general problems of the 2014 Dodge Durango - part 1

On February 6, 2026, while driving my 2014 Dodge Durango at normal speed, the driver’s seat headrest suddenly and unexpectedly deployed/exploded, striking the back of my head. The force of the impact caused my head to snap forward, resulting in soft-tissue and muscle injuries to my neck and upper back. I sought medical evaluation following the incident and was diagnosed with soft-tissue injury/whiplash. Treatment has included diagnostic imaging, prescription medication, and follow-up care for ongoing symptoms. I was able to continue driving the vehicle directly to a Dodge dealership, where staff confirmed that the headrest had exploded. This is the second headrest failure on this vehicle caused by a defective plastic component; the passenger-side headrest failed previously in August 2023. The vehicle is unsafe to operate until the headrest is replaced. Due to the part being out of stock, the repair is expected to take more than two months. Prior to this incident, the only indication of a problem was a letter sent by Dodge in August 2020 stating that the warranty on this part was extended from 3 years to 10 years due to a known defect. Given the repeated failures and risk of injury, this condition represents a safety defect that should have been addressed through a recall.

Active head rest inadvertent deployment.

While stopped at a stop sign, the passenger headrest airbag deployed.

Driver side front headrest exploded/deployed while the car was parked. The plastic latch inside the headrest is broken so resetting it is impossible. This is concerning and highly dangerous! upon researching this, it’s a known issue for Dodge models and yet isn’t a recall? my car was parked when this happened.

Active headrest restraint deployed without warning or cause.

Driving 2014 Dodge Durango when the active headrest restraint on the passenger seat activated. No accident or impact to the vehicle during incident. Resulted in passenger receiving a solid "punch" to the back of the head and neck resulting in headaches for a week. If this had happened on the driver's seat (and it still could !), I can imagine an accident is possible due to the utter surprise of the noise and being punched in the head while driving. At the time of the incident, we had no idea what had happened but have since learned that our experience is not unprecedented and there are numerous similar reports of "exploding" Dodge/Jeep headrests on NHTSA. Wanting to report incident to NHTSA before taking to dealer for repair (hopefully). No warnings of impending ahr activation and no indication of activation in uconnect after the incident. There is an active NHTSA investigation pe 19014 on this exact component failure.

The passenger-side headrest ahr randomly failed and deployed the headrest (while driving at low speeds on local roads). Pictures have been taken and the headrest is left in place as-is for the dealership to inspect during service hours. The defective plastic retention bracket assembly suddenly broke and released the headrest, and can not be reset. There are no warnings for this now widely known manufacturer defect, yet Dodge has no reasonably effective resolution. Had the seat been occupied at that moment the active head-restraint failed, it would have caused serious head injuries to my family or myself. Had it been the driver-side headrest that malfunctioned at that moment, that could have injured me while driving and created a serious traffic accident. A limited extended warranty to repair a faulty component after an incident on a known cost-cutting defect that randomly injures occupants (at least 71 injuries have been caused by this known defect) with great potential to lead to fatal traffic accidents is unacceptable.

Passenger seat, headrest exploded part of cars, active restraint system, hitting my son in the head.

Active head restraint failure in passenger side headrest. It is available to be inspected. This is a known issue for the 2014 Dodge Durango from 2011 to 2018 among other Dodge/Jeep vehicles.

While vehicle was being driven, passenger headrest spontaneously deployed/exploded, hitting passenger in the head with strong force, causing significant head, neck and shoulder pain.

The component that failed was the passengers headrest. It automatically deployed while driving with no collision or hit. I was able to stop and park right away because it hit my daughter on the head. I just wanted to make sure she was good. This happened today 07/16/2024 so will call my dealer tomorrow to see if they can do something about it and hopefully they can fix it. For now, I thank god my daughter is good. I did no report with insurance, or police. I had no warning before it happened.

Passenger side active headrest deployed without accident while sitting in driveway no one in or around vehicle and also not running.

I was driving along thankfully at a low rate of speed when suddenly my passenger seat head rest popped really loud and sprang open. Scared the crap out of me, and caused me to swerve really hard and almost out of my lane. Thank god no one was sitting in the passenger seat at the time!!.

The passenger headrest opened up during normal driving and hit the passenger in the head, hard. Upon inspection the brackets that hold some sort of spring-loaded mechanism appear to have cracked/broken to allow the head rest to open up.

The passenger side head rest deployed for no reason. Has not been in any accidents. Shop states it would cost me $850 to get fixed. I believe this is a defect of the part since I was just going down the road when this happened. As I said before I have not been in any accidents. Please send me a replacement for this vehicle or put out a recall on this. I have seen that there is multiple people having this issue.

The passenger side active head restraint headrest deployed while driving. Upon activation, it struck the passenger in the head causing dizziness and pain. According to a few online forums, this has been an issue for some time. No one has inspected my vehicle so far but me. The headrest is unable to be reset. There was no warning and no lights or messages indicating the failure.

