Ive been looking at Durangos for about 6 months now and my 200,000 mile Vue is slowing giving up so now I am ready to buy. This truck seems to fit my growing family and can tow more than what I need all at a pretty decent price. A suv with a 3rd row that can tow 4,000+ pounds is hard to find! Chevy and ford trucks never really appealed to me. And they're more expensive!

I found a 2012 RT 32,000 miles 5.7 Hemi with I believe the 8 speed? It's got 2nd row captain chairs and is pretty loaded. Can anyone help me out here and tell me what to expect with these trucks? Maintenance costs, typical failures etc? It has everything I am looking for, looks and drives great. Reliability is pretty important here.

8 years and 165,000 miles I have yet to replace any major parts on my Vue. I bought it used. Brakes belts and fluids, and a few suspension parts but thats it. Not even a starter or alternator. Tall order here, but im spending $30,000 I should not have to put money into it for a long time.

This will be my first Dodge and my first real truck. Should I join the family? Help me out here folks!

 

6 speed.

 

Ah, 6 speed it is. I heard 8 speed in there somewhere.

 

8 speeds started in 14'


I love mine. Tows great, holds the whole family.

 

Jimmy, these are pretty dependable vehicles other than a couple of things. The TIPM has been known to fail due to the fuse pump relay not being adequate. Chrysler has issued a TSB fix for these if yours hasn't already been repaired. That could "ground you" if it fails. I had a cracked radiator replaced in my 13 and I think a few others here had the same issue. Also check your rear shocks for any oil leaks. Have read of many failures with these although I hear more of this with the '14 models. Some early alternator failures too.

 

There are some notable service bulletins to have done while under warranty. A Jeep GC forum has a decent list, many of which apply to the Durango. One that I got improves shift points on the transmission, another fixes "fishbite", and another replaced the oil pan to eliminate blue smoke when starting after being parked uphill. This helped mine, others are not satisfied. When they did mine, they discovered a faulty rack and replaced that too.

As mentioned the TIPM is a concern, but I haven't got the recall notice for my 2012 yet. Also had a recall for possible rust on the brake booster, and another for faulty wiring on passenger visor light. If you have AWD, some of us have had instances where you're driving along and it tells you it can't shift into 4WD low at high speeds. Good information, but didn't try to. A service bulletin reduced this, but just happened to me again. I firmly turn it clockwise and that seems to make it happy. Others have reported other electrical glitches, no different than any nerwer vehicle.