[11earl]

I had my car at my independent mechanics this morning. It is owned by two guys who have been repairing all makes of vehicles since the '80s. For example, today I saw a 50s Bel Air and a late model M3.

I mentioned to them both that I was looking at buying a Dodge Durango. They looked at each other and raised their eyebrows, then proceeded to tell me that they would never recommend any Chrysler product, and have never worked on any Chrysler that was built worth a d*mn. Yikes.

Now, I realize this is the opinion of just two guys, and everyone has an opinion. But they have seen a lot of cars and trucks roll through their shop. The contended that anything that wears out on cars - suspension, etc. wear out significantly faster on Chryslers than any other vehicle. Transmissions, too. I mentioned the '14" have the ZF 8 speed, which they said should be a major improvement.

My question is, how has the reliability of your Durangos been overall, compared to the competition? Should I be leasing, only?

TIA.

 

[Durangutan]

My Gen 2 is a 2007 with right at 98k miles. I am not the original owner, but it has been considerably trouble free thus far in the 3 years I've owned it.

For the record, you will indeed find similar slagging of any model by consumers and mechanics, it just depends who you talk to. Word of mouth discussions like that you had are anecdotal, and have to be taken with a grain of salt. Can they say Mopar parts wear out much more quickly, then pull out spreadsheets and data reference guides from their own shop repairs that conclusively prove it? That's the point.

I am no fan of Chevy. I had 2 new ones and both were junk, and many have had similar posted experiences across the web. However, there are plenty of bowtie lovers that will tell you Chevy is far above the rest. Who to believe?

 

[Reppin'theD1013]

ehh. It all depends on who you talk to. No brand is perfect.

 

[Durangutan]

ehh. It all depends on who you talk to. No brand is perfect.

Yes, exactly that. OK, fine. You said what I said, but much more succinctly and efficiently.

 

[REDRUM]

The whole transmissions thing was like 15 years ago or more. People just latch onto one thing. I had a 2004 Cadillac DHS and all I ever heard was how bad the heads were and the head gaskets were gonna blow. All the head gasket problems were in the mid 90's Northstar engines. After that they were actually really good powerful engines. But people always remember the bad. Chrysler did have some problems with these currents tranny's at first but it seemed to mostly only be in the GC's and it was all software issues.

 

[Chase300]

Maybe they only see ones that haven't been maintained or beat on by owners?
My 2001 has 349,000 miles now, has been towing a 25'10" boat the last 3 yrs and many other boats both smaller and larger since I bought it in 2001.
Still OEM trans which has never been out of the truck.
Suspension repairs in that 349,000 has been lower control arm bushings, and upper ball joints, which were replaced on a recall.
Plus 1 steering rack in that 349,000.
I'll match my '01 record up against any vehicle out there from any make.

Now on the 2015..ask your mechanics what they think of a Mercedes ML/GL as that is what you're buying suspension wise/platform wise minus the interior/exterior panels, engine/trans.
But the Hemi has a excellent proven reliability record, the ZF 8HP70 trans is used by BMW/Audi/RR.
If they applaud Mercedes..then they don't know jack about Durango's.

 

[ppowell1983]

I had my car at my independent mechanics this morning. It is owned by two guys who have been repairing all makes of vehicles since the '80s. For example, today I saw a 50s Bel Air and a late model M3.

I mentioned to them both that I was looking at buying a Dodge Durango. They looked at each other and raised their eyebrows, then proceeded to tell me that they would never recommend any Chrysler product, and have never worked on any Chrysler that was built worth a d*mn. Yikes.

Now, I realize this is the opinion of just two guys, and everyone has an opinion. But they have seen a lot of cars and trucks roll through their shop. The contended that anything that wears out on cars - suspension, etc. wear out significantly faster on Chryslers than any other vehicle. Transmissions, too. I mentioned the '14" have the ZF 8 speed, which they said should be a major improvement.

My question is, how has the reliability of your Durangos been overall, compared to the competition? Should I be leasing, only?

TIA.

Ok, first, you came to a Durango forum to ask if they are bad vehicles. So understand that the opinions you get here are biased in favor of the Durango.

Now, that's out of the way, I have a 2014 Durango with 28,500 miles on it that I've owned for 1 year. I have not had any major issues that would make me question its quality. I have had Cadillacs and Lincolns and I can say this is a well put together vehicle. Generally better quality than vehicles that cost 75% to 100% more

 

[QuantizedKi]

I had a similar experience after my first Durango (a 2014) was totaled in an accident. A guy at the tow truck office just went on an absolute tirade on Dodge/Chrysler. Poor quality, poor reliability, this, that, etc. Many people have strong, negative feelings about domestic brands. And, to be fair, over the last 15 years there's no doubt that European and Japanese brands have done better in almost every aspect against domestics. But things have changed drastically over the last five years. Nissan and Honda have had huge problems. Toyota, obviously. Mercedes quality plummeted there for a while. Domestics have picked up their game.

Many people were surprised that I bought a Dodge over a Toyota/Honda/BMW/etc. So I just say... the highest rated and best looking 3 row SUV on the market seems like a pretty solid bet to me. Enjoy your Pilot

 

[Skippy426]

I've noticed that a lot, and I mean A LOT of people seem to really bash on the Mopars. Bad trans, poor quality, rust issues, paint issues, blah blah blah. My parents have a 2004 grand caravan that has been to hell and back, then to hell and back again with 2 teenage drivers and a general lack of maintainence other than oil changes every 5,000-10,000 miles, and it only started rusting 2 years ago and we are in NW Indiana. That damn van starts up every single time, and will drive through the worst weather without much complaint. Their 2007 caliber is still in damn near pristine condition, and they just bought a 2013 200.

