2011 Dodge Durango Electrical Problems

Car shut off whike driving and couldn't control the vehicle

NHTSA ID

11745183

Incident

Jun 18, 2026

The contact owns a 2011 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled while starting the vehicle. The contact stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V813000 (Electrical System). The contact stated that the failure was like the failure listed in the recall notification. The contact stated the local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 182,000.

NHTSA ID

11744294

Incident

Jul 4, 2025

Mileage

182,000 mi

To whom it may concern, On [XXX] at around [XXX] PST, I was taking my car to get a car wash at Quick Quack Car Wash located in [XXX] . While waiting in line for the other cars to go in, all of sudden I see a huge fire flame shoot out from under the hood. My car was on full fire extremely rapidly, in front of the multiple cars and near the entrance of this car wash, while this car was in fire I ran inside and asked the personnel for a fire extinguisher, to consume the flames coming out of the hood, as I was extremely concerned about the safety and personnel of this location. As soon as I got the extinguisher, I ran towards the car and started spraying powder everywhere I saw flames coming out from top of the hood and under the car, as flames and melted material dropped down from under the car. When I saw the flames got contained, I saw a water hose near the entrance in which I went and turn on and ran to continue pouring water into the engine bay compartment in order to make sure the fire was fully contained. All I could say is that I was very scared and extremely worried that this car could explode in front of this business with all the people working there. As soon I put the fire out, my friend help me push it out of the way into the much larger empty parking lot in order for the business to continue to conduct their business. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11739932

Incident

May 22, 2026

I was driving on the freeway and my battery light came on on the dash and lost power to engine and smelled electrical burning in the engine. Safely exited freeway and found the alternator was smoking really bad. Had to get the suv towed home.

NHTSA ID

11671200

Incident

Jun 28, 2025

Orange car came on on dashboard after having the truck on cruise control and a car cut me off real close. The cruise control went off, the truck lost traction and it slipped while turning at a roundabout when it was raining.

NHTSA ID

11665212

Incident

Jun 5, 2025

The contact owns a 2011 Dodge Durango. The contact stated while exiting her residential driveway, driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact stated that several warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that she heard a noise that came from the engine compartment. The contact stopped the vehicle. The contact exited the vehicle to perform an inspection under the hood. The contact stated that when the hood was raised, the contact noticed smoke and fire. The contact immediately closed the hood and the fire burned out. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed alternator. The contact was advised that due to the failure and the fire, the PCM, the valve cover gaskets, the battery, and the alternator needed to be replaced. In addition, the contact was informed that due to the fire, the labels for the alternator were not visible. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed of an unknown recall that had a similar failure description, however, the contact's VIN was not associated with the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 210,000.

NHTSA ID

11611380

Incident

Aug 5, 2024

Mileage

210,000 mi

The contact owns a 2011 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that while driving at 20 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact's wife detected an abnormally strong smoke odor inside the vehicle. The windshield wipers were inadvertently activated, and the instrument panel flickered. The battery warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled over and noticed smoke coming from underneath the hood. The contact, his wife, and his mother-in-law were able to exit the vehicle safely. No injuries were sustained. The contact checked under the hood and saw flames coming from the alternator; however, the flames extinguished themselves before the firefighters arrived on the scene. A fire department report was filed. The vehicle was first towed to the contact's mother-in-law's residence, then to the dealer, where it was determined that the alternator had malfunctioned due to the age of the vehicle. The contact was informed that the alternator and battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V435000 (Electrical System); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 230,000.

NHTSA ID

11593695

Incident

Jun 5, 2024

Mileage

230,000 mi

This SUV has had 2 recalls for the same fuel system relay problem, And now after approximately 2or3 yrs ago, and now it's doing the same exact thing again, you'll be driving down the road and it will just shut off and a red lighting built will show up, lucky we had a safe place to pull off the road and get stopped, but this is a very dangerous situation for my wife and kids to be in

NHTSA ID

11585408

Incident

Apr 25, 2024

The contact owns a 2011 Dodge Durango. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the battery warning light illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle failed to restart. The contact recharged the battery. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with failed alternator wiring and that the wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed that the failure was like NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V435000 (Electrical System), however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the contact was advised to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 186,000.

