I've worked in dealerships for a lot of years and have met a lot of former Durango owners. I've never met one that was enthusiastic about it. Most dumped them for one of two reasons: 1. The previously mentioned horrible ride quality, or 2. Appallingly bad gas mileage, even considering that it's an SUV. The fact that the front wheels had a disturbing tendency to fall off (ball joint recall) was a factor as well.
i forgot about the ball joint recall ive seen two durangos on the side of the road missing their hubs that went rolling down the road ahead of the car.
We had a Durango for a while. We got rid of it just before it started having all kinds of problems. We sold it to my aunt and uncle and it seemed like they were constantly having problems with it. I remember they always had to carry a bunch of coolant with them.
H2s... We have one. Like mentioned above, big, and under powered. To me, it seems like GMs have a lousy shift schedule. That, or all the ones I have experience with are underpowered and require it (go figure). The running board plates were over torqued and the ends broke off (I know, install problem, even the installers cant get their shyt right). It makes clunking noises. The interior has a cheap feel to it (tap on the dash board, it feels and sounds very hollow). They dont wheel very good, either.
H2s... We have one. Like mentioned above, big, and under powered. To me, it seems like GMs have a lousy shift schedule. That, or all the ones I have experience with are underpowered and require it (go figure). The running board plates were over torqued and the ends broke off (I know, install problem, even the installers cant get their shyt right). It makes clunking noises. The interior has a cheap feel to it (tap on the dash board, it feels and sounds very hollow). They dont wheel very good, either.
I like my dakota, I think the durango is based on it but not sure.
There is only one thing I like about it the motor seems to just keep going, the truck itself is an electrical pos. Seems something is going haywire all the time.
Check with nat hwy safty admin for tsb`s and see what problems have been reported.
There is only one thing I like about it the motor seems to just keep going, the truck itself is an electrical pos. Seems something is going haywire all the time.
Check with nat hwy safty admin for tsb`s and see what problems have been reported.
I guess I've been lucky. We have an 03 durango with the 4.7 that we bought new and haven't had any issues at all. It's got 63K on it and still runs great.
No interest in imports? Personally, I'd recommend a 4Runner if you are ok with buying something with 2x the mileage as the jeeps you are looking at. There are tons out there, so if you have the patience to sort through them for 1 that has full maintenance records, responsible owner, etc, you can find one that's good for another 80k miles easy...
just my
just my
I'd check into Toyota. They seem to be doing pretty good with their trucks/SUVs lately. I tested one of the new Tundras with the 5.7L V8 and it was pretty peppy. 381HP/401TQ, 4V DOHC engine with VVT-i, etc...
The Toyota FJ Cruiser looks pretty nice but it's too heavy for the power it makes with the V6. Curb weight could run up to 4,295 with 4WD auto and the engine is a 4.0-liter DOHC 24-valve SFI VVT-i V6 with 239 hp @ 5200 rpm and 278 lb.-ft. @ 3700 rpm.
The Toyota FJ Cruiser looks pretty nice but it's too heavy for the power it makes with the V6. Curb weight could run up to 4,295 with 4WD auto and the engine is a 4.0-liter DOHC 24-valve SFI VVT-i V6 with 239 hp @ 5200 rpm and 278 lb.-ft. @ 3700 rpm.