Ball joint failure - your recall didn't go back far enough. There are thousands of complaints and replacements for the 1999 year.

- Auburn, WA, USA

I am letting you know that my Dodge Durango 1999 has been diagnosed with the ball joints which need replacing, back in the beginning of the year I filed the same complaint about it and am interested in knowing what can be done being that several of the same vehicles have this problem and are consistant with the same model of vehicle that I have. I feel as though I put my confidence in purchasing this vehicle and would not have to worry about any safety issues and now I do. This to me is a failure in parts on my vehicle. I have not had failures with the wheels falling off but have been notified by our mechanic that they will have to be replaced soon otherwise we will have bigger problems. Just want to be advised if the manufacturer is going to address this problem with this model" the date I have entered is a date in which I believe is about the time that I have responded with this concern on my vehicle. The media had reported this problem on the national news and at the time I did not know how to go about getting the info to them that I indeed have the same problem with my vehicle and was interested in knowing what the manufacturer was going to do in regards to this"

- Chilton, WI, USA

Failure of ball joints on 1999 Dodge Durango with only 41,811 miles, frequent complaints during waranty period and dealer was unable to solve the problem shortly after warrently expired I was hit with a big bill to replace the defective ball joints on a 1999 Dodge Durango.

- Summit, NJ, USA

A loud knocking noise was heard coming from the front. Consumer took vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that both front driver's side and passenger side ball joints needed to be replaced due to corrosion.

- Toms River, NJ, USA

Noise coming from front suspension, tires wearing incorrectly. During a realignment it was disovered that the top ball joints and inner tie rods were very badly worn at 36,000 miles. Replaced the top balls joints, inner tie rods, alignment and tires. $1200 repair charges for a fairly new vehicle. Alls joints do not were out that quickly. Design issue or bad parts, I'd like to know which.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

I have a 1999 Dodge Durango which had both upper ball joints replaced last summer. They were about to fail. Why does the recent Durango ball joint recall only cover the years 2000 to 2003? my vehicle obviously suffered from the same defect. What can I do to reclaim the cost of this repair ($400)?

- West Newton, MA, USA

While driving 30 mph consumer heard a loud squeaking noise coming from the front. Suddenly, the vehicle jerked and vibrated uncontrollably. Mechanic inspected the vehicle and determined that both frontal upper ball joints needed to be replaced.

- Roseland, LA, USA

A couple of weeks ago consumer noticed steering failure. Steering wheel became very loose. He then took the vehicle to dealer to get it serviced, and mechanic determined that the failure in steering was due to ball joints.

- Wayland, MI, USA

Annual inspection of 1999 Durango "failed" due to unsafe ball joints and tie-rods. Ball joints and tie rods replaced at my own personal cost.

- Newton, MA, USA

While driving at low speeds consumer heard a loud knocking noise coming from the front and vehicle vibrated uncontrollably. Vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic replaced both frontal upper and lower ball joints. However, the problem recurred, and mechanic determined that the upper ball joints needed to be replaced again.

- Proctorville, OH, USA

While driving 45 mph consumer heard a loud squeaking noise coming from the front. Suddenly the vehicle vibrated uncontrollably. Vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the mechanic determined that the upper ball joints needed to be replaced.

- Westbrook, ME, USA

I have a 1999 Dodge Durango.on May 11, 2004 I had to replace upper and lower ball joints. The mechanic said I was in danger of having an accident if I didn't replace them. I believe they were defective and the 1999 models should be included in the recall.

- Browns Mills, NJ, USA

Vehicle failed to pass state inspection because North Carolina state deemed it unsafe due to defective upper ball joints. The upper ball joints were replaced.

- Greensboro, NC, USA

Consumer took vehicle to dealer for a front end alignment. Consumer was told that the front end alignment could not be performed because the ball joints were bad. Later, consumer took the vehicle to a Chrysler dealership, and was told that the ball joints were within specifications, and would not replace them. Consumer contacted a few other after market alignment shops, and was told that the ball joints were bad and an alignment could not be performed.

- Hastings, MI, USA

In the begining of November I took my 1999 Dodge Durango into the shop to have a noise checked out. The mechanic discovered that my ball joints were almost completly worn out. They instructed me to not drive it on the highway if I could not afford to get it fixed that day. I drive 30 miles to work on the highway everyday so I had no choice but to have them fixed. I now see that the ntsa has suggested a recall of the 2000-2003 Durangos, why isn't the 1999 Durango included?

- Ft. Collins, CO, USA

The front upper ball joint failed. While driving between 35-40 mph the steering wheel became difficult to steer. Consumer took the vehicle to the dealership, who indicated after inspection that the upper ball joints failed and needed to be replaced.

- Nappanee, IN, USA

We had been hearing strange noises when we were going around corners coming from the wheels in front, we took it to a Dodge dealership and were told our wheels were about to break off and needed to replace the upper ball joints. We did that at a big expense to us and since have had no problem with the wheels but lots of problems with everything else in the truck.

- Audubon, NJ, USA

My 1999 Dodge Durango upper ball joints failed. Had to have them replaced when vechile was out of warranty. This is the same situation as the recent recall of the 2000-2003 Durangos.

- Houston, TX, USA

I recently saw a report that NHTSA was asking for the recall of 2003 Dodge Durango for problems with the spension:front:control arm:upper ball joint. I want to report that this past year I had to take my 1999 Dodge Durango in for replacement of all 4 ball joints because of excessive wear and damage. My Durango had approximately 70K miles on the vehicle at the time. I hope this information may help in opening the recall from19 99-2003 vehicles. If you need documentation please feal free to contact me for any further questions.

- Milford, DE, USA

I own a 1999 Dodge Durango. At 53,000 miles both upper and lower ball joints had to be replaced due to faulty manufactured ball joints. My mechanice informed me that this is was a dangerous situation which could have endangered everyone in my vehicle. Luckily the problem was caught before bodily harm was caused. It was a very costly repair which I was told when I bought the vehicle and the extended warranty should have been covered. However the dealership that sold the vehicle knowing about the inherent problem excluded the coverage for ball joints.

- Canton, OH, USA