I was on my way to work on a hot muggy day. All of a sudden the car appeared to shift gears on its own. Then it started to smoke, drag and not take on any speed anymore. I pulled over, open the hood and waited for the vehicle to stop smoking. Afterward, I could not start the vehicle. Finding an engine was impossible! The mechanic took the engine out waiting for another engine. Never could not get another engine. Therefore the Durango is sitting in my garage! By the way, did I tell you I am still making payments on this vehicle?

Just like everyone else. Valve seat fell out and the valve hit the piston which pushed it back, broke the rocker arm and cut the valve cover. Leaked all the oil and it heated heated.

I bought the car new, babied it and took perfect care of it because I planned to give it to my son when he turned 16. The car has less than 63,000 miles on it. If it had over a hundred like most of these other than maybe I would be a little more understanding. Dodge should do something about this. It is a design flaw.

The Durango with not a mark on it, inside and out, is worth $500 in CA when this happens. Scrap.

10 years or 100,00 miles what a joke. I sent email to Dodge customer service and have heard nothing.

Thanks Dodge

Spun a crankshaft main bearing. CAUSE! there is not only one oil pumps, but TWO(2)!!! What the hell?! right?.. i didn't see my gauge act up because one of the oil pumps still worked and gave pressure, but not both. One side of the engine was not getting consistent oil. just splashes on hot metal parts which will only cause great amounts of sludge in an engine. and any mechanic or dealer will say the cause was bad oil changes. sometimes ya but NOT ALWAYS! the only reason i got this fix so cheap is because I'm trading my 2001 chrysler LHS for the work. Never buy a dodge product again. no matter how much i want the new challenger.

The Dodge/Chrysler truck platforms with the 4.7L V8 has a DESIGN flaw from 1999-2003 , which the Jeep platform didn't have. Dodge engine sealing between the head-to-block was weak causing the head to expand more than expected,the valve seats "FALLS" out of the head, trapping the valve open , in turn the piston collides with it wiping out the engine. THIS IS NOT DUE TO MAINTENANCE ISSUES! It is due to the torquing of the cylinder head, Jeep added another 90 degrees of torque on the head bolts, that is why the problem is more likely on Dodge/Chrysler platform. If you have one these vehicle.YOU WILL HAVE PROBLEMS! NOT IF BUT WHEN! You've heard of a ticking timebomb, well if you own a dodge dakota, durango, ram 1500 with a 4.7l V8 and hear it ticking ,that's the timebomb. Dodge wants you to believe it's your fault , but more-than-likely you will soon hear a squealing sound and that's Dodge/Chrysler sticking you, And the cool thing is that your vehicle doesn't have any resale value. There is a company in Venice Fla, that specialize in Chrysler overhead cam engines, and they "lock" the valve seats in place. I just purchased this vehicle , this will be the third yes that's right THE THIRD engine in this vehicle, thank God I didn't give $25000.00 for this vehicle new , because at 10 years old it's worth between $500-$1500, that means it's depreciation was over $1000.00 per year that's if you paid cash for it, and it still needs an engine at $2500.00. WAY TO GO CHRYSLER / DODGE! Thank you for looking out for your consumers.

I was shocked when I was told I needed a new motor. I bought the Durango new in September 2001, I have taken excellent care and maintenance of my Durango. I kept hearing a ticking noise from the motor, it got louder and louder and within a couple of weeks.... the car would barely move. I have taken it to 4 different places for opinions.. all said the same thing. Need a new motor.... sludge!!!!!! I called to find used motors. rebuild mine... every single mechanic said the same thing........Chrysler 4.7, 4.9 were just horrible motors, famous for this problem. I see based on all the complaints I have seen, it must be true! So I finally found someone who would rebuild the top half of the motor for $3,000, great! I mean I just lost my job, divorced, 2 children, house is going in foreclosure and I can't even keep up with food, utilities, necessary things such as.. tp, toothpaste, laundry soap, shampoo, soap, etc... There is no chance I will ever come up with $3,000, Now I have no vehicle to top it off! I have made mistakes in my life just like everyone, but buying the Durango was the worst mistakes! I had nothing but issues with the SUV.

engine failure on my 2001 Durango--When i bought her in 2005, i though wow , an new engine--little did i know that after 2and a half years, the engine would have to be replaced again.. I was told that these engines were discontinued before a recall could be placed on them and basically they are sh*t engines. How could Dodge/Chrysler get away with this?? No wonder the company went bankrupt.. Buy a dodge once--get screwed--you never do it again--tell some friends--warn them about dodges, and their treatment of the customer-- the company goes bottom up-- serves them right

I have read several complaints about engine problems and sludge..I have 3 kids a mortgage and I am suppose to come up with 3 to 4 thousand dollars to get this problems fixed.We changed oil every 3000 miles had it tunes up all the time with no problems a month after oil change we were driving and the engine just cut out we were told it was sludge in the engine. I am not a person that enjoys paying for a engine thats going to cost me more than I owe on the Durango.This problem really need to be fixed and if anyone knows of a law suit happening on this issue please contact me I would love to join the band wagon..my e-mail is jojojay1999@yahoo.com

here is ANOTHER complaint about 2001 dodge durango slt engine...... i purchased mine dec.2005 & in nov.2006 the engine blew i only put about 10,000 miles on it, had oil & filters changed as they were do. even dodge dealership where i bought it said the engine should not have went. lemon law here in n. j. has to be 2003 & up. i paid this car off in cash, had it for 11 months & the engine went????????? something is wrong here dodge people!!!i was given NO WARRANTY when i purchased this from cherry hill triplex. i think dodge should pay up!

