I have a 2014 Durango 3.6l that is 2ys 4mos old with 45k miles. Today the Battery Voltage Low message came up and when I scrolled through the message center it said it was in Save Battery Mode. From what I have been reading, it appears the likely candidate is the alternator. But should an alternator need replacing at only 45k miles?

 

Does anyone have a recommendation of a good brand of alternator to replace it with?

 

Things happen. Auto parts store brands are hit and miss. Usually remanufacturerd. Choice is yours as to how much you want to spend. OEM or aftermarket.

 

If I'm not mistaken, you can still buy the extended manufacturer warranty. Anytime below 48,000 miles I think.

I bought 7 yrs/100,000 miles for $1600 from a dealership, online. I would recommend it with these Durangos.

You are already looking at a few hundred in repairs with this alternator unless you roll the dice and go cheap on it.

Just a thought.

 

Had the time today to get into the problem. After checking various voltages it looked like the alternator. Took it out to be tested and sure enough it's bad. Looking to either buy a reman Denso or have a local company rebuild the original, which happens to be a Denso, rather than Mopar (not sure why?).

 

You'll likely find very few components on your vehicle that are MoPar. Even if stamped MoPar they are very likely to be built by another manufacturer, to MoPar specifications.

If you look closely on, for example, a Motorcraft oxygen sensor on a modern Ford product you'll actually find the NGK logo.

-Rod

 

As I said above, I took out the alternator and had it tested at Advance Auto, which said it's bad. So today I called a local business that has a good rep for rebuilding alternators and starters to get an idea of how long and much it would cost to have mine rebuilt. The guys first question was: why do you think it needs to be rebuilt? I told him the history and he stated that the box stores don't realize that the regulator is not internal and ran by the PCM, which causes a failed result to their bench tests. He went on to say that a few of these have come to him recently and that they where actually working fine, that the PCM is the issue. He will test it tomorrow. So now I getting a little worried. I also called Dodge about the recall and they couldn't tell me what part number was subject to the recall, but suggested I save receipts in case the recall is expanded.

Anyone know if the PCM is covered under the 5/100k warranty or not?

 

3/36 I believe is your basic warranty period.

As others have suggested, you might want to look at buying an extended warranty at some point. Especially with the DD electronics already having had issues/recalls.

 

The alternators on the Pentastars are known junk. If you get an aftermarket core rebuild, it will probably fail even faster. The ones from Mopar are holding up pretty well since then. As far as I know, the recall only applies to Chargers and 300s so far.

 

My 2012 Durango has had the alternator replaced twice under recalls.

The first one failed at 52K