I've been complaining of abnormal noises coming from my 1999 Dodge Durango since may of 2003, to 2 different Dodge dealer service departments. The steering is "loose" and the tires wear unevenly no matter how many times I have them rotated. After a very scary road trip where I almost veered off the highway several times, I brought the Durango to a private mechanic. They immediately detected the problem of faulty ball joints and a bad rear axle and differential. When the mechanic called Dodge to order parts, he was told that this is a common problem with Durango's and the parts were in stock. Repairs consisted of new upper and lower ball joints, new front tires (with alignment) repair and rebuild rear axle and differential. This was all paid for by me personally because my extended warranty expired in June 2005. However, I believe it would have been covered under the warranty if in May 2003 the Dodge mechanics would have figured out what the problems were. There was a water leak at the right rear window. Updated 04/10/06.

- Novato, CA, USA

We were driving East on I-90, just East of gary, in. Our SUV caught fire, we could smell smoke, and we made an emergency stop at exit 17. Another car pulled up behind us, and the driver said he saw flames under the car. My wife and I ran from the car in fear. The car had a full tank of gas, and we felt our lives were in jeopardy. I told the toll booth attendant that my car was on fire, got a fire extinguisher from her, and she volunteered to call the fire department. I put out the fire that was on the driver's side of the front axle. We called our state farm agent to report the incident. The SUV was towed to gregory Dodge in highland park, il to assess the damage, where it is still being evaluated. As a result of the fire, the front axle and drive shaft disintegrated.

- Kenilworth, IL, USA

Rear differential pinion gear shaft broke twice. The metal separated at the shoulder on the pinion shaft. The consumer has the second defective pinion shaft in his possession.

- Mission Viejo, CA, USA

Problem: Rear axle pinion bearing fails, causing damage to pinion gear and ring gear. At each repair attempt, bearings, cups and seals are replaced, repairs have lasted about 2000 miles, 500miles and twice at under 100 miles. The problem has been addressed 4 times, once at a Dodge dearlership other than the one where we purchased the vehicle and 3 times at the purchasing dealership. The last repairs included replacing the rearend housing, now though, within 100 miles, the problem has returned. At last tear down of the rearend, the pinion gear's teeth were chipped. This fact is what scares myself and my wife, a complete failure of the pinion gear at highway speeds could be disastrous. We have contacted the manufacture about the numerous repairs and failures through certified mail, my only contact with them is to say they received the notice and then the purchasing dealership's service manager called to voice his hostilities to us as to why we went over his head with this! I feel this problem is a possible safety issue and needs to be addressed, we are having to drive the defective vehicle because we have no other available vehicle.....it is scary.

- Hooper, UT, USA

Pinion shaft snapped off jamming into gear box, causing rear wheels to lock up. Power steering pump failed causing loss of control. Car crashed into curb.

- Red Bank, NJ, USA