I'm in seek of some wisdom with those more experienced in Mopar.

About 6 weeks ago my wife and I purchased a 2018 Durango R/T. We had been looking for a relatively rare color combination (white on red interior) and eventually found one that had been used as a dealer demo for just under 700 miles. The test drive went well and we were given many assurances the vehicle had been well cared for.

After getting the vehicle home I noticed a rather significant oil leak coming from rear of the engine.The selling dealership claimed to have no knowledge of the leak and assured me again that the vehicle had been in new condition. In fact, they made a point to tell me that they specifically remember not seeing any oil stains in the public parking spot it occupied while we inspected it.

I called the closest dealership and was told to bring it in right away; which I did. It turned out to be a rear main seal and was repaired under warranty. I got it back exactly 4 days after the drop off.

About a week and a half ago I forgot to remote-start the Durango like I ususally do so I started it normally. After a minute or so of standing outside of it (I am a smoker) I began hearing a ticking/knocking sound which was clearly audible in the midst of a busy parking lot. From that point forward, I chose to only start the car when I was near it. Sure enough, every single cold start resulted in a ticking sound that began about a minute after cold start and lasted a few minutes until the engine began warming up. I've started the car in-person before and don't ever recall hearing a noise like this. (Video attached is my Durango). My uncle has a 2017 RAM with the same engine and it does not make this sound under the same conditions.


I called the dealership and explained the situation. They told me it was safe to drive but to make an appointment to bring it in; which I did. In the meantime I unintentionally left the Durango running in the garage for 15-20 minutes after getting sidetracked inside. When I pulled out I noticed what could only be an somewhat large oil spot on the garage floor where the Durango had been. It had a golden color (the oil had just been changed), felt oily, and didn't evaporate like the AC condenser runoff did. There is now a dark stain on the concrete where it had been.

As it stands, the dealership has the vehicle in for assessment and I haven't heard back. The odometer read 3700 when I dropped it off.

Does anyone have any thoughts about the leak and the sound? My wife and I agree we are off to a bad enough start with this Durango that it needs to go. Has anyone here successfully worked out something with their dealership or FCA in getting it swapped out without taking full brunt of the trade-in hit?

 

OUCH, Sorry to be reading your troubles so soon on a supposed brand new 2018 RT Durango. The FCA dealership who sold you the vehicle should be doing everything that is possible to correct all issues with your vehicle. Anything wrong should be covered under new vehicle warranty. You will lose $$ if you try to trade in or ask for your money back not to mention all the time you spend dealing with the headache of dealing with FCA and the FCA dealership. FCA and FCA dealerships are not in the habit of returning any monies on their vehicles without a knock down dragged out fight. But, you might get lucky because your vehicle is brand new. Please keep us all posted on your out come and good luck.

 

After the rear main seal went out, I did contact Dodge Customer Care who then put me in touch with the Chrysler Resolution Team. I asked them to help me swap out to something else since a seal failure was so unusual at that mileage (it led to suspicion about what the Durango's early miles were like). I also wasn't fond of the idea of the driveline coming out at 1300 miles. Concerning a replacement, they basically told me where to stick it. They did agree to send me a small monetary compensation but so far I haven't seen anything in my mailbox.

 

Yep, I already figured that would be your out come when dealing with FCA. Dodge Care reps read this site all the time, they might be able to help with getting the work done to fix your vehicle too.

But, you are not alone, there are many more horror stories just like yours on this site too. Take sometime to read up on the troubles of the other FCA owners/customers.
It might make you feel a little better knowing you are not alone.

There are also many more owners/customers on here who can help on "do it yourself" type work/issues too. And they maybe to help with your current problem too.
Keep us posted.

Again, good luck.

 

It's really strange to me. Does FCA not care of they get repeat customers? I know it's within their capabilities to make a decent vehicle. I have two uncles who have been very loyal to Chrysler over the years and seem to really like their vehicles. I don't recall either of them ever complaining about having trouble with anything; at least nothing serious.

