2017 Dodge Durango Exterior lighting Problems

Approximately 3 years ago we noticed water accumulating in the rear light. They refer to it as a race track light bar. Went to dealer who said not covered under warranty, and it would be $1,455 to replace. I did not have the money at that time to replace it. So we kept draining the water, as I noticed the light getting dimmer. I charged the $1455 and replaced it. 1/8/23. I did find that there were numerous complaints. and this week I found water in the entire light had approximately 3 inches of water in it. We drained it and I contacted the dealer who advised that the 24 month warranty was up Jan 2026 (two months ago. I just found information that there is a class action lawsuit regarding this and since they determined ti is a safety issued there is a jury trial scheduled end of this year. and the manufacturer refused to repair or replace. I just took pictures and noticed a fair vertical crack. l am trying to included a picture but cant convert to jpeg. I am very concerned as the rear lights will dim and hopefully I dont get rear ended.

NHTSA ID

11725587

Incident

May 2, 2022

Race light tail lights went out. Water can get in around light . Known issue in class action lawsuit

NHTSA ID

11723562

Incident

Nov 18, 2025

UNKNOWN

NHTSA ID

11713168

Incident

Jan 8, 2022

I am filing a complaint regarding a known defect with the rear racetrack taillight assembly on the 2017 Dodge Durango GT. The rear racetrack taillight allows water and moisture to enter the sealed housing. Over time, this causes condensation buildup, corrosion, and partial or complete failure of the LED lighting. In my case, the racetrack light has gone out and shows visible water inside the assembly. This issue creates a safety concern because the rear lighting becomes dim or nonfunctional, reducing visibility to other drivers, especially at night or during rain. In some cases, the electrical issues may also affect other vehicle lighting or electrical components. This problem is widely reported by many Dodge Durango owners across multiple model years, yet the taillight assembly design has not been properly corrected. Owners are often required to replace the entire racetrack taillight at high cost, even though the failure is due to a design defect rather than wear and tear. I believe this issue should be formally investigated, acknowledged, and addressed through a recall or manufacturer-supported repair, as it impacts vehicle safety and visibility. + Affects IPC and electrical of vehicle where dimming is not happening and flashes which could lead to IPC failure and high costs additionally. Thank you for reviewing this complaint.

NHTSA ID

11712862

Incident

Jan 23, 2026

Lower portions of rear tail light are failing due to water infiltration.

NHTSA ID

11677641

Incident

Mar 15, 2025

Rear liftgate taillight assembly seal has failed allowing water to get in. As a result, the led lighting element has failed which dramatically reduces rear visibility by other vehicles.

NHTSA ID

11658994

Incident

Apr 4, 2025

The rear lights on the tailgate on these vehicles continue to fail due to water inclusion. This affects night time visibility. I've noticed this trend on many Dodge Durango models spanning many different years. My vehicle had this occurrence with roughly 70,000 miles. Many vehicle owners have had much earlier failures.

NHTSA ID

11633483

Incident

Apr 5, 2023

Rear light has known issue of water protruding into housing causing a short circuit to occur, therefore causing tail light to quit working including license plate lights to quit working causing me to be pulled over when for equipment not operating to find out then my lights had shorted out. Then to find out to get my license plate light in working order i need to spend 1500+ dollars for a design flaw that dodge is still manufacturing. The people of the united states need your help getting this fixed

NHTSA ID

11621161

Incident

Oct 21, 2024

Bought a used 17 durangoGT on July 29th 2024 notice a crack in tail light and told the used car manager about it and brushed it off now there is an issue with racetrack light and water is getting in and is now half lite the dealer said there isn’t a problem so took it to dodge and had a 2nd option and they said it was the crack and on top of that there is a class action lawsuit against dodge for the track light and it can cause electrical issues and license plate light and rear camera issues this is unsafe and I got a invoice from dodge of the issue too

NHTSA ID

11619488

Incident

Sep 9, 2024

Rear tail panel lights don’t work, water intrusion causing failure

NHTSA ID

11589409

Incident

May 17, 2024

The “race track light” on the rear hatch of the vehicle has allowed water to get in to the electrical LED components and has caused a portion of the light to fail. It seems to be a common failure and it creates a safety issue with visibility of the vehicle at night. In addition, the component to replace this light is very very expensive, with no hope that the new part will not fail in the same manner.

NHTSA ID

11586165

Incident

Apr 15, 2024

Water intrusion on Track Light started with small section becoming dim March 2023. Left license plate bulb/housing went out october 2023 with corrosion on plug. February 2024 entire hatch lighting out (track light + both license plate lights).

NHTSA ID

11573265

Incident

Mar 13, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that after a visual inspection of the vehicle, he became aware that the taillights were not functioning properly. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the taillight sealant, resulting in water leaking into the casing and short-circuiting the wiring. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 79,000.

