I am so glad that I came across this thread. I noticed this happening on my 06 Durango at about 70k miles. A real pain in the butt too as you know. I have the 4.7 V8. I got covered a few times before I actually caught on, as bright as I am. I agree, this is a major safety issue, and I need to fix this, now I know where to start.

 

I might as well echo the complaints of others on here and give my story.

2005 Durango LTD 5.7l....had approximately 43,000 miles on it when it started the fuel gushing problem. Of course its out of warranty...of course Dodge wouldn't stand by it (my VIN doesn't match the recall)...so my third party extended warranty covered it (with a $75 deductible).

Long story short, tank and filler neck replaced. I was happy as a clam unitl I tried to fill it up. Now the oppposite problem, the tank won't accept gas. $.50 to a $1.00 at a time I have to pump it in. The dealership repalced that tank...still won't take the gas. They've checked the vapor canister and all lines...Dodge tech tells them to put in another tank.

I think the bottom line is this is a MUCH larger problem than Chrysler is admitting and I think the gas tank vendor has given them a bad batch of tanks. The point being, I've been inconvenienced to such a degree by the constant in and out of hte service department at my local dealership, I've blown up at them, they've gotten hot under the collar with me...round and round it goes. But, at least now I know all the names of the people down there.

By the way, it's still not fixed. Sadly, after this and my '05 neon issues (number 3 cylinder misfire that I could never get rid of), I have to question whether a new chrysler product will ever be in my future. Shame because I've owned mopar ever since I could drive and I like the products, but the quality from the early 2000's onward is abyssmal. Now I can see why they went bankrupt (oh, and cash raiding by the German's didn't help either).

 

It's totally understandable that you'd want to jump ship after all of that, and it doesn't sound like Chrysler is doing much to convince you otherwise.

I'm not brand loyal. I've owned Ford, Chrysler, GM, Lexus, Nissan, and presently have an Infiniti. None are perfect, and all are different. I had a 04 Durango and now have an 08 Aspen, and both have been pretty good. The fuel tank issue with my Aspen has been our first real issue. I hope it stays that way for awhile.

Regardless, Chrysler needs to step up to the plate and expand the recall through all model years using this gas tank/neck so it can get taken care of before something bad happens.

 

Can't say that I'm religiously brand loyal, although, as I've said, I've owned a Chrsler product as one of my vehicles ever since I was old enough to drive. But, I've been through my share of GM's, Fords and others.

I think the most maddening aspect of this whole thing is the refusal of Mopar to step up to the plate and recognize they have a serious issue that just isn't contained to a handful of VIN's. The fact that the gas tanks used to replace the problematic one have also been duds is really a cause for concern.....

But otherwise, we do love our durango and I would consider buying another as a replacement in the years to come....so I guess they haven't pissed me off that much yet.

 

OK, so lots of folks have told their story.... but how do we get results? I think it's safe to agree that individually some of us have gotten railroaded, others have been fixed (though seems like the minority).

How do we band together and get some results? What do we do? Or does anyone think it's worth the shot? I think the safety issue may be worth the shot.

Does anyone know if any instances where fires were started because of this? Would help to have some ammo to back up our position.

 

Unfortunatly there is not much we can do at this point. Remember, Toyota only issued a mass recall for sudden accelerator problems on their vehicles after 10 years and nearly 50 U.S. deaths due to gas pedal problems.

Chrysler has no incentive at this point to fix or recall all of their gas tanks.

However, make sure that you jump on the band-wagon now, so that you are included in future class-action lawsuits.--It is only a matter of time before something seriously wrong happens because of this problem.--

I have filed (AND RECEIVED WRITTEN RESPONSES) from both the NHTSA and Chrysler Corporate (through Ohio's Attorney General's Office of Consumer Complaints) documenting the issue.

I recommend that even if your vehicle is still under warranty that you do the same. It appears that Chrysler is replacing the tanks with the same faulty style. Meaning that in another 4 years everybody with a "fixed" tank with begin to once again experience the same problems.

 

Agreed....make sure your concerns are well documented. I follwed up with NHTSA and Chrsyler on several occasions. The point being, the tanks manafatured either by Dodge or the third party vendor are defective. I've had four tanks in my Durango in the past two months and none have worked. The service manager at my dealership told me that corporate told him that bascially they need to keep replacing tanks until they find a good one.

What an efficient way to address a problem.

 

Wow. I wonder how they were handling this on the assembly line. Can you imagine even 25% of the newly assembled vehicles having problems when they tried to put fuel in the tank?

 

Strangely, you wouldn't think it would take that much engineering to design a gas tank. Container, vent, rollover protection.

I just talked to Chrysler AGAIN yestrerday...they still will not admit that this it's a recallable item. They still insist that it's VIN specific. Filed another complaint with NHTSA too, this time documenting the problem with not being able to put gas in the tanks. Yes, I'll crap in one hand and wish in the other and see what I get....but at least it gives me an opportunity to vent (unlike my gas tank).

I have to say, I think the most recent era (2003 up) has been the worst for Dodge in terms of quality. I also had a 2005 Neon that I bought in '05 with 10,000 miles on it. It had a persistent misfire from day one that never really went away. I replaced plugs, wires, coils, etc. and every so often it would throw a misfire code. Finally, at 95,000, I couldn't get it to clear a number 3 cylinder misfire and I gave up. I didn't feel much like tearing down the head to see if it had a burnt valve (since it seemed like the only option remaining) and I traded it off.

 

My 2007 has the problem now......great since my dealer is long gone and the others claim they never heard of the gas blowhole problem,
FF