2004 Dodge Durango recalls and problems

From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substance that traps and holds moisture) in US vehicles are under recall. These "non-desiccated" inflators either have been or are required to be replaced.In some cases, the remedy part for these recalled inflators was, or will be, an inflator using either propellant 2004 or 2004L that does contain a desiccant. None of these "desiccated" remedy parts (which were installed in older model year vehicles) are currently under recall for a degradation concern. Certain subsets of desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004 for use as original equipment, however, have been recalled for a degradation concern. All Takata inflators produced with propellant 2004L contain desiccant, and none of these desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L are under recall for a degradation concern. There have been n…

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.During the course of PE14-016, ODI determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by Takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.Nonetheless, at ODI's insistence, all 10 vehicle manufacturers initiated a regional recall within approximately two weeks of the opening of the investigation.The regions recalled initially included Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, areas with high absolute humidity and climatic conditions believed to be a significant factor in the inflator ruptures.As part of the recall actions, inflators removed from remedied vehicles are to be returned to Takata for testing.Takata's initial test results on passenger inflators from remedied vehicles indicated a much higher than anticipated rupture frequency for inflators returned from Florida.Accordingly ODI requested all 10 manufacturers expand the regional recalls for passenger inflators to include other geographic areas where high absolute humidity co…

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.During the course of PE14-016, ODI determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by Takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.Nonetheless, at ODI's insistence, all 10 vehicle manufacturers initiated a regional recall within approximately two weeks of the opening of the investigation.The regions recalled initially included Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, areas with consistently high absolute humidity and climatic conditions believed to be a significant factor in the inflator ruptures.As part of the recall actions, inflators removed from remedied vehicles are to be returned to Takata for testing.Takata's initial test results on passenger inflators from remedied vehicles indicated a much higher than anticipated rupture frequency for inflators returned from Florida.Accordingly, ODI requested all 10 manufacturers expand the regional recalls for passenger inflators to include other geographic areas where high absolu…

THIS INVESTIGATION ORIGINATED FROM COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY THE AGENCY REPORTING INSTRUMENT PANEL (IP) FIRES ON VEHICLES THAT WERE COVERED UNDER A PRIOR RECALL (RECALL 03V528) BY DAIMLER CHRYSLER (DCC) TO CORRECT A CRACKED CAPACITOR IN THE IP.DCC HAS NOW IDENTIFIED ANOTHER CONDITION THAT CAN CAUSE OVERHEATING OF AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT THAT CONTROLS INTERIOR LIGHTING.THIS CONDITION AFFECTS CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2004-2006 DODGE DURANGO VEHICLES.DCC'S MARCH 6, 2007 LETTER TO THE AGENCY STATES, UNDER CERTAIN OPERATING CONDITIONS, AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT LOCATED IN THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER MAY OVERHEAT AND RESULT IN AN INSTRUMENT PANEL FIRE.DCC WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL TO INSPECT THE CLUSTER FOR DAMAGE AND REPLACE IT IF NECESSARY.IF THE CLUSTER SHOWS NO EVIDENCE OF DAMAGE, IT WILL BE RE-FLASHED [RE-PROGRAM THE CLUSTER] TO PREVENT THE POTENTIAL FOR THIS CONDITION.IN ADDITION, ALL VEHICLES WILL RECEIVE A WIRING MODIFICATION THAT DIRECTS THE INTERIOR LIGHTING TO A PORTION OF THE INTEGRATED CIRCUIT WITH ADDITIONAL CURRENT CARRYING CAPACITY.THIS RECALL COVERS 328,424 VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM 4/03/03 THROUGH 6/30/06.SEE NHTSA RECALL NUMBER 07V092 FOR DETAILS.

