Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure on the 1999 Dodge Durango
1 crash 1 injury 2 of the 105 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When control module (ecm/pcm/bcm) failure gets reported
Owners of the 1999 Dodge Durango report control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure at a median of 110,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 72,500 miles and a quarter after 140,000 miles, from 80 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 92,000 miles. It is the 4th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 30,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 170,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 139,460 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
11% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30,840 miles | 72,000 miles | 109,000 miles | 140,000 miles | 170,300 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 1 a crash and 1 an injury are mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $700–$3,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 13 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2016, at a median of 5,000 miles, and latest on the 2000 at 140,000 miles.
By volume the 1999 is the worst of them, which makes this a problem of this specific year rather than of the model as a whole.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Vehicle stalls out while in motion at any given time. Came very close to being rear ended by a tractor trailer. It is always a guarantee that after putting gas in the vehicle it will stall out apporx. 2-3 miles afterwards, sometimes for over 45 mins. At a time. Vehicle had (2) diagnostic reports done in which the first stated the intake manifold gaskets needed replacing and the throttle body needed cleaning. This was not true, since both were completed, vehicle continues to stall out while driving in general traffic or stopped at a traffic signal. The second diagnostic done stated nothing was wrong, however, after describing to the dealer the multiple problems, they suggested that the PCM needs to be replaced. After reviewing the complaints on this sight that are similar to the one that I have , it appears that this could be either the (PCM) or (central computer module/pick up plate) that is the problem. *nlm dealer currently working on replacing the PCM, but I will also question the (central computer module/pick up plate) to see if the two are in relation to one another. I pray that this will resolve this problem as I fear that I…
When I pushased my 1999 dodge durango the brakes was nosiy...took it back to the dealer.they charged me $90.00 to do a brake service.after the brakes was used a couple of times they started making nosie again...took it back and dealer stated that it was the pads and they could not do anything about it. Well after that I was fed up with them and took it to a goodyear shop where they replaced the brakes.(stopped the nosie) and also found out the upper ball joints was bad along with the shocks...so they was replaced costing me $1,300.00. So much for the extended warenties that I purchased with the vehicle..the dealer also charged me for fliud after two sensors went out that was located inside the transmission..wich the warenty was to cover the drive train..this vehicle is a 1999 dodge durango 4x4....new tires had to be purchased because of ball joints was bad causeing tires to wear wrong
Shaking and shimmy in the front end when driving on roads front end would shake uncontrollably,need to replace both side of upper and lower ball joints and tie rod ends all was worn out at 80000 miles also transmission wouldn't shift,speed sensor bad on transmission,old parts available certified mech did replacement and had to have it re-aligned. *jb
Also reported on the 1999 Dodge Durango
Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure
Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure
Other engine problem
Other suspension problem
ABS module or sensor failure
Other electrical problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 105 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does control module (ecm/pcm/bcm) failure happen on the 1999 Dodge Durango?
Across 80 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 110,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 72,500 miles and a quarter after 140,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is control module (ecm/pcm/bcm) failure on the 1999 Dodge Durango?
105 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 1.4 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed