Dodge Slapped With Two Durango-Related Lawsuits

The Durango is at the center of two recent lawsuits filed by owners against Dodge for two very different reasons. One has to do with marketing practices, the other is more traditional with customers alleging a large flaw. Both could spell big trouble for the brand.

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First, owners of the Durango Hellcat are upset because back when it debuted, then-CEO Tim Kuniskis said it would be a “single model year run.” Many eagerly snatched up the high-powered crossover, only to later be shocked that Dodge didn’t make 2021 the only model year for production.

Instead, Dodge surprised everyone by announcing the return of the Durango Hellcat for the 2023 model year. Seven 2021 model year owners sued Dodge in 2023, but the case went to mediation for a possible resolution.

However, that effort out of court failed recently, so the lawsuit is back on, as covered by Road & Track.

The other lawsuit involves the Durango’s famous “racetrack” LED taillight, which apparently can be damaged by water, short circuit, and cost a lot of money to fix. The class action lawsuit filed recently says 2014 to 2023 model year Durangos have a defect that allows water intrusion into the taillight assembly.

This means anything from rain, snow melt, even car washes can lead to water getting into the taillight, corroding connections, and shorting the whole thing out. But, according to Mopar Insiders, the class action lawsuit alleges other systems in the rear portion of the Durango can also fail as a result.

Not only can your taillight go out, so can the reverse lights, license plate lights, even the rearview camera. Having to replace all of that gets expensive real fast.

But it gets even worse. The lawsuit alleges that replacement taillight assemblies for the Durango still allow water to get inside, so the whole problem can happen over and over. Owners often notice condensation inside the taillight, then later things start going haywire.

This comes at a time when the Dodge brand is already struggling with its image. The end of the line for the Challenger, the Charger transforming into something different, and sales being down combining with the lawsuits isn’t great news for Dodge or parent company Stellantis.

Images via Stellantis