Plymouth Duster: problems, complaints, bulletins

Summary for the Plymouth Duster across 3 model years: 19 owner complaints and 0 NHTSA service bulletins, plus repair videos. Pick a year for details.

Model years

Year	Owner complaints	involving a crash
1994	5	1
1993	12	3
1992	2	1

What fails most often

1 Engine and cooling 32% of all complaints
2 Air bags 21% of all complaints
3 Service brakes 16% of all complaints
4 Powertrain 11% of all complaints
5 Seat belts 11% of all complaints
6 Suspension 11% of all complaints
7 Vehicle speed control 11% of all complaints
8 Electrical system 5% of all complaints

Circle size and colour show each component’s share of NHTSA complaints. Schematic only, not a drawing of the exact model.

Engine and cooling: 6 complaints (32% of all).
Air bags: 4 complaints (21% of all), 4 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Service brakes: 3 complaints (16% of all).
Powertrain: 2 complaints (11% of all).
Seat belts: 2 complaints (11% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.

Symptoms owners describe

How many of the 19 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).

transmission slipping2 · 11%
smoke, burning smell, fire2 · 11%
seat belts2 · 11%
vibration1 · 5%
unintended acceleration1 · 5%
overheating, coolant loss1 · 5%
oil leak or consumption1 · 5%
headlights and tail lights1 · 5%
fuel system, fuel smell1 · 5%
brake failure1 · 5%

Components owners complain about

Component	Owner complaints	involving a crash
Engine and cooling	6	0
Air bags	4	4
Service brakes	3	0
Powertrain	2	0
Seat belts	2	2
Suspension	2	0
Vehicle speed control	2	0
Electrical system	1	0
Fuel system	1	1
Seats	1	0

What owners report

Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.

No deployment of air bag during collision (head on), seat belts in the rear failed. Dup of 532600.
Air bags · 1993 · crash · 1998-10-14 · NHTSA complaint #526819
Seat belt broke during accident. 526819 dup 0f 532600; posted on 09-07-1999.
Air bags · 1993 · crash · 1998-04-07 · NHTSA complaint #532600
In an accident the car caught on fire due to possible fuel leakage on hot manifold, the driver was trapped and died while yelling for help.
Fuel system · 1994 · crash · 1997-07-22 · NHTSA complaint #813078
Vehicle was involved in a frontal impact at the driver's side while traveling 35mph and there was no deployment of driver's airbag.
Air bags · 1993 · crash · 1996-12-04 · NHTSA complaint #805902
Consumer was in a crash and the driver's side air bag didn't deploy. Please describe.
Air bags · 1992 · crash · 1996-11-26 · NHTSA complaint #805635
Engine head gasket overheated. Also consumer 's car failed inspection because the carbon monoxide through the exhaust system.
Engine and cooling · 1994 · 1999-09-13 · NHTSA complaint #847609

When owners complained

NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.

19967
19976
19984
19992

What to check before buying

Engine and cooling. Radiator and fan after a frontal hit, coolant level and condition, overheating.
Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.

Other models of this make

Read also

Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.