2016-2017 Dodge Durango RT

mantis
mantis Posts: 17,032
What's up guys,
I've been driving Nissan Pathfinders and Murano's for over 11 years now. My first one 2005 was incredible. Then I got a 2008 and it was even better. The economy thing went down and I was looking to get a vehicle that got better gas mileage so a 2011 Murano was had.
Then in 2014 I got a new designed Pathfinder. To me the truck is nice but not for me. I actually been hating on it since a few months after I got it. I compared it to the 2008 I had and it doesn't compare.
Yes the interior is nicer but thats about it. The entire vehicle feels like a larger poorer Murano. It is not a truck anymore so all manhood was left back in 2012 when they made the last real Pathfinder.
Nissan is coming out with a new designed Pathfinder but from what I learned it's still a Whimpy crappy front wheel drive first then all wheel drive when necessary.
I decided that I need a more MAN's ride and started to consider other brands.
Enter the Dodge Durango RT. I looked at them and started to really like the body style, interior and options they come with. Then I learned they made a RT version with a HEMI. 360 HP and rear wheel drive first then all wheel second when needed. I'M IN!!!
I test drove one and man it drive great. It handles more like a sports car then a truck. The suspension on the RT feels very different then the Limited I drove first which had a 295HP V6. That engine felt pretty good but didn't have the HEMI growl. It felt maybe a tad faster or the same as my Pathfinder but the RT was in a different class in feel and sound.

My question to you guys is do any of you own the current version of the Durango? Are there any service issues I need to worry about? Not that I really care much about that as I lease at 36 months but something tells me I might keep this one and buy it at the end of my lease IF I fell in love with it.
Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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Comments

  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,902
    Have no comments as to the reliability of the Durango, but since your leasing it shouldn't be a worry. However, if your state is like mine, and you wind up buying after the lease is up, you have to pay the tax twice on it which doesn't make it a good option.

    Here in Illinois, when you lease a vehicle, you pay the sales tax. On a 40k truck, that's roughly 4k, and you don't own it. If you want to buy it at the end of the lease, you get an inflated blue book value and pay tax again.
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  • Dabutcher
    Dabutcher Posts: 2,588
    Here in Minnesota. Reliability and rusting plague the Durango and Ram trucks. Since you are leasing these two should not be issues. I have been guessing that up here the Rams are showing rust around rear wheels before they are even payed off. I do not know about fuel economy on either of them. I do know the large model Tundras I want to buy get between 13-17 miles per gallon. Which is a trade off I am willing to try out after driving a Sienna for the last ten years and getting 20-22. Good luck. D
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  • charley95
    charley95 Posts: 908
    No offense here but you'll be glad when the lease is up. The last thing you want is a Dodge after the warranty is over. I've owned Detroit cars all my life till 2 yrs. ago when I bought a used Lexus RX 350 with 6k miles on it. I've been back to the dealer only once for a minor warranty repair since I bought it. I would recommend looking at Honda,Toyota or Lexus.
  • Msabot1
    Msabot1 Posts: 2,098
    I know how you feel about Pathfinders..Bought my first one back in 87... Five speed manual tranny..that truck could go darn near anywhere off road..very good street vehicle too..Traded it in on an 89 model...looked pretty much the same,but you could tell they were beginning to change..trying to attract the yuppie market..Every person that I know that have had a Durango have had more than one issue usually transmission related..not an inexpensive fix either...

  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    Personally, I'd look at a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited with the V8 over the Dodge. I don't consider any three row SUV to be a vehicle properly marketed towards the male psyche. I had a Grand Cherokee Summit with the V8 for four years until the traditional Fiat-Chrysler "falling apart" cosmetic stuff started to happen. It was mechanically sound throughout, except for the half dozen safety recalls for mechanical and engineering defects.
  • motorhead43026
    motorhead43026 Posts: 3,892
    I would personally never own a Dodge product. I work to hard for my money.
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,477
    Two things.

    1. Dodges will never get the gas mileage listed on the paper it will be far worse.
    2. Rust bucket

    I once paused the TV screen on a Dodge commercial and read the fine print about the mileage...it stated on highway @45mph so take that into consideration.

    A good friend has owned about 6 of them tranny issues and corrosion were a problem with all of them I do not know why he keeps going back.
    I wouldn't own them past the warranty period
  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    DSkip wrote: »
    Sorry you aren't enjoying the new pathfinder. I have a 2013 jx35 and love it, but it suits my needs well. I can definitely see where you wouldn't like it if you have driven previous models of pathfinders. Other than it just not being you, have you had any reliability issues?

