Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2001 Dodge Durango owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
This vehicle and just about every other Durango and similar make Dodge from 2001 to 2005 has a blower relay and harness under the dash that overheats. It melts the plastic causes smoke in the vehicle and can cause a fire. Chrysler has a fix for it for about $100.00 just for the part not including labor which is about 2 hours. When it happened to me the relay had fallen out of its place in the blower and landed on my wife's burning her foot. Why should the consumer have to pay for a defect that can cause injury or if someone panics and accident there has to be thousands and thousands of these vehicles with the same problem. I decided to look in the junk yards for this problem and turns out every vehicle in this year range has the exact problem.not a couple every one of them.
Tl contact owns a 2001 Dodge Durango. While parked in the driveway with the engine shut off, the vehicle began to smoke. The contact extinguished the fire and had the vehicle towed to a dealer. She discovered that the vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign id number 06V339000 (electrical system). The dealer installed a cap to prevent additional fluid from contaminating the connector, which caused the fire. Almost one year later, the failure recurred. The contact also experienced failures with the head gaskets. While the vehicle was at a repair shop, the mechanic checked the fluids with the engine running. The mechanic opened the driver's door and observed a large amount of smoke and flames inside the passenger compartment. After the fire was extinguished, it was discovered that the cause of the failure was the same plug that set the driver's seat on fire a year earlier. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 Dodge Durango. While driving approximately 65 MPH, the electronic door locking mechanism automatically unlocked and locked the vehicle. Additionally, the shift lever became difficult to shift out of park. The failure recurred on multiple occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that an unknown part needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 33,500.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 Dodge Durango. While driving the gear selector began slipping from 2-wheel drive to 4-wheel drive without intention. After parking she smelled a burning odor from the vehicle. Moments later she was informed by her neighbor that the front end of the vehicle was smoking. The fire department was called to extinguish the fire. She was advised that the fire was caused by an electrical failure. The current and failure mileages were 160000.
While driving 2001 Dodge Durango will shut off if foot is token off the gas pedal. Will also shut off during turns in major traffic, causing an accident. Truck will also shut off within 5 min of idling. I have had the idle valve control replaced, fuel pump, battery, tps sensor, fuel cleaned etc. It doesn't throw any codes and mechanics don't know what the problem is. Please help! This is becoming dangerous, especially with small children in the vehicle.
Headlights, overhead dome, instrument lights all flash on and off when headlights are turned on which is impossible to drive at night without serious being a serious major safety hazard. Checked forum for Dodge products, there is also a service bulletin in your database there are many complaints of people with the same malfunction, and mechanics told everyone same thing power train or body control module (BCM).
Dt: on September 21, 2001 underneath the console in the front seat row the wiring harness caught on fire. It was an electrical fire. One could see the smoke coming from the plastic piece. There was no forewarning. The vehicle was off, and there were no keys in the ignition. The vehicle was sitting for thirty minutes. Contacted the dealer, they said insurance company should be notified.
The dash lights started going off and on without warning. I pulled over when I realized the taillights were not working. A fire had started in the taillight socket on the driver's side. The fire department responed within 3 minutes, but the fire still did $8,000 in damage and took the dealer 10 weeks to fix. The cause was unknown, but the entire rear wiring harness had to be replaced.
Tl contact owns a 2001 Dodge Durango. The contact noticed smoke rising from under the dashboard before it caught fire. The fire department extinguished the fire. The vehicle was inspected by a Chrysler investigator, but they would not disclose the cause of the fire. The interior of the vehicle sustained damage. There were no injuries. The current and failure mileages were 74,750.
Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle caught fire while parked in the driveway. The fire department was called and determined the fire originated from under the driver's seat and was of an electrical nature. There were no problems with the vehicle prior to the incident. The dealership was not notified but the contact planned to. The vehicle was totaled and a police report was taken.
Related recalls
Electrical system
On certain sport utility vehicles equipped with front bench seats only, if fluid is spilled from the floor mounted cup holder, an unused console power outlet connector located under the seat May become contaminated.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the console wiring connector for corrosion, clean as required, and install a cap to prevent additional fluid from contaminating the connector free of charge. The recall began on October 30, 2006.
NHTSA investigations
Fire under the driver's seat
Odi is aware of 10 reports alleging that a fire originates underneath the driver's seat.six of thefires occurred while the vehicle was parked with the ignition switch turned off (key not in the ignition).the subject vehicles are equipped with manual seats. This investigation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis, (ea06-011), to allow further investigation of the issue.
Vehicle under-seat fire
Daimlerchrylser corporation (dcc) will recall 35,103 my 2001-2003 Dodge durango vehicles equipped with front bench seats (recall # 06V339, see defect report for details).the subject vehicles are equipped with either front bucket seats or a 40-20-40 split front bench seat.vehicles equipped with front bench seat contain an uncapped, unused connector located under the front edge of the seat.the connector provides power…
Electrical complaints in other Durango years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2001 Dodge Durango?
NHTSA has 91 complaints about the electrical system of the 2001 Dodge Durango, 14% of the model year's 665 complaints. The component named most often is wiring (6 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2001 Dodge Durango electrical problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 06V-339 (electrical system, Sep 7, 2006). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2001 Dodge Durango electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 88,000 miles, and 3% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 13 fires and 5 injuries to electrical system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.