2018 Dodge Durango complaints

10/28/2024 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation Subject: Report of Safety Issue - Dodge Uconnect Radio Malfunction The infotainment system in my Dodge vehicle, equipped with Uconnect radio, has malfunctioned, affecting safe operation. The radio’s touchscreen has a “delaminating” defect, as described by a Dodge technician, causing erratic, uncommanded screen activity, sometimes leading to unintentional actions such as an inadvertent 911 call. This random, uncontrollable behavior affects critical functions like navigation, radio, and climate controls, creating a significant safety risk by distracting the driver. The issue also impacts the rear-view camera when the screen freezes. The problem has been reproduced and confirmed by a Dodge technician as a screen delamination defect, who noted this is a recurring issue with Uconnect in Dodge vehicles. No other entities, such as police or insurance representatives, have inspected the component, but the dealership quoted $900 for repairs since my vehicle is no longer under warranty. Given that this defect is widespread and the financial impact is substantial, I am filing this report in hopes of a broader resolution. No specific warning lamps or dashboard messages indicated the problem before it began. The erratic behavior first occurred during normal operation and has continued intermittently. I believe this issue should be investigated as it presents a serious safety concern for Dodge

There is definitely something wrong with the headrests on the durangos. I was vacuuming my seats and i used the passenger lever to push it back and the headrest on the passenger side popped out and now the clips are broke & it wont pop back in. They definitely need to look into the headrests and fix this issue.

The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Durango. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the service brakes and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with HECU failure. The contact was informed that the HECU needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Additionally, NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V426000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) recall repair had been completed in 2023; however, the failure occurred. The contact was informed of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23E019000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

I have noticed moisture in the rear tailgate light which houses the rear camera, license plate light, reverse lights and a larger(racetrack) tailight. I have drained the light a couple of times and noticed a small portion of the light was dim. This has been going on probably a year. Last night our son was driving behind and noticed the whole tailgate light had gone out along with the license plate light. There is no way to service this light it has to be replaced. The replacement light at the dealer was $1480. To me that is not an option. This is definitely a safety and consumer concern in my book.

The front passenger side headrest Safety mechanism deployed as I was driving down the road and upon looking at it, a piece inside is broken. when the headrest deployed, it hit my passenger in the head, pushing him forward and give him a headache it came out so hard and fast I brought the car to the dealership today, 9/3/24 they said other year, Durango have a recall, but my year is not one of them there were no warning lights.

I was sitting in my car in the car line to drop my children off at school and the passenger seat headrest busted open and scared us 3 half to death. Luckily no one was sitting in the passenger seat, I believe if someone was it would have caused a severe headache and neck pain. I'm so fortunate it did not happen while I was driving either, who knows what my reaction would have been. Apparently this has happened to other vehicles including Dodge Durangos which is what I own. I took it to the dealership like Dodge customer service informed me to do and they weren't sure why it busted open and can't compress it back. The whole thing has to be replaced, $1,200. Dodge customer service doesn't feel like it's an issue and won't replace it. I've had a hard time getting any information from Dodge customer service and I can't seem to get them to call me back. My car has not been wrecked and this is definitely a manufacturing defect that needs to be addressed!! There was no warning at all that this was going to happen and no lights have come on in my car to let me know it did. Dodge needs to put out a recall on the headrest.

The AHR system for the passenger seat failed. While sitting in the school line for one of my kids, the passenger headrest (AHR system) malfunctioned and protruded forward. If the force behind the protrusion would have hit someone it could have caused a concussion, if it would have been the driver, could have caused an accident if in motion. Having issues with Dodge warranting for the repair, have had dealership look at it, said it needs to be repaired, and I am currently working on a case with Dodge itself. No warning lamps were on and have not came on since the issue. This is a manufacturing defect and should be covered under the X88.

The driver side headrest "deployed" and pushed the headrest to the back of my head. I was sitting in the driver seat and the vehicle was parked, and when I moved a bag from the front passenger seat to the middle row, the driver side headrest opened on it's own. I cannot compress the headrest together. My concern is this was a faulty safety deployment.

