Dodge Durango, Charger and the Chrysler minivans: the TIPM years and the nine-speed years

Between 2011 and 2020 the Dodge and Chrysler large cars — the Durango, the Charger, the Grand Caravan, the Town and Country and their successors — went through two distinct bad patches. The first was electrical and hit the 2011 to 2014 cars. The second was a transmission and hit the 2015 to 2018 cars that received it. Neither is a reason to avoid the brands; both are reasons to check the year.

The Totally Integrated Power Module, 2011 to 2014

Chrysler's cars of this period route most of their electrical functions through a single fuse-and-relay box under the bonnet, the Totally Integrated Power Module, which contains the fuel-pump relay. When the relay fails the engine stalls or will not start; when the module's other circuits fail, the lights, wipers, horn and air-bag warning behave unpredictably. The federal regulator opened an investigation in 2014 and Chrysler recalled the 2011 to 2013 Durango and Grand Cherokee, and later other models, to add an external relay. Alongside it, the early Pentastar 3.6-litre V6 had a cylinder-head failure that Chrysler covered with a warranty extension.

On this site the 2011 to 2014 Durango scores between 27 and 49, and the 2011 and 2012 Charger 28 and 25 — the worst years either nameplate has on record. The Grand Caravan and Town and Country of the same years, on a different platform, carry a milder version and score in the 70s.

The recovery, 2015 onward

From 2015 the Charger and from 2016 the Durango have the eight-speed automatic across the range, a redesigned electrical architecture and a matured Pentastar, and the record turns immediately. The 2015 to 2019 Charger scores between 70 and 81 and the 2020 to 2023 cars between 88 and 92 — unusual figures for a large rear-drive performance saloon. The 2016 to 2020 Durango scores between 66 and 90, and the 2020 and 2023 to 2025 cars above 90. These are among the best-scoring American cars on the site, and they are cheap.

The nine-speed, 2015 to 2018

The second bad patch belongs to the cars that received the ZF nine-speed automatic. The Chrysler 200 got it for its 2015 redesign and that model year carries 1,983 complaints and a score of 28 — harsh shifts, hesitation, loss of drive, and two recalls for the transmission's wiring and software. The 2016 car scores 78 and the 2017 car 92, but Chrysler ended the 200 that year. The Pacifica minivan launched for 2017 with the same transmission and a new electrical architecture and carries 1,497 complaints with a score of 26; the 2018 car scores 28, the 2019 car 70 and the 2020 car 80. The plug-in hybrid Pacifica has its own recall history, including one for battery fire risk.

The Grand Caravan and Town and Country kept the older six-speed to the end and avoided the nine-speed entirely. Their record from 2015 to 2020 is one of the quiet ones — the Grand Caravan scores 87 in 2015 and between 68 and 95 from 2017 to 2020 — with the single exception of the 2016 Grand Caravan, which carries 1,155 complaints for reasons the record attributes to the transmission and the air conditioning. The Town and Country's last year, 2016, scores 77.

What to check

On a 2011 to 2014 Durango or Charger: confirm at nhtsa.gov/recalls that the power-module relay recall is complete, and on the test drive, switch everything electrical on at once and watch for anything that flickers. On a 2015 Chrysler 200 or 2017 to 2018 Pacifica: ask for the transmission software campaign history and drive it from cold. On any Pentastar V6 from 2011 to 2013: ask whether the cylinder head has been replaced.

Summary

Buy: Charger 2015 onward, Durango 2016 onward, Grand Caravan 2017 to 2020, Pacifica 2019 onward. Avoid: Durango and Charger 2011 to 2014, Chrysler 200 2015, Pacifica 2017 to 2018, Grand Caravan 2016.