9.7

really awful
Typical Repair Cost:
$500
Average Mileage:
110,450 miles
Total Complaints:
6 complaints

Most common solutions:

  1. not sure (6 reports)
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problem #6

Apr 132018

Durango LST 5.7L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 189,500 miles

Had my Dodge Durango towed twice. Took it to a dealer, who hooked up a computer and drove it, and the ignition dropped off on him and engine quit. He reported that the PCM and TCM will randomly drop off the BUS. Dealer says they would need to replace modules and check all wiring and it might take a week to find the problem. It is awful to have no ignition or power brakes in heavy freeway traffic going 80 MPH. My family could have been killed as it happened six times on the freeway in one trip.

- Peter V., Utah, US

problem #5

Nov 042016

Durango Limited 5.7L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 165,000 miles

On November 4, 2016 I was driving along in my 2006 Dodge Durango, everything was fine and then all of the sudden, I felt something strange in my gas pedal, like I lost power. I then noticed my oil light was on, and within a couple of minutes my engine light came on and started to flash. Not knowing what the problem was and given the fact that I was in a congested road, I continued to drive hoping to find somewhere to pull out of the traffic. Before I knew it, approximately 3 or 4 minutes after my oil and engine light came on, I had no steering, no brakes, no power, my Durango had stalled out in the middle of traffic.

I coasted up the hill as far as I could drift until I couldn't go anymore, just far enough to get out of an intersection, and I realized my car had stalled. I turn on my four way flashers and call my husband to ask him what I should do, as I was terrified, setting in a busy traffic school zone. He told me to try to restart the Durango. After a couple of attempts of trying to restart it, I then realized it was not going to start. I got off the phone with him so I could call the Hagerstown Police Department to come assist me, as I did not know what else to do.

The police were dispatched and on their way, traffic started to become congested behind me, as I sat in the right hand lane of a four lane road. I saw the Hagerstown Police go by me so they could swing around and get behind me to avoid an accident. I called my husband back to let him know the police were almost there. I was talking with my husband on the phone, so he could keep me calm in this incident. It was approximately 15-20 total from the time my car stalled out until the police got to me. Before they were able to get there, I watched in my side view mirror as I talked with my husband, someone rear end me.

All I can remember is flying upward, my phone fell to the floor as my husband listened to the accident, the crash, the screaming, the tears, the horror, as I was thrown into the steering wheel from the forceful impact of a stalled car setting in park, disabled, rear ended at 35-40mph that my head and my neck and back took complete force from. Crawling out of the car with blood running down my face after I blacked out for a couple of seconds from the blunt force, I picked up my phone and screamed, help me please, come help me to my husband.

The police have now arrived only to find that what was a disabled vehicle is now turned into an auto accident with injury. Fire department came, ambulance took me to the hospital as a priority 2 patient. Cat scan at the hospital, confirms a broken orbit bone, a sinus puncture, and it wasn't until two days later when I woke up and couldn't walk straight, that my doctor then realized I also suffered a traumatic brain injury as well.

My car was towed to a salvage yard where it sat for a week or two. We then decided to have it towed to a Dodge dealership to have the body work from the accident repaired. The body shop called and insisted the vehicle had to be in running condition for them to be able to drive it in and out of the body shop. The dealership would not let us take the vehicle off the lot until someone paid the tow bill of $800 and I did not have that kind of money, so we decided to let the Dodge dealership fix the vehicle.

Not knowing why the vehicle stalled, my husband went out over the weekend to try to get it to start, but it would not do anything. It was as if it was just completely dead. It wouldn't jump start, it wouldn't turn over, nothing he did to it would let it even attempt to start. So I called Hoffman, Monday morning and told them to tow it into the service department and fix it. Two days later they called me and said they weren't sure what was wrong with my vehicle as it was disabled and for what ever mechanical problem it had, it erased all the stored codes in it. This leading them to believe it may be the PCM that needed replaced.

I told them to see what they could find and to let me know before they fixed anything, so I knew how much it was going to cost first. Three days later they called me to tell me that they checked the accelerator position sensor and found and replaced a faulty oil pressure sending unit, taking out the entire circuit. They replaced the sending unit and then the vehicle was fine, programed it to restart the PCM, the accelerator position sensor was fine, the PCM checked fine, the powers and grounds checked fine, but the faulty sending unit took out my entire circuit.

Myself not knowing what that meant, told them I would come pay the service bill, so they could drive it back down to the body shop. My son and I went to pay the service bill a couple days later and at that time the service manager told us that the sending unit with a faulty wire, sent a false reading to my PCM that shut my engine down which caused my engine to stall and become disabled from restarting.