NHTSA ID

11579791

Incident

Mar 20, 2024

Mileage

186,000 mi

The contact owns a 2011 Dodge Durango. The contact stated while driving at approximately 55 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled into a parking lot and stated that smoke was entering the cabin of the vehicle. The contact exited the vehicle and raised the hood. The contact stated that there was smoke coming from the alternator. The contact stated that the alternator had melted in some areas. The contact had the vehicle towed to the residence. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The contact had researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V435000 (Electrical System). The failure mileage was approximately 148,000.

NHTSA ID

11568006

Incident

Aug 26, 2023

Mileage

148,000 mi

Car dies while driving at speed. Also will die at low speeds such as when turning or parking or waiting at a stop light. Sometimes have to wait before restart if dies at speed. If dies at low speed will start right back up. Dealer says no codes. Even when it died while on the techs computer he could not see a problem. These cars have been notorious for electrical problems due to Totally Integrated Power Module. Fuel relay recall did not solve the issue.

NHTSA ID

11550407

Incident

Jan 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2011 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the fuel pump was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V813000 (Electrical System). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 136,000.

NHTSA ID

11525768

Incident

Jun 4, 2023

Mileage

136,000 mi

With the initial incident with us as we were pulling into a roundabout & braking & turning to the left at some point and turning back to the right the engine stalls. All electrical was still working except for the engine and I smelled an odor of burning wire Seemingly coming from the center of the steering wheel. Shift into neutral hit the ignition and it restarts and everything‘s fine. After a couple times of this happening sporadically, we were notified there was a recall notice seemingly for this problem, but there was a wait while for the recall parts for the solution. With the subsequent occurrences there was no electrical smell, there’s no problem restarting it and there is no problem with any other electrical. Problem occurs with various levels of fuel. We had the recall work performed, and yet the problem still occurs, again, sporadically which makes it difficult to diagnose. The Dodge dealer service dept here, in Billings Montana, cannot seem to reproduce the problem. There are no error codes produced when it happens. It is becoming extremely dangerous. I wonder if anyone else has experienced that faint electrical smell like the first time coming possibly from the steering wheel. I think the recall was related to the fuel pump relay, but I think our problem has something to do with the wiring in the steering column. As I said, intermittently, the engine stalls upon braking with a slight turn to the left & then back to the right. It probably happens roughly once every three or four months and almost always any more pulling into a roundabout. Only once has it occurred other than entering a roundabout.

NHTSA ID

11508999

Incident

Feb 10, 2023

Was driving home car shut off battery Battery went completely dead had to tow to my house put a new battery new alternator and PCM Called NHTSA and they said my vehicle Wasn't On the recall list but I have the same problems as the vehicles that were on the recall list

NHTSA ID

11508141

Incident

Feb 2, 2023

There was a whirring noise associated with engine rpm. It appeared to be something driven by the serpentine belt. Within a few miles the battery charge light came on. I figured the noise was then the alternator. I stopped at a parts store to order one and when I came back out, smoke was billowing out of the hood. I opened the hood and it was coming from the alternator. It wasn't slowing down. I asked for some tools from the parts store to unhook the battery and then the smoke started subsiding. It appeared the alternator created a short and the battery was feeding the potential for fire. This all happen in the course of 4 miles. The day before I had parked this vehicle in a parking garage below a college building for a sporting event. This could have caught fire and potentially caused a lot of damage to other vehicles and building. I don't think I would have heard the issue at highway speeds either, and eventually the short caused the entire electrical system to fail (hooked battery up to put car in neutral to load onto tow truck). I currently have the alternator and ordered a replacement (with a core charge). The back of the alternator has some metal that had melted along with the back plastic housing. The bearings seem smooth. I noticed another recall with same vehicle and alternator but with electric hydraulic power steering with the alternator shorting to ground, but my vin is not affected by that.

NHTSA ID

11486378

Incident

Sep 25, 2022

Alternator failed

NHTSA ID

11478307

Incident

Jun 10, 2022

Vehicle became unresponsive on the highway due to 220 amp Alternator overheating and frying the PCM as a result. Same exact issue as recall item T36.

