2003 Dodge Durango: headlights failing or too dim

Filed Jun 29, 2018 · Electrical, Lights · NV

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge durango. The contact stated that the headlights and instrument panel lighting flickered on and off. The vehicle was taken to desert 215 superstore (8030 rafael rivera way, las vegas, nv, (702) 963-8000) where it was diagnosed that the body module compartment needed replacement; however, the part was no longer manufactured. The dealer stated that the part could be purchased online and they would be able to repair the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed Jul 6, 2017 · Electrical, Visibility · 184,000 miles · IN

This issue happens randomly: vehicle is parked: power door locks do not work you have to manually unlock all doors, vehicles starts fine but "service 4x4" appears on the cluster, all dome lights stay on, cluster lights (gage's etc.) do not light up, no exterior lights work (I.e headlights, parking lights, brake and so on). Vehicle will not return to normal state until I disconnect the battery and reconnect. It has happened multiple times on different days. Sometimes it will happen within a day of each instant, other times it will go a month and then do it again.

Filed May 2, 2017 · Acceleration, Electrical · 98,000 miles · AL · fire

Rear air dont work from heat to cold . Turn head lights on the parks lights dont work

Filed Nov 18, 2016 · Electrical · 148,000 miles · MT

Chief complaint: purchased vehicle used with approx. 30,000 miles on it. Have been experiencing engine/electrical issues which require me to change spark plugs and engine coils about every 50,000 miles. I have done this three time in the last six years costing me about 900+ each visit. I have taken it to several different mechanics for opinions. I recently started getting misfiring again. Repaired again one at a time as well as some spontaneous occurrences that were very frightening. For example: wind shield wipers going crazy, lights blinking, doors locking and unlocking, windows rolling them selves down at night, horn blaring when turning on head lights, and the best one random small acceleration while driving. I have been told I have a faulty tipm. The dealership will not take any responsibility for this vehicle due to it being on year out of the documented recall year. This is very dangerous. Something should be made right.

Filed May 16, 2016 · Electrical, Lights · 104,000 miles · PA

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge durango. While driving approximately 20 MPH, the headlamp flickered on and off. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the central timer module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 02v322000 (exterior lighting). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was 104,000.

Filed Mar 31, 2016 · Electrical · 162,000 miles · KY

Wife started the truck this morning and had the windshield wipers going and turned on the headlights before backing up. The headlights started flashing and interior lights along with the lights in the dash were all flashing and going crazy. I had my wife turn off the windshield wipers and returned to normal. Research on all the forums says its the "ctm" central timer module. I called the dealership and was told it would cost $520. Just for the part and that didn't include any labor. This is a known issue and some models do have a recall for this very thing but my VIN was excluded.

Filed Aug 16, 2015 · Electrical, Lights · 199,800 miles · AR

The problem originally started about 2 weeks ago. When I switched on the rear fan (heat or AC did not matter), the entire center console (radio, blower switches, and electronic 4wd switch) would go completely dead, and the "service 4wd" light would come on. Then this started happening when I turned on the front blower or the rear blower. Then it started happening with both blowers off and the headlights on high. Now it does it spontaneously for no apparent reason with all extra electrical components (the headlights, radio, and blowers) all off. I'm thinking there is a short somewhere, but cannot identify it. So far, I have replaced the blower motor resistor, the tccm, and the ignition switch with no apparent improvement. I've also had the dash apart and checked every electrical wire I could get to for obvious shorts. No luck. The problem is getting progressively worse. I talked to the mechanic at the local dodge dealer, and he said he thinks it's the tipm (main fuse box) in the engine compartment. He said he sees them short out "all the time, some of them so bad they actually catch fire!" (direct quote from him.) I am now terrified to drive my durango, but I cannot afford the hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars it's going to cost to fix the tipm, if that's what it really is. But I do not want drive it with the possibility of a vehicle fire. I've done all kinds of internet research on this, and it seems like a really common problem in the durangos. Also, my friend who works at a salvage yard says these fuse boxes are one of their most sought after parts. Surely an electrical problem that is this common and of such a catastrophic magnitude should be a recall!

Filed Jul 31, 2015 · Electrical, Lights · 119,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge durango. After starting the vehicle, the headlights, tail lights, and interior lights started to flash on and off with the emergency indicator illuminating on the instrument panel. The contact mentioned that the failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the central timer module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 119,000.

Filed Feb 10, 2015 · Electrical · 102,000 miles · WA

I have a 2003 durango that has been showing some very unusual electrical problems. The headlights and dash lights will sometimes flicker at night. The door chime sounds like the speaker has a short in it. I noticed that my garage door opener no longer works and sometimes the compass and temp gauge in the overhead freezes. The worst thing that happened was the passenger headlight went out and refuses to work with a new bulb. I tested the circuit and it is dead. I looked into the issue and found out that it has a central time module that controls many of the electrical functions of the truck. Mine has all the classic symptoms of a bad one. I also found out that a few hundred durango's and dakota's were recalled for this problem, however mine was not one of them. I have seen multiple threads on the internet of customers complaining of the same thing and dodge is not replacing them. It is a serious safety issue as the headlights can stop working at night as you drive. I contacted dodge and they said that they will review this problem and send me an e-mail with their decision in a few day's . This never happened. I have been loyal to dodge for many years owning 2 dakota's, 1 ram truck and my durango r/t. I am not going to buy any dodge products in the future as I would like to be able to trust that the company that made my vehicle will do what it takes to fix a serious safety issue. It's as if they don't care about safety.

Filed Jun 20, 2014 · Electrical, Lights · 190,000 miles · CO

My headlights and interior lights started blinking accompanied by a clicking sound coming from the left side of the steering panel. The windshield wipers also do not work unless put on high, and the gas light sound beeps every 20-30 seconds continuously until gas is put in. The beeping sound for the gas light will stop once refilled but lights continue to blink, interior and exterior while vehicle is in motion. I have done research on this problem and it seems like every other person with a 2003 dodge durango is experiencing the exact same problem but dodge refuses to recall the part, saying it was fixed, which is the ctm module causing this problem, when taken into a dealership it is the ctm that needs to be fixed and is absurd that more vehicles have not been recalled for this problem when every single one is experiencing the exact same problems.

Filed May 27, 2014 · Electrical, Locks · 148,000 miles · NJ

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge durango. The contact stated that while traveling 15 MPH, the headlights, interior lights, power door locks and remote key suddendly failed. The failure occurred on several occasions. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the central timer module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 148,000.

Filed Jan 11, 2014 · Lights · 134,000 miles · NY

While driving headlights will blink on and off. Dashboard lights will blink on and off. Wipers act up and don't always work. Door locks wont work.