I was traveling at about 20 mph, slowing down to make a turn when I heard a loud cracking sound. I pulled over but could not determine the source of the sound. I decided to return to the house to investigate further. On my way home, I stopped at a coffee shop and when tried to back up into a parking space, the passenger front wheel broke off. It completely fell off!! I am very happy we were moving at about 1-2 mph instead of the 40mph on the road. Truck was towed to the dealer where I was told that the bottom ball joint had broken off. This is a very serious issue. Peoples lives are at stake here. I am the only owner of this vehicle and have all the repair/ maintenance records. The repair for this is over $3000. Why hasn't the manufacturer recognized this as a problem? consumer picked up the truck after getting it fixed about 7 miles driving down the highway the truck broke down again. It was towed and repaired second time around.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

I owned my Dodge Ram 2500 pick up truck for 4 years. I have a state vehicle inspection every year and I had no problem in April of 2006. In April of 2007 I was informed by the dealership that both the upper and lower ball joints on the passenger side needed replacement. I have a total of 28,300 miles on the vehicle, only 5,000 of which were accumulated between April of 2006 and April 2007. I am retired.

- Newport, VT, USA

05/26/05 noise in front end clunking while driving, took to dealer not where we bought the truck from because they were not helping us with any of the other problems we were having. Ball joints were loose hub frozen replaced the right hub bearing and both side ball joints. Replaced the front axle U joints replaced the brake pads now it is March 13 2006 and the ball joints need to be replaced again, and U joints are bad. Seems to be one problem after another.

- Aston, PA, USA

Upper and lower ball joints fail with very low mileage. I know of three owner 3 truck that the ball joints failed, causing the truck to handle wrong, shake and bounce out of control. Dodge will not fix, the cost is over 1,000. Mine failed at 35,000 mile all the trucks failed below 40,000, this on a 35,000 dollar truck.

- Windsor , CO, USA

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation on July 22, 2003 concerning 1998 - 2003 Dodge durango vehicles to address complaints regarding front suspension ball joints. What is the status of the investigation, and what are you doing about this problem experienced by so many. My suspension ball joint went bad and broke while fixing something else. It was not covered by the warranty. Obviously it was a defective part and or design of the vehicle, and that was unacceptable to make the customer pay for the mistakes by Dodge.

- Oak Hill, VA, USA

I currently have a 2003 Dodge Ram 2500. At 50,000 miles the dealer notified me that the upper and lower ball joints are showing wear. At 55,000 the front end started to make noise. As soon as I heard the noise I drove the vehicle over to don miller Dodge. When the dealer contacted me, informing me that all ball joints need to be replaced. This is not cover under the 7/70 Dodge warranty. The price tag for the work came out to $1200. After hanging up the phone, I contacted Dodge directly and told them of the problem. They acknowledged that I had great maintenance reports, but since I had placed new tires on the vehicle at 45,000 and increased the tire from 275 to 285 (.5" difference). There is nothing they can due for me. I contacted several Dodge dealers in the area and spoke with the service departments. This is a know problem with the 02-03 Dodge durangos and 02-03 Dodge Ram pickup's. Dodge ref#13452182 I find this performance from a so called heavy duty vehicle highly disappointing. This is my second Dodge Ram. I upgraded from my 1999 1500 gas to the 2500 diesel heavy duty just to avoid these types of problems. If I would not have gone to the deal right away. This could have resulted in losing the front tire. Causing injury or worse. Similar to what happens with the 03 durango. I lucky enough to recognize the change in steering. If my wife was driving she would not have been able to recognize the problem until it was to late. I will obtain the old part from the dealer.

- Mcfarland, WI, USA

From day one of owning my 2500 Ram it seemed out of alignment. I took it to the dealer in las vegas where I purchased the vehicle and I was told it was fine. Then upon moving to Colorado I again took it to a dealer and was told the same thing. A year later I noticed severe wear on the front tires, indicating the vehicle was out of alignment. I took it to a different dealer and was told at 38,000 miles I needed both the upper and lower ball joints replaced to the tune of 1,400! I declined and took it to a local repair shop. Also the dealer told me to consider an eliptical shaped ball joint in lieu of the standard ball shaped. Anyway, the local repair shop replaced them. Still I hear this is a common problem and there should be a recall.

- Divide, CO, USA

The consumer experienced a problem with the upper and lower ball joints. When driving over a bump in the road, the consumer could feel the movement of the ball joints in it's socket which caused the vehicle to pull to the left. Owner took the vehicle in to have it aligned when it was discovered that the ball joints were cracked. The consumer contacted the manufacturer and was told there was nothing they could do. Provide further details.

- Mountain Home, ID, USA