Dodge now covers 2018-2024 Durango taillights that can cost up to $2,000 to fix

Dodge has extended its warranty on the rear LED taillamp assembly of certain 2018 through 2024 Durango SUVs to five years with unlimited miles, a repair that owners have said can run as high as $2,000. The expansion was announced by Stellantis on Oct. 21 and covers lamps that may not illuminate or may light only partially.

Tech news worth reading: Get Techpresso, the daily email with the most interesting tech news and insights, read by 400,000+ professionals from Google, Apple and OpenAI.

Get Techpresso →

We may earn a commission if you sign up.

It is a warranty extension and not a formal safety recall. Owners who already paid for the repair may be eligible for reimbursement, and those whose vehicles have aged out of the new window still get six months of coverage.

What the Dodge extension covers on the Durango

The company’s news release, issued from Auburn Hills, Michigan, applies to the liftgate taillamp assembly, the glowing racetrack bar across the back of the Durango. Coverage now runs five years with unlimited miles from each vehicle’s in-service date. For vehicles already past that point, it runs six months from the date on the customer notification letter, which the company says will arrive by mail. An owner whose taillamp works properly need take no action; those who have the problem now or later can see a dealer.

Dodge CEO Matt McAlear framed the move as a matter of backing the product, saying in the release that the extension is about standing behind the vehicles and supporting the people who own them. The release does not say how many Durangos are affected, which model years within the range are included beyond the phrase “certain,” or how long the notification letters will take. Owners with questions can reach Dodge Customer Care at 1-800-4ADodge or contact a local dealer, and the release says no action is needed if the taillamp works correctly, which matters for the many Durangos that have never shown the fault.

Where the $2,000 figure comes from

The $2,000 figure is not a Dodge price list. Autoblog’s report on the extension said owners have paid up to $2,000 for the fix, and it noted that the extension stops short of a formal federal safety recall. A second account, from Mopar Insiders, attributes the number to litigation: plaintiffs in related cases have alleged repair costs reaching $2,000 per vehicle, and the site said that is an allegation and not a confirmed cost. A third report from autoevolution says owners and lessees have often paid close to $2,000 for replacement assemblies and cites a December 2025 complaint to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration describing an $1,800 dealer quote that included labor.

The reason a single dead segment costs so much is that it cannot be replaced alone. Autoevolution reported that the whole assembly must be swapped, and that Dodge issued technical service bulletins in March 2020 and June 2021 addressing the problem, which it described as water getting past the gaskets and seals and corroding the LED circuit.

The lawsuit and the complaints behind it

Owner complaints are not new. The consumer site CarComplaints.com lists 12 NHTSA complaints for exterior lighting on the 2020 model year alone, with water pooling in the racetrack light bar the most frequent symptom, LED strips shorting or dimming, and one owner reporting a dealership quote of $1,600. The site notes that it categorizes the complaints itself and that they do not cite a specific NHTSA investigation or recall.

Those complaints sit beside a class action. According to autoevolution, Cranstoun et al. v. FCA U.S. LLC was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, covers 2014 through 2023 models, and seeks either a court-ordered recall or full financial compensation for affected customers. Neither Autoblog nor autoevolution says whether the case has been resolved, and the dates matter because the lawsuit reaches back to 2014 models while the new coverage begins with 2018, while Mopar Insiders reported that the complaints allege Stellantis knew of taillight and liftgate problems going back to 2020. Dodge’s release does not mention the case.

How owners can claim reimbursement

Customers who already paid for the repair “may be eligible for reimbursement,” the release says. They can apply online at fcarecallreimbursement.com, the same portal the company uses for recall refunds, or fill out the Customer Reimbursement Claim Form that comes with the notification letter and submit the required documentation. Autoevolution says claims require proof of payment.

The release gives no reimbursement deadline. It also does not say whether owners who paid more than the coverage would have allowed, or who paid outside a dealer, will be repaid in full.

Because the extension is tied to the in-service date, owners of older Durangos should not assume their window has closed. A 2018 model, for instance, would have passed five years in 2023 or 2024, but the six-month grace period starting at the notification date could still cover it, according to the terms Dodge published. Anyone with a burnt-out or partly lit racetrack lamp should keep the receipt for any past repair and wait for the letter before paying out of pocket again.

This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.

Tech news worth reading: Get Techpresso →

We may earn a commission if you sign up.