2012 Dodge Durango
The Verdict
The 2012 Dodge Durango has 636 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are electrical (268 complaints) and engine (222 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 18/100, it earns a "Total Klunk" rating. If you're shopping for a Dodge Durango, consider the 2025 model year which has 98% fewer complaints.
Safe Bet
The 2025 has 98% fewer complaints
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Klunk Score: Total Klunk
Among the most complained-about vehicle years on record. Strongly consider alternatives.
How is this calculated?
The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.
Recalls 2
Active safety recalls from NHTSA for this vehicle year.
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles manufactured September 17, 2010, to August 19, 2013, and equipped with a 3.6, 5.7 or 6.4 liter engine, a...
Risk
A vehicle stall increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump relay with one external to the TIPM. The recall began on August 7, 2015. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-...
Reported Apr 10, 2026
Chrysler Group LLC (Chrysler) is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles manufactured October 11, 2011, through October 1, 2012. Under certain braking...
Risk
If the driver experiences a hard brake pedal, the driver may not push the pedal as intended, lengthening the distance needed to stop the vehicle and increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will update the ABS module software, free of charge. The recall began on April 3, 2014. Owners may contact Chrysler at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number as...
Reported Apr 3, 2014
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Under the Hood
Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.
| Year | Body | Brakes | Electrical | Engine | Transmission |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 652 | 77 | 91 | 176 | 107 |
| 2001 | 336 | 50 | 120 | 75 | 99 |
| 2002 | 189 | 61 | 58 | 61 | 66 |
| 2003 | 144 | 31 | 88 | 56 | 18 |
| 2004 | 121 | 20 | 299 | 597 | 75 |
| 2005 | 119 | 14 | 197 | 1051 | 184 |
| 2006 | 52 | 22 | 123 | 607 | 42 |
| 2007 | 48 | 11 | 57 | 135 | 23 |
| 2008 | 19 | 0 | 29 | 46 | 2 |
| 2009 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 2 |
| 2011 | 34 | 69 | 370 | 289 | 34 |
| 2012 | 55 | 66 | 268 | 222 | 25 |
| 2013 | 116 | 65 | 237 | 193 | 27 |
| 2014 | 241 | 24 | 389 | 96 | 31 |
| 2015 | 141 | 6 | 264 | 58 | 32 |
| 2016 | 37 | 2 | 73 | 20 | 26 |
| 2017 | 35 | 6 | 109 | 40 | 19 |
| 2018 | 49 | 24 | 110 | 35 | 9 |
| 2019 | 22 | 22 | 56 | 31 | 7 |
| 2020 | 13 | 3 | 26 | 8 | 3 |
| 2021 | 45 | 7 | 97 | 28 | 5 |
| 2022 | 6 | 3 | 27 | 14 | 3 |
| 2023 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 9 | 3 |
| 2024 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 2025 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
By Category
By Severity
Worst Problems
Complaints
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2012 Dodge Durango. The contact discovered a mileage discrepancy after the purchase. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the mileage was 96,000. A Carfax Report was provided at the time of purchase. It was later discovered that the mileage on the Title was 162,000 when the vehicle was taken to the dealer for an engine issue, and upon receiving the Carfax Report.
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, the check engine warning light illuminated. Approximately three weeks later, while stopped at a light, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly. The gear shifter was shifted to park(P) to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and it was determined that the timing chain was blown. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was subsequently taken to an independent mechanic on several occasions, where it was diagnosed and determined that there were failures with Oxygen sensors, head gaskets, oil pan, oil pump, B2S1 heater, that the intake manifold was cracked, there was cylinder #2 misfire, and the circuit harness needed to be repaired, and DTC: P0300 was retrieved. The vehicle was repaired each time, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 190,000.
Alternator went out and fried the pcm. I know certain vehicles were on the recall for this and mine was not one of them but odd that it happened anyways.
I took my Durango to Albany ga to dodge dealership for recall on brake booster water shield repair plus the other recall they fixed one recall and say they can't fix brake booster recall cause they say they will not have part available til a year later which I have concerns about my safety of recall not being repaired for a whole year
The contact owned a 2012 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact opened the door and noticed that the interior of the vehicle was completely burned. The vehicle was unoccupied. The contact stated the exterior of the vehicle had no signs of fire. The vehicle was towed to the local tow yard. The vehicle was condemned as a total loss. In addition, the contact stated that prior to the failure, there was an unknown warning light illuminated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V879000 (Electrical System, Interior Lighting), which had a similar failure description; however the VIN was not associated with the recall. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline and report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 186,488.
Has major issues …
There have been several times where I am stopped at a light or stop sign and the car stalls. It happens when I try to start going from the stop, not while I'm stopped. I believe this an issue that has been recalled already, but obviously, it did not fix the problem. My vehicle will also not turn over sometimes. It just continually try to turn over multiple times and I have to wait for it to stop on its own before I can try again.
My vehicle has had recalls performed multiple times since 1st purchased in 2012. The issue was vehicle stalling. At 1st Chrysler / Dodge addressed it as issues upon start up where the vehicle sounded as though it was skipping when hitting the ignition button. They attempted to remedy this with multiple fuel pump relay recalls. They attempted to do internal which did not work. They then went external which also did not work. Nothing was ever formerly recognized as a suitable resolution, so any of us dealing with this were just forgotten. Well I still have this vehicle and it has gotten worse to the point the vehicle will randomly stall while in motion as it did the other day and on multiple other occasions. Under braking conditions the vehicle stalls where everything on the dash appears normal electronically, there is just no power and the steering locks up. I have addressed this multiple times with Dodge customer service as well as my local dealership. The dealership does not want to attempt any repairs because they want to be paid and the manufacturer is not entertaining it. I am aware the vehicle is out of warranty but I am not paying for something the manufacturer has known about since first purchased. There has been no further actions by the manufacturer to address this. They have moved on to newer existing Durango models.
