Automotive, 1999 Dodge Durango SLT 5.2 4x4 several problems with vehicle

Complaints.com received the following e-message on February 8, 2001:

From: Bridget Skinner [Email User]

RE: dodge durango steering failed

I have a 99 SLT 5.2 4x4. My 1999 Forest Green Durango was damaged yesterday morning at 3:40 am on my way to work. I was going down a steep dry hill (one hill I travel everyday), the road was dry and when I went to turn right on the street close near the bottom of it...STEERING WHEEL WOULDN'T BUDGE! And sickening to say, my Beautiful Durango ends up in a ditch hitting head-on a very large boulder.

Bye Bye to my nerf safari bar and hella black magic fog lights, not to mention the front end. Since I was going down a hill, I guess I panicked alittle bit and stepped on the brakes to avoid the ditch. The brakes locked and took me straight into the ditch.

Heck, we took pictures and everything....the skid marks are long and straight. I had my AAA tow it to the Dodge Dealer from the scene. When I called the dealer to let them know that the steering failed, I got the feeling they are not going to take blame for this accident. I also ended up hitting my head on the steering wheel, have a large lump to prove it and also went to the hospital emergency department. I belive the driver's side air bag did not deploy at time of impact but deployed when my head hit the steering wheel. I was briefly knocked out, the passanger side airbag was out when i regained consciousness.

Unfortunately, my durango has had many, many problems. Engine kept overheating and on the 4th visit to the dealer; had the head, cylinder and gasket replaced from an internal leak, also had spark plugs rewired, power window motor replaced, fog lamp replaced d/t moisture inside the lens, and annoying and continuing rattle in the upper right corner of the dashboard, she shifts hard, runs high rpms and has loose seats.

But I was a die heart for my Durnago. Well, now i'm scared....big time of it! Don't know what happened to the steering...not a mechanic. It felt like the power steering vanished and i did not have the muscle to turn it. I hope to God this does not happen to someone else. One thing more to add is that I have been having trouble with the steering since last march. When I first start it up in the morning or after she it for a few hours the steering is "hard" to turn...kinda have to force it (feels like manual steering instead of power steering) and it will turn but with alot of effort on my part. After a few miles she steers just fine. Noticed it getting worse lately and taking longer to "warm" up.

Took her into the dealer back in March last yr and they were unable to "duplicate the problem". I have continued complaining about the steering and the "rattle" but they can't seem to find anything wrong.

The steering does not do this in warm weather and also is unpredictable when it does descide to go stiff".

I have had more things go wrong with my durango its unbeliveable. I know the repair guys by their first name. I did attempt to "lemon" my Durnago, but lost is arbitration last august.

My problem then was, she kept overheating. On the 4th visit to the dealer on that problem, it was fixed! Major engine repair....and i payed how much for this durango??? I service my durango every 3000 miles with the dealer and i have the 75,000 mile extended warrenty...one postive note! My durango sure has been in the repair shop more than the average.

Have to admit that the service department has been very kind and patient with me, but i think things are about to change now that i could have been killed with this last complaint.

Anyone out there have problems with their steering????? Let me know....

Email User

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I have had similar problems. Apparently it's not the first set of problems that the durango has been charged with. I bought my durango in April of this year. My wife. and I needed a larger vehicle since we have 2 kids and it seemed like we needed to bring half our house when we went anywhere. The first problem I noticed with my truck happened on the drive home, since I bought it "as-is" I had to bite the fact the abs and brake lights both came on. They do this quite frequently, which according to my research, just means your abs system is temporarily non-functional. The second and most persistent thing has been a very obvious knocking sound coming from the front end. It doesn't matter if you drive slow or hard, it happends from a dead stop-accelerate, or even normal braking-hard braking. Apparently this problem doesn't discriminate driving styles. Also, with in the past 2000 miles, I have noticed a lot of play in the steering wheel, a good half-inch of play. Only one occasion of the SUV lurching to the right when the brakes were applied. It has been my experience with major corporations that they try to take as little responsibility for their older vehicles screwing up, but a lot of people can't afford the prices of new and have to buy older cars. The company could at least take some responsibility and make things right. Hopefully I don't have the problems that I have read about, and I can get them fixed before that durango puts my family's lives in danger.

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