    The Toyota 4Runner or Jeep Wrangler would be my two options for you.
    Yeah a few things.
    1) The body alignment of the entire vehicle needed to be adjusted. The Doors rear hatch and Hood where all slightly out of alignment.
    2) The Trim at the bottom corners of the windshield came loose, they had to be repaired.
    3) The entire rug in the inside had to be replaced when I got it as it was cut wrong and this wasn't caught on new car inspection.
    4) The Transmission now that I hit 20k on it does some weird stuff. It jerks badly at 20mph when you going slow or 15 in a school zone. I had them refresh the computer as they felt thats all it needed but it didn't fix the issue so I'm out.
    5) The Molding around the Passengers side door started to peel away. So they had to fix that as well.

    This is more issues then I have had with all the Nissans combined. I have owned
    1) 1990 Nissan Maxima
    2) 2001 Nissan Xterra
    3) 2005 Nissan Pathfinder
    4) 2008 Nissan Pathfinder
    5) 2011 Nissan Murano
    6) and now the Terd of the bunch 2014 Nissan Pathfinder.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    edited July 2016
    As a service advisor for a large dealer here in CA, my advice is run for the hills. Don't even think about buying one.

    I have driven the new Jaguar F-Pace a few times now, and this is tops on my list for an SUV.... about the same pricing too.
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    As a service advisor for a large dealer here in CA, my advice is run for the hills. Don't even think about buying one.

    I have driven the new Jaguar F-Pace a few times now, and this is tops on my list for an SUV.... about the same pricing too.
    What kind of dealer?
    So basically no one thinks it's a good Idea to go Dodge today? I haven't owned an American car or truck in decades. My wife got a 2015 Jeep Renagage and it's been good so far.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    mantis wrote: »
    As a service advisor for a large dealer here in CA, my advice is run for the hills. Don't even think about buying one.

    I have driven the new Jaguar F-Pace a few times now, and this is tops on my list for an SUV.... about the same pricing too.
    What kind of dealer?
    So basically no one thinks it's a good Idea to go Dodge today? I haven't owned an American car or truck in decades. My wife got a 2015 Jeep Renagage and it's been good so far.

    Chrysler jeep dodge and ram....
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    Dan, I owned a Dodge and now a Chrysler. Both excellent. I got 300,000 out of the Dodge before I traded it in, the engine still ran great and didn't burn any oil. Years ago I had a Toyota, which I wish I never bought. Had a number of issues it shouldn't have including a blown head gasket. It eventually turned into a rust bucket....never again.

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  • Dennis Gardner
    Dennis Gardner Posts: 4,860
    You don't keep cars long enough to worry about it too much. Buy what you want and enjoy. My 12 year old hemi is still kicking in my Ram 1500 with very few issues.
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    Wow thanks guys. I guess no one in here has a new Durango LOL.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    edited July 2016
    I had a Ram go into a buyback because the only thing holding the transmission to the engine was the flywheel cover. the factory forgot all the other bolts! And a Durango go to buyback because the factory forgot to secure the trans cooler lines...
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  • Thorton
    Thorton Posts: 1,324
    I had a 2011 Durango Citadel. Put close to 90,000 miles on it and only changed the tires. No problems. I bought a 2015 and have 25,000 miles on it. No problems. My brother has a 2012 and he has also had no problems. I love this vehicle. It drives freakin awesome with the hemi and it has a very comfortable ride going on long trips.
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    nbrowser wrote: »
    mantis wrote: »
    Wow thanks guys. I guess no one in here has a new Durango LOL.

    If you think the QC of your current Pathfinder isn't up to snuff, talk to either nooshinjohn or myself. He's indicated his pedigree with his job, I'm a mechanic who routinely does lift kits to brand new Ram trucks and other mods on the Durango SUVs, let's just say with what I've seen I won't be buying anything from Chrysler/FIAT for a long long time.
    Gotcha

    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    I had a Ram go into a buyback because the only thing holding the transmission to the engine was the flywheel cover. the factory forgot all the other bolts! And a Durango go to buyback because the factory forgot to secure the trans cooler lines...


    I'd love to know how a major company like Dodge can let things like this happen. Just a few years ago the Major companies where damn going out of business and looking at the government to bail them out. You would think quality control would be held in very high reguard.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
  • rpf65
    rpf65 Posts: 2,127


    I'd love to know how a major company like Dodge can let things like this happen. Just a few years ago the Major companies where damn going out of business and looking at the government to bail them out. You would think quality control would be held in very high reguard.[/quote]

    Why would you think Chrysler or GM would care about quality control if they know the government will more than likely bail them out again?
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    Dodge isn't a company. Fiat-Chrysler is.
  • motorhead43026
    motorhead43026 Posts: 3,892
    Although they make very good V8 engines I don't think you can use over all quality and Chrysler or any of its divisions past or present in the same sentence. Then you throw Fiat into the mix and we all know Fiat translates to POO in Italian.
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    Other; M10 series II, M7C's, Hafler XL600 amp, RB-980BX, Parasound HCA-1500 amp , P5 preamp, all in storage. All vintage Polk have had crossover rebuilds and tweeter upgrades.

