2007 Dodge Nitro 4X2

Early-defect pattern

27.3% of complaints about the 2007 Dodge Nitro 4X2 came in its first year of service — a higher share than 98% of the 268 2007 model-years on record. That points to problems present from new rather than wear. The most-reported system is electrical system (37 complaints), typically at 5.4 yr or about 30,000 miles.

Complaints: 143
Median age at failure: 5.3 yr
Median mileage: 53,000 n=121
Crash / fire / tow: 7.7% of reports
Safety recalls: 1

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

06V341000 2006-09-07

Power train:automatic transmission

ON CERTAIN PASSENGER AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND PICKUP TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS, THE SOFTWARE PROGRAMMED INTO THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE CAN CAUSE A MOMENTARY LOCK UP OF THE DRIVE WHEELS IF THE VEHICLE IS TRAVELING OVER 40 MPH AND THE OPERATOR SHIFTS FROM DRIVE TO NEUTRAL AND BACK TO DRIVE.

IF THE DRIVE WHEELS LOCKED UP, LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL COULD OCCUR INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

In owners’ own words

Electrical system 5,900 mi 5 mo in service

MY DODGE NITRO HAS SHUT OFF TWICE WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION. THIS CAN BE A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS AND DEADLY SITUATION. AFTER READING THE DODGE NITRO FORUMS/BLOGS, THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM AND DEALERS ARE UNABLE TO FIND A PROBLEM. *NM

Electrical system 2,790 mi 5 mo in service

ON 2 SEPARATE OCCASIONS WHILE DRIVING BETWEEN 35 TO 50 MPH THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM JUST CEASED GENERATING POWER FOR ABOUT 5 SECONDS AND THEN ALL INSTRUMENT PANEL INDICATORS WOULD ILLUMINATE SIMULTANEOUSLY,ONLY FOR VEHICLE TO GAIN ELECTRICALLY POWER AND CONTINUE AS IF NOTHING EVER HAPPENED. *JB

Electrical system 7,010 mi 8 mo in service

THE CAR WILL DIE WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGH SPEEDS ON INTERSTATE. ALL DASHBOARD LIGHTS ILLUMINATED, AND THEN THE ENGINE CUT OFF AND THEN COME BACK ON. THE CAR WAS INOPERABLE WHILE THIS HAPPENED. *AK

Power train 7,500 mi 8 mo in service

AT 30MPH 2007 DODGE NITRO STALLS ,LOSS OF ALL POWER,ALL DASH INFO LIGHTS COME,SHIFT ONTO NEUTRAL TO RESTART

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2007 Dodge Nitro 4X2

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

How to read this