2015 Dodge Durango Exterior lighting Problems

When I first got the car I didn’t notice the problem until one day it rained very hard and I didn’t care that much to drive I sat that night out and waited until the next day I go out to my car and my rear light bar the race track taillight completely out like it wasn’t on where my truck is the outside lights where the break lights are was on but the truck area is out I’m receiving citations after citations for this reason I can’t get insurance because they won’t pass the inspection for that light common sense but I told my car lot mega moters here in the Houston area they told me they couldn’t help me with the issue so I’m in a deep depression and I love my car but this issue is going to far now and I’m willing to fix if it’s fixed able but this issue is definitely with dodge themselves I’ve noticed a couple more Durangos rear taillights out on the road also I be wanna stop them and ask about the issue because I need help

NHTSA ID

11705253

Incident

Dec 31, 1969

Im again reporting the racetrack tail lights. Im seeing a lot more water intrusion in dodge durangos of many years. We want answers! This needs to be investigated stat! Consumers should not have to pay $1800 for failure on dodges part! They know this is an issue with many years of these durangos. There is already a class action lawsuit against them for this issue. Please investigate this! We want answers....

NHTSA ID

11664024

Incident

May 30, 2025

The Racetrack taillight assembly is partially working..I have to take it to a Chrysler Dodge dealer to get it fixed and I hear it is expensive..I am [XXX] on a fixed income but I know it has to be fixed..it’s dangerous what happens if they all go out and I have no lights..this problem has to be fixed.. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11651608

Incident

Mar 13, 2025

I am filing a complaint regarding a serious safety defect in the 2014-2023 Dodge Durango racetrack taillight assembly. The taillight allows moisture intrusion, leading to electrical failures, overheating, and potential fire hazards. This issue is the subject of a class action lawsuit [XXX] , et al., v. FCA US LLC), yet Dodge has not taken action. Key Safety Concerns: Fire Hazard: Electrical shorts and melted wiring have been reported. Safety Risk: Flickering or failed brake lights and turn signals increase the risk of accidents. Financial Burden: Replacement costs exceed $1,800, and vehicles cannot pass state inspections with a failed taillight. Widespread Issue: The defect affects multiple model years, indicating a manufacturer defect rather than wear and tear. The class action lawsuit highlights Dodge’s failure to address this safety issue despite numerous complaints. A jury trial is set for January 2027, but owners should not have to wait years for resolution. I urge the NHTSA to investigate this issue and require Dodge to issue a recall to fix or replace defective taillights at no cost to owners. Please provide an update on this complaint. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11649690

Incident

Mar 21, 2025

The rear led license plates light obtain moisture corroding the electrical as do the racetrack rear light and go out. I have replaced the 2 rear license plat light assemblies and have gone again again causing myself to receive a traffic citation and attorney fee's due to this defect that thousands of other people are filing complaints about. All of the rear body lighting needs to be recalled and reimbursed for these expenses. The license plate led light(2) are not cheap from the dealer. I have also now received a traffic citation for the brake lighting not properly working on the race track lighting so I will be filing this as a legal matter with the courts to be reimbursed A police report was done as I was ticketed for both on 2 different occasions.

NHTSA ID

11647133

Incident

Oct 5, 2024

The license plate light bulbs keep burning out caused by moisture/ wetness in the connectors due to poor design of rear lights.

NHTSA ID

11638144

Incident

Jan 9, 2025

The rear LED license plate lights are corroded and need replacing. One does not work.

NHTSA ID

11632742

Incident

Dec 19, 2024

Driver side and third row passenger side seat belts have stopped retracting, will not retract. Exterior tail light is going out due to faulty manufacturer seal, water gets in and destroys tail light from inside which also lets water get into license plate bulb and makes the license plate bulbs burn out constantly. I feel unsafe driving my vehicle due to the seatbelt not retracting, if I have to slam on my brakes, the seal belt does not lock up like it should. I cannot have a passenger in the third row passenger side due to the seatbelt being loose and not retracting at all. Vehicle has not been reproduced, confirmed or inspected yet by anyone other than myself and passengers. No warnings before any of the issues.

NHTSA ID

11627473

Incident

Nov 1, 2024

Sections of LED brake light/race track light has stopped working due to water intrusion in rear panel. Back panel is not secured properly, allowing water to enter, corrode the harness and lights to fail. Due to this, the license plate harness & connectors are corroded as well. Replacing the tag lights will not fix the problem, you must replace the whole wiring harness for it to work again. The wiring harness is sold as one piece now by manufacturer due to this KNOWN issue, costing $600-$1000 to purchase and install. Manufacturer has stopped selling just the plate light plugs because they know the common issue with water damage, light failure and corrosion. The license plate lights are required by law to be working. Owners cannot continue replacing every year due to the manufacturers inadequate design. This impacts drivers with safety and on a legal level from law enforcement. There were no warning signals on my dash of this issue. Law enforcement has pulled me over for this issue and recommended speaking with the manufacturer.

NHTSA ID

11609500

Incident

May 25, 2024

The rear 'race track' tail lights fail to light or are dim in lower sections of the assembly installed on the rear tailgate. Water enters the assembly over time and collects in the lower sections of the assembly causing the installed LED's and circuitry in those sections to fail. This repair is not covered by the extended warranty and would cost drivers approx 800 to install a replacement which would also leak.

NHTSA ID

11576902

Incident

Feb 13, 2022

Rear gasket on tail light assembly is faulty and causes water to leak in to rear running light and the light fails and doesn't work anymore. I'm requesting an investigation or recall on the rear assembly to have them fixed or replaced for safety and uniformity. The OEM part number is 68453659AA

NHTSA ID

11567814

Incident

Jan 1, 2023

The racetrack style light on the back of my vehicle has water buildup on the inside. It has started to burn out the light. The unit is still partially functional so it's not available for inspection. The left license plate light on my vehicle doesn't function due to the corrosion inside the connector as well. This is a safety risk due to other driver not being able to see my Vehicle clearly during night or other conditions. There were no warning indicators on the dash about this issue. The Vehicle has not been inspected by anyone other than myself.

NHTSA ID

11549973

Incident

Oct 14, 2023

The rear back light in my dodge Durango went out on it own and I've seen multiple Durango with the same issue . I’ve attached example . Ive seen multiple cars with this same issue so there has be manufacturers issue

NHTSA ID

11549194

Incident

Aug 17, 2022

The racetrack light bar located on the trunk door is dimming due to water intrusion from the poor/lack of sealing on the light. This lack of sealing keeps making water go in to the light, thus reducing the car's visibility at night. A lot of Durangos have this problem and there is no fix from the dealer, other than buying a new $1,300.00 light. The only thing we can do is to actually drain the water once a week by removing screws in the light bar, but at last, this only prolongs the inevitable. Some folks have resorted to removing the light from the tailgate and applying plastic friendly silicone to prevent water intrusion. Still, water enters the light bar. It's a shame.

NHTSA ID

11544298

Incident

Jun 25, 2023

The contact's daughter owns a 2015 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that the middle rear taillight, known as the racetrack light, frequently burned out due to moisture entering the brake light housing. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer where the light had been replaced; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was no longer covered under warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11503556

Incident

Jan 1, 2021

Rear "Racetrack" break light filled with water and now has stopped working.

