NHTSA Complaint #10093001 — 2000 DODGE DURANGO

MY 2000 DURANGO SLT WAS BEING DRIVEN BY MY SON WHEN THE CHECK GAUGES LIGHT CAME ON. IT WAS TOWED TO A GARAGE SINCE THEY TOLD US NOT TO DRIVE IT. THEY PROCEEDED TO CHANGE THE OIL FIRST, SINCE THE OIL PRESSURE GAUGE WAS JUMPING UP AND DOWN. THEY THEN STARTED THE DURANGO AND REVVED THE ENGINE FOR A WHILE. WE THEN HAD IT TOWED TO OUR HOUSE SINCE MY HUSBAND IS A MECHANIC. HE WAS GOING TO LOOK AT IT AND WHEN HE DID HE DISCOVERED THAT ONE OF THE RODS WERE BENT SO THIS MEANS THE ENGINE NEEDS REPLACED. OIL CHANGES ON MY DURANGO WERE DONE AS SCHEDULED BY MY HUSBAND, IN FACT HE HAD CHECKED THE OIL 2 DAYS PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT AND WENT AND BOUGHT A NEW OIL FILTER AND A NEW CASE OF OIL TO CHANGE THE OIL. MY SON CALLED DAHMLER-CHRYSLER AND THEY TOLD HIM THAT THERE HAD NEVER BEEN ANY COMPLAINTS MADE TO THEM ABOUT THE ENGINE AND THAT THERE WAS NO RECALLS DONE ON THE VEHICLE. THESE CHECKS WERE EVEN DONE WITH US GIVING THEM THE VIN OF THE VEHICLE. WE ARE NOW LOOKING AT HAVING TO SPEND $2000 FOR AN ENGINE AND THAT IS ONE WITH 60,000 MILES ON IT AND BEING REBUILT. SEEING THE OTHER COMPLAINTS ON THE WEBSITES THAT I HAVE BEEN TO, DODGE HAS TO BE AT FAULT FOR A DEFECT ON THE ENGINE OR OIL PUMP WHICH WOULD CAUSE THE OIL TO GUM UP JUST SITTING THERE AND NOT BEING PUMPED THROUGH THE ENGINE TO KEEP CRUCIAL PARTS LUBRICATED TO FUNCTION PROPERLY. TO BE HONEST IT MAKES ME WORRIED ABOUT GOING OUT AND PAYING THE MONEY FOR ANOTHER ENGINE SEEING THAT MAYBE NEXT MONTH IT WOULD END UP TEARING UP AGAIN. I FEEL THAT DODGE SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE PROBLEMS WITH THIS ENGINE IN THIS PARTICULAR VEHICLE BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED DUE TO ENGINE FAILURE AND THE FAMILY OF THAT PERSON FINDS THIS INFORMATION AND DAHMLER-CHRYSLER IS INVOLVED IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AND THAT COULD BE EVEN MORE DEVISTATING THE COMPANY THAN A RECALL ON THE ENGINES THAT DON'T WORK CORRECTLY TO BEGIN WITH.*AK