shifted to Park and then exited the vehicle prior to the rollway incidents. These complaints involved multiple Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) model and model year vehicles that share a common electronic rotary shifter design.  Of the 43 consumer complaints, 25 complaints alleged crashes, and eight complaints alleged at least one injury. Subject Vehicles â When the federal safety agency opened the investigation, the subject vehicles were model year (MY) 2013-2016 Ram 1500 vehicles and MY 2014-2016 Dodge Durango vehicles equipped with a rotary electronic shifter. However, the federal safety agency expanded the scope of the investigation to include subsequent model years of the same model vehicles when the Agency learned that those new model year vehicles use the same rotary shifter.  Additionally, all subject vehicles manufactured by FCA are equipped with electronic rotary shifters supplied by Kostal Automotive. Reason for closing - During the course of this investigation, ODI did not find evidence that a vehicle-based design or manufacturing defect was the cause of vehicle rollaway incidents on the subject vehicles. Nevertheless, given the risk of a vehicle rollaway, FCAâs CSN actions provide automated vehicle securement when an operator attempts to exit the vehicle without successfully achieving a Park position with the rotary shifter mechanism. ODI closely monitored the subject vehicles on which the CSN actions implement a vehicle securement strategy and found that the CSN actions were effective in reducing the frequency of vehicle rollaway incidents in the subject vehicles. ODI analyzed the incidents when a CSN had been implemented and a rollaway still occurred, and ODI was unable to find an actionable defect that caused vehicle rollaway incidents. ODI found that the failure rates on subject vehicles that received a CSN remedy were similar to the failure rates on other vehicle populations and additionally had similar mechanisms as other vehicle populations such as slippery surfaces and various mechanical failures. Furthermore, as discussed above, after FCAâs release of the CSN actions, consumer complaints have decreased significantly. Given the absence of an identified safety defect based on available information and FCAâs customer satisfaction campaign which addresses the failure mode, further action is not warranted at this time. Accordingly, this Preliminary Evaluation is closed. However, the Agency reserves the right to take further action, if warranted.Please see the attached detailed closing summary for more information. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to
PE16014
What 2016 Dodge Durango owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
While moving the car loses power, shift to p then desired gear and comes to a stop. Not able to steer.
The contact owns a 2016 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that his daughter was in the passenger seat when she activated the push start button and the vehicle rolled backward while in the park position. The contact's daughter got out of the vehicle midway while it was rolling backward and sustained scrapes to her knees and elbows. The vehicle crashed into the neighbor's garage door. The rear windshield was shattered, and the rear fender and liftgate were damaged. No medical attention was received. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The manufacturer informed the contact that they would reach out in 4 days. The failure mileage was 77,800.
3 malfunctions within a month time frame. The car will start and run normally. Then it will suddenly come to a halt because the engine will continue to run but the transmission knob will not be able to move, and the entire electrical panel lights up. Repeated attempts to use the push button start to unlock the transmission knob and be able to start car fail. This has happened 2 of the 3 times on major roadways in traffic. PD was called for last incident. The car has been to the dealer 3 times, dealer is unable to replicate problem and unable to pull codes from computer every single time. Vehicle has been inspected by dealer every single time. No warning lights or lamp or messages have appeared prior to this issue. The last incident - as described on major roadway - my children were in vehicle. This is a complete and dangerous issue, still not being addressed. The car had come to a light, stopped, the auto engine had kicked in, and when time to move, the entire panel lit up and transmission knob locked once again.
Very common cylinder 2 misfire. Replaced all spark plugs and the cylinder two ignition coil. Replaced upper and lower intake gasket seals, replaced the fuel injector. Still having issues with misfire. Wiring is all correct - pumps and valves are right. It must be a broken head and this is a known issue with previous years of Chrysler engines that have had recalls. This is an expensive fix and dangerous if not fixed. It is not fair to the consumer that Chrysler has still yet to fix such issues after prior years have been recalled, and yet they don’t recall the 2016 pentastar 3.6L. I am requesting this be looked into and recalled for I am one of many who are encountering this serious issue that will inevitably cause wrecks.
While driving my 2016 dodge durango limited, my check engine light came on, then the (ABS) light came on and then my battery light came on. Every light on the dash and system warning was lit up. Then they started flickering and then the vehicle died right in the middle of a busy city road during peak traffic. I have replaced the batteries thinking that may have something to do with it. I have had the alternator checked and it is good. I had to get it towed to my house and has been sitting ever sense with no power. I don't know what the issue is, but for a car to die in the middle of the road during peak traffic is completely unsafe and unacceptable. Plus I had only had the car for 2 months
Vehicle turns off while driving. The ignition button goes to acc. The cluster board then says to press brake and put vehicle in park. This is happening more often it was periodically but now happening on every trip.
On 06/2018 I came home and pulled into our driveway. I put our dodge durango 2016 with 21110 miles in the park position and I then opened our garage door halfway open. I walked under the door and went into the house to get my wallet out of my pants which I was wearing earlier. It was a couple minutes later when my wife and I heard a big bang. We both ran out to the garage and saw the 2016 dodge durango SUV halfway into the garage. The garage door was stopping the SUV from gaining speed and coming into the house. It damage our garage door significantly and put scratches on our SUV hood and windshield. Luckily the garage door stopped it otherwise it would've broken down the wall and could've ran over one of our children or us or done so much damage. My garage door is damaged in our SUV is scratched up and fortunately it's not our life that was hurt. As far as the engine is concerned with you a knocking when we press the gas at first. Between first and second gear. Sound like a lifter is going or are bad
Parking at walmart parking lot put my car on reverse and the car roll forward and the shift knob was blinking. Then put the car in park and then reverse and still blinking and at the second time when I put it on reverse it work. That the second time that something like that happened. First at a red light on a hill car was on drive and roll back and the shift knob was blink. And I did the same thing at when it didnt go on reverse. I when to a dodge dealer pay for a diagnostic and they didn't find anything the first time that happen.
When downshifting from 2nd to 1st gear, transmission does not shift smoothly. Exhibits a jolt forward, especially when coming to a full stop. Issue observed for several months. Issue was raised to the dodge dealership service technicians over the course of several visits after experience the recurring issue. Vehicle has been in shop for over 4 weeks, no resolution. Service reps have observed the issue as well. Service technician referred to it as "bump stop". It is a consistently noticeable jolt most times when downshifting to 1st gear, especially on city streets when approaching a stop sign or red light.the technicians continue to try and reset the computer program and run diagnostics but nothing seems to be resolving the issue.
Questions about the 2016 Dodge Durango transmission
Does the 2016 Dodge Durango have transmission problems?
Owners have filed 30 complaints about the transmission of the 2016 Dodge Durango, 19% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2016 Dodge Durango transmission problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 25,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2016 Dodge Durango transmission?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Dodge Durango have bad transmission?
The Dodge Durango model years with the most transmission complaints are 2005 (217 complaints), 1999 (181 complaints) and 2000 (120 complaints).
Other 2016 Dodge Durango problems
Lights 53Electrical 40Engine 16Acceleration 9Driver assistance 9Airbags 6Body 6Fuel system 5Seats 5Suspension 5Brakes 4Steering 3Tires 2Locks 1Seat belts 1Wheels 1
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