As Dodge’s largest SUV, the Durango has the bold styling of its siblings, the Charger and the Challenger. You can even opt for the Dodge Hemi V8 engine if the standard V6 isn’t enough of a beast for you. This Dodge Durango feels like a muscle car, yet it has enough utility to transport people and cargo easily. But, because it’s a Dodge, you might wonder just how reliable the Durango is.

What is the reliability of a Dodge Durango?

Over the years, the Dodge Durango has gotten a reputation for low reliability. Last year, the brand ranked at the back of reliable car brands. Although the automaker has been redeeming itself, Kelley Blue Book gave it average scores for 2020. The story for the 2020 Durango has not changed much over the years, landing in the back of the pack more often than not.

The most common trouble spots reported by owners for the 2018 model were the SUV’s in-car electronics, which rated a one out of five. Minor transmission problems, body hardware, and power equipment had ratings that rated two out of five. Our takeaway from this information is that the Durango has had a history of problems with reliability.

Is Dodge’s low reliability only limited to the Durango?

To find out if reliability is just a Durango problem, it might help to look at the Dodge Journey, the smaller SUV in the Dodge lineup. The 2020 model has not yet been tested. The 2019 model has an average reliability rating. This is not just because of reliability problems but also due to safety issues and low owner satisfaction. Still, the Journey’s predicted reliability score for both years is unimpressive at two out of five. 

Among the trouble spots, those rated as the worst were those related to major and minor engine problems. Major transmission trouble spots were placed as the least problematic, but minor trouble spots were also rated as the worst, as with the Durango.

The drive system was rated second to worst among trouble spots. The electric and climate systems, brakes, and body integrity had the worst rating. And like the Durango, the Journey’s in-car electronics had the lowest rating. So, it looks as if the midsize SUV might not be an outlier where the reliability of Dodge’s cars is concerned. The Journey’s reliability is at least as bad, if not worse.

The final verdict on the Dodge Durango

While not flat-out terrible, the Dodge Durango comes up short on reliability. For the 2020 model year, experts give it a low score for predicted reliability and low scores for overall predictability in earlier model years. To add to the Durango’s low reliability, owners have reported numerous trouble spots over the past few years. Some of them, such as power equipment and in-car electronics, have persisted.

A comparison of the Durango’s reliability to another Dodge SUV, the smaller Journey, has revealed that the latter shares many of the same reliability issues. Comparing the Durango to its platform-mate, the Jeep Cherokee seems to hint that reliability might be more of a Dodge issue and not necessarily one for FCA.