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Dodge Durango
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Comments
Any advice?
I have had my '03 SXT 4x4 since October of '03 and now have almost 12,000 miles on it. I like the truck very much and it has only needed routine maintenance. I did get my first recall notice today in the mail, but it is nothing major...Dodge wants to replace the front wiper motor due to a potential design flaw. I will get it done eventually...maybe next month sometime when it goes in for its annual state inspection.
Our neighbors have a first year Durango with well over 120K miles on it. They have admittedly had some problems, but continue to use theirs as a daily driver.
Still a little gun shy but we might be convinced if we can believe that we just got stuck with lemon.
My3Sons
The Durangos are not reknowned for their stellar reliability, but they are no worse than a comparable Explorer/Mountaineer or Blazer/Trailblazer/Envoy.
Personally, if I had bad luck with any kind of vehicle I would probably not buy another one. There is no guarantees when it comes to vehicles.
I knew there'd be some induction roar but the ticking and other noises are really noticeable even on a steady throttle, my 04 truck now sounds like an 80's one with 300,000 on the clock. Any thoughts?
Denimo
Any advice?
in the end, it came down to what was on the lot with the options i wanted.
I was easily able to deal to edmunds tmv for the truck (plus the 3500 rebate).
You cant go wrong with the "base" 4.7. Plenty of power for the interstate.
I wouldnt go broke over a hemi - but drive one of each and decide for Yourself.
Its a great truck - enjoy!
Thanks!
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Share your vehicle reviews
Where did you get your 04 Limited for $25,517.?
What goodies did you get?
I plan to buy in a couple of weeks.
Also, do you think that the Hemi is worth the poor gas mileage if I'm not going to be towing very often. Does re-sale come into play in that decision?
Thanks for any ones input!
Aj
Thanks in advance!
Any similar problems from anyone? Just curious. Any comments on that weird squeak?Thanks.
I am in the market for a large SUV and had really never thought of the Durango as I had no head room in the 1st Generation.
I started out testing the Sequoia and did like the ride, handling and finish. The engine and transmission felt good but lacked power. Felt like a great SUV for the long hall but not real exciting.
I then test drove the Armada a few times. Really wanted to make the Armada happen. The engine and drivetrain seem wonderful. More than adequate power for most. However, I heard the dreaded resonance issue they are having with the roof during the test drive. Also, on highway there was quiet a bit of noise in the cabin and I ended up with a bit of a bucking bronco ride over some expansion joints.
Finally, the steering wheel seemed to have a bit of play and vibration over the competition.
The Durango, Hemi had good power, makes the vehicle seem a bit smaller. Not as roomy as the Armada but had a much more solid feel to the ride. Rear seat is tighter than Armada but passable as kids get the back seat anyway. Overall package seems like a good value esp at invoice minus rebates.
Glad I took the test drive! Still deciding.
I’ve test driven quite a few; 4Runner, Pilot, Element, Explorer, Expedition, Tahoe/Yukon, TB/Envoy, Forrester. As usual there are always pros and cons for all models e.g. too big/small, too expensive, reliability etc. For me there are a lot of factors in choosing a new ride, once I get past the vehicle setup it has to have a reasonable price and then be reliable. Right now the 4-Runner leads in reliability area, but it is borders on being too small. In the past, I’ve had my share of excessive unscheduled shop visits. My experience in general, the foreign have faired better than the domestic. But that is really hard to judge, for me it has been almost 50-50 not all of my foreign cars have been good, and not all of domestic have been bad.
First year models, make me nervous as I've had a couple of bad ones.
Engine: Two Durango test drives, 1st one was the 4.7, 2nd was the Hemi. Both are very smooth engines and most will be happy with either one. The downside of my Hemi test drive, it landed me my first speeding ticket in about 10 years (50 in 40 crap). Until you adjust, you really have to pay extra attention to the speedometer, cause oh-baby it can get away from you.
Exterior: you either love or hate it. As always subjective, but it got some character. The Hemi had running boards installed, and they stuck out way too far for my taste (kept bumping my shins). I would bypass on them, cause it is not overly huge jump to get on board.
Interior: Well done, with a couple of small exception. As well as the interior appear to be designed & put together, it almost seems like an oversight, that is that the door-handle inserts have the screws exposed, no plastic cover or caps. Just seems very odd, especially on a $30k truck.
I’ve never been a fan of the cruise control functions being separated, ON/OFF on one side, Accel, Resume, Cancel on the other. But I got use to it in our Caravan, so it is livable. BTW, our lease Caravan was one of our better domestic experiences; of course we only had it for 3 years.
I’m going to have to go back and double check, but it seems that the second row was a little tight in the leg room area. It would have been GREAT, if Dodge boys would have engineer the seat to slide forward and back et al Pilot.
No A/B setup for tripodometer.
In the end, the Durango made my short list.
Just my $.02, thanks for your time ~ Jim.
Anybody know if the 6.2 will be made available in the Durango? How about the 5.7 with the cylinder deactiviation, ala 300C?
I can understand people not wanting to pay the $500 but at least put it on a few Durangos with stickers over $40,000.