THIS INVESTIGATION ORIGINATED FROM COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY THE AGENCY REPORTING INSTRUMENT PANEL (IP) FIRES ON VEHICLES THAT WERE RECALLED(RECALL 03V528) BY DAIMLERCHRYSLER (DCC) TO CORRECT A DEFECT THAT CAUSED IP FIRES.THE RECALL CORRECTED A DEFECT CAUSED BY A CERTAIN CAPACITOR ON THE IP PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD (PCB) THAT COULD CRACK AND OVERHEAT.THE FIRE COULD OCCUR WITHOUT WARNING WHILE THE VEHICLE IS PARKED OR IN USE.THE RECALL REMEDY WAS TO REMOVE THE CAPACITOR FROM THE IP.IPS USED FOR VEHICLES PRODUCED AFTER THE RECALL (DECEMBER 2003) DID NOT CONTAIN THE CAPACITOR.ODI HAS ALSO RECEIVED REPORTS OF FIRES IN VEHICLES PRODUCED AFTER THE RECALL, WHICH DO NOT HAVE THE DEFECTIVE CAPACITOR.DCC AND ITS SUPPLIER FOR THE IP HAVE IDENTIFIED A DIFFERENT LOCATION ON THE PCB THAT MAY OVERHEAT.THIS INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA06-015) TO FURTHER STUDY THIS ISSUE.

ON MARCH 9, 2006 ODI UPGRADED PRELIMINATRY EVALUATION PE05-056 TO ENGINEERNING ANALYSIS EA06-004 TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS OF LOOSE OR MISSING STEERING SHAFT COUPLING BOLTS AND STEERING COLUMN RETAINING BOLTS IN MODEL YEAR (MY) 2004 THROUGH 2006 DODGE DURANGO SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND MY 2005 THROUGH 2006 DODGE DAKOTA PICKUP TRUCKS.EITHER CONDITION COULD RESULT IN A LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL.ALTHOUGH ODI IDENTIFIED SOME QUALITY ISSUES IN THE MANUFACTURING PROCESSES FOR THE DAKOTA AND DURANGO VEHICLES, THE DATA DO NOT INDICATE THAT A SAFETY DEFECT TREND IS PRESENT IN EITHER POPULATION.THE FAILURE RATES ARE LOW FOR EACH CONDITION AND TREND ANALYSES INDICATE THAT PROBLEMS WITH THE SUBJECT BOLTS WERE ISOLATED TO A FEW UNITS AFFECTED BY ASSEMBLY ERROR THAT WERE DETECTED EITHER PRE-SALE OR OCCURRED EARLY IN VEHICLE SERVICE.FURTHER USE OF AGENCY RESOURCES IN THIS MATTER DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE WARRANTED.THE AGENCY WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR COMPLAINTS AND OTHER INFORMATION RELATING TO THE ALLEGED DEFECT IN THE SUGJECT VEHICLES AND WILL TAKE FURHTER ACTION INTHE THE FUTURE IF WARRANTED.FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE THE ATTACHED CLOSING REPORT.

ANALYSIS OF THE COMPLAINT, FIELD REPORT AND WARRANTY DATA SHOWS THAT THE MAJORITY OF STALLING INCIDENTS IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES APPEAR TO BE RELATED TO THE ENGINE CALIBRATION CONCERNS THAT DAIMLERCHRYSLER ADDRESSED WITH SERVICE BULLETINS RELEASING REVISED PCM SOFTWARE.ANALYSIS OF THE COMPLAINTS AND ODI'S SURVEY OF OWNERS OF VEHICLES THAT RECEIVED ENGINE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE UPDATES UNDER TSB #18-013-05 SHOW THAT THESE STALLING INCIDENTS HAVE THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS: - THEY OCCUR AT LOW SPEEDS, OFTEN DURING PARKING LOT ORDRIVEWAY MANEUVERS; - THEY OCCUR DURING DECELERATIONS, SUCH AS BRAKING FOR A STOP SIGN OR TRAFFIC SIGNAL; AND - THE OPERATOR IS ALMOST ALWAYS ABLE TO IMMEDIATELY RESTART THE VEHICLE.WHEN COMPARED WITH OTHER SAFETY DEFECT INVESTIGATIONS AND RECALLS OF CONDITIONS THAT RESULT IN STALLING DURING LOW-SPEED DECELERATION WITH IMMEDIATE ENGINE RESTART POSSIBLE, THE FAILURE RATE IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES IS LOW.ANALYSES OF COMPLAINT AND WARRANTY DATA ALSO SHOW A DECLINING TREND.ACCORDINGLY, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY NHTSA THAT A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT DOES NOT EXIST.THE AGENCY WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR COMPLAINTS AND OTHER INFORMATION RELATING TO THE ALLEGED DEFECT IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES AND TAKE FURTHER ACTION IN THE FUTURE IF WARRANTED.SEE DOCUMENT FILE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING THIS RESUME.