    The best way to predict the future is to invent it.

    It is imperative that we recognize that an opinion is not a fact.

    Imagine making politics your entire personality.
  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    mantis wrote: »
    I'd love to know how a major company like Dodge can let things like this happen. Just a few years ago the Major companies where damn going out of business and looking at the government to bail them out. You would think quality control would be held in very high reguard.

    In my personal experience it's both engineering and build quality and this goes back to the early 1980s. Nothing has really changed for the better when Fiat-Chrysler products are compared to other manufacturers. They still experience the occasional engine casting residue not being cleared from the engine block which happened in the 1980s too. The Durango/Grand Cherokee platform had 7 different safety recalls from the 2012 model year. Looking at competitors and it's more like 1 or 2 in the same vehicle price range. The most significant safety recall was on the "Totally Integrated Power Module" which on some vehicles would go bad and shut off the fuel pump and electrical power while the vehicle was travelling at highway speed. Chrysler's solution was not to fix the TIPM but to bypass it so the fuel pump relay was separated from the rest of the module. I personally did not experience any mechanical problems on my 2012 Grand Cherokee, but I did get the safety recalls taken care of right away.

  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    charley95 wrote: »
    No offense here but you'll be glad when the lease is up. The last thing you want is a Dodge after the warranty is over. I've owned Detroit cars all my life till 2 yrs. ago when I bought a used Lexus RX 350 with 6k miles on it. I've been back to the dealer only once for a minor warranty repair since I bought it. I would recommend looking at Honda,Toyota or Lexus.
    I hear you on this. I also moved away from Detroit vehicles in favor of German and Japanese. I really haven't had any issues with any of them until I got my 2014 Pathfinder SV. Nissan decided to take the MAN out of the Pathfinder and make it a Soccer mom's version of a SUV. I thought I could be cool with it coming out of a Murano but I've been disappointed the entire time owning it.
    It's really more about having something that I can feel good driving instead of just working about gas mileage which now it's around $219 or less who really cares about that now? I don't and is another reason I wanted to get something with some power.
    After Driving the Durango RT I'm pretty hooked. The growl of that engine leaves you wanting more and more. I don't know of any other SUV thats going to be as fun to drive as that one especially the engine noise. I'm sure there are plenty that are faster but Sound??? Come on who doesn't love the way a HEMI sounds?
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
  • gudnoyez
    gudnoyez Posts: 8,056
    It's a 36 month lease drive that hemi, whenwhen the lease is up give it back, you lose money anyways if you buy a lease. I would not worry one bit the warranty will be covered during your lease anyways. I must admit round these parts they do rust pretty fast, but once again it's a 3 year lease.
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  • shawn474
    shawn474 Posts: 3,047
    I had a nissan titan - beast of a truck but had every major part replaced under warranty. It hit 100k miles and the abs module went out (again). Looked around for a long time and ended up with a 2014 Toyota 4 runner [with a 3rd row and I am male with 2 kids.....;-)]. I have 29k miles on it, it gets over 19 mpg as a daily driver, is comfortable, and tows well when I need it to. I have been extremely happy with the purchase. They don't make a v8 anymore but that was secondary to my needs. YMMV
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    What I probably should do is buy a used Van for all my moving crap around or a Pickup truck and get an Audi S5.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    1. My son-in-law's Tundra has a pretty throaty growl; just sayin'.

    2. How long do y'all expect gas to be $2-ish per gallon? I have a funny feeling that by the first of the year it will be rather more expensive (no matter what happens in November -- and I am not referring to the American Thanksgiving holiday).

    But, yeah, if you like a Durango, buy (or lease) a Durango. Why the heck not!?

  • motorhead43026
    motorhead43026 Posts: 3,892
    I am going to wait a couple years and buy a truck. Gas is due for a huge spike in the next 24 months. Just like 2008 the lots will be busting at the seems with SUV's and pickup trucks. Not to mention car loans now are pretty much what the mortgage loans mess was.
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    Other; M10 series II, M7C's, Hafler XL600 amp, RB-980BX, Parasound HCA-1500 amp , P5 preamp, all in storage. All vintage Polk have had crossover rebuilds and tweeter upgrades.

    The best way to predict the future is to invent it.

    It is imperative that we recognize that an opinion is not a fact.

    Imagine making politics your entire personality.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    heh -- car loans... funny you should mention that :-P
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    isnt' it funny that I can borrow money cheaper (to me, bottom line) than I can spend my own. Speaking of "car loans now... pretty much what the mortgage loans mess was"!?

    I thought that the car loan industry had gotten much more circumspect vis-a-vis how they loaned money after the aforementioned mortgage debacle :-P