Dodge Durango Years to Avoid — and the Years to Buy
Every Dodge Durango model year from 1997 to 2026, benchmarked against each other with 19,330 federal complaints, 77 recall campaigns, and the odometer readings owners put in their reports.
Avoid: 1999–2000, 2005. These years top the Durango's complaint rankings by volume and severity.
Safer bets: 2003, 2007–2008, 2016–2022 — the quietest years with at least four years on the road.
The method in one line: every NHTSA complaint for this model is counted, weighted for crashes, fires, injuries, and deaths, and each year is measured against the Durango's own worst year — full methodology.
Under investigation. Federal regulators currently have 3 open defect investigations on the Dodge Durango.
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade,…
Component: AIR BAGS
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their…
Component: STEERING
ON MARCH 9, 2006 ODI UPGRADED PRELIMINATRY EVALUATION PE05-056 TO ENGINEERNING ANALYSIS EA06-004 TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS OF LOOSE OR MISSING STEERING SHAFT COUPLING BOLTS AND STEERING COLUMN RETAINING BOLTS IN MODEL YEAR (MY) 2004 THROUGH 2006 DODGE DURANGO SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND MY 2005…
An investigation is not a recall; it may close with no action. All open investigations →
The trouble strip
One cell per model year. The whole answer in one glance — click any year for the full report.
The defining problem
Electrical tops the Dodge Durango file with 3,874 complaints, concentrated in the 2004, 2011–2015 model years, most often reported around 77,000 miles. The year pages break down what fails and when.
Every year, ranked
| Year | Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | Top problem | Trouble index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Few reports | 17 | 0 | — | 1 |
| 2025 | Few reports | 12 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 2024 | Few reports | 26 | 0 | — | 1 |
| 2023 | Typical | 46 | 2 | Electrical | 2 |
| 2022 | Better year | 84 | 7 | Electrical | 3 |
| 2021 | Better year | 258 | 8 | Electrical | 9 |
| 2020 | Better year | 71 | 2 | Electrical | 3 |
| 2019 | Better year | 207 | 4 | Electrical | 7 |
| 2018 | Better year | 330 | 5 | Electrical | 10 |
| 2017 | Better year | 305 | 2 | Electrical | 10 |
| 2016 | Better year | 222 | 3 | Electrical | 9 |
| 2015 | Typical | 667 | 4 | Electrical | 24 |
| 2014 | Below average | 1,030 | 11 | Electrical | 36 |
| 2013 | Typical | 905 | 11 | Electrical | 30 |
| 2012 | Typical | 918 | 10 | Electrical | 29 |
| 2011 | Below average | 1,185 | 8 | Electrical | 40 |
| 2009 | Few reports | 13 | 4 | — | 1 |
| 2008 | Better year | 127 | 2 | Fuel system | 4 |
| 2007 | Better year | 241 | 4 | Fuel system | 9 |
| 2006 | Typical | 1,039 | 10 | Fuel system | 31 |
| 2005 | Avoid | 2,001 | 9 | Fuel system | 61 |
| 2004 | Below average | 1,420 | 9 | Engine | 52 |
| 2003 | Better year | 485 | 6 | Suspension | 18 |
| 2002 | Typical | 556 | 6 | Suspension | 21 |
| 2001 | Below average | 964 | 7 | Suspension | 36 |
| 2000 | Avoid | 1,471 | 4 | Suspension | 57 |
| 1999 | Avoid | 3,172 | 5 | Suspension | 100 |
| 1998 | Below average | 1,553 | 6 | Suspension | 48 |
| 1997 | Few reports | 5 | 2 | — | 0 |
Technical service bulletins
Beyond complaints and recalls, 5,718 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, service campaigns, warranty extensions — are on file for the Dodge Durango. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
Browse the Dodge Durango TSB list by year →
Questions buyers ask
What Dodge Durango years should I avoid?
Federal complaint records point to 1999–2000, 2005 as the Dodge Durango years to avoid — they drew the highest volume of serious complaints relative to the model's other years.
What is the most common Dodge Durango problem?
Electrical tops the Dodge Durango file with 3,874 complaints, concentrated in the 2004, 2011–2015 model years, most often reported around 77,000 miles.
What are the best Dodge Durango years to buy used?
The quietest Dodge Durango years in federal records are 2003, 2007–2008, 2016–2022 — each with at least four years on the road and well-below-average complaint volume for this model.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Counts cover the Dodge Durango only, scored against this model's own worst year — not against other models. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.