My 2005 Dodge Durango Hemi 5.7L is having the same issue it seems. It started happening 3 weeks ago. First sign of problem was when I was pulling up into my driveway and doing my usual right hand turn into the driveway going about 5mph. My car is a 4-wheel drive and it has never been off AWD mode ... never been switched to any other drives (4Hi or 4LO). When I tried to turn into driveway, my SUV would not turn and actually stopped like brakes were engaged. I had to apply more gas than usual to get it to pull into the driveway which does not have an incline of any sorts. Then, I notice my 4LO light coming on intermittently (flashing on and off for a minute or so) when I drive on the interstate. Then, sometimes, when key is out of the ignition or when I am stopped at red light, I hear a clicking underneath of the car like it is trying to start itself. I wwnt to local Brandon Dodge dealership to diagnosis the problem and they the could not find any problems but I was due for my 65K tuneups and they said my front brakes may be the culprit because it was at 5%. I had my transmission flushed, battery corrosion tuneup done, oil change, air filter and front wheel rotated to the cost of $350+. I decided to get my brakes done at the dealership I bought my SUV at because I get my oil changed their all the time except this one time - they are GMC dealership in Brandon. They called me when they were about to put my front brakes on and they said my brakes were at 50% and that I did not need to change them out yet ... they said the problem may lie with my steering gear and with the cost of parts, labor, and steering flush, it would cost me about $800+ ... too much for me at the moment. Again, my SUV drives fine and everything is working well except when I have to make a tight slow turn left or right, and it feels like it is engaing 4LO gear but again, the switch has never been moved off the AWD ... and this happens sometimes, and not all the time. My mileage is at 74K and beyond the warranty so I will have to eat the cost of the repair but again, I have had 2 different dealerships look at my problem and 2 different answers. Would it be safe for me to assume it is transfer motor case ? and get a new one because GMC dealership would charge me only labor to replace any items I need to ... any help to what my problem is ?

Otherwise, my Durango Hemi is great and this is the first major problem I have with it.

 

You vehicle seems to be in 4x4 not AWD as that would cause the driveway problem. In AWD the wheels will spin at different speeds to compensate for a turn (inside wheels spin slower as outside wheels spin faster). In 4x4 the wheels will lock (4lock) and they will spin at the same speed for traction. If you turn in 4x4 the wheels can not compensate for the different arcs and will 'chirp' and will e hard to make tight turns. Why yours is doing this is a mystery to me, but I would have a mechanic look at your transfer box,
FF

 

I will have dealership I bought the car from to check transfer case motor to see if this is the culprit ... from what I found thru other websites and your reply ... the problem is with my 4WD because it seems to trying to shift to 4LOCK or 4LO because I hear it sometimes under the car. Thanks for the help.

 

I have the same truck...wht did u do to fix it...

 

DId nothing yet ... mechanic I bought my car from (GMC dealership) gave me # to dodge mechanic and he has not called me back yet.

 

i have the exact same problem with mine. it is the strangest thing i have ever seen. It started happening about 3 months ago. When i went to turning my driveway the whole car just stops and the wheels are jumping like it is in 4 LO. When you straighten the wheels out it is fine. It has been getting worse lately. It is like clockwork. If you drive it for 5 to 10 minutes it doesnt do it. After about 15 minutes you will see the service 4wd light come on for a minute or two and then will go off. I then pull into work and the 4lo light goes on and off and becomes almost impossible to turn in a parking place. Then you will hear a clicking noise very similar to somebody cocking a gun coming from under the car. One day i was just opening the door about a hour after I turned the car off and you see the 4LO light blinking and hear the cocking noise again. This will be interesting to see what your dealer says because mine didn't have a clue what it was. I have a feeling this is gonna become a major issue with owners of the durango and dodge needs to do something about it. I paid over $40000 for my durango SLT AWD with a HEMI. I do not expect something to go wrong with the AWD. Alternator i understand. But not the AWD which was the only way it came with the HEMI. I hope it is a easy fix and not 1000's of dollars. If it is i will never buy a dodge again.

 

I know that if the tires are not in a certain tolerance of each other the AWD will not work. I would check the tire tread to rule them out of the equation,
FF

 

I have an 04 Limited with the same issue. The bad news is that you are not alone. Mine was doing the same thing, and of course got the all too familiar "we can't find the problem" from the dealership. Two weeks after the dealership looked at it, it failed completely. I had to have it towed, because the wheels were completely locked. The transfer case motor was the problem. They told me that Dodge had advised them that there was no replacement part available. This happened in May of 09, and they finally found one in March of this year (last week to be exact). It took them a year to get a replacement part, because the original manufacturer has gone out of business. They put my vehicle in AWD so that I could at least have it back while they were "looking" for a replacement part. This is not the dealerships fault, the fault lies soley with Dodge! They finally replaced the part last week, and it failed again 2 dys later, this time taking the transfer case with it. Now my car sits at the dealership (still under warranty) awaitng who knows what. Good Luck!

 

what a mess? I know its alot of work but I'd be looking at rigging up a lever of some sort to get rid of the motor. Electronics fail, bottom line. I remember when power windows became standard and I hated it!!

 

In Mopar collectors Guide magazine Jay Leno bought one of the last two turbine cars (forget the model),
FF