We have a 2018 Durango. My wife tried to start it one morning and the starter burnt up (smoked). Had it repaired at a reputable shop, finally got it back 3 days ago. She has been driving it with no issues. This morning she went to start it and she told me nothing happened, I went out opened the hood and told her to try again. The starter relay clicked, the engine shifted like it was trying to start and sounded like the starter was struggling, she let off the button. I told her to hit the start button again and then the starter smoked, a cloud, I could see it coming from the starter. Any ideas on what would cause this?

 

Sounds like something is siezing hard enough to keep the engine from turning over, and the starter is paying the price. Try removing the serpentine belt from the accessories and see if they all spin easily by hand, paying attention for any rattling noises or sudden, hard, intermittent resistance to turning. I've heard of alternator bearing packs going bad, and the resistance was enough to keep the engine from turning over even with a serpentine belt. Back in those days if it didn't turn over immediately the driver sensibly let off the key, but with the pushbutton start the computer may be holding power to the starter for X seconds or Y RPM, and dumping the battery's full power through a starter that isn't spinning for several seconds would be enough to smoke it. The bugger is if a bearing pack somewhere is just starting to go bad, it might jam up, then unjam, then jam again later.

No idea if this will be correct, but it's the best I can do with a thousand mile view. And, the other possibilities just get worse from here, as in internal engine damage.

 

Thank You, I will check.

 

Having the same problem did you ever find out what the problem was?