ON OCTOBER 26, 2005 ODI OPENED PE05-056 TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS OF LOOSE OR MISSING STEERING WHEEL OR STEERING SHAFT COUPLING BOLTS IN MODEL YEAR (MY) 2004 AND 2005 DODGE DURANGO SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND MY 2005 DODGE DAKOTA PICKUP TRUCKS MANUFACTURED BY DAIMLERCHRYSLER CORPORATION (DCC).DURING PE05-056 ODI IDENTIFIED 3 OWNER COMPLAINTS TO ODI OR DCC, 21 FIELD REPORTS TO DCC AND 142 WARRANTY CLAIMS RELATED TO THE ALLEGED DEFECT CONDITIONS.THE REPORTS AND CLAIMS INCLUDED 8 INCIDENTS OF EITHER STEERING WHEEL SEPARATION OR STEERING SHAFT DECOUPLING WHILE DRIVING DUE TO LOOSE OR MISSING BOLTS.ONE OF THE FAILURES RESULTED IN A CRASH. PE05-056 HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA06-004) TO CONTINUE TO INVESTIGATE THE SCOPE, FREQUENCY AND SAFETY CONSEQUENCES OF THE ALLEGED DEFECT.

ON MAY 16, 2005,ODI OPENED PRELIMINARY EVALUATION PE05-027 TO INVESTIGATE COMPLAINTS OF ENGINE STALLING IN MODEL YEAR 2004-05 DODGE DURANGO SUVS AND RAM 1500 SERIES PICKUPS EQUIPPED WITH THE 5.7L V8 ENGINE.INFORMATION PROVIDED BY DAIMLERCHRYSLER DURING PE05-027 INDICATED THAT A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THE COMPLAINTS ARE RELATED TO AN IDLE UNDERSHOOT CONDITION THAT MAY CAUSE THE ENGINE TO STALL DURING TURNING MANEUVERS.IN FEBRUARY 2005, DAIMLERCHRYSLER REVISED THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE SOFTWARE IN PRODUCTION VEHICLES AND ISSUED A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (TSB 18-013-05) RELEASING THE NEW SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE REMEDY FOR THE IDLE UNDERSHOOT CONDITION.THE BULLETIN WAS SUPERCEDED BY TSB 18-013-05A IN APRIL 2005.DAIMLERCHRYSLER BELIEVES THAT THE FAILURE RATE FOR STALLING WHILE DRIVING DUE TO THE IDLE UNDERSHOOT CONDITION IS LOW AND THAT THE BULLETIN HAS ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED THE PROBLEM. SINCE PE05-027 WAS OPENED, ODI HAS CONTINUED TO RECEIVE COMPLAINTS FROM OWNERS OF THE SUBJECT VEHICLES WHO ALLEGE EXPERIENCING ENGINE STALL INCIDENTS UNDER ALL TYPES OF DRIVING CONDITIONS.IN SOME INSTANCES THE STALLING HAS CONTINUED AFTER THE VEHICLE RECEIVED THE SERVICE BULLETIN REPAIRS.THIS INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA05-018) TO FURTHER ASSESS THE SCOPE, FREQUENCY, AND SAFETY CONSEQUENCES OF THE ALLEGED DEFECT IN DODGE DURANGO AND RAM 1500/2500/3500 SERIES PICKUP TRUCKS.