I think the Durango R/T is a neat car. I love cars so being able to get a family-centric SUV that can tow but sounds like a Challenger is really nice. That being said, the number of issues we've had with it so far is unprecedented in our lengthy car history. Would we ever buy another FCA product? Almost certainly not.

The dealership we've been working with, who have been great so far, reached out to me yesterday. They did hear the ticking you hear in the video above but were unable to pinpoint the source. They plan to make another attempt this morning. Right now, they are uncertain what is causing it. Thankfully, I did not get the "oh - they ALL do that!" routine.

As it stands, my wife and I feel like we have the following options:

1. Appeal to FCA to replace the vehicle - odds of being successful are about the same as bumping into Scarlett Johansson at my local Wal-Mart
2. Appeal to FCA to give us trade-in assistance - liklihood similar to above
3. Continue to drive the Durango, being careful to check and document everything. Eventually Minnesota Lemon Law may become relevant
3a. Purchase a different extended warranty with more mileage/duration.
4. Trade-in Durango for what I'm estimating to be a $10K hit. For you math fans that would be a $2.70/mile cost of ownership

 

The old saying of "damned if you do, damned if you don't", comes to mind.
Many on here have said the same and have also done the same as you are stating.
Stay tough when dealing with FCA and hope they step up to help.

 

Any car that needs two new rear seals within a 1000 miles has more serious problems than just bad seals, IMHO. I am not a mechanic and my automotive experience consists of driving for 60 years and tinkering with 60s-70s era cars, including restoring a '67 Ford Fairlane 289-4V/auto. That being said . . .
With your problem I'd expect something to be cracked in the block or a bent/distorted shaft. It is something that could've happened during assembly or, as you now suspect, earlier abuse. The good news is you've apparently found a good dealer to help you with this problem. Personally I'd take my records back to the seller and raise hell with him and give him an opportunity to fix it before you verbally pistol-whip him, live, on various Dodge sites. Dealers that can't or won't honor FCA warranties deserve all the bad press we can give them, IMHO.
Good luck.

 

Perhaps you can talk them into paying all or a portion of that extended warranty. My 2012 with the V6 got new heads at low mileage due to a common problem. At the time I was not happy about a new vehicle needing major work (paid for or not) but in all fairness there was never another problem and it was like it never happened after I got it back. The dealerships do some pretty good work and you know they'll use nothing but genuine OEM parts.

 

I had a clicking sound in the front of the vehicle under the hood. It turned out to be the Water Pump Impellers and not the bearing. It seems like this is a known problem with the water pumps - look it up online. I had to use my MaxCare warranty and pay $100 deductible to get it fixed. It also took a long time to get the pump since it seems like everyone is having the same issue.

 

Sorry for the delay in responding.

To clear one thing up: my Durango has had one rear main seal replacement. So far, that has held and I haven't noticed any additional leaks. Sorry for the confusion on that one.

The dealer was able to reproduce the sound but said they had a lot of difficulty doing so. What they heard was the "common Hemi Tick". A normal sound that most, if not all 3rd gen Hemis make. I asked them what causes the Hemi Tick or in other words, where is the sound actually coming from. I was told I would get a call back from a tech but that didn't happen. The internet tells me the Hemi Tick is basically a blanket term which is thrown at these engines any time they make an unexpected ticking or knocking sound. I got quite a few hits across different forums where people were arguing, at length, about what the 'real Hemi Tick' was.

In complete honesty, I thought I was getting pushed out the door because they were tired of dealing with my Durango. I was fully expecting to hear the ticking the next morning but to my surprise I heard nothing. My wife, who had heard it before the trip to the dealership, couldn't hear anything either. Subsequent cold starts have been quiet. If it's still making noise it's either doing so very briefly or very quietly.

Concerning what I thought to be an oil leak, the dealership said they couldn't find anything. I took a look myself and sure enough: clean as a whistle underneath. I must have misidentified the spot on my garage floor. That's a little embarrassing...

As I sit here writing this though, my Durango seems to be behaving itself!