NHTSA ID

11499611

Incident

Dec 30, 2022

THE HEADREST ON THE PASSENGER SEAT JUST POPPED OPEN WHILE WE WERE DRIVING. THE REAR VIEW CAMERA OFTEN DOESN'T RESPOND IMMEDIATELY WHEN WE PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE OR JUST STAYS BLACK FOR AWHILE. NAVIGATION IS SLOW SOMETIMES. IT SEEMS TO BE THE THE SYSTEM KEEPS ON RESETTING BECAUSE MY RADIO STATIONS ARE ERASED WHEN I TURN ON THE CAR. THE REPROGRAM AND IT CONTINUES TO DO THAT. WHEN WE ARE DRIVING THERE IS A SOUND COMING FROM THE DASHBOARD. LIKE A RATTLELING SOUND. WE STILL HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT WHAT IT IS. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN WE ARE DRIVING AND IT SEEMS LIKE A GEAR IS SHIFTED WHEN WE DID NOT STEP ON THE GAS.

NHTSA ID

11491958

Incident

Oct 1, 2022

Water has collect in race strip light, since then I’ve been experiencing electrical problems with the car.

NHTSA ID

11491810

Incident

Oct 12, 2022

The center light on the truck has to be replaced many times due to the light going out due to water intrusion. This is a causes the light to go out and be a safety hazard

NHTSA ID

11461510

Incident

Mar 8, 2022

Cracks in the side trim of race track (tail) light are present at bolts that attach light housing to vehicle. This has allowed moisture into the area of the led tail lights. Tail lights are no longer working correctly.

NHTSA ID

11458202

Incident

Mar 1, 2021

Liftgate tail light leaking and holding water causing light failure and electrical shorts. Which cause visibility for other drivers to not see your back end at night.

NHTSA ID

11454369

Incident

Feb 27, 2022

The center track light (brake light) is defective; it collects water from the rain or melted snow and has shorted out parts of the light. The shorted area does not light up when braking. With parts of the track light blacked out by the short, it is not as effective in letting drivers behind me know when I am braking. Initially, the shorted light was a small corner of the light, which is not several inches. With the blackened area of the light growing as I an unable to stop the water from seeping in, it creates a safety concern for a vehicle of this size, especially when driving in a the highway. A Dodge dealer/mechanic shop in DeKalb, IL recognized the problem and said it was very common, but was not covered under the warranty. There were no warnings prior to the failure.

NHTSA ID

11451648

Incident

Feb 12, 2022

The lift gate light housing assembly develops cracks due to design flaw, allowing housing assembly to fill with water and cause lights to malfunction. The housing assembly is available for inspection upon request. The rear lights of the vehicle are not functioning as intended and can cause rear end vehicle collision, which car cause injury or worst to the passengers. The problem has been verified by my local Dodge dealership and Chrysler has been made aware of the issue as well. They have replaced the housing assembly 2 times for me in the past but Chrysler has not actually done anything to my knowledge about the design flaw and root cause of the light housing cracking. I currently have water intruding into my now 3rd housing and this time both the dealership and Chrysler are saying they are not going to do anything about it and if I want the cracked housing replaced then I need to pay for parts and labor myself, but what is the point of doing that if its a design flaw and its only a matter of time before the new housing cracks again. I am not the only Dodge Durango owner with this issue, these are many other people reporting this issue on Dodge Durango Forums. The vehicle has been inspected by my local Dodge dealership but not by any other entity. I don't have the maintenance records for the first time this happened, but my local Dodge dealership does. I think the first time the problem was reported was October 2019, and has now happened 2 more times.

NHTSA ID

11443633

Incident

Dec 13, 2021

I have suffered a known issue with the exterior lighting on these vehicles. Water has gotten into the tail light housing and caused the light to go out…a $1300 part. Water intrusion has been long documented in these model year Durangos, with no recall ever issued.

NHTSA ID

11443385

Incident

Dec 1, 2021

The contact owns a 2015 Dodge Durango. The contact stated upon inspection it was discovered that the brake light strip was dim on the rear passenger’s side of the vehicle. The contact indicated that water had accumulated inside the taillight assembly housing. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the rear taillight assembly 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 failure mileage was 80,000.

NHTSA ID

11442455

Incident

Dec 2, 2020

Mileage

80,000 mi