The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that upon starting the ignition, a loud noise emitted from the engine. The contact inspected under the hood and noticed excessive oil leaking from the engine. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence and had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 98,000.

- Fayetteville, GA, USA

Went to start up the Durango to go to the doctors. Heard a lot of thumping and shut it off immediately. My dad heard the noise and came over to look at it. Looked underneath the Durango and saw pieces of the engine sitting in the street. Also saw a small child's fist size hole in the engine. My dad is a mechanic so this Durango was kept in good shape, oil changed every 3,000 miles. This is a manufacture flaw that Chrysler needs to address.

- Broomall, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle made a loud unusual noise and the contact noticed a hole in the engine block. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 84,000.

- Bromall, PA, USA

Went to start my Durango, heard a bunch of thumping, turned it off and looked under the vehicle and found 3 pieces of the engine.

- Broomall, PA, USA

After a night of heavy rain, I went out to start my Durango, and the engine had seized up. After three or four tries, it started, but was banging and knocking. I had it towed, and was told the engine had failed, with a bend or broken rod. Had to have the engine replaced. I had done the oil change every 3000 miles, and taken good care of this vehicle. I have read of many other's that have had the same problem with engine failures on this particular model. I am waiting to find out if water had gotten into the engine somehow, or if a poor quality rod was the problem.

- Boonville, MO, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle she heard a loud noise and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnosis and the contact was informed that the engine had thrown a rod. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was unavailable. The failure and current mileage was 105,000.

- Collinsville, IL, USA

I was driving down the road, I pressed the gas and I heard the loud noise sounded like a flat tire, I pulled over, opened the hood and saw a little oil splattered on the motor (no oil dripping) and I had it towed to 2 different places, the first placed said I needed a motor and then I towed it to the Dodge place here in town. They said it hydrolocked, from water getting in the motor from the windshield, they said they believed water had gotten in a head gasket. Now I'm just waiting for a answer.

- Liberty, SC, USA

After doing extensive research on the issues associated with my vehicle, I am disgusted to find out how common they are on this make/model/year. Being a parent of four children, two sets of twins, who are of toddler and school age, I have always been compelled to maintain my Durango. Not to mention because it had alot of miles, I factored into my budget high-mileage maintenance as scheduled. Several times my Durango has stalled or hesitated to start during the rain. The problem could never be pin pointed, but reading what I researched I now understand the issue involved my cowl panel. Moving on to the most major of my added stress...I just had an oil change completed 2-3 wks ago. I was picking my 2yr olds up from daycare on Friday. I proceeded to the stop light which was less than 200 feet away when I heard this loud banging/knocking noise out of nowhere!! I was horrified so I pulled over and shut my car off. I noticed that there was a trail of oil on the ground coming from underneath. I then called my husband to explain what had just occurred, a family member for an alternate ride, and a towing company. After having the shop that performed the oil change take a look at it, I was told that I would need a new engine because there was now a hole in my engine from a rod being thrown. I was emotionally distraught for this to happen me out of the blue. Not only because I am not sitting on thousands of dollars to spend on a new engine, but because this happened on an extremely well-maintained vehicle...how?? I am now having to pay for a rental every week. I truly believe something should be done to correct such a common issue with these make/model/year vehicles. If more than one person has the exact same problem than there is something wrong with the manufacture, not the drivers. I feel that these engines should be replaced at the expense of the dealer/manufacture.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

I was pulling out of a parking lot into traffic. After accelerating to for a second, the engine made a loud noise and started shaking badly. I pulled off the road immediately and turned off the vehicle. When I looked under the hood, oil was dripping off the drivers side of the engine. After looking under the vehicle I could see a large hole (about the size of a child's hand) in the engine block. The Durango suffered catastrophic engine failure. The piston rod has broken and punctured a hole in the side of the engine. It was a rainy day and had been raining a lot in the previous days. Only after this happened, I did some checking on the internet. I have found this to be a major problem with the 2004-2005 Durangos with the 5.7 hemi engine. The windshield cowl leaks water onto the engine, the water leaks into the engine and causes the piston rods to rust and weaken. This causes failure without notice. Dodge knew of this problem and changed the windshield cowl sometime in 2005-2006. This vehicle was extremely well taken care of. Nothing but synthetic oil went into this engine. A couple of years ago, I took my Durango to a mechanic because I thought I could smell gasoline on the oil cap. I was told that the smell is most likely from water getting into the engine. Most likely from the intake and that I was normal. Now I know that it was water getting into the engine, a lot more than a little moisture coming in through the air intake. This is a major design flaw!! every 2004 Durango with the 5.7 will blow the engine if it gets exposed to rain or car wash!! please, something needs to be done by Dodge.

