2011 Dodge Durango
Complaints about this year name alternator far more often than the other years of this generation — 22% of them, about 54× the usual rate of 0.4%.
First year of a new generation. The Dodge Durango was redesigned for 2011. A first year carries problems nobody has found yet, and they are found by the people who buy it — which is worth knowing before you become one of them.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 797 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 160 |
| Involving a crash | 15 |
| Involving a fire | 57 |
| Recalls | 8 |
| EPA combined | 17 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- alternator — 32.9% of this year's complaints, against 10.2% across the other years of this generation (3.2×). Owners wrote it as: alternator, battery, smoke, hood.
- start — 29.9% of this year's complaints, against 9.3% across the other years of this generation (3.2×).
- tipm — 31.7% of this year's complaints, against 12.4% across the other years of this generation (2.6×). Owners wrote it as: tipm, starting, integrated, power module.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- tipm — 17% of complaints, 29× usual
- electrical system — 18% of complaints, 14× usual
- start — 30% of complaints, 3× usual
What owners wrote
THE VEHICLE HESITATED TO START. ONCE IT STARTED, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY SHUT OFF. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE TIPM WAS DEFECTIVE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE [VIN] WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE, BUT NO ASSISTANCE WAS OFFERED. THE CONTACT…
WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MPH, ALL THE ELECTRICAL FUNCTION OF THE VEHICLE FAILED. THE VEHICLE CAME TO A COMPLETED STOP AND FAILED TO RESTART. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER, WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ALTERNATOR FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VI…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 17V435000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 17V572000 SERVICE BRAKES Fixed free of charge.
- 14V154000 SERVICE BRAKES Fixed free of charge.
- 14V391000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 15V879000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 14V530000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 14V634000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 19V813000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
How this was worked out
Every year of the Dodge Durango was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2011 Dodge Durango? What happened to yours?
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