I have a 2013 Dodge Durango crew 3.6 2WD. The past few months she started having issues. I could feel I was losing power when driving and lights were kind of dim. Went and had my battery tested, said it was bad, replaced battery. Could still feel hesitation when driving and getting bad fuel economy. Eventually she threw a code. It came back as the cat. Took it to the mechanic and they suggested using cataclean because it looked like it was still in good condition and I could get 20-30k more miles out of it. Used the cataclean and the code cleared. Fast forward, I was leaking oil and they had to replace a bunch of parts including the “oil cooler”. She’s still not driving well. I can feel resistance when I drive and now it feels like the tranny is slipping or not shifting properly. On top of that, the tire pressure light went on. It’s not registering a tire. The radio doesn’t store memory sometimes and weird sensors don’t work periodically. It didn’t register my daughter in the passenger seat the other day and the fuel economy gauge started going crazy. Could it be my PCM? We’ve already thrown $2000 at my vehicle and the mechanic said to just wait until she “throws a code”, which seems like a shotty idea to me. I don’t want to ruin my transmission. I really love my vehicle and I just want it running back to normal. Any help is appreciated.

 

Your PCM is not responsible for most of the items you listed. Instead it would be the RF Hub, Body Control Module, Totally Integrated Power Module (TIPM), Radio, and I don't remember if there is a separate module for the automatic transmission or if that is built into the PCM. I'd instead be having your catalytic converters tested for backpressure and suspect an electrical issue. Since so many modules seem to be impacted, I'd think either a ground issue, cable connection issue, or possibly an alternator issue.

-Rod

 

Thank you so much for your response. The alternator was tested and is supposedly OK. My husband is going to do a thorough inspection of wiring/connections over the weekend. About 2 months ago before all of this happened I was driving and it sounded like I hit a tree branch in the road. There was absolutely nothing there and I want to say shortly after all of these issues started. I’ve always had intermittent issues with random things not working in my vehicle but never like this and I’m most concerned about the way she’s driving. I was thinking the TIPM might be to blame but I will let him read your response. Thank you again.

 

Rod, I’m wondering if the cat did indeed need to be replaced and still does. Do you think the back pressure could’ve caused damage to my engine/oil components and that is what caused the oil leak? I’m not currently driving it because I don’t want to cause anymore damage. My husband is going to get a meter and test like you suggested.

 

I would not expect an exhaust restriction to cause damage to the engine or cause an oil leak. Did the new oil cooler fix the oil leak?

-Rod

 

2014 DD R/T okay, want you to look for this Com Bus Port which located on passenger side under dash, under carpet and against center column and almost at firewall. I had random issues driving me crazy for past few years and progressively got worse. Vehicle shut down while driving, black dash and push button start, no remote or fob entry or start, numerous codes especially U Codes, such as loss of bus communication, service ABS, transmission and just about every other module. Finally found the fix and stumbled upon this while replacing the blend door actuator on passenger side. I will post pictures and you will see a loose wire, which on first glance looked fine and normal until I wiggled it (truck not starting at that point) and all of a sudden powered back up. Wire fell out and terminal pin was broken inside. Also when removing the white cover noticed solder joints were broken and pin was extending freely through solder joint. Replaced the bus port and repaired the wire and have had no issues since. So relieved and I hope this helps others across Dodge and Chrysler products that have similar issues and com port.

 

Yes! It seems like it may be a loose connection somewhere! I will have my husband check when he gets a day off and report back! Thank you so much!