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Dodge Durango
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CAUTION: Even in Tow/Haul mode, you have to watch your speed, it wanted to run and I got up to 75 without even feeling like it, so I lowered speed and engaged Cruise Control. The California Speed Limit with a trailer is 55, so I won't make that mistake again. The thing has so much power and is so quiet, it is amazing.
Anyway, I now get a whistling noise when I go over 60mph. I'm wondering if this is caused by air going through the U-shaped roof rails and under the Yakima tower.
I've moved the front tower as far forward as I can in the hopes of eliminating the noise. While it didn't do that, it did change the pitch of the whistle. I'm thinking of running black electrical tape over the rail opening between the tower and rail pillar to see if that helps.
Has anyone else experienced and overcome this? My local dealer tells me I should go with the Mopar bars to resolve this....
You can usually fix the whistling by wrapping cord around the bars with, say, a one inch gap between the wraps. Lots of car antennas have a "wire" that wraps around the antenna in similar fashion to prevent the antenna from singing in the wind.
Alternatively, you could try a fairing or keep experimenting with moving the racks forward or back to try to minimize the noise.
I bolted some 1x4's on my round Yak bars and that did the trick for me.
Steve, Host
Still love it!
Yep, they don't like the buttons :-)
Steve, Host
If Chrysler would like to make just one ergonomic change my vote would be to utilize the push-away, pull-in control type for high-beam switching.
Bst regards,
Dusty
Thanks
- Power: Not a problem, engine wise. Pretty darn good on takeoff and enough power to sustain the pull. That's the engine. As far as the tranny, I was a little disappointed. The shifter allows you to put it in 1st, 2nd and then Drive (it's a five-speed automatic). Even though I put it in Tow/Haul mode, it did a lot of shifting from 3rd to 4th to third going uphills. I was really wishing for a selector on the transmission to lock it into 3rd gear. Here is the problem - it races up third gear to get to speed, then drops into fourth gear and bogs down, now it has to drop to 3rd and start all over again. Kind of troubling. 2nd gear isn't tall enough to maintain a decent rate of speed as it is turning pretty high at 45 mph.
- Fuel economy: the tranny's excessive shifting hurts here. With the A/C, 6.5 mpg, without the A/C 9.5 - 10 mpg. Without the A/C, it obviously shifted less, minus the pull of the compressor. Next time I take it out, I will not use the A/C at all. Therefore, I will mostly travel at night.
- Ride quality: Fair. The vehicle moved around quite a bit since it was a windy day, especiallly through the Temecula Valley. Bottom line, I NEED A SWAY BAR! I felt it moving quite a bit. The sway bar should eliminate most to all of that. The manual says to get a sway bar for load above 2000 pounds. The guy at the trailer dealership said I shouldn't need one. I will go with the manual on this one! It also kind of lurched forward and backwards. Again, the sway bar will help there significantly.
- Brakes: (not totally Durango-related) The Prodigy is awesome, I highly recommend it. After I got it tuned in, which is remarkably easy to do, stopping was non-eventful and easy to adjust to.
Overall, not too bad for the first outing. Really impressed with the engine, less so with the tranny. I think that over time, I will REALLY hate not being able to lock into third. Third gear can easily maintain freeway speeds, even going uphill. With no way to keep it there, I will have to deal with the "see-saw" or "accordion" like feel of racing and bogging.
RECOMMENDATIONS: Travel at night and GET A SWAY BAR. I will let you all know how much of a difference the sway bar makes when I get it. Any questions, send them!
By the way, I got it back from the shop and they said the best way to avoid the A/C problem is to shut down the A/C before you shut down the vehicle until they get the fix in place. When you shut down the compressor with the engine, the computer thinks it is still on when you start the engine and therefore will not engage. Turning it off and restarting it clears this, but it is still a small nuisance until the fix comes out. Apparently it will take a little longer to come through in California because it has to go through some emissions board for approval. A short hurdle, but a hurdle nonetheless.
Happy motoring!
Steve, Host
Also, intermittenly at start up the fan makes a loud whooshing sound before settling at idle..any ideas.
Third, the brake pedal creaks when depressed. Have had the brake switch replaced twice..same creak..any suggestions....thanks.
Steve, Host
Pick a different forum.
