Hi all,
I searched for this one haven't seen it here - 2012 Durango Citadel AWD 5.7 - has issues starting right away, took it to dealership for diagnosis, tech sent pictures of our decaying wiring harness in the engine bay.

It's in bad shape. This car had a new motor and a new trans a few years ago - that's in another set of threads here.
Dealer ship in NE FL says the wiring harness part is not available, but they can repair it with about 6 hrs of labor and lots of wire (did I mention patience?) for about $1200.
Has anyone else seen this happen on their Durango?
Surely there is 1 of those harnesses out there in inventory - how would I even be able to find out?
Car is at the dealer while we try to decide how to fix it.
I'm open to ideas here... Does Dodge Customer Care get on this forum any longer?

 

Well, the replacement factory harness would likely suffer a similar fate, although maybe it would last another 12 years before having major issues.... I'm not sure I'd trust a dealership to rewire since you'd probably end up with some less than great splices and only about 8 wire colors for everything they touch, making future troubleshooting REALLY challenging since it wouldn't match the factory wiring diagrams.

I'm not sure if this is the cause of your Durango's issue, but many auto manufacturers recently have been encouraged to switch to more environmentally friendly materials, including soy-based wiring insulation. It turns out that wire insulation is quite attractive to rodents, and there are been numerous reports of issues with rodent damage to modern car wiring harnesses. Does your Durango sit outside most of the time?

-Rod

 

Our Durango did not have enclosed parking for it's first 8 years but has been garaged for the past 4 years. The pics shared by the dealer won't convert to a format that I can share here, but the sheathing on the harness appeared melted or dissolved rather than chewed on - which I have seen many times at my Dad's place (in the woods literally).
Update - we had the existing harness repaired and the car now starts consistently and with authority again. Time will tell if the starter was damaged or not (but hey, after 185,000 miles on 2 motors I think we got a decent value even if it does give out soon).

 

That's good to hear. It sounds like the dealership made a good repair (must have only been a few wires?) and you're happy with the work. That's what's most important. Thank you for following up!

-Rod