2020 DODGE DURANGO — Complaint #2149613
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:SEAT HEATER/COOLER filed November 18, 2025
NHTSA complaint #2149613 (ODI reference 11700016) concerns a 2020 DODGE DURANGO and was filed on November 18, 2025. The owner reports the failure occurred on October 17, 2025. The vehicle had 130,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Virginia based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as seats:front assembly:seat heater/cooler, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: yes, injuries: 1, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same DODGE DURANGO cohort independently describe similar seats:front assembly:seat heater/cooler failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2020 DODGE DURANGO shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owns a 2020 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that moments after starting the vehicle and while driving approximately 55 MPH, the contact suddenly felt a sharp burning pain in the buttocks area. The contact immediately stopped the vehicle and discovered a burn hole in the clothing and a skin burn to the buttocks. While inspecting the vehicle, a burn hole was discovered in the front driver's seat cushion. During the incident, the contact indicated that the seat heat was in the on position and no flames or burning odor were present inside the vehicle. The vehicle was later driven to the local dealer, who indicated an electrical fire had occurred inside the front driver's seat and the entire seat needed to be replaced. The cause of the electrical fire was not determined, and the vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed that an engineer would inspect the vehicle, but no inspection occurred, and no assistance was offered. The failur
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2149613 |
| ODI Number | 11700016 |
| Date Filed | November 18, 2025 |
| Failure Date | October 17, 2025 |
| VIN | 1C4RDJDG8LC |
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.