We are looking at the Limited 4x4 with the Hemi and 3.92 axle. Took a demonstrator home for the weekend (with the 3.55 axle) and pounded on it for a while. It definitely has a nice ride and a lot more space. It hesitated a bit when I would punch it, but then accelerated well. Anyone know if this is the same with the 3.92 axle in place? The seats don't seem as comfortable as the ones in our 01 Durango, a bit hard. Do they get better as they break in? Other than the recent posts about A/C issues with the pcm program, sounds like there aren't any nagging issues with the new design.
I don't think the dealer we are talking to is giving us a good price (41,490 SP - 5,000 in rebates and then 14,900 in trade on the 01 Durango (oh, and then add tax)). They are the ones we ordered the 01 durango from, and it is in their body shop right now. The trade is probably overvalued, but I'm not sure how much. They are giving 14,900 on the final repaired Durango which is about 1000 more than the wholesale book value, but it is a loaded car and the interior is still in super shape (plus the tires and brakes on it only have about 2,000 mi on them). Finding what we want seems to be an issue also - they did locate one though. I am trying to decide whether to work on getting a better price from them on this one, or just waiting until we can order an 05 model.
As for the hesitation in takeoff, there is a significant difference to the 3.92 (which I have), but the intake system is still going to have a slight delay. Once it kicks in though, your head goes back!! I am thinking of getting a cold-air intake to get rid of this. A good friend of mine also has a Hemi and the difference in throttle response is night and day with the cold-air intake. As for the seats, yes, they will break in.
As for the pricing. Go to my Post #1198 and find out how I got a Fleet deal. This will allow you to custom order yours. They build it especially for you and you will get it in about 4-6 weeks. If you are willing to wait for an '05, than this should at least be an option for you.
Since we will be using three child car seats in it we will need to put two of them in way back seat. I could not find any latch system for either back rows and the salesman suggested using the cargo tie downs for the top teather.Is this what everyone else uses or do you just use the seat belts ? Also do you have any problems fitting the car seat in the small third seat ? I measured the seat bottom and it is only 12" wide while my child seat are 16" wide , does anyone have a problem fitting these seats in the back ?
I know this is alot of questions, but I was looking for real world advice on how the older Durangos function with kid.
I have always loved the Durangos, and with the price of gas rising and the new body style out this seams to be a good time to get a good by on the Durango classics.
Thanks for any advice.
thanks momof2girls
I can speak from experience on the Yakima product, it takes the low rider towers and 58 inch cross bars. It looks nice, but at highway speeds I sometimes hear a whistling noise from the wind going over/around the crossbars.
Hope this helps.
The other, and more annoying sound, is what sounds like a squeaking serpentine belt, however, the noise is coming from the transmission housing underneath the vehicle. I only notice this when the vehicle is idling. There is a some discussion on both of these topics at www.dodgetalk.com.
Anyone else notice these noises? If so, it may be worthwhile to contact Chrysler. If this problem is widespread and persistent, it will force them to issue a Technical Service Bulletin.
By the way, I towed my travel trailer again. It weighs 6000 pounds. Did much better this time. I very happy with my Hemi Limited Durango!!!
We are shopping around for a new 3-row SUV and the new Durango is on our list(along with the Pilot, Explorer, and Trailblazer). I put on 50 miles/day (about 45 of them on the highway), so gas mileage is somewhat of a concern. I don't do much towing so I think the 4.7 engine would be fine(I've read the V6 is barely adequate). I was wondering if I could get some mileage feedback from people who have the 4.7 so I can see what the 'real world' mpg is.
Thanks a bunch!
I knew when I bought the truck that it had a reputation for having lower gas mileage than other vehicles in its class. Therefore, I wasn't disappointed when I started seeing the average mileage.
In comparison, I had a 4.0L V6 Explorer a few years ago. It would average 17-18mpg around town, and I did see 20mpg on a extended highway trip. The Pilot, Explorer, and Trailblazer would probably give you better overall fuel mileage, but the overall driving experience is not going to be as well rounded as the Durango.
I cross shopped the Trailblazer and Durango last year when I bought my '03, and did not care for the Trailblazer. The Trailblazer was very quiet and rode very soft, but the handling and braking were not as solid as the Durango. If my '03 Durango was better than the Trailblazer last year, I can about imagine how much better the '04 Durango would be!