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Brakes · 12 owner reports

Other brake problem on the 2003 Dodge Durango

Reports of this failure 12
With an odometer reading 8
Reports per 1,000 built 0.2 per 1,000
Filed below 36,000 miles 75%
Mention a crash, fire or injury 0
Typical repair $300–$1,800
What it means when it happens High
Rank among this year's problems 10th

When other brake problem gets reported

Owners of the 2003 Dodge Durango report other brake problem at a median of 15,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 5,000 miles and a quarter after 35,000 miles, from 8 reports that carried an odometer reading.

A part like this is normally expected to survive 88,000 miles. It is the 10th most-reported problem on this model year.

The mileage distribution

The reported range runs from 200 miles at the tenth percentile to 110,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 107,789 miles across the middle 80% of reports.

When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.

75% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.

The whole distribution

Percentiles of the 8 odometer readings owners gave.
10th25thMedian 75th90th
211 miles 7,441 miles 13,500 miles 34,650 miles 108,000 miles

Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.

What a percentile can and cannot tell you here

These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.

What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.

Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.

What happens, and what it costs

Putting it right typically runs $300–$1,800 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.

The same failure on other years

The same failure is reported on 18 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2003, at a median of 15,000 miles, and latest on the 2006 at 105,000 miles.

By volume the 2011 carries the most reports, with 53; the 2003 has 12. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.

If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.

What owners wrote

Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.

2003 dodge durango - vibration occurred when braking. At approx. 11,000 miles dealer replaced all four brake rotors. Following replacement of rotors breaking capability decreased significantly. Vibration re-appeared at 24,000 miles. Front brake rotors replaced again. Now at 30,000 miles vibration has re-appeared. I took the durango to a local garage since dealer was saying no problem with braking capacity. Local garage indicates front rotors need turned again and also that rear brake calipers do not appear to be working. *nm

12,000 miles NHTSA complaint 516830 filed 2005-01-13

Vibration in front end of SUV. The vibration occurs when driving. Dealer states this is normal also vibrates when braking I am a service mgr. For farm dealership and deal with complaint everyday this is not normal problem with SUV but one that has been ongoing from the day the truck was bought and now dodge and the dealer do not wont to repair this problem it has been to the shop 3 time going to different dealer this also had new tire installed at dealers request at my cost and had the tire balanced three times the vehicle has app 15,000 miles on now it is 2003 durango. *nm

258 miles NHTSA complaint 517522 filed 2005-01-19

While driving vehicle was hopping when braking. First, at high speeds and now at any speed. Owner took the vehicle to the dealer, and was informed that the rotors were made of a different alloy which was not compatible to the brake pads, causing the rotors to warp. *ak

9,835 miles NHTSA complaint 524227 filed 2005-03-02

Also reported on the 2003 Dodge Durango

Other engine problem

36 reports median 70k

Other lighting problem

33 reports median 98k

Other electrical problem

28 reports median 99k

Other suspension problem

26 reports median 24k

Other body or interior problem

22 reports median 35k

How far this goes

Complaints are voluntary, so 12 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.

Questions this page answers

At what mileage does other brake problem happen on the 2003 Dodge Durango?

Across 8 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 15,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 5,000 miles and a quarter after 35,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.

How common is other brake problem on the 2003 Dodge Durango?

12 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.

What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars

Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed