Top 5 Problems Dodge Durango SUV 2nd Generation 2004-09

Hey, friends. It's Len here from 1A Auto. Today in the studio, we have a 2nd Generation Dodge Durango. I wanted to go over some of the top problems that we've come to find. So let's get started.

Now, for our first problem, we're going to talk about windshield cowl issues. The cowl is located right up along here, and that's what's going to be housing your wiper assembly. These windshield cowls are going to have several seals on them and they're all very important. Essentially, what they're supposed to do is help keep moisture from the rain or even going through a carwash from making its way into the engine compartment and then on top of the engine. Now the issue with these seals is that they don't actually keep the water from getting on top of the engine. So, essentially if it's raining or you're going through the carwash, the water's going to come down your windshield and then come down along this area here. There's supposed to be a nice rubber seal that presses directly up against the windshield, and it's going to make sure that no moisture can make its way down inside.

Other than that, there's another seal that comes across here. Both of those seals need to be in good working order and they need to be functioning properly, Otherwise, moisture or water coming from a heavy amount of rain or even going through the carwash can potentially make its way to the top of the engine where your electrical components are such as maybe your ignition coils or anything the like. If water made its way to the top of the engine, it's going to potentially sit up along this area, it could potentially get into the wiring or even underneath where the coil is supposed to go. If moisture makes it's way inside in between these boots and then down into where the spark plug is, you're going to notice that you have misfires and runnability issues and probably even a check engine light. Now, if you find that you have a check engine light or runnability issues, you're, of course, going to want to diagnose that.

One of the first things that I would check is all the electrical connections that are down around underneath the area of that cowl. If you find moisture inside any of the areas or even corrosion, you're going to want to take care of that. The cowl itself has those seals and that's something that, of course, you can replace. Typically, you would just go ahead and purchase a whole new cowl that's going to be updated with brand new seals.

Now, for our second problem, we're going to talk about a faulty EGR valve. Now your truck's going to have its EGR valve located right over here by the alternator underneath the air filter inlet tube. The EGR valve serves a very important job to your emissions of your truck. Now, what does EGR stand for? Exhaust gas recirculation valve. Essentially, what it's supposed to do is it's going to have a tube that leads from your exhaust up to where your valve is, and then leads to the engine.

What the valve is supposed to do is open and close as it determines that it's needed. So, of course, while you're running the truck, what it's going to do is it's going to open up and then it's going to allow some of that exhaust fumes to get recirculated back through into the engine, to be rebirthed up inside your combustion chamber. And by doing this, it's going to help with pollution and reducing smog going up into the atmosphere. Some of the symptoms that you might happen to have if you have an issue with your EGR valve might be something as simple as a check engine light that comes on in your dash. You might also happen to notice while you're driving that you have slow acceleration or even hesitation while you're trying to accelerate. Other than that, in even more serious cases, maybe you try to back out of your parking spot at a very low acceleration, of course, because you're reversing and the truck ends up stalling out on you.

This could even happen as you're driving forward under low acceleration once again but trying to make a turn, you're halfway through that turn and the engine just kind of just conks out on you. So, now you're probably wondering why this even happens. Well, it's happening because the hot exhaust is getting pushed through the EGR tube and then eventually through the EGR valve, it is going to have carbon in it and, of course, that carbon is going to build up someplace. Typically, it's going to be in the tube and inside the EGR valve itself. And when this happens, the exhaust isn't getting re-circulated back into the combustion chamber as it should. Now it's going to be time to talk about a fix for this.

What you're going to want to do is get to the EGR valve, remove it from the truck, take a peek at it, if it looks like it's all black and full of crunchies, that's carbon. You're going to want to clean that out. If after you clean it out and then reinstall it, you happen to run the truck and you realize that you still have the same issue, you're going to want to replace that valve. Now, for our third problem, we're going to talk about fuel system venting issues. Common symptoms of this issue would be mostly found while you're at the gas pump. Essentially, it's going to be while you're filling up. Generally, there's going to be a couple areas that are supposed to help the system vent, so as you're adding fuel in, it's going to allow a little bit of air pressure to come out. That way there everything stays copacetic.

If there's an issue with one of the two things such as maybe the vent valve or even the breather tube that's supposed to run up along the filler neck, maybe it's pinched off, or maybe it's not functioning properly, you're going to, of course, build up too much pressure inside the system and, of course, that's going to cause an issue. Some of the things that you might happen to see might be as you go ahead and fill this up, the fuel pump keeps turning off on you. That's going to be something that's super common. Little less commonly though is, of course, people try to sneak around this because they don't maybe want to go to the mechanic and get this checked out. So, they go ahead and put the gas pump on low instead of just cranking the gas right in there, and typically you can get plenty of fuel inside there without the actual pump turning off. But once you go ahead and do that, and then you go ahead and remove this right here. Sometimes what can happen is you'll see [vocalization] a whole big spray of fluid just coming right out of that filler neck.