Who knew that this $30 part and $500 bill for all the time spent to find the problem, would possible turn out to be a liability issue. Not knowing that, we paid the bill and told them to send the vehicle back down to the body shop. My husband being mechanically knowledgeable, then told me later that day when he returned home from work, that the sending unit failure, is not a maintenance item and that we should contact Chrysler about a design defect or a liability issue.

Chryslers answer to this matter is, I already had the mechanical work done to the car and did not keep the faulty part so therefore they do not except liability in this claim because there is no proof that the sending unit was faulty, even though I have the service department invoice that clearly states the problem.

I have filed a complaint with the NHTSA and with Chrylser. I have been off work since the accident, and my doctor now tells me that my brain injuries and sinus fracture will probably never return back to their normal condition prior to the accident. I feel that regardless of the faulty oil pressure sending unit, my vehicle stalling in the middle of the road due to a false reading from my sensor, is a poor design. They should have 2 sending units at $30 a piece it would save someones life possibly. In the event that one fails, the other will still perform, so that your PCM doesn't shut your vehicle down when you in fact have oil in your car. I have no sludge, no oil leaks , my car was fine, and this faulty sending unit, changed my world forever.

No one will help me because no one else has ever had or reported this problem, so I cant' generate a recall. The lawyers wont help me because no one else has reported a similar problem, so I'm begging, if anyone has any information on the oil pressure sending unit of a 2006 Dodge Durango with a 5.7 hemi engine, please report it so we can get justice for the recurring engine stalling that Dodge is known for.

I do have pictures of my accident, my injuries, my service statement with the diag, the letter from Chrysler stating they feel they aren't liable. I've kept records of everything, doctors appointments, the police report, the call log from the day of my accident, showing the down time, everything. I

f there is anyone out there that can help me please report your problems to the NHTSA so we can generate a recall. I've been through so much in the last year, and I just want compensation for all that I've been through, but most important, I want to keep anyone else from being injured the way I was. We can replace our vehicles or even our engines if need be, but we cannot replace lives, or our brains, in the event of an accident that could have been avoided. If it would have been a maintenance item that caused the stall it would be a different story, but because my vehicle stalled either due to a faulty oil sending unit, or a defect in my PCM that irresponsible shut down my engine, Chrysler needs to at least send someone to my house to look at my car, before they cheap out just because I don't have the failed part, that's copping out the easy way, poor excuse.

Thank you so much.

Please, if you have any information that will help, I would greatly appreciate it.

- Penny F., Greencastle, US

problem #4

May 102016

Durango 4.7L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 86,000 miles

This vehicle has done this to me twice. I leave my house at 6:30 am and after about 4 miles at 70 mph the engine stops. (as if someone reached over and turn off the key) I pull to the side while coasting, put it neutral and restart the engine and put it back in drive and continue on my way to work. It happen just yesterday, (5/10/2016) and did it once before back in early March. I have a Blue Point code reader and have scanned for codes, it has none. I have been an ASE certified mechanic for 40 plus years and I'm stumped by this unusual problem. It needs to be fixed but I'm not wanting to just start replacing parts. The car runs fine and doesn't give me any troubles other than that. HELP PLEASE!

- Larry M., Davenport, IA, US

problem #3

Dec 032013

Durango V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 84,000 miles

My 2006 Durango stalls out when I come to a stop sign or stop light or start to turn. It starts back up right away. It runs rough sometimes when I go slow like it wants to stall out. It does it more when it's really cold outside. What's frustrating is the check engine light isn't on and it doesn't throw out any codes. My husband cleaned a bunch of the hoses and such. It's still happening. I see many, many others out there with the same problem but no one seems to be able to tell us how to fix it.

- Kim E., Moseley, VA, US

problem #2

May 102012

Durango 4.7L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 80,000 miles

Driving down the highway, my 2006, Durango, 4.7 4X4 stalled, several times, losing power to steering and brakes. It was very dangerous, as cars were rapidly approaching as I managed to hit flashers and pull to the side of the road. I read many posts of this same problem. Once I got into the city, it would skip between 1st and second gear, and generally stall from 2nd to third. I was able to fake it out by manually shifting 1, 2 and into drive, all in tow mode. I drove it to a transmission shop, and they are currently replacing a sensor because my check engine came on and the code P 0068 was diagnosed.

- Charles M., Levittown, PA, US

problem #1

Mar 012013

Durango XLT 5.7L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 58,000 miles

Stalling! Took to local garage where they did 2 hours of engine analysis over 3 visits, cleaned throttle body, changed plugs and plug boots and air filter. On the 3rd visit took it to the local Dodge garage and re-flashed the ECM.

About 2 miles down the road and $550 in labor/parts, the same damn problem started again. I have stalled in numerous intersections and are about to have it towed to a dealer for God knowns how much more money.

What do I say? Don't buy one of these pieces of junk!

- David P., Green Bay, WI, US