My wife's Durango key stopped working. I opened it to replace the battery and the component holding the battery fell out. After several attempts using paper, felt, etc to hold it in continue to fell, she went to the dealer. It was $160 to replace since the key could not be fixed. I soldered and this held for a while but the key quit again. I gave her my key. Guess what. It quit to. Soldering did not work this time. It was close to a $400 replacement. And there is no recall or updated replacement yet that we are aware of. So yep!! The horn lets everyone know that we are getting ready to leave!!!

I had two fobs stop working with 2 months of each other, One dealer told me it was abuse and it would cost $ 140.00 to repair/reprogram and it was not covered under warranty. I called Chrysler to complain and they said they abide by what the dealer said. One month later I took it to another dealer and said it was covered under warranty. When I picked it up, they said the batteries needed to be replaced and it was $ 35.00 for batteries and reprogramming. Within 2 months a fob went out again and they fixed for free. I believe these fobs must be made in China because of poor or cold solder connections. Buy a third party remote, I will.

This car is a lease the keys worked for a short time and then worked off and on then quit. My husband opened up the housing to change the battery and the whole insides are loose and no longer connected. The dealership wants $90 per key plus the cost of programming is $45 a key. Come on - it takes what challenges to program a key - good lord an eight year old could probably do it. Right now I have to go to the driver side to unlock the door with the key and then unlock the rest of the car from inside. $270 for keys is out of the question but the dealership says that they might make me pay for new keys when I turn in the lease. I dont think so...... The keys should be recalled, Chrysler has got to be fully aware of this issue and they need to take responsiblity. I am going to try to solder it back in place and see how that goes - what do I have to lose.

I purchased a 2004 Dodge Durango new in 2005 and so have had it for only 2 years. My husband's key broke at the holder and cannot get it on a key ring anymore so it stays in a drawer. My key stopped working and when I went to replace the battery, the part that holds the battery in place had broken off. So I used a glue gun and it started working again for a few days and then stopped working again. I started using my husband's key and the same thing happened within a few weeks. The keys are a piece of crap and when I called the dealership they told me it would be $160 per key to replace and $46 per key to have re-coded. I am NOT going to pay $430+ dollars for keys, that is the most ridiculous thing I have heard of.

I asked if the alarm could be disabled and I was told "no" and that the alarm shouldn't go off when you manually open the door with the key, BUT IT DOES EVERY TIME. The only thing we have found is to push every lock down manually every time you exit the car, but the problem is you can't do that for the back door.

There should be a recall on this defect in the key. The battery holder should not just fall off. I would rather trade my Dodge in for something else then fork out $430+ dollars on some stupid keys. Take this into consideration when you purchase a vehicle.

Key Failure, started out as intermittent. Twist or hit key and it works. Opened up key and found leg of battery holder had come out of pad on printed circuit board - appeared to be cold solder joint as there was no damage to pad or battery holder. I had two keys with identical problem. My wife's key which gets used 10x more than mine was much worse. Looks like the twisting of key in ignition over time caused shear force on battery holder and eventually the leg works its way free. Results in intermittent battery connection. I resoldered holder back into pcb and key now consistently works. Paid $190 for key and $55 for programming before I discovered this, so at least I save the money for the second key.

Excerpt from letter to Dodge, (NO REPLY WAS RECEIVED)

I recently went to my local Chrysler Dodge dealership (Lancaster, CA) concerning the keys to my 2004 Dodge Durango. The keys no longer work to remotely open or deactivate the alarm to the vehicle.

The service rep at the dealership seemed very familiar with the problem and began to explain how the keys have a little piece inside that holds the battery that breaks very easily. I explained that yes, this had happened to both keys although one had been kept in a drawer until after the other one broke.

I was told that this was not covered under warranty so I asked to speak with a service manager. Roy Cook also told me sorry there was nothing he could do without speaking with customer service which he told me he would do. He also gave me the number to customer service. I called him approximately 5 days later and left a message, I still haven’t heard back from him.

I attempted to call customer service twice from my office and was told the hold time was approx. 10 min. After I finally spoke to a representative and her supervisor I was told, “sorry, there’s nothing we can do.” Additionally, the Supervisor at customer service (Cindy) was very rude when I inquired where to send a letter concerning this matter. She had a real attitude and told me, “You can send a letter if you want but it won’t overturn my decision”.

I told her this really isn’t about the cost anymore, it is about how I as a customer have been treated and how Dodge is being represented. I bought a brand new Dodge Durango and am making my final payment this month. I was seriously considering purchasing a 2007 Charger but at this point don’t want anything more to do with Dodge, the dealership or the company.

It is not about a $200 key which, it should be acknowledged, has a defect. It is about making it right. All I was asking for is some consideration.

I have been dealing with having my car alarm go off every time I enter my vehicle!!!

I purchased batteries at the parts department several months ago and then discovered that it wasn’t the battery, it was the actual key. It is very inconvenient to have to go to the dealership three times and have to go through this frustration when all I want is a product that works as it should. I realize keys don’t last forever but it is much more than a coincidence that both of these keys malfunctioned in exactly the same way. My Chevrolet key is on the same key ring and is 4 years older and I have never had any problems… the spare is still in the drawer.

I have told everyone I spoke with that I was willing to pay cost for a key or pay full price for one key if they would comp a second one. I cannot believe a company of this magnitude that spends millions for advertising their product wouldn’t even make a small concession to fix a problem for a “valued customer.” It seems to me that they are trying to make money off a defective product!

I am asked all the time how I like my Durango. Word of mouth is much more powerful than any commercial.

This has been a very disconcerting experience and I felt that upper management should be aware of how customers on this end are being treated.

Thanks for your attention and kind consideration of this matter,

(This letter was sent to ALL listed below)-again, No Response back!

Cc: Dodge Customer Assistance Center P. O. Box 21-8004 Auburn Hills, MI 48321-8004

Jim Fuller, owner Tom Fuller, owner Hunter Chrysler-Dodge 1130 Auto Mall Drive Lancaster, CA 93534-3292

Supervisory Board, Chairman Dr. Dieter Zetche, Thomas W. Lasorda, Earl G. Graves Daimler Chrysler Corporation Auburn Hills, MI 48326-2766