New engine failed at 16,000. Chrysler will not honor 3/36 due to "sludge" in engine. Said was maintenance issue, not warranty. Will not discuss with me any further.

- Portland, OR, USA

The check engine light came on, consumer was informed that there was a sludge in the engine due to improper maintenance and that the engine could blow at anytime, the engine finally blew while driving at highway speed which also caused the transmission to be destroyed.

- Nashville, TN, USA

Oil pressure goes to zero, than back to normal. Consumer checked oil and oil was fine. Another incident was when oil light came on and engine seized. Dealer has not been contacted.

- Brentwood, TN, USA

Consumer stated the accessive sludge build up in engine caused oil pump to shut down. Dealer contacted.

- Clarksburg, NJ, USA

Car shuts off at varrious speeds without any prior warning. Two dealers say nothing is wrong, there are no fault codes recorded in the computer. Very dangerious!! car loses power steering, brakes, etc. I have already come close to being hit twice. Vehicles are you have no idea that the Durango has totally lost power. Fives times after this occurance the Durango restarted after sitting for a few minuites, once it did not re-start and had to be towed. As soon as it came off the roll-back it started like nothing was wrong. Dealers say they drive it and they haven't been able to duplicate the failure. They have cleaned & replaced several parts, but the problem persists. There are at least 12 other complaints on this data base with the same problem. Help

- Charlotte, NC, USA

Intially I took my truck in for servicing on 04/02/02, because the vehicle would not start. I was told that I needed a new battery and my serpentine belt needed to be replaced. The work was completed and two days later, my truck completely shut down. After taking the engine apart team Dodge has told me that I need a new engine from oil sludge.

- Conley, GA, USA

Intially I took my truck in for servicing on 04/02/02, because the vehicle would not start. I was told that I needed a new battery and my serpentine belt needed to be replaced. The work was completed and two days later, my truck completely shut down. After taking the engine apart team Dodge has told me that I need a new engine from oil sludge. Nlm

- Conley, GA, USA

Known problem and many other Durango owners with same problem no response from daimler. No safety defect listed.

- Oviedo, FL, USA

My engine has lock down and there were slug in the engine and I have been having my oil changes regularly and I had and oil change the day before my engine lock down on me. The dealership will not replace my engine so I had to pay the hold bill myself and also when they were replacing my engine they told me I my that I had a leak in my transmission so I had to replace that also and my fog lights went out on me within less than 6 months after I purchase my Durango I only put 24,000 miles on the Durango. I only had my Dodge Durango one year seven months. There are to many other Dodge Durangos with the same defects and the manufacturer.

- Simpsonville, SC, USA

Drove vehicle from phila, pa area to scranton area for ski weekend. Experienced no problems during this trip or previous to this trip. Return ride back to phila area, oil pressure gauge began to fluctuate to zero then normal. It did this several times before hearing a ticking under he hood at highway speeds, pulled to the side of the road and engine shut down. Vehicle had 28,800 miles at the time and six months left on 3/36 warranty. District manger for Chrysler placed a restriction on the warranty due to excessive slude found in the valley of the engine. Vehicle owners manual has two maintenance schedules for oil change, every 3K or every 7.5K; I produced maintenance records for oil changes every 7.5K. I have since found several tsb's on this vehilce regarding oil consumption, etc. I finally had the vehicle towed to the phila area where murray Dodge in conshohocken, pa replaced the engine for $5.7K. The oil pump and oil pick up tube were covered under warrantee, but not the long block. It is distressing that the manufacturer will not warrant the repair even with maintenance records. I have found an article in a syndicated newspaper column which indicates that Chrysler is at fault for having a mainteance schedule of 7.5K miles in the owners manual, the article also mentions a possible ventilation design flaw which causes condensation and sludge to build up. Tsb # 9923 is in regards to oil seepage past the engine oil filter adapter plate gasket. My mechanic indicated to me that this may cause a ventilation problem with this engine. Tsb#090699 is in regards to engine oil consumption due to intake manifold pan gasket oil leak. Tsb# 090500 is regarding oil consumption due to leak also. I am uncertain if this is an engine problem or an oil pump problem. When I asked customer relations at Chrysler, they indicated there were no reported problems with this engine. Scranton Dodge and murray Dodge service managers also denied any problems with this engine.

- Cinnaminson, NJ, USA

In February 2002, oil pressure drops to zero and engine blows. In October of 2000, oil pressure drops to zero. Dealer replaced oil pump ($462). Vehicle has always been maintenanced with regular oil changes.

