2016 Dodge Durango problems
NHTSA has received 223 complaints about the 2016 Dodge Durango, and 24% of them involve lighting. After that come electrical system (18%) and drivetrain & axles (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 223 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Lighting 24% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 30 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 14 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 40,000 miles 142 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 | 38 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 28 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 47 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 13 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 7 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 142 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 40,000 miles. For lighting specifically, the median reported mileage is about 50,000 miles (35 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 30 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 14 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2016 ranks 18th most-complained-about out of 25 model years of the Dodge Durango with enough data (182 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 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.
Tl* the contact owned a 2016 dodge durango. While driving at an unknown speed, the contact fell asleep and crashed into a utility pole. The vehicle nosedived into a ditch. The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained a fractured back. The contact's wife sustained third degree burns to the right side and back. The contact's son sustained a whiplash. Everyone received medical attention. A police report was filed. The police towed the vehicle to an unknown lot.
A few weeks ago we had a car accident, it was a front impact between 40 and 45 MPH, the vehicle was a total loss but the airbag system didn't deploy with the impact.
Vehicle was in park, engine running, while owner was pumping gas at the station. With the driver's door ajar, he was standing outside for several minutes and suddenly the vehicle took off in reverse. Vehicle was in park and not moving for the several minutes while pumping gas. The vehicle took off, dragged owner by the open door under the vehicle and ran his leg over. Continued moving until it hit a pole. Owner was hospitalized.
While decelerating, at approximately 25 MPH, experienced a severe bump during downshift causing driver to lose temporary foot to brake pedal contact. Occurred in traffic approaching traffic light. Made dealer service department aware of condition. While road testing with advisor, I was told condition normal to vehicle. Attempted repair was re flash of transmission control module. Slight improvement was short lived, now worse than prior to re flash.
This winter we had a lot of snow. As the snow melted, water got into the tailgate light assembly. Now the bottom of the light were water has settled is out. I've noticed a lot of other durango's. 2016 and up with the same issue. Either on one side or both like mines. When I raise the tailgate water drains out but not completely. There are no visible cracks in the tailgate backup light or damage in anyway. I was curious to see if anyone else has reported this issue.