2005 Dodge Durango Problems, Recalls & Reliability
2,001 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2005 Dodge Durango, alongside 9 recall campaigns and 10 defect investigations. It scores 61/100 on the trouble index — one of the years to avoid for this model. Fuel system leads the reports, typically around 70,000 miles.
Avoid this year if you can. The 2005 Dodge Durango sits at the top of this model's complaint rankings. Quieter picks in the same family: 2003, 2007–2008, 2016–2022.
Avoid
Where 2005 sits among all Durango years
What owners report
“Every time i put gas in the tank it spills out at the end of refueling all over the car and ground.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Durango
“Had driven 05 durango about 5 miles. When braking to enter the driveway at home, vehicle engine shut off. No power at all. Vehicle has 4513 miles with a 5.7l hemi.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Durango
“Shifting into 4 wheel drive driving down the road on its own and then back into low 4 when backing up on its own all types of streets moving”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Durango
“As i was driving home, all of the dash warning/service lights came on. At the same time, my turn signals, brake lights, windshield wipers, hazard lights, and all gauges malfunctioned. I believe this to be an issue with the "front control module".”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Durango
“Takata recall. Received notice of recall july 21, 2016. Still "remedy not available" as of feb. 23, 2017. Could have killed a passenger by now.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Durango
“My 05 dodge durango will engage in 4 wheel drive while driving on the highway, and engage while truck is in park and engine off.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Durango
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 1,659 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 76,700 miles. Half of those reports fall between 50,000 and 118,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (9)
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) expanded the affected population to include 73,712 2005-2009 RAM 2500 trucks produced at the St. Louis North Assembly Plant. With this change, Chrysler is recalling certain model year 2004-2008 RAM 1500, 2005-2009 RAM 2500, 2006-2009…
Fix: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicle until the recall repair is complete. Chrysler will notify the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and RAM owners. Mitsubishi owners will be notified by their…
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain model year 2005-2009 Dodge Ram 2500, 2004-2008 Dodge Ram 1500 and Durango, 2006-2009 Dodge Ram 3500, 2008-2010 Dodge Ram 4500 and 5500, 2007-2008 Chrysler Aspen, 2005-2010 Chrysler 300, 300C, 300S, and SRT8,…
Fix: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicle until the recall repair is complete. Chrysler will notify the affected Chrysler and Dodge owners and Mitsubishi will notify the affected Raider owners.…
Chrysler Group LLC (Chrysler) is recalling certain model year 2004-2005 Dodge Ram 1500, 2500, and 3500, 2004-2005 Dodge Durango, 2005 Dodge Dakota, 2005 Dodge Magnum and 2005 Chrysler 300, 300C and 300 SRT8 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in…
Fix: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. For vehicles that were sold, or are currently registered, in Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii,…
SABERSPORT IS RECALLING 16,270 COMBINATION CORNER AND BUMPER LAMP ASSEMBLIES OF VARIOUS PART NUMBERS SOLD FOR USE AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT FOR VARIOUS PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE HEADLAMPS FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY…
Fix: SABERSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 11, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SABERSPORT AT 1-909-598-7589.
CHRYSLER IS RECALLING 18,951 MY 2005 DODGE DURANGO VEHICLES. THE FUEL TANK FILLER TUBE INLET CHECK VALVE MAY NOT FULLY CLOSE AT THE END OF REFUELING. THIS COULD ALLOW SOME FUEL TO ESCAPE FROM THE VEHICLE THROUGH THE FILLER NECK AT THE END OF REFUELING.
Fix: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE FUEL TANK INLET CHECK VALVE. VEHICLES FOUND TO HAVE A SUSPECT INLET CHECK VALVE WILL HAVE THE FUEL TANK ASSEMBLY REPLACED FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN…
ON SOME SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, UNDER CERTAIN OPERATING CONDITIONS, AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT IN THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER THAT CONTROLS INTERIOR LIGHTING MAY OVERHEAT.
Fix: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE CLUSTER FOR DAMAGE AND REPLACE IT FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 2, 2007. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DAIMLERCHRYSLER AT 1-800-853-140.
ON CERTAIN VANS AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, THE FRONT WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR ARMATURE SHAFT MAY BREAK.
Fix: DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND REPLACE THE WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 19, 2006, TO DODGE DURANGO OWNERS. MINIVAN OWNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED DURING JULY 2006. OWNERS…
ON CERTAIN PICKUP TRUCKS, SPORT UTILITY AND PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 42RLE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS, THE CUP PLUG THAT RETAINS THE PARK PAWL ANCHOR SHAFT MAY BE IMPROPERLY INSTALLED. IF THE SHAFT MOVES OUT OF POSITION, THE VEHICLE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO…
Fix: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE TRANSMISSIONS AND INSTALL A BRACKET TO ENSURE THE PARK PAWL ANCHOR SHAFT IS RETAINED IN THE PROPER POSITION. THE RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 28, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT…
ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, THE FUEL TANK FILLER TUBE INLET CHECK VALVE MAY NOT FULLY CLOSE AT THE END OF REFUELING. THIS COULD ALLOW SOME FUEL TO ESCAPE FROM THE VEHICLE FILLER NECK.
Fix: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE INLET CHECK VALVES AND REPLACE THE FUEL TANK ASSEMBLY FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 4, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DAIMLERCHRYSLER AT 1-800-853-1403.
Federal defect investigations
Still open as of the last data refresh. An investigation is not a recall; it may close with no action. All open investigations →
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…
Led to recall campaign 13V172000.
Led to recall campaign 09V003000.
Led to recall campaign 07V092000.
Technical service bulletins
75 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, the biggest share on transmission & drivetrain and engine — are on file for the 2005 Dodge Durango. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
See the 2005 Durango TSB list →
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2005 Dodge Durango reliable?
The 2005 Dodge Durango drew 2,001 complaints in federal safety records — one of the years to avoid for this model. Its trouble index is 61/100, scored against the model's worst year (1999).
What are the most common 2005 Dodge Durango problems?
The top reported problems for the 2005 Dodge Durango are fuel system (801 complaints), engine (331), and transmission & drivetrain (218).
At what mileage do 2005 Dodge Durango problems show up?
Owners most often report 2005 Dodge Durango problems around 76,700 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 50,000 and 118,000 miles.
Does the 2005 Dodge Durango have recalls?
9 recall campaigns apply to the 2005 Dodge Durango. At least one carries a do-not-drive or park-outside warning — check your VIN before driving.
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. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.