NHTSA ID

11573157

Incident

Feb 13, 2023

Mileage

79,000 mi

Tracktail lights water go inside and cost repairs is over 1,500 all cables got burned out fire can happen soon if they don't. Make a safety recall for its 2017 dodge durango rt racetrack tail lights

NHTSA ID

11571332

Incident

Feb 9, 2024

Water has been collecting in the right hand side of my racetrack taillight on my 2017 Durango causing my entire strip to burn out completely. It seems as though debris and bugs have also made their way into the tail light as both are visible and trapped within the light assembly. The taillight flickers upon starting the car and then completely stops working. I attempted to dry the light out by removing it, getting all condensation and collected water out, sealing up the parts that were weeping and cleaning up the gaskets that had weak spots but the entire assembly seems to have totally failed. This car has had no rear end damage and nothing happened that would have compromised the unit to cause this issue.

NHTSA ID

11568510

Incident

Jan 23, 2024

On my 2017 Doge Durango RT the “Racetrack” light has failed and created a safety issue for my vehicle. The LED light on the hatch has failed from poor manufacturing and has allowed water it get into the light shorting out the whole taillight. This has not only made a running light not work while I’m driving, but has caused the license plate light and the rear backup camera to fail. This is an over 1000 dollar repair. I will replace it for the safety of my family and those who drive on the roads with me. I have seen many other dodge Durango of the same model years that have a similar problem. There is a large online community who report the same issue. I hope this issue has not caused an accident for anyone else.

NHTSA ID

11567097

Incident

Jan 15, 2024

The rear center tail light, “Racetrack light” has water in it and is defective now for the second time, this is a well known issue, but continues to fail. Dodge will not cover the repair even with a maximum care warranty, pushing a well documented issue back to the consumer.

NHTSA ID

11561867

Incident

Dec 25, 2023

The rear tail light(race track light) has lost its seal and water has protruded the sealed of the LED tail light causing disruption in the light functioning properly. I have taken my vehicle to the dealership, it does have an extended warranty from Mopar on the vehicle, but the dealership will not cover. The replacement cost of repairing the rear tail light. The dealership informed me that this was a reoccurring issue for Dodge Durango‘s. I am concerned that the tail light will completely fail, and I will be involved in an incident due to the driver behind me not being able to recognize my vehicle with the tail light not functioning properly..

NHTSA ID

11553370

Incident

Oct 1, 2023

Water in tail lights. Complete failure of marker lights

NHTSA ID

11520712

Incident

May 5, 2023

Back tail track light has water intrusion from a bad gasket that dodge installed on these durangos and I'm scared that it will cause an electrical fire

NHTSA ID

11509431

Incident

Jun 15, 2022

Apparent defect in racetrack light. Water gets into the racetrack light and causes it to burn out. This will cause the racetrack light to not fully light up when braking. Multiple people have almost rearended me. Did some research and other owners have reported an electrical smell or possible burning smell. Defect was confirmed with car dealership that water is getting into the racetrack light. Sometimes its part of light sometimes its the full light. Unable to pass inspection in NYS without light being completely lit up so this needs to be recalled as it is a safety issue and should be fixed by Dodge.

NHTSA ID

11509220

Incident

Feb 25, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that while driving the vehicle, the rear brake lights failed to illuminate. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the rear brake light bulbs had failed due to water and condensation inside the rear taillight assembly housings. The light bulbs were replaced, and the failure was temporarily fixed; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that the rear taillight assembly housings had been replaced on two previous occasions for the same failure. Additionally, the rear back-up camera malfunctioned and no image was displayed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 60,000. The contact stated that the rear brake lights were replaced for a second time but the problem still persists.

NHTSA ID

11508293

Incident

Nov 1, 2017

Mileage

60,000 mi

The contact owns a 2017 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that the taillights failed to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that a circuit chip was burned due to contact with an unknown fluid. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

NHTSA ID

11507014

Incident

Jan 15, 2022

Mileage

40,000 mi

Rear Tracklights has water intrusion. This is a safety hazard and should be a recall asap

NHTSA ID

11502400

Incident

Dec 21, 2022

All of my lights on the back of my vehicle are out due to water damage. This is a known problem with these vehicles. The vehicle has less than 50,000 miles. The cost for a replacement is $1500. Dodge has known of this issue for many years has done nothing to correct it. It will not pass the state safety inspection with the lights out. It is a safety issue because I have no rear lights. We contacted Dodge. They told us if this becomes a recall, they will reimburse us for repairs. This has been an issue for many years and they have neglected to repair the problem. Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

NHTSA ID

11496735

Incident

Dec 5, 2022