System that failed in my 2018 Durango is the Electrical. Multiple reports from myself as well as other customers as to why the electrical fails in these vehicles is due to heavy rain storms and/or car washes. This issue has cause my electrical to fail and now a costly repair for myself that I should not be responsible for. I have reaches out to the dealership many times with this issue and they failed to help me. The Electrical issue has been diagnosed by the dealership and are unwilling to help rectifie this issue. This issue is not just affecting me as a customer, but thousands of others. The issue has been inspected by certified technicians at the dealership and they have contacted the warranty company to let them know of the issue and will not fix the issue because of water damage but this is a well known issue in the 2018 Durangos that then intern affects the Electrical in these vehicles. Multiple warnings were giving and I reaches out to the dealership multiple times regarding the issue. These issues have been ongoing since owning the vehicle and kept getting swept away by the dealership for the repairs.

Between the transmission slipping since 30k, the engine knocking. The check engine flashing. I have changed the coil packs spark plugs, all filters and still nothing, the auto stop/start does not work it flashes Boggs out and loses power. The whole steering wheel and truck vibrates and shakes to a point you feel like you’re on an incline going up a roller coaster. I have replaced batteries 2x the windows no longer auto roll down when using fobs even w new batteries and re programming electrical system power randomly fails and all lights go out the. Screen goes out stops working for days on end .

Tail gate LED brake light fills with water and cause the light to stop working. Because of the design it has the potential for the driver behind not to see the brake lights which can result in an accident. Reported issue to the dealership and the insurance company that I took extra exterior insurance from and they said it happens all the time and wants me to pay hundreds out of pocket. This is a manufacturing defect because it happens to many of this model it’s not fair to the customer. I see many other Durangos with the same issue. Dodge should compensate the customers.

Engine shuts off randomly by itself. Could be hazardous when it happens while driving on Highways. Vehicle must be stopped and placed in park to restart.

The rear taillights are filling up with water and burning the rear lights out which causes safety for other not being able to see the rear of the car. I know 3 other people that have the same issue on there dodge durango. You have to take the bolt out to drain the water. There is no seal or gasket inside preventing water from going in also can cause other electrical problems which is not safe.

The center hate LED brake light has water in it and shorted out making visibility of the rear of the vehicle hard to see at night. Dealer told me this is a very common issue and wants over $1000 for me to order another. Dodge needs to fix this and make it right as it's a design issue. This is a serious safety concern and will not drive with my family in the vehicle until able to fix it.

I was driving down the interstate using cruise control. The lane was slowing so I went to accelerate around and the car made a thud noise. After that, the car started to slow and 2 minutes later stated cruise control off then would not shift above 1st gear.

Radio screen delaminated and randomly pushing buttons turning functions of the car on and off, adjusting the climate you can’t fix, calling people randomly. This is a very well known issue with these screens and should be a recall. Very distracting to the driver and you are unable to keep this from happening. Unable to control certain functions in the car. Has been delaminating for years but getting worse and more of a problem.

Water is getting into the tail lights which is starting to burn the lights out. It's a safety concern especially at night time. They're should be a recall on this issue as fixing it is costly. A lot of people are being affected by this.

The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that the driver’s side tailgate LED light had become inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was confirmed that water had gotten inside the lighting enclosure. The dealer stated that the area where the tailgate racetrack light was located needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 83,000.

Water entered into the rear tail light from rain and shorted the light and caused it to stop working. And is burnt out. This doesn’t have a bulb to replace it’s the entire running light system.

There is a problem with the rear middle light on the lift gate. Water is getting into them and shorting them out then leading it to need a replacement. This is an on going issue with dodge Durangos. Something needs to be done with this design flaw on the Durango’s because they charge 1400 for the part plus labor for it to be replaced when the light wasn’t built right

There is a known problem with the rear brake lights allowing water into it. It can ruin the electrical and cause brake lights to go out without the drivers knowledge and could cause and accident. Lucky I was able to fix it for now.

