Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING - COLUMN | |||||
| 10023 | 10/01/2002 | 10009241 | Steering column service. information. service information tuneups. *tt | 09/20/2004 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||
| 10/18/2011 | |||
| Vehicle has been experiencing a progression of inaccurate steering, poor turning and suspension performance. driver and passenger are noticing a clunking in the right passenger and driver's side front end. noted primarily when turning. steering wheel is also noted to be rotated off center to the clockwise position. braking is also poor and causes vehicle to pull to passenger side. most importantly, vehicle is noted to feel unstable and is vibrating while at highway speeds. *tr | |||
| 10/18/2011 | |||
| Vehicle has been experiencing a progression of inaccurate steering, poor turning and suspension performance. driver and passenger are noticing a clunking in the right passenger and driver's side front end. noted primarily when turning. steering wheel is also noted to be rotated off center to the clockwise position. braking is also poor and causes vehicle to pull to passenger side. most importantly, vehicle is noted to feel unstable and is vibrating while at highway speeds. | |||
| 07/16/2012 | 65375 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 dodge durango. the contact stated that the power steering fluid was severely leaking from the vehicle. as a result, the vehicle exhibited an abnormal grinding sound whenever the contact was driving around a bend or reversing at approximate speeds of 5 mph. neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 65,375. kmj | |||
| 07/16/2012 | 65375 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 dodge durango. the contact stated the power steering fluid was leaking badly and causing a grinding noise when going around a corner and backing up at 5 mph. neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 65,375 mw | |||
| 03/15/2009 | 47000 | 1 | |
| The passenger side upper ball joint started coming apart at just 47,000 miles. i was lucky to catch it as it could have resulted in the whole wheel coming off the vehicle and a serious accident if at speed. typically ball joints wear before they fail and that is usually only after a hundred or a few hundreds thousand miles. to have a complete failure of the ball joint at just 47,000 miles is alarming. i discovered there was an issue and a silent recall of 2000-2003 durango's for this problem. i called dodge about the repair but they refused to fix it saying that even though my vehicle is a 2003, my vin was not included in the recall. my vehicle is the same year and same extraordinary and dangerous problem. *tr | |||
| 12/29/2008 | 73000 | 1 | |
| Power steering rack failed at 73,000 miles. unacceptable that the steering would fail with only 73,000 miles!! paid $900 to have repaired. this was 6 months ago. now they are saying our wheel bearings are failing and are not covered under the recall that was put in place back in 2004. even though the mechanic told us that our wheel would fall off if we didn't have it fixed. that should fall under the category of the recall for the wheel hub. *tr | |||
| 01/28/2008 | 41725 | 1 | 06/01/2003 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 dodge durango. while attempting to make a right turn at 30 mph, the vehicle veered to the right. the contact experienced difficulty controlling the vehicle, but was able to drive to his residence. he took the vehicle to a repair shop the following day and they repaired the vehicle at the cost of $357.64. the failure mileage was 41,725. updated 5/20/08 *cn updated 05/20/08 | |||
| 08/11/2006 | 56123 | 2 | |
| Front end problems with m 2003 dodge durango. have had steering rack replaced, inner & outer ball joints replaced as well as both upper control arms. steering went out on my wife while making a right hand turn. both inner tie-rod ends snapped out and car lost complete steering control. car ran into parked car causing substantial damage to both vehicles. because of the low speed no injuries occurred, had this happened at highway speed. i could have been killed along with others on the highway. what are you waiting for? for a fatality? does it take the life of human being to save money to have this problem solved? please do something, i will never never buy a dodge automobile again and if i see someone making this mistake or looking at dodge i will advise them of all the problems that dodge has and are not willing to back their product. buy a foreign car!!!! *nm | |||
| 1 | |||
| Steering failed when making a left hand turn.*mr both upper ball joints were replaced. while driving the brake light illuminated. the dealer replaced the anti lock control module and the master cylinder. *nm | |||
| STEERING - COLUMN | |||
| 07/05/2003 | 1 | 07/05/2003 | |