The reason why that is is because there's an air bubble that's trapped inside the filler neck because it couldn't escape through the vent like what I was saying before, and it's trying to push its way out now. It's going to take anything it can with it, and that's going to be the gas that's trapped up along top of it. So, fixes for this, you're going to want to, of course, check that breather line. You want to make sure as you're looking up along the filler neck, you can see that the hose that's supposed to be there isn't bent, crimped, or even missing in any way. If it's damaged in some way, you're going to have an issue. Other than that, you're going to have to look at your EVAP system. We're going to start looking for our vent solenoid. If you can find that, you're going to want to take a look at it and make sure it's not filled up with debris or anything the like. There should also be a little air filter that's located underneath there. If you were to pull it out and turn it upside down and give it a couple of taps, you might see it's full of sand and all that comes out of there. If that's the case, you're going to want to replace that little air filter because that's going to be what's causing the restriction.

Now, for our fourth problem, we're going to talk about differential seal leaks. It's going to be very common on these Durangos to have differential seal leaks. We're right now looking at the rear differential. If you were to look where the drive shaft is supposed to connect into it, that's where your pinion seal's going to be. Behind this, of course, there's going to be the seal and then the bearing and then, of course, all the gears that are located inside. What can typically happen is, of course, dirt and everything makes its way in between the seal and the metal itself, eats away at the seal, and then, of course, now you have gear oil that makes its way out. This can, of course, happened on either of your axle seals as well. So, essentially over closer to your wheels, you might happen to be able to see fluid coming down along this area potentially getting on the brakes themselves. And, of course, this can also happen on your front differential. So, this is the rear differential, up in the front you have your front differential.

Now, like I said, these differentials are supposed to be filled with gear oil. The oil inside, of course, is supposed to coat those gears and make sure everything functions copacetically without very much friction. If, of course, moisture and everything made its way out of here, and you've got accumulation of gear oil coming out, well, then, of course, moisture can also make its way in. So, if you're driving down the road and you happen to hear a howl noise coming from one of the front or the rear differentials, more than likely you have a differential leak. Water or debris made its way inside and it's getting to where the gears are.

So, for fixes for this, like I said, of course, if you have fluid coming out of your differential, you might have potentially fluid or debris making its way inside the differential. If this is the case, not only are you going to go ahead and replace the seal that is leaking, it really only makes sense to drop the differential pan cover right here and inspect the inside as well. Ensure that you don't see any large metal fragments or any of the debris inside the differential, clean it out, put the pan back up, and then refill it. And if the issue is that you have an axle seal leak down by your breaks, you're going to have to, of course, not only do one axle seal, but it really only makes sense to do the other axle seal at the same time. The reason for that is because you're going to have to tear apart your differential cover here, take out a couple of different pins inside there, and then you're going to have to remove the axle.

When you're doing that, why not just replace the other one at the same time? If you did happen to see that one of your axle seals is leaking, you also need to thoroughly inspect the brakes near there. If the differential fluid made its way down to the actual brake area, it could have potentially gotten on the pads or even the emergency brake shoes. If that happens, you could try to clean them down and maybe even sand them a little bit, but typically the damage is done and you're more than likely just going to have to replace the brakes at the same time.

Okay, friends, so stay with me here. I've got a fifth problem for you. This one's going to be from inside the passenger compartment, and it's going to be coming from your vents when you're running your air conditioner. Now, the scent that I'm talking about could essentially be related to that smell that if you were doing your laundry and you left your laundry in the washing machine for too long before putting it into the dryer, you go out and you open it up, you take a whiff, that's one musty smell. So, now that we talked about the symptom, let's go ahead and talk about the cause. When you're running your air conditioner, of course, it's going to build up a little bit of condensation. That condensation is going to be located next to the evaporator of the air conditioner, and that's going to be located behind your dash inside of a box.

Well, of course, that condensation needs to go someplace, and typically there's going to be a little drain that comes out underneath the vehicle itself. Well, if that drain tube gets a little bit plugged up with something such as maybe dirt, leaves, debris, or anything the like, the condensation is going to have no place to go. If the condensation can't go any place it's just going to kind of hang out and linger places. As you know, if there's moisture just hanging out in someplace, it's going to start accumulating bacteria and that bacteria is going to start to smell a little bit. All right. So, now it's time for fixes. You're going to want to crawl underneath the passenger side front of your truck. You're going to find that little vent tube, it's kind of located near the right front wheel well. Look underneath there and see if you can find the black tube that's coming out, and then you're going to want to take a little bit of pressurized air and squirt it inside.

When you do that, you might happen to notice that it has a lot of pressure behind it and then finally it breaks free. You go out and you remove the little air gun there, [vocalization] and then water comes spraying right out. If that's the case, you know that you found the blockage. And, of course, after you get the moisture out of the system, you're going to want to make sure that you spray out the inside of the venting system with an antibacterial. That's going to help make sure that the bacteria goes away, that way there, the smell won't continue.

Okay, friends. So, that's pretty much what I've got for you for top problems on the 2nd generation Dodge Durango. If you liked the video or you learned a little something, go ahead and smash it on the like button for me, it would mean the world. While you're at it, go ahead and subscribe, ring the bell, and, of course, click on that share button. That way there you and all of your friends can be kept up with all of our latest content. Thanks.