This has been going on for some time know. At highway speeds at random sporadic times the ETC dash light will flash and my Durango will shut off. Must coast to the shoulder, shut truck off and it restarts wright away and I am able to drive off. The first two times it happened the dealer blamed it on my K/N cold air intake. They cleaned the Throttle inlet body and reprogrammed the valve on the T-Body. That occured back in Jan. Since then I replaced the K/N with the stock airbox and resonator (boring)! It happened again yesterday twice two my wife in traffic. This is getting to be a dangerous problem! A friend of mine said that he had a 2005 Durango with the 5.7 Hemi and they changed the EGR valve and never had the problem again. The dealer said they checked the EGV valve and it is good? I have 65,000 miles on the truck and this has been happening randomely since I've had it. Plugs changed at 30k.

 

Assuming you have the 5.7...

You mean the "red" light with the lightning bolt in between 2 lines?
If so...that is for the Electronic Throttle Control. The throttle is driven by the engine computer, not a conventional cable. When this light comes on, there has been a malfunction with that control system. Does the Check Engine Light come on in unison with the ETC light? While the light is flashing or on steady does the vehicle respond to any depressing of the accelerator before it stalls?

Seems like maybe one of the sensors on the accelerator pedal or the throttle actuator is causing the concern.

 

TPS or a bad battery.

Load test the battery because you might have a loose cell grounding ocasionally. A load test will pick this up. (TPS) is a Throttle Position Sensor.

 

Thanks for your input!! No the check engine light does not come on at all. Just the ETC light (Red Lightning bolt) flashes and the engine stops and all dash lights go out. The throttle seems to be responding fine prior to this happening. Like I said every time this occurs it is while driving at highway speeds 70 to 80 mph. This is a very intermittent problem but very scary when it happens and could lead to an accident!

 

Even though the Check Engine Light doesn't come on...I think the ETC system will store a trouble code. Seems like I have read alot lately about the 5.7s stalling. Let me go back and see what I can dig up...

 

EDIT:.....I found this info on another Dodge forum....there were about 235 post regarding this concern, but most were while the vehicle was at or nearing a stop. I didn't read throught hem all!!! I'm not really sure if any of these incidents exhibited an ETC light.

NHTSA has opened a defect investigation into this matter.

NHTSA Action Number : PE05027 NHTSA Recall Campaign Number : N/A
Make : DODGE Model: DURANGO
Manufacturer : DAIMLERCHRYSLER CORPORATION Year : 2005
Component : ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
Date Investigation Opened : May 16, 2005
Date Investigation Closed : Open
Summary:
ODI HAS RECEIVED 24 VEHICLE OWNER (VOQ) COMPLAINTS ALLEGING INCIDENTS OF ENGINE STALLING IN MODEL YEAR 2004 THROUGH 2005 DODGE DURANGO AND RAM 1500 TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH THE 5.7L ENGINE (ENGINE CODE "D"). THE COMPLAINTS ALLEGE INCIDENTS OF ENGINE STALL AT VARIOUS SPEEDS AND DRIVING CONDITIONS. A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION HAS BEEN OPENED TO ASSESS THE INCIDENT FREQUENCY, TREND, SCOPE, AND SAFETY CONSEQUENCES ASSOCIATED WITH THE ALLEGED DEFECT.

 

I am very interested, did you solve the problem, i think i have the same stalling issue with my 5.7, im about to take it to the dealer and for 175 usd they will tell me "something" about this issue...
thanks

 

Yes, the problem was finally figured out.. Keep in mind that it took me 3 visits to 2 different dealers for this to finally get it resolved. In one of my previous posts I said the dealer did check the EGR valve and said it was fine, they did this only because I asked them to after a friend of mine told me his 2005 Durango with the 5.7 Hemi was doing the same thing. So they checked the EGR valve but not the EGR valve gasket????? The problem was the EGR valve Gasket, this they figured out on the 3rd visit to the dealership!! Convenience or ignorance, your call...$$$$

Make sure they check the EGR valve and the EGR valve gasket. If the EGR valve is cracked as mine was that is all it will take for your engine to come to a dead stop going 80 mph down the highway... Good clean fun in heavy traffic and your entire family in the truck with you! Good luck.

 

Thend:

Thanks a bunch for an update on this. Several forums this one included have seen Gen 2 Hemi folks complaining of stalling.

I am glad they finally figured this out for you. Just sad it took all that running around to find the answer.

Its very interesting to think that just the gasket could cause such a serious issue.

Don

 

My Durango stalled twice approaching the same intersection in two consectutive days before I had the plugs, EGR valve (I presume the gasket as well) and the throttle body cleaned at 30,000 miles. Did yours seem to do it at the same distance or time after warm-up?
FF