Dodge Durango reliability by year
58 recall campaigns and 7,274 owner complaints across 20 model years. Best year to buy: 2023. Year to avoid: 2005.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
Years to avoid — and why 8 flagged on the NHTSA record
Cleaner on the data: 2008, 2009, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and others. Still verify the specific vehicle.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 20 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 106, more than the 58 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the Durango aggregated across 20 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Dodge Durango?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2023 Dodge Durango scores 7.8/10 — the strongest in the 2005–2025 range. 35 complaints on file, 2 active recalls. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Dodge Durango year should I avoid?
The 2005 Dodge Durango scores 3.4/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 1,567 owner complaints with NHTSA, 9 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2005 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the Dodge Durango should I avoid?
On the NHTSA complaint and recall record, the model years to be most careful with are 2016 (avoid — the powertrain — powertrain: 30 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 15,000–45,000 mi); 2014 (avoid — the engine — engine: 44 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 47,000–109,000 mi); 2013 (avoid — the electrical system — 29 fire-related complaints and 3 crash-related complaints on the electrical system); 2012 (avoid — the electrical system — 30 fire-related complaints and 1 crash-related complaint on the electrical system); 2011 (avoid — the electrical system — 48 fire-related complaints and 6 crash-related complaints on the electrical system); 2006 (avoid — the electrical system — 5 fire-related complaints on the electrical system). The cleaner years on the data are 2024, 2023, 2020, 2022, 2021, 2019. This is our read of the federal data, not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection of the specific vehicle.
How many years of the Dodge Durango are tracked?
20 model years (2005 through 2025) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 58 distinct recall campaigns and 7,274 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 106 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the Dodge Durango?
electrical is the most-reported category — 1,725 complaints across 18 model years. Average shop repair runs about $850.