Was driving and noticed my headrest was actually touching my head, it had deployed like it should when you hit an accident. Nothing was hit.

1. Active head rest inadvertent deployment driver's side 2. Seat warmers and steering wheel warmer won't turn off unless vehicle is turned off and on again.

While driving down the interstate, the passenger headrest deployed and hit my husband in the back of the head, jarring him and hurting his neck. This is the second time this has happened, the first time was on the driver’s side and Dodge repaired the issue. The plastic clips holding the metal latching mechanism snapped and the headrest deployed. I called the dealership and was told there were no recalls. There were no warning lights or signs that this was going to happen. At this time I have not turned it into insurance or filed a police report because it was a faulty piece of equipment within the car. If this would have happened on the driver side, it could have caused a wreck or knocked the driver unconscious. Even in the passenger seat, this causes serious injury concerns to the neck and head.

Upon arriving home, I parked the car in the garage. As I was collecting my belongings to exit the car, the driver's headrest "exploded" sharply striking me in the back of the head. While I was uninjured - beyond the resulting headache - this appears to be a defect with the vehicle. On inspection, it appears the plastic retaining bar failed causing the headrest to separate.

Sitting at drive through and driver headrest exploded and hit me in the back of the head. Thank god I was not moving at the time and my car was in park or I may have wrecked! startled me and I was dazed and confused because I couldn’t figure out what had happened! this just happened a few hours ago so I have not been able to report it or have it checked out. I did take several pictures. There were no warnings or anything and it just happened as I was sitting there! if I had been driving, it could have been catastrophic! my neck is sore and I have a headache.

Headrest deployed under normal driving conditions.

Jan 24 , 2023. Drivers active headrest was deployed. No incidents/accidents and must be replaced looks like the plastic retaining hooks malfunctioned. Must be replaced. Unknown exactly what happened. Hea.

The passenger head rest popped/exploded and juts forward and will not close back. I was advised that it is an airbag recall issue. However after checking my VIN nothing is shown listed here. On a google search it says there is a ten year unlimited mile recall.

We were driving down the interstate, and the active head restraint deployed for no reason. I was in the passenger seat. It hit me hard in the back of the head. I didn’t know what had happened. It felt like we had been hit by a car. I can’t imagine this happening if you were in the drivers seat! this is so dangerous! I am having head/neck issues now! I have an appointment with Dodge to inspect my headrest this week. I have been scared to drive my car. I’m worried the drivers side will do the same! I had no idea this could even happen until I researched afterwards. I saw that others have had this happen to them too. Dodge needs to recall these headrests!.

Rackin pinion, lumbar drivers seat stopped working, 120v outlet came out, jerking at pulling off, all dash components do things when ever. Electrical issues within radio and dash.

While traveling east upon illinois route 62 at an estimated speed of 50 mph without warning the driver’s side active head rest (ahr) activated and deployed striking the driver in the back of the head causing a minor headache. At this time, the active head rest is available for examination and the local Dodge dealer will be notified for assistance with the repair. Since the incident just occurred, the active head rest has not yet been inspected. Prior to the active head rest being deployed there was no warning lights or messages. Fortunately, there was no reported traffic accidents or other injuries reported.

The passenger headrest exploded/ ruptured when the car was turned on. The headrest is unusable, during detonation of the failed part it can and will startle the person in the seat and or cause damage to them. We will be taking it to the dealership for further evaluation.

Headrest activated while the vehicle is parked in my garage.

I was at a stop sign driving home from work. As I stopped at the stop sign, the front passenger side seat, headrest exploded from the backing portion of it. It sounded like a gun shot. Now I am afraid the driver's side will eventually do the same. I am calling the Dodge dealership that I have my vehicle service tomorrow morning.

The front passenger active headrest restraint deployed randomly, without cause. It appears the hinges inside that hold it closed developed cracks and failed, allowing it to deploy. Yes, it is available for inspection upon request. It smacked the passenger in the back of the head fairly hard and caused a distraction for everyone in the car as it was sudden and loud. The vehicle has not been taken in for service, I will replace the part on my own. No one has inspected the headrest. There were no warnings of any sort before this happened.

Passenger side head rest deployed for no reason no safety issues. Have not ‘contacted dealer. No inspections conducted. No warnings.

Without warning, the driver-seat active head restraint (ahr head rest) deployed while driving on the highway nearly resulting in an accident. There were no sudden stops, sudden movements of the vehicle, nor were there any bumps or pot-holes; I was simply driving down the highway. It's like a punch to the back of the head, while driving, creating an extremely unsafe situation, especially in heavy traffic. Vehicle has not yet been inspected.

The headrest restraint system popped the headrest into the back of the passengers head while driving under normal conditions.

Active headrest restraint deployed unexpectedly. Wife was driving down the highway and got onto the rumble strip for 50 feet or so and the drivers side headrest deployed hitting her in the back of the head. She's got a stiff neck now. I called the dealership and there's no recall for this even though it's been under investigation for 2. 5 years. What gives? someone is going to be seriously injured one of these days.