- Inman, SC, USA

My husband and I were exiting the subdivision on our way to work after dropping our children off at daycare. We merged through the middle lane and onto the main street at about 25-30 miles per hour when all of a sudden we heard a loud noise and the car shut down. After waiting forever for roadside to come and get us and take our car to the shop, they determined that the engine was gone. We were very accurate with oil changes and getting our car serviced at the Dodge dealerships so this was not due to anything we failed to get serviced. There should definitely be a recall on these vehicles. What is the point of paying $30 for oil changes and many other services and fees if the engine is going to lock up anyways"! now we are stuck with a car note which we cannot afford to pay because we are paying $600 a month for a rental. So now there will most likely be a repossesion on our credit. Who should be responsible for this"! where is the durability in these vehicles!!! ## VIN failed ##

- St. Louis , MO, USA

We bought this vehicle in Aug 2012. The first time driving on the expressway to work in a heavy rain storm my Durango wanted to stall every time I took my foot off the gas pedal. When I finally got off at the exit to the traffic light I of course was stopped the engine was shaking and trying to stall I had to keep my car in neutral and my other foot on the brake. When I finally got to work it did actually stall. After work that day it must've dried up enough because it started and ran fine. After researched we read you silicone the cowl which my husband did do and it didn't help at all. It has stalled several times now after you take your foot off the gas one time it stalled. In the car wash and wouldn't restart until a couple cranks later. This is an extreme safety hazard I can not drive with my foot always on the gas. We have asked the dealer several times and they pretend like we have no idea what we're talking about my husband even told them he'd be happy to drive it up there pour water on the windshield so they can see what's happening. Could you please look into this I will be more than happy to let you drive my Durango if you need a test vehicle.

- Temperance , MI, USA

I took my vehicle in for an oil change, the repair rep called to tell me that there was a loud knocking/ticking sound when he started the engine. I dropped the vehicle off the night before and there was no knocking or ticking sound. After contacting my warranty company and given the repair shop permission to break down the vehicle over the past 3 weeks that my truck has been in the shop, they now are telling me that the piston/rod is broke and is lying in the oil pan. I researched this problem on the internet and found that this is a major problem occurring with Dodge Durango's. why hasn't there been an investigation done and recalls on this matter? it can't be a coincidence that a wide spread of Durango owners are having this problem, which is resulting in several thousands of dollars in repairs and engine replacement at the customers expense because these warranty companies are ripping people off covering little or nothing of the cost in repairs and replacement.

- Clinton, MD, USA

I bought this vehicle in March 2012. I started noticing that during a heavy rain or a car wash that it would bog down, idle roughly. I took the vehicle in Feb 2013 to have it looked at since I had been stranded in parking lots, the side of the road and actually got stuck in a car wash because my vehicle cut off. The mechanic told me that my cowl panel needed to be replaced, basically this part was not designed correctly and rain water or water from a car wash was draining into my engine. Had the part replaced for a wonderful price of $236. I started experiencing the same problem again at the end of April, picked my kids up from school and was stranded in a parking lot for an 1hr bc of the hard rain. Took my vehicle back on May 6th to the vendor mechanic(still under a warranty, doesn't help:( ) and I was told that the part had been replaced that it should work, couldn't figure out why it wasn't working. Contacted Chrysler asking if there was something that could be done, Chrysler doesn't under stand why this newly designed part is not working. So I have at this time, 2 mech/tech's telling me that they cant fix the problem because the part should work. Tried an alternate method with weather stripping and silicone to plug up the holes. I pick said vehicle up from the shop on May 8th, drive 3.2 miles turn on my street an my vehicle completely cuts off! can not get it to crank back. Call the mechanic shop back explain to them what happened take it back the next day they believe that it is the throttle body, my warranty wont cover it. Have my vehicle towed to Dodge and because of this cowl panel leak my intake gaskets are messed up and the cm front and back need to be flashed and reset, totaling out to be $870 but still cant fix the cowl panel. Im damned if I do damned if I don't. this is a huge safety concern, I need someone to start taking this matter seriously.