MY 38th birthday, made a 30 mile trip to city and wound up walking two miles to get tow truck, after check engine light came on and oil pressure went to zero. I wasnt too worried because I had paid for the "extended warranty" .......... called my extended warranty providers and they said i needed to take vehicle in to dealer to be checked, Ok did that then went home and searched for problems with my particular vehicle. Wowwwwww!

This couldnt happen to my vehicle , I changed the oil , checked all the fluids and kept it spotless . My wife only uses it to go to the grocery store and take the kids to and from school . Well anyway about 3 days later the service manager calls and tells me that they did a compression test on my engine and that i need a new engine... My first question is why? Have you taken the oil pan off or done anything else? He said that was why he had called that it would cost $375.00 just to check it out. I told him that I had The extended "platinum" warranty with MBPI and that he should go ahead. After calling them back for another week , They finally got to it and told me it was heavy sludge build up in engine and that they would report this to the Warranty company. three days later they called back and asked what I wanted to do Pay them for the "autopsy" or have them put in a new engine for the cost of $7800.00? I asked why the problem wasnt covered? The service rep told me that it showed signs of poor maintenance. I told him that I change the oil regularly , he said that it would not be worth my time to fight the warranty providers unless I could provide at least 5 receipts of oil and oil filter purchases. Notice from my long notes here I have not mentioned that the warranty company ever called me!!!!! thats because they havent!!! I called them the day I got the wonderful news and I was told that I needed to speak the the dept Manager but he was out at this time. The second time I called I was put on hold for 15 mins before I hung up the phone. I had another mechanic looking at the vehicle and he told me these engines 4.7 are crap due to bad design. He has ordered me another engine and will be putting it in for a lot less than the dealership . But still its money I dont have. Thank god for credit cards and a good credit rating or my wife and kids would be stuck at home or walking. So bottom line $92.00 tow to house. another $92.00 for tow to shop, $480.00 rental fee for rental car, (we just bought a new house) and then $92.00 fee to tow durango to new shop, then of course the autopsy fee of $375.00 , $6000 for new engine and install with a trusted mechanic. Happy f$%^$%$g birthday to me!!!!!

I loved my 2001 Durango, when I first bought it a check engine light would come on whenever the gas gauge got low. Took it in several times but never was fixed, was blamed on sensor and software. Then last weekend while on a short day trip the 'check gauges' light came on, so pulled off to the side of the road and that is where it died. Had to tow it to closest Dodge dealer where we were told it was not under warranty, were constantly asked when the last oil change was done. They called us a few days later (after long holiday weekend which we missed out on) to say the engine had 'siezed' and it will cost us $7800 to install a rebuilt engine. My son also had the same problem with his 1999 Dakota, which we thought at the time was an isolated case, cost him about $3500 a couple of years ago. We have been a Dodge family but we're going to be selling them all (4 total) over the next couple of months. We're never going to buy another Dodge vehicle. We realize all vehicles have problems, but the customer service and the company's support of their vehicles are the worst I've ever seen and we will not be dealing with them again.

I had no signs except for the day my engine blew on the freeway driving home. I heard an awful niose then all of my gauges went on and then off except for the check engine light. Then I noticed that my oil gauge on the dash board was low. I was just around the block from my house so I got there and my husband had it towed to our mechanic. When he told me what the problem was and showed my all the oil build up inside of the engine and the cracks and the horrible sludge that looks like I never had it serviced and I took my durango in every 3000 to 5000 miles for the oil change like clock work and I had the 30000 and 60000 mile warranty done also.

Now I am finding out that the Durango has engine problems. This just happened on September 20, 2006 and I still do not have my engine fixed because of the cost it is going to cost me. So I am in quite the horrible dilemma. I would never own another Dodge/Chrysler automobile again. In the first six months I owned this car my driver seat belt broke, The knob to make your steering wheel go up broke within the first few months right in my hand. I have had to replace my brakes more than I should have because I was told it was leaking fluid from the brake line 2 years ago.

This car is a piece of junk and I would love to get rid of it but I still owe 1 year of payments. Chrysler will not do anything because it is out of warranty. Well what does their warranty cover? I would say absolutely nothing. I guess I will have to sue them to get my money back on fixing the engine. They will not even listen to me.

Loved our durango until suddenly one morning it just decided to die. My wife was driving and called me to say the "check gauges light" had just come on but that all of the guages looked fine to her. Not knowing what check gauges means if the gauges look fine she continued only a few more miles in heavy traffic until the engine died.

The worst part is Chrysler says they will not honor the warranty because of lack of maintenance records. Now I read that this is somewhat common. Does anyone know how to deal with Chrysler?

My Dodge Durango Nightmare - I purchased a brand new 2001 Dodge Durango in September of 2001. In late September of 2002 the motor went out. The vehicle began overheating. I took in for repair several times only to get it back and it continue to overheat. The motor finally gave out.

My vehicle had 49,000 miles on because I drive 100 per day. After filing a Lemon Law complaint with the State of Texas I finally, after 3 months of arguing my point, got the motor replaced by Dodge. The dealer even verbally admitted to me that there is a flaw with the motor.

Today, my vehicle has 85,000. When the motor got replaced back in October of 2002, Dodge gave me a 100,000 mile warranty.

Today my husband took my vehicle to get inspected and it didn't pass emissions testing and the vehicle is leaking fluids. The mechanic asked my husband if the car had been overheating. My car is back in for service and I have a bad feeling that the engine is going out again based on what the mechanic told my husband.

I also know by searching the internet that there are several recall parts for my vehicle yet I have not recieved ANY recall notices from Dodge. I get Ford recall notices on parts just fine!!!!