NHTSA Complaint #10587641 — 1999 DODGE DURANGO

ENGINE SHUTDOWN, OUT OF THE BLUE. NOBUS APPEARED ON ODOMETER. ALL GAUGES WERE ON 0, BUT ALL OTHER ELECTRONICS WORKED. STARTER WOULD CRANK, BUT IGNITION WOULD NOT IGNITE. I'M NOT SURE IF FUEL PUMP WENT ON OR NOT. VEHICLE WOULD NOT START BACK UP FOR APX 20 MINUTES. A COUPLE DAYS LATER, IT HAPPENED AGAIN, THEN TWICE IN ONE DAY. THE QUICKEST, BUT TEMPORARY, SOLUTION IS TO COOL DOWN PCM. AN ICE PACK WORKS GREAT! BUT THIS IS NOT ALWAYS CONVENIENT. NEEDLESS TO SAY, PROBLEM IS WORSE ON HOT DAYS. ONCE THIS HAPPENS, YOU NEED TO REPLACE PCM BECAUSE SOLDER JOINTS ARE BROKEN WITHIN. WHEN UNIT COOLS, METAL CONTRACTS, AND CONTACT IS MADE AGAIN, AND TRUCK WILL START. BUT KEEP IN MIND-THE SOLDER JOINTS ARE STILL BROKEN. WHEN UNIT HEATS BACK UP, METAL WILL EXPAND, AND CONNECTION WILL BE LOST AGAIN, CAUSING ENGINE SHUTDOWN AND NO BUS TO ELECTRICAL IGNITION SYSTEM. THE VERY FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED, I HAD GONE OVER A BUMP, WHICH IS PROBABLY WHAT INITIALLY "BROKE" THE SOLDER JOINT. A NEW PCM CAN RUN $400. ONE FROM A JUNK YARD COULD WORK, BUT THERE'S ALWAYS THE RISK THAT, IT TOO, HAS THE SAME PROBLEM-MAYBE THAT'S WHY THE TRUCK IS IN THE JUNKYARD TO BEGIN WITH! AND IF IT WAS IN FRONT END COLLISION, GOOD CHANCE IT WON'T BE ANY GOOD EITHER! I'VE OWNED MY DURANGO FOR 13 YEARS, AND IT HAS NEVER REALLY LEFT ME STRANDED. BUT NOW THAT IT HAS THIS PROBLEM, COMBINED WITH BAD DESIGN OF FRONT HUB ASSY, VEHICLE IS VERY UNSAFE AND IT'S TIME TO RETIRE IT - EVEN THOUGH MOTOR STILL RUNS STRONG. *TR