- Lebanon, TN, USA

As in many other cases listed on your site with this vehicle, my engine was found to have sludge, which blocked the oil pump (presumably) and the engine failed. I have proper maintenance records, yet the warranty company (american financial) maintains that I did not change the oil. One month prior to the failure, I took my vehicle to duluth Dodge (the original dealer) complaining of fluctuating oil pressure. They replaced the oil pressure sending unit, and my engine failed 3,000 miles later (the oil was changed the day before I brought it to the dealer, and the recommendation is to change it every 7,500 miles). The warranty company promised to have the oil tested to resolve our dispute, but after numerous contacts with them (both verbal and written) they never did. Therefore, I paid over $5,000 to have the engine replaced. I believe other models of vehicles with this engine (the 5.2 liter, or 318 cid) have similar problems. Due to the large number of failures listed on your site alone, I believe this to be a major defect with the engine.

- Duluth, MN, USA

For overseas cars wthout a warranty transfer certificate from the time of export, Chrysler europe will not honour the 3yr/36mo warrany or factory callbacks. No safety defec tmentioned.

- Nesbru Norway, ND, USA

This vehicle loses oil pressure, has large sludge build up no matter how many oil changes it gets. The problem started out with a lack of oil knock. Not the so called spark knock, but lifter knock. Oil gets changer in spring and fall. You can change oil every week and the manufacturer will still say it's a lack of maintenance.

- Wixom, MI, USA

The check engine light came on, consumer was informed that there was a sludge in the engine due to improper maintenance and that the engine could blow at anytime, the engine finally blew while driving at highway speed which also caused the transmission to be destroyed.

- Nashville, TN, USA

Motor was knocking under acceleration. Technical service bulletin issued for engine knocking. Took vehicle to dealer, and they stated that motor was gone.

- Marshfield, MA, USA

Followed manufacturers maint. Schedule. Oil pressure problem developed at approx 31K miles. Dealer replaced oil sending unit. Oil pressure problem returned at approx 34.5K miles. Dealer changed oil and filter, replaced oil sending unit again, and completed tsb 180600. At approx. 35.5K mileage, while at cruise speed (65-70 mph), rapid tapping followed by immediate loss of oil pressure and total engine power loss. Towed to dealer, but dealer closed and will have to wait until 9/10/2001 for explanation/repair.

- Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

While approaching tucson on I-10, on inside lane, at legal speed of 75 mph, total loss of engine power, power steering and dash lights.narrowly missed getting hit by passing cars and trucks.lucky to get to side of road for towing without accident.failure of power control module(computer malfunction)& required replacement.same problem when SUV 6 months old, requiring replacement.loss of all power occurs without warning.two failures of critical part in two years too much, very dangerous.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

One day after purchase, rear axle went bad. 3 days after purchase, oil gauge started acting up, we had it checked with 2 different garages, both said this vehicle shows signs of abuse and neglect in the engine, crankshaft is scored and engine contaminated. It needs to be replaced. One estimate is of 5,500 and the other is $3,500. Dealer says "tough luck" how is this fair?

- Adamstown, PA, USA

Vehicle burned excessive oil prior to engine seize and we were told this was normal because of the volume of miles traveled on the vehicle. This was after a routine oil change at kenwood Dodge. As usual we inquired as to any factory recalls. On our way to New Hampshire to attend the funeral for a relative, my husband checked the oil as usual and it appeared to be fine. No oil was added at this time. After entering New Hampshire in the town of pembrooke, the check gauges lite illuminated and then the oil pressure gauge dropped to 0. we immediately pulled into a local autozone car care store and my husband then checked the oil. The dipstick showed approximately 1.5 quarts low and so after setting for a short while of about 35 minutes and replenishing the oil, we proceeded on the rest of the journey. After traveling approximately 20 or so miles on the winding back roads my husband noticed an erratic, loud knocking sound coming from the engine. He then pulled the Durango to the side of the road whereby the knocking was so loud your could not hear eachother talk. He then noticed the oil pressure dropped again to 0 and immediately shut down the engine. It banged loudly at this point as smoke spewed from the right front side of the truck. We had the Durango towed to Bonneville and sons Dodge in manchester nh and the concurred the engine had seized. They had stated that the oil as well as the radiator fluid had leaked out and this was untrue as we had several people inspect the truck prior to their diagnosis and saw no external views of any fluid leakage. The radiator was full and the dipstick was seized in the engine block. The dealer as well as Dodge said this was due to lack of oil changes. The oil was changed every 5-7 thousand miles regularly and was only three thousand miles past due from it's last change. I can't in my wildest dreams immagine this is the result of oil that was in the block at the time. We did find out however that this is common.

- Middletown, OH, USA