| Suv 2003 dodge durango, went out of control which caused a big accident. *la | |||
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||
| 08/15/2005 | 30000 | 4 | 12/30/2002 |
| Front suspension - drive train - locks - axle - power steering pump vehicle has had consistent front end grinding noise since 30,000 km's. ball joints have been replaced, front axle spyder gears have been replaced. previous 1998 durango had same problem - fix was front wheel bearings. 2003 durango - dealer says that it doesn't require replacement. noise and grinding only happen at slow speed turns left or right. from stop to light acceleration to hard left or right turn, new noise from rear axle - limited slip unit now getting louder. axle oil and limited slip additive have been replaced with factory chrysler oil additive. indicative of same problem with 1998 durango that i had, when rear axle pinion bearing was heavily scored. in that incident the same maintenance was done, but repair was out of warranty by 3,000 km's and chrysler only paid 50% of repair of $700.00. oil changes on complete drivetrain was $590.00 (4x4 with skid plates). this appears to be a metal fatigue problem in combination with engineering specifications that are too wide in tolerances, which allows failure of components to compound problems and create longer term damaging results. ever since dodge trucks went to maintenance free front axle bearings (you can't pack bearings with grease), poor limited slip tolerances in rear axle, and transfer case that's electronically operated, the drivetrain and front suspension components have excessive loads and poor quality components. both durangos that i've owned have had 5 wheel alignments (constant pulling to the left) and no off road driving. strictly highway and city driving. i purchased factory extended warranty on 2003 durango which i highly recommend. so far, out of pocket expenses have been minimal, but durango spends too much time in the shop and is very inconvenient to have serviced constantly. never had issues with warranty parts or dealer not doing warranty recall work. *jb | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES | |||
| 08/04/2006 | 49000 | 1 | 03/10/2004 |
| The front end of my 2003 dodge durango began to have a thumping noise. i could not identify what it was or exactly where it was coming from. on my way home from work, friday august 4,2006 i lost braking on the vehicle and the left front wheel became detached from the axle. i lost control of the vehicle, skidded and stopped in a residential neighborhood. had this ocurred while i was in the mountains (which i am quite a bit) or on the interstate (which i am on every day) myself or others may have been killed. i could have struck a child in the neighborhood where this happened as well. *nm | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES - TIE ROD ASSEMBLY | |||
| 11/01/2004 | 2 | ||
| Durango ball joint failure twice. replaced ball joint, steering rack with tie rod end. *bf *tc | |||
| 09/02/2003 | 23 | 1 | 09/01/2003 |
| Vehicle was in motion on the highway and without prior warning. both front wheels locked up upon impact. *ak the vehicle started to bounce in the front end. as the consumer attempted to park, the front tire turned inward. the dealer reported that the bolt on the tie rod snapped. *scc *jb | |||
| STEERING - RACK AND PINION - RACK | |||
| 09/07/2003 | 258 | 4 | 09/07/2003 |
| Vibration in front end of suv. the vibration occurs when driving. dealer states this is normal also vibrates when braking i am a service mgr. for farm dealership and deal with complaint everyday this is not normal problem with suv but one that has been ongoing from the day the truck was bought and now dodge and the dealer do not wont to repair this problem it has been to the shop 3 time going to different dealer this also had new tire installed at dealers request at my cost and had the tire balanced three times the vehicle has app 15,000 miles on now it is 2003 durango. *nm | |||
| STEERING - WHEEL AND HANDLE BAR | |||
| 08/29/2011 | 74100 | ||
| There is a recall for defective ball joints on the 2003 dodge durango, but when i called dodge my vin is not included. i am having my ball joints replaced by a repair shop today as i was told that they are in very bad shape and i am risking having them separate while driving which could result in the wheel falling off in a high speed situation causing a crash and possible injury or death. i feel that if this recall is only for some of the same year and model of my vehicle then they should at least have them all called in to have the dealer inspect them for safety. it is going to cost almost $1000 for me to have this repair made. but that is small price to pay to ensure the safety of me and my family. i have heard this complaint from many many other owners and repair shops for this vehicle and feel it should be looked into. | |||