- Jonesboro, GA, USA

I turned the key to start the Durango and it acted like it had a low battery. I tried again and it started, but the engine began to knock badly. I have it now at the mechanic and beginning to look like will need new motor. I can provide more info later. I found on the net others have had the same type problem and thought I would report this. I have only had this car about a month ago. I have driven it with no problems and no noises in the engine. My son, who is a mechanic, says it sound freakish for I had no warning signs. He is high on the 5.7 engine. I have not contacted anyone for I know the car is out of warranty and I bought it as is, but do not feel the dealer unloaded on me. The Durango seemed fine until that point. I too, might should add that during the week, we had received about three inches of rain, and from what I have read this might be a factor as it looks like there had been a problem with this model with a cowel that was not doing its job.

- Seymour, TN, USA

Engine would not start in the rain. When I tried again on a sunny day, engine started and then a very loud metallic clicking sound came from the engine. Mechanic says broken sleeve or rod, and I probably need a new engine. This seems to be pretty common: townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.F1dd4B2/238.

- Apex, NC, USA

Loud noise emanates from the bottom of the truck followed by smoke. Engine goes dead. Tried restarting, but to no avail. Towed vehicle to dealership only to be told that a piston came off and blew a whole in the engine. As a results, a whole new engine is required. Engine had no sludge whatsoever and well maintained. This almost caused an accident as it was rush hour and vehicles were behind. 2004 5.7L hemi limited

- Stafford, VA, USA

Went to a drive-through car wash... while car was rinsing - lots of water - the engine light came on and the engine started idling roughly. I got out of the wash and got on to the highway with the engine still cutting out sporadically. I drove about a mile and the engine smoothed out, but then I heard a warning bell and noted that my engine temp had shot up. I immediately pulled over. Engine coolant was everywhere. I refilled with new coolant and water and started the engine... drove about another mile and the "hot engine" light came on. I immediately pulled into a parking lot. Called for a wrecker and had the car towed in. Diagnosed as a blown head gasket. $6000 for another engine. I have seen on other Dodge forums where these engines have failed after driving in the rain, or having driven through standing water. I simply went through a car wash. This is a known problem (water intrusion in the engine due to a poorly designed engine cowling) on the 2004 hemi - according to local Dodge dealer.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

I was driving the vehicle on an interstate during a pretty heavy thunderstorm. I noticed that the vehicle was starting to hesitate and lose power. As I started to slow the vehicle down to pull over the engine quit at about 50 mph. Thankfully I was on a straight part of the road and without power I was able to guide the vehicle to the shoulder of the road with out an incident. After waiting out the storm to pass on the side of the interstate, with traffic flying by, I was able to get the vehicle restarted after some hesitation and drive it home. During the night the vehicle sat in the driveway while we had some pretty good rainfall in the area. The next morning I went and attempted to start the vehicle to go to work. The engine turned over, it started, followed by a grinding noise and then the motor quit and hasn't started since. After having the vehicle looked over we have found that two of the cylinders had quite a bit of water in them which had appeared to hydro lock the engine. Dodge needs to be held responsible for this issue and stop pushing the blame and cost off on to the vehicle owners. This is a huge design flaw and safety issue.

- Sioux City, IA, USA

Engine connecting rod failure on well maintained engine during starting up in the morning. Rain occurred during most of the night.

- Albertville, AL, USA

I have a 2004 Dodge Durango sometime last week there was a heavy rain, I went out to start my truck and it would not start. Later that day it started but there was a loud horrible noise.. I found out today the motor is gone. This happened before when it rained it didn't start for a while and then started later. The engine is very expensive and seems life when there is heavy rain the truck stalls now it's completely gone.

- Midlothian, VA, USA