Hell... I bought a 2011 Kia Forte Koup and at about 46,000 miles the trans started slipping real bad between drive and reverse. Almost rear ended someone because she decided she was going to reverse up a hill, and my car decided to be in neutral and roll forward 4 feet before slamming into reverse. After that I went back to my Dodge. Been way happier since. Grew up with Dodge vehicles, and they have always, ALWAYS been there for us.

 

[MWeed]

Every brand is known for something bad. Every mechanic has his/her favorite brands to pick on. Not one of them is really any worse than any other brand. Part of the problem is in after production support, of which Chrysler is one of the worst out there. Having said that I will buy more Chryslers in my future as I love them.

 

[11earl]

Every brand is known for something bad. Every mechanic has his/her favorite brands to pick on. Not one of them is really any worse than any other brand. Part of the problem is in after production support, of which Chrysler is one of the worst out there. Having said that I will buy more Chryslers in my future as I love them.

Thanks, everyone, for your helpful input.

There will be NO Pilot - only a Durango.

 

[Tony H]

I have been driving Dodge for 18 years for my company. Out of 7 vehicles only one was a real problem. It was a 98 Caravan that had a Mitsubishi drive train. In 100,000 miles it had 2 transmissions and a complete engine gasket set( because oil was leaking from everywhere). Otherwise, the other six were very dependable and trouble free. My D has been relatively trouble free as well.

 

[boomer775]

Opinions are like like cornholes, everyone's got one. I personally hadn't bought American in 15 years before I bought my Durango last year. So happy with it, I got another one 2 weeks ago. I will say from experience that the build quality isn't as good as the acuras I've owned, and the recalls are kind of annoying, but.... IT'S FUN TO DRIVE EVERY TIME I GET IN IT. I actually look forward to trips to Costco to get baby formula. How many people can say that?

 

[Doctorsti]

Nearly everyone I told I was getting a Durango had something negative to say. Even after I explained the platform origins, similar rigs, value, etc... They still said they would never get one. Many agreed it was very good looking.

What didn't help at all was my truck being recalled 4 days after purchase and in shop for 16 days. Then the news was buzzing about the Chrysler Hack.... Seriously bad timing.

Still have uneven doors and blue smoke on start up to address too.

I'm still defending my choice and overall when I drive it I'm happy but no denying its been a rough start.

 

[Crewsin']

My Gen 2 is a 2007 with right at 98k miles. I am not the original owner, but it has been considerably trouble free thus far in the 3 years I've owned it.

For the record, you will indeed find similar slagging of any model by consumers and mechanics, it just depends who you talk to. Word of mouth discussions like that you had are anecdotal, and have to be taken with a grain of salt. Can they say Mopar parts wear out much more quickly, then pull out spreadsheets and data reference guides from their own shop repairs that conclusively prove it? That's the point.

I am no fan of Chevy. I had 2 new ones and both were junk, and many have had similar posted experiences across the web. However, there are plenty of bowtie lovers that will tell you Chevy is far above the rest. Who to believe?

When I was active duty Air Force, at one point I was assigned the additional duty of being the Vehicle Control Officer for a Civil Engineer squadron. Over half of my fleet were leased trucks from GSA and I had the opportunity to drive them all: Chevys, Fords, and Dodge. If I were to rank those three based on reliability, comfort, and performance, it would be Ford, Dodge, and Chevy in that order. We rarely had issues with the Fords, but my Chevys always seemed to be going to the shop for one thing or another. Dodge was middle of the road, but way better than the Chevys. Before becoming a VCO, I never had much of a preference to a specific manufacturer, but after being VCO, I became a strident Ford guy. When Ford went aluminum, I tried the Durango and am very happy I did. :thumbsup:

 

[dbperry]

Mr. Crewsin' opinion (or the opinion of any manager of a diverse fleet) is better than any anecdotal story from an owner of a single vehicle. Statistics are very easy to misuse, misinterpret, and/or manipulate. I would like to make it a felony to have 'web polls' where people vote. Voting is the worst way of gathering statistical data.

I like looking at Consumer Reports and other publications for their statistics, which I'm more confident are better representations of the entire truth. Based on surveys of owners of previous vehicles, Consumer Reports predicts the reliability of every model of car versus 'average' reliability. Here is what they are predicting for 2015 models:

Durango: 12% worse than average
Ford Explorer: 16% worse than average
Chevy Traverse: 31% better than average
Honda Pilot: not enough data, new redesign
Toyota Highlander: 33% better than average

I would love if the Durango got a better grade, but close to average isn't enough to scare me or trouble me.

Dave

 

[Durangutan]

64% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

 

[boomer775]

64% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

Recent polls indicate that's only 43% true 23% of the time

 

[nemesis04]

My 2012 Durango is the first Dodge product I have owned. I currently have 61,000 miles on it and it has been one of the most trouble free vehicles I have ever owned. Getting ready to upgrade to another one soon!

 

[ppowell1983]

64% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

Recent polls indicate that's only 43% true 23% of the time

According to a survey done on an auto magazine some time ago, that I can't seem to find right now, red vehicles are 96.8% more reliable than black or white vehicles.

**white & black vehicle owners were disqualified from surveys, lack of objectivity sited as primary reason"