Well I'm a mere 6'1" and I find my left knee banging against the driver’s door handle/panel, I could not seem to get the seat lower enough to get below it. And the 2nd row of seats very cramped, my knees were easily pressing up against the hard plastic seat-back of the SLT. I had to move the front seat way up to get some room [not good]. Heck I’ve got more knee room in my Mazda-6. As I stated before, to bad Dodge didn't think to put the 2nd row on some rails.
The 4Runner & Murano have more room in the 2nd row, but alas NO 3rd row, & less cargo room behind the 2nd row. Pro/Cons trade-offs etc. etc.
We negotiated and I was getting a bit low balled for my trade. We were about $2500 apart on the deal when we started. We came to within $500 but I had the numbers I needed to hit or no deal.
My favorite line was Paul, don't let me lose your sale over $500. C'mon its only $500.
I thought, repeated back "Exactly, don't lose my business over $500, it's only $500"
They let me walk, but I will be damned if I did not get 2 phone messages that evening that they could do the deal. End of the month (Aug 30th). Probably lit the fire a bit.
Long story short I am still in my current car and keeping an eye on inventory.
There are probably 45 or more Limited Durangos on lots in the area. I will hold out for awhile more.
Car sales across the board were down significantly in August, although Dodge did lots better than most, but you're still in good shape to get a great deal.
Steve, Host
We are looking between the 1998 Durango and the 1998 Expedition, does anyone have any advice about the two, we are used to the larger ride, but are unsure about any major drawbacks about either vehicle.
Thanks for any help
What dealership was this, that was a great price on a limited, I live in Northern NJ, looking for a limited Durango. My e-mail address is dukkiep@aol.com, I appreciate the tip.
Regards,
Mike Pena
Thanks, Bill
Bill
1) The salesman at the dealership told me that the Durango I want has AWD, Elect Shift, Two Speed - Is this preferrable to the alternative? What is the alternative? Is AWD All time 4wd or is there another selectable all time 4WD option that I am missing?
2) The MSRP of the truck Im looking at is about $40K. Through an EC (friend of an employee) I get 4.5% below invoice on the truck - about $5200 off, along with the $5K cash back ($4K for incentive,plus $1K for financing through Chrysler), bringing the total down to around $30K and change. Any thoughts how much I should try and bring this down due to the fact that it's a demo? Is there a standard rule to go by?
Finally - according to Kelley Blue Book values, the trade in car I have (2000 Toyota Celica GTS with about 62K miles) should go for about $9500 for private party sale. However, I negotiated the dealer to bump this up to $12K (though this will include the discount I'm getting for the fact that the Durango is a demo). Anybody have any insight on the quality of this deal?
Thanks in advance for any guidance on this one - this is a major purchase for my wife and I.
-- John
I think dealers generally discount demos by only 15 cents per mile.
Anyone else have any thoughts on these topics?
Best Regards,
John
Real-World Trade-In Values
Steve, Host
I really enjoy reading your messages and I truly admire the level of expertise coming here from all corners of life. Recently I purchased my first SUV - a used 2001 Dodge Durango SLT with 77,000 km and 2WD, 4WD-high and 4WD-low driving modes. So, finally I also have some questions to ask:
1/ What goat-like surprises can I expect from 2WD Durango in the winter? Any tips how to improve its behavior?
2/ Since I live in the area of sometimes questionable winter driving conditions (Ontario), I wonder whether AWD mode couldn’t be a better choice (in the summer, I often pull a camping trailer, nevertheless my questions relate to winter driving only).
3/ I would also like to receive your advice about when I should safely engage the 4WD-high mode while driving on-road (rain, heavy rain, snow, snow storm, ice?)
4/ And when exactly to apply 4WD-low
5/ Are skid plates really needed for a heavy snow? When mounted, do they create annoying obstacles for future maintenance of the vehicle?
Thanks in advance!
Vlad
1. Expect any rear-wheel drive vehicle to become a handful when the road is slick. Easing on and off the gas will minimize the chance of losing traction.
2. AWD is only an option on some Durangos; if you have it, then there's no reason not to use it all the time, summer and winter.
3. Per the owner's manual never engage or use 4WD-hi above 45 MPH/70 KPH. You will never hurt anything if you switch between 2WD and 4WD-hi while moving with your feet off both pedals (gas and brake). In other words, only shift while coasting or completely stopped.
4. Check the manual for a detailed description for when/how to use 4-low. To summarize here, only shift to/from 4WD-Lo while coasting in Neutral below 5 MPH. Very few situations demand this mode; it's only useful when the normal range causes the transmission to stall.
5. I'm no off-roader, but my understanding is that skid plates are there only to protect the valuable guts from rocks or anything else that would damage what's protected by them.
Remember, 4WD helps you GO better in the snow but it does nothing to help you STOP. Also note that ice may allow your front wheels to spin when you gas it in 4WD, so drive with the lightest foot possible.
Regards,
Vlad
Denimo
i have a 04 Durango SLT awd Hemi.
Does anyone know how this system splits power between front and rear (40/60????).
I have looked around the dodge site, but have found nothing.
Thanks
Dan
I think that if you can feel it on normal acceleration and braking then, by definition, it is not in range!
tidester, host