[Ravi]

Hi, I am from Dubai and new to this site and new to Dodge and SUVs as well. I always had a fascination for Dodge Charger but somehow never took the plunge. Last month I saw the print ad for new Durango which got me interested and into the local dodge dealership next weekend. It was love at first sight for both me and my wife for the Durango in True Blue Color. Sold my 2013 Altima 2.5 SL very next day and got the True Blue SXT Plus (which pretty much gives me everything I need without overstretching the budget) next week on 13th March 2014. I'm glad I went with my instinct and made this choice (against advice of several well meaning friends). Very happy with the performance in general and smoothness with which it takes on both the city traffic and the highways. My daily driving is around 75 Miles and is very comfortable and enjoyable in the D. I have done 1700 Miles as now and have a few questions which I'm sure respected forum members can shed some light on.

1. Sometimes while coming to stop there is a harsh gearshift especially from 2nd to 1st. Has anyone else experienced this? Will it go away after transmission has learned my driving habits?

2. My dealer did the first inspection after delivery at 700 Miles but did not change the oil. First change is scheduled for 6,200 Miles (10,000 Km). Is this OK? What oil should use? ( Temperatures here go upto 118 F in summers)

3. What tire pressure should I maintain for a good tradeoff between comfort, mileage and suspension wear? The placard says 36 psi. I'm currently at 38 when cold.

Thanks for all the wealth of information and experiences everyone has poured into these forums.

 

[that_guy]

Welcome to the club! I don't have any experience with the new 3rd gens, but until someone else that does helps you out, you should post up some pics of your new ride.

 

[Ravi]

Thanks that_guy. I've only got a couple with me on my phone now. here they are. Will post more later.

 

[that_guy]

Looks nice, the dark colors really suit the new Durangos well.

 

[Ravi]

Sure they do. Just a bit of pain to maintain esp. with so much desert sand here.

I've got glass coating done on the paint. Hope that helps.

 

[FSTDANGO3]

Looks nice, the dark colors really suit the new Durangos well.

As long as they are Dark White!
STEVE

 

[that_guy]

:lol:

 

[Ravi]

Hi Steve. Would appreciate if you have any inputs on my Qs.

Thx

 

[FSTDANGO3]

hi, i am from dubai and new to this site and new to dodge and suvs as well. I always had a fascination for dodge charger but somehow never took the plunge. Last month i saw the print ad for new durango which got me interested and into the local dodge dealership next weekend. It was love at first sight for both me and my wife for the durango in true blue color. Sold my 2013 altima 2.5 sl very next day and got the true blue sxt plus (which pretty much gives me everything i need without overstretching the budget) next week on 13th march 2014. I'm glad i went with my instinct and made this choice (against advice of several well meaning friends). Very happy with the performance in general and smoothness with which it takes on both the city traffic and the highways. My daily driving is around 75 miles and is very comfortable and enjoyable in the d. I have done 1700 miles as now and have a few questions which i'm sure respected forum members can shed some light on.

1. Sometimes while coming to stop there is a harsh gearshift especially from 2nd to 1st. Has anyone else experienced this? Will it go away after transmission has learned my driving habits?
ravi some have reported this on here as well and on some other forums, give it a few weeks and if it doesn't clear up it will probably need a re-flash of transmission software

2. My dealer did the first inspection after delivery at 700 miles but did not change the oil. First change is scheduled for 6,200 miles (10,000 km). Is this ok? What oil should use? ( temperatures here go upto 118 f in summers)
i would perform the first oil change somewhere in the 2000 mile range and i would switch to full synthetic at that time, the oil will be much more stable with fluctuations in temperature

3. What tire pressure should i maintain for a good tradeoff between comfort, mileage and suspension wear? The placard says 36 psi. I'm currently at 38 when cold.
38 will be fine but don't ever let it go below manufacturers specifications. I run my tires a little harder than they recommend but not extreme, truck seems to handle better

thanks for all the wealth of information and experiences everyone has poured into these forums.

welcome aboard ravi the new d looks great!

Steve

 

[vertrkr]

1. Sometimes while coming to stop there is a harsh gearshift especially from 2nd to 1st. Has anyone else experienced this? Will it go away after transmission has learned my driving habits?
2. My dealer did the first inspection after delivery at 700 Miles but did not change the oil. First change is scheduled for 6,200 Miles (10,000 Km). Is this OK? What oil should use? ( Temperatures here go upto 118 F in summers)
3. What tire pressure should I maintain for a good tradeoff between comfort, mileage and suspension wear? The placard says 36 psi. I'm currently at 38 when cold.

1. I had a harsh 1st to 2nd shift when coasting downhill. Happened just about every time until I hit about 3,000 miles then like magic it stopped. All has been smooth now, currently 5,000 miles.

2. Change it when the evic dash screen says to change it, typically 7,500 miles. It uses algorithms to calculate when the oil needs to be changed based on temps, miles, revs. Some like to dump their factory fill early, while a good practice in the past, times have changed and it's no longer necessary and perhaps not the best choice anymore. Tolerances and machining are very tight in these modern engines so shavings are just about nil and the filter will catch anything that could possibly cause any premature wear. The assembly lube is mostly Molybdenum and it's excellent for polishing metal contacts so it's best to keep the initial factory fill oil in there for at least a few thousand miles minimum. As for oil, stick with the recommended weight. In the U.S. it's 5w20 and I prefer Pennzoil Ultra. It you have the Hemi then you really need to stick with 5w20 as its designed for that viscosity to work with the hydraulically activated solenoids for the cylinder deactivation feature.

3. 36 psi. They do a lot of testing to find the right pressure to achieve the best balance of trade offs you mentioned.

 

[Ravi]

Thanks Steve and Vertkr. I hope the harsh shifts will go away with time and miles. I'm running 38 psi now and will try 36 after a few days to see which works best for me.

 

[Manoj N]

Hi Ravi,

Just like you I am a Durango owner from Dubai, I bought my Durango True Blue Limited in Nov 2014. We should catch up sometime I am still due for first servicing having clocked 1600kms so far.

Now about your queries - there is a harsh shifting from 2nd gear to 1st gear especially if u r in the 'Eco On' Mode. I too have experienced this while going downhill specifically when i am going into the basement parking. However this is no cause for worry, I also have an altima which has a CVT engine which ideally is supposed to shift from 1-3-5 or 1-2-4 as the acceleration demands it. The Durango is a different beast with a different engine (not CVT), if you drive this with 'Eco ON' off then the shifting reduces drastically and you would rarely experience this harsh shifting. I assure you there is minimal impact on mileage with the 'Eco ON' off.

Tyres - it is better to fill nitrogen in the tyres and maintain them at 2.6 bar. one time nitrogen filling costs AED 100 and a top up once in two months costs AED 20 for all tyres. It gives a smoother ride I did for my previous camry and also for my current altima and now for the Durango. This boosts the longevity of the tyres since they dont fluctuate that easily considering the harsh weather here.

Engine oil - most american cars change their engine oil at 10,000 kms and that 10,000km engine oil is vastly different from the ones used in 5000km engine oil (Japanese cars). I assure you the oil change at 10,000kms is perfectly fine, I have done that for my previous camry too and it worked perfectly fine. My bro in law has a Charger and that too works smoothly and is serviced every 10,000kms.

I am sure you would have got most answers even before i wrote them here.

Cheers and have a great day