While driving on the highway, the computer system shut down and all screens went black. The car still drove but none of the controls worked anymore. We could not roll the windows down or turn the fans or a/c on and it was summer so the interior of the car immediately became unbearably hot. We pulled over as soon as it was safe to do so and turned the car off and back on. The system came on partially and we were only able to open the sunroof and roll the rear windows down half way before it stopped working again. We tried cycling the car on and off several more times but the computer system and all controls remained unresponsive and the screens black. The door locks did not work either so we couldn’t secure the vehicle. It was Sunday so no dodge dealerships were open. We were on a family vacation and half way to our destination so we drove an additional 3-4 hours to reach our destination. I took the Durango to the dealership the following day and they kept it for a week. They disconnected and reconnected the battery cable and the system worked again and they could not replicate the problem. We drove home after that without issue. Two weeks later, the same thing happened. This time, I pulled over and disconnected and reconnected the battery cables and that seemed to solve the issue again. We took it back to our local dealership and they could not replicate the issue.

I received recall 22V-426, the dealer reflashed my vehicle but the problem still exists. My brake lights stay on, stability, auto park, traction control and engine lights come on. The dealer now says I need to replace the exact part listed in recall at my own cost. My state inspection has expired and fails a new safety inspection due to this problem.

Rear tail lights are out. All the Dodge Durangos on the road are ! Safety hazard for people behind me and me! Initially part of the light went out tonight the whole light went out . Cam shaft has went bad twice

The "racetrack" lights have pooling water in them and are now not working at all. the back end of the truck is a hazard as you are not able to see it.

The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that after having the car washed, the racetrack lights and license plate lights became inoperable. There was an abnormal burning odor detected while driving at unknown speeds. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The contact called the local dealer and was provided an estimate for the repair. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 62,000.

When trying to break the pedal locks and takes a while to go down. Almost crashed a couple of times due to this.

My racetrack light in back has blown LEDs due water getting inside. I’m to the entire light and back up camera needs replacement. It’s a major issue according to other owners who have the same problem.

I bought this car, brand new off the dealer and it has been in perfect shape until 120,000 miles. All of a sudden the check engine light comes in and turns out it was the head gasket!! 5 years old, hasn't needed a thing and the mechanic tells me I need a new engine!? What good is it if I buy a brand new car and take perfect care of it all to end up with the engine going to [XXX]. I have heard other people saying the same thing with their 3.6l pentastar engine. AT 120K...I don't see that being a coincidence if it keeps happening with the SAME engine at the SAME AMOUNT OF MILES. There is definitely a problem here. P.s won't let me upload documents on the mechanics diagnosis. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Vehicle tail light housings (3ea) are not adequately sealed and protected from the elements and allow water/debris to intrude. Water accumulation has caused dimming and shorting of lights. Dodge customer service was contacted and stated they are not currently and will not warranty repair.

Center tail light failure in the lift gate. On further inspection all tail lights have water intrusion. Obviously tail/brake light failure is a safety hazard, especially at night. Dodge not owning the problem and the repair parts are extremely hard to find.

The Radio is flashing a message and beeping asking me if I want to reset the clock. Reverse backup doesn’t work when this is happening and it is a huge distraction while driving.

TIPM failure

My radio is malfunctioning turns on and off whenever it presses buttons on it’s own like to change the radio, change the climate and it’s blank or screen black the entire time it switches from Bluetooth to radio or vice versa

My car randomly won’t start could be due to one of the 4 recalls for my make and model I would like have this investigated

I noticed a small air bubble appear on screen. Thought nothing of it until my screen started taping on things on its own. Changing the air, calling random people, changing the radio station, folds down the headrest for the back seats and exiting out of my maps for directions. This is know as ghost touches. I’ve spoke to multiple people who have had the same problems with their durangos. This is very very distracting.

My touchscreen is malfunctioning. It does what it wants when it wants. Example- it makes my headrest flip up and down Turns the radio stations Turns the heat/air on/off Turns the heated/cooling seats on/off Backup camera doesn’t work half the time I backed into a dirt embankment and cracked my rear bumper because the backup camera wasn’t working at that time Navigation doesn’t work half the time Volume works when it wants Can’t change radio stations sometimes