NHTSA ID

11467657

Incident

May 13, 2022

The contact owns a 2011 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that while driving at 45 MPH, the contact noticed smoke coming from above the driver’s side sun visor. The contact lowered the sun visor and saw red coals and black smoke coming from the headliner. The contact pulled into a parking lot to get water to extinguish the fire. Upon returning to the vehicle the contact saw flames coming from inside the vehicle. The emergency services were contacted and notified of the fire. The fire department arrived on the scene. When the fireman pulled down the headliner there were flames underneath the headliner. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire. A police and fire report was filed. There was an injury reported. The fire department determined that the fire was caused by an electrical fault. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The insurance provider had not determined if the vehicle would be a total loss. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 181,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ID

11454656

Incident

Feb 28, 2022

Mileage

181,000 mi

All current recalls have been performed on this vehicle. While making left and right hand turns after coasting down from a highway speed (55MPH or greater) the vehicle will stall. We will loose all power steering and brakes. No warning lights come on and everything appears normal except the engine is not running. Something in the fuel or electrical system is intermittently failing. I suspect it to be a "Dumb" device. Something that is told to turn on or off but there is no feedback to the computer to set a code when it fails. The vehicle is available for inspection at any time. This started occurring after one of the fuel pump relay recalls. It happens at random and is hard to duplicate, while we do have video of it, the dealer has been unable to duplicate it. The vehicle shows no codes, or anything wrong when it happens. Once the vehicle is stopped, shifted back into park, it will restart and run just fine. This has placed us in unsafe conditions in the middle of the opposing lane, in a turn, trying to restart the vehicle before another car comes around the turn. It is also hard to steer and stop a large SUV when power steering and brakes have been lost. There have been several close calls of getting the vehicle stopped prior to going off the road. The dealer has checked the vehicle over with no solution found for the issue. There has never been any warning lights associated with the vehicle stalling while driving. The vehicle does not know anything is wrong.

NHTSA ID

11442844

Incident

Nov 21, 2021

While driving lights on dash all flash, windshield wipers come on, horn won’t work, windows won’t work, headlights will turn off, speedometer drops to zero. Problem started a year ago. Took it to dodge and 2 independent auto repair places, with no fix. We were without the car for 4 months while waiting to see if anyone could find a fix-as far as we were told there was none. Car drove fine for a couple of months with some “minor” issues-lights flash speedometer drops- pull over turn car off- everything ok. Today full electric failure! EVERYTHING stated above happened at once, in addition to feeling like I could not accelerate.

NHTSA ID

11440532

Incident

Nov 15, 2021

While at speed, the FCW light goes off and the vehicle looses the ability to accelerate. I usually have to pull over, shut down the vehicle, and restart it to continue. I have had all of the recalls completed as soon as possible, and the last one was completed several years ago. Similar things happened previously with this car but seemed to be fixed by recalls. This has only started happening again recently, say within the last month or two, and is happening with greater frequency.

NHTSA ID

11437785

Incident

Oct 22, 2021

Every so often, while I’m driving, my vehicle totally shuts down in the middle of traffic as I slow down for a turn or to stop. The steering wheel becomes very difficult to maneuver, forcing me to stop exactly where I am, to shift it to park and crank it up again.

NHTSA ID

11435806

Incident

Sep 20, 2021

The contact owns a 2011 Dodge Durango. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 MPH, the vehicle stalled randomly. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The contact stated that the “Forward Collision Warning- Off” message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was not diagnosed or repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V530000 (Electrical System) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 94,000.

NHTSA ID

11434877

Incident

Sep 20, 2021

Mileage

94,000 mi

VIN: [XXX], MAKE/MODEL: DODGE DURANGO, YEAR 2011, MILES: 189,000 NO WARNING, NO MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LIGHT UNTIL AFTER TODAY 09/21/2021, ENGINE WONT TURN OVER, NOT BATTERY, BATTERY IS CHARGED, EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR LIGHTS WORK, MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LIGHT( ENGINE SYMBOL), & RED NOT YELLOW ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL WHEN TURNING ON VEHICLE, MAKES A CLICKING NOISE WHEN TRYING TO TURN OVER. LIGHT THAT STAYS ON : MIL, LIGHT THAT ONLY STAYS ON BRIEFLY, ETC, VEHICLE WILL NOT TURN OVER TO START NO KNOWN RECALLS. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ID

11433784

Incident

Sep 21, 2021

The contact owns a 2011 Dodge Durango. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V813000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that after driving at various speeds then coming to a stop the vehicle would stall. The contact would restart the vehicle to regain proper function. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000. Parts distribution disconnect. (RECALL RELATED INCIDENT) TS

NHTSA ID

11433665

Incident

Nov 14, 2019

Mileage

120,000 mi