Electric problem
While driving our 2012 Dodge Durango in town, we noticed the battery warning light come on and a hot smell coming from the vehicle. We were not far from home so we limped it back home to the garage to see what was going on. When we lifted the hood, there was a very overwhelming burning smell, our alternator was literally glowing red hot, and there was smoke pouring out from around it. We quickly put out the fire and disconnected the battery. Afterwards, we had it towed to a repair shop where it was confirmed the alternator failed as well as fried our PCM in the process. We paid for the install of a new alternator and PCM, however, the radio remained failed. Upon researching this scenario, we found there was a recall for this exact issue for the exact span of years and engine type, however, our VIN was somehow not included in this recall. That needs to be changed. The alternator issue could have been extremely dangerous for our family while in the car, as well as others around us due to what could have happened if the card didn’t make it home. We could have been stranded on a busy road way causing accidents while the car was engulfed in flames due to the alternator. Also, had we not immediately popped the hood at home to check the engine, the car could have burned down our home. We request that the NHTSA and FCA recall company address this issue and the potential for extending the recall to include other Durango VINs.
SRS System light came on. Air bags will not work when this light is on. Safety hazard.
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Durango. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would intermittently stall upon depression of the accelerator pedal without warning. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it remained in their possession for four days; the contact was later informed that the defect was related to the battery. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V813000 (Electrical System) which was linked to the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.
My fairly new teen driver drove the car to the gym and the headrest basically “exploded” onto the back of his head with a swift blow. He had a very bad headache and was really freaked out. There were no lights, no notice, no impact. Just out of the blue drivers side. Called local dealership to see what it could be and apparently the pin can break or the plastic holding the pin and the airbag restraint type system in the headrest will just explode open as if in an accident. He said no recalls and out of warranty. How can this NOT be a serious safety issue??? My inexperienced teen driver could have been so stunned he caused an accident! Anyways they said it would be roughly $1100 to replace entire headrest because there is no option to repair it once deployed. Can we still drive it? If we don’t have that $ now
Headrest exploded while I was driving. Hit me in the head. Gave me a concussion. Dealership says there is no recall. I have to pay out of pocket. This is a safety feature. I am not paying for the repairs.
While picking my son up from religion my vehicle suddenly stalled without warning. Thankfully I was pulling into the church parking lot and was in no real danger. I tried to jump start the vehicle with no success, but did notice the insulation on the jumper cables had started to melt. Towed to mechanic and was told the alternator had failed, in turn fried the battery. He replaced both, but then discovered the PCM was fried as well. Took it to the dealer here and was told faulty alternator again, which was replaced again, only to be told the PCM was fried. Now I'm into this for $3000 and I have no faith in the vehicle, the manufacturer, or the dealerships.
The 2014 through 2018 3.6L Pentastar motors are covered under a tech service bulletin for their Drivers side valve train being manufactured incorrectly. This can lead to a misfire and hesitation to accelerate in an Emergency. This happened to me recently and I thought it was just a bad spark plug. Mechanic did a full check and believes there is a stuck valve in the engine on the exact same side that the 2014 to 2018 motors are prone to failure. I believe the 2012 and 2013 Engines are also prone to the same failures as their newer counter parts. As I was trying to accelerate to avoid an incident my car stuttered and started to misfire badly. Almost causing a collision. This happened without warning and never previously had this issue. Vehicle was completely mechanically sound before this. This can happen without any warning or signs its going to happen. And after bringing the vehicle to a mechanic and doing much of my own research it appears that the drivers side of the 3.6L v6 in my vehicle is currently under a TSB for the #2,4,6 cylinder head. This can cause the vehicle to have no power for a moment which if I were merging onto the highway and lacked powered could result in a rear end collision. Believe this is a safety issue as well as mechanical issue.
I bought this vehicle second hand and was not warned of any recalls. I started having problems in April of 2023. Windshield wipers would turn on by themself, car would randomly shut off. I brought to several shops and nobody could figure out why it was reading “high voltage”. The car then started having occasional problems shifting. I eventually got on MOPAR website to be made aware there were 3 recalls and alternator was one of them. I called musson patout dodge in new Iberia, LA and made an appointment to fix my car. On the morning of our appointment the car died in the road on the way to dodge and wouldn’t restart without a jump. I brought it in and over the son of 3 days the fixed all the recalls. On my way to pick it up they called and made me aware it would need a new battery I told them I will go replace it as soon as I get the car. Since I picked up the car the shifting problems have not stopped. I have had a code reading “implausible data from tcm”. I have had a mechanic TELL me this recalled alternator going out is what cause this tcm to go out and Musson REFUSES to take it in and even diagnose it without over $170 that I don’t have to spend anymore. This is consequential damage that dodge should be held liable for and they are giving me the most difficult time, it’s my only vehicle for me and my 2 kids and I cant even drive it anymore.
When i am driving around out of nowhere it will try to go into Low range when it is in auto Awd and low light will flicker on the dashboard
Engine stops after 2-3 seconds of running. Need to turn off and try again. Happens randomly at startup.
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Durango. The contact stated while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the vehicle lost power steering functionality when the failure occurred. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after placing the vehicle in park(P). The contact stated no warning lights were illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle had been repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
636 total