While on my way to an appointment it was raining and I noticed my car wasn't handling the water on the road like it usually did. It was pulling to one side or jumping around when it hit shallow water. I turned the traction control off and then back on and that seemed to make a difference. That night I got on NHTSA and searched for recalls with my VIN number. While other 2018 Durango's had recalls on the ESP it said mine wasn't one on them. About a week later it had been storming all night and I was on my way to work the next morning when I come around a curve to deep flowing water covering the road for approx. 30 yards before a small break and then a thin flowing of water for approx. 20 feet which I didn't see because it was still raining. When I hit the deep water it pulled me towards the right ditch, I was able to keep from going in the ditch but it was a constant fight until I was through the puddle. After the first puddle let go of my vehicle there was just enough time for me to feel relieved I had made it through it before I hit the shallow water and my car hydroplaned darting left, entering the ditch, ramping the side of a driveway and going airborne between two trees before coming down on it's front end and sliding 30 feet to a stop. The emergency contact system spoke asking who to contact but none of my ICE was displayed. Thankfully I was wearing my seatbelt although the tensioner didn't lock the belt in place like it should in the event of an accident. Also neither f

ABS module failed and shuts off AWD,cruise control and parksense

The infotainment system screen is delaminating like on many others and cause the screen to act like there’s a ghost touching the screen randomly Val’s people changes stations and scares me it will be full blast out of nowhere And then there’s the rear center racetrack taillight it fills with water and the bottom right is burnt out like on millions of otheres it should be a recall it does it it on all model years starting with 2014 to current it’s not sealed properly from factory I even bought a new assembly at 1,400$ and it lasted a year my Durango is a 2018

They connect system shuts off randomly impacting the heating and air conditioning. It begins turning on and off distractingly on its own unable to access any features. Disabling use of the back up cameras, heating, navigation, radio or controls of volume.

Engine light on for to EVAP leak. Airbag warning light on and off periodically throughout drives.

While stopped at a traffic light, the drivers side front headrest exploded forward hitting my wife in the back of the head. Upon inspection, I noticed part of the plastic hinge inside the headrest had broken or sheared off. Although it did not appear to have caused her personal injury, had this occurred while driving it very well could have caused an accident, due to the impact and loud noise.

The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Durango. The contact stated after attempting to start the vehicle, the engine failed to turn over. The contact then stated that after several attempts to start the vehicle she smelled a burning odor. No warning lights were illuminated. The AAA was notified of the failure and the battery was replaced; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer where the contact was informed that coolant had leaked in the engine and burned the starter; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the repair cost would be covered. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

When using the auto high beam headlights. The headlights will dim and the high beams do not always come back on. this appears to happen after seeing yellow signs on the roads. To fix I have to turn the head light knob to on (which turns the lights off for a second). This is very dangerous on the dark roads i ride on. I was told by dealer this is a known issue on many brands and there is no fix. This has been an on going issue for the last couple of years.

The screen to sync clock keeps coming up and I have to X it out to get back to my gps then does it again I have looked this up seems it’s a known issue. U feel this needs addressing since I use my GPS all the time and this causes me to take my eyes off the road often

Tracklight has water intrusion. Replaced twice already. New light has water. Less than 6 months old. Causes rear lighting to fail, including plate light, which is illegal in my state. Failure causes drivers approaching from the rear not to see vehicle on approach, potentially causing an accident.

Tail lights fill with water. This caused a safety risk both of electrical fire and lights failing and increasing risk of an accident when due to not being visible from behind. This is a known issue with Dodge Durangos from 2016 to 2020. There are class action lawsuits and petitions requesting dodge fix the problem. I called Dodge corporate and was advised the situation has not been addressed and that it is not under warranty or recall

My 2018 Dodge Durango leaked water into the taillight assembly. I initially removed the bottom taillight screw located inside the liftgate so water would drain. Later I had to remove the light itself and run a bead of silicone caulking along the top edge where the water leaked into the light assembly. Generation 3 Dodge Durangos are notorious for leaking water into the "race track" shaped taillight which leads to taillight failures. It's the biggest complaint on my Facebook Durango groups, with almost daily postings. Once water collects inside the assembly, it leads to taillight partial or total failure.

Multiple occasions I have taken my vehicle to the local dealership I bought it brand new only owner any time it rains my vehicle stops. I have been going down the highway and it has just shut down in the middle of the highway. My vehicle will no longer start after this last rain and snow dealership is not helping and pretty much says I’m on my own still in the vehicle is paid off and I have had nothing but issues with electrical the car randomly shifting out of gear, brake lights leaking because I feel with water and floorboards, becoming soaked when it rains