2012 Dodge Durango problems
NHTSA has received 922 complaints about the 2012 Dodge Durango, and 38% of them involve electrical system. After that come engine (16%) and fuel system (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 922 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 38% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 27 and 43
- Injuries and deaths
- 19 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 71,000 miles 677 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 45 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 93 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 134 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 123 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 103 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 87 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 43 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 14 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 16 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 17 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Among the 677 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 71,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 71,000 miles (261 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 27 complaints mention a crash; 43 complaints mention a fire; 19 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 25 model years of the Dodge Durango with enough data (563 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 10 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
On nov 28 2020 I was involved in a motor vehicle accident in my 2012 dodge durango. I was traveling about 45 MPH on a dry 2 way road, when another vehicle pulled out in front of me and I was unable to avoid a collision. The accident was bad enough to flip the other vehicle and cause their airbags to deploy but the airbags in my vehicle did not deploy. This caused me and my passenger to have no protection, other than the safety restraints. Both have suffered head, neck and back injuries.
Our 2012 dodge durango r/t was purchased brand new as a replacement for lemon law buy back of our 2009 dodge journey. The durango is plagued with design flaws. The most obvious is the tipm total integrated module. The failure of this module resulting in our vehicle catching fire. The vehicle cranks but does not start at times, other times when it starts it dies in the street. While taking it to the dealership for repairs they would not repair it and another dealer denied the repairs.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 dodge durango. The contact stated that the her daughter was driving at 45 MPH, the vehicle in front made a sudden stop, as a result the daughter was unable to brake in time to afford a rear end collision. The driver and passenger frontal air bags failed to deploy. Causing the driver to receive chest contusion while the contact the front seat passenger sustained a whiplash that required medical attention. The contact stated that the vehicle sustained extreme front end damage.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 dodge durango. While driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle suddenly decelerated without warning. The contact merged over to an emergency lane. The contact shifted the gear into park and then back into drive and the vehicle resumed normal operation. The contact also noticed that the vehicle would not start properly when the key was inserted into the ignition. The vehicle would only start after multiple attempts. The failure recurred multiple times.
Alternator failed and needed to be replaced along with battery. Please see recall p60 (NHTSA action # pe14022) for similar recall for this vehicle. Mine was not included in this recall but, recall might need to be expanded for my VIN. Car without warning would not start. Completely dead even electrical. Had to be towed to dealer. Car has less than 30,000 miles, less than 4 years old and well maintained.