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2024 Durango GT Plus Headlight Issues

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ipa0628

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I purchased a '24 GT Plus Blacktop in Octane Red 4 weeks ago as a replacement for my wife's '19 Charger.
I like everything about it except the headlights are absolutely horrible. They are the standard LED Projector lights. Depending on the position of the car on the road you see nothing above the car as in looking for deer or other things. On a flat stretch of road it seems like I can't see more than 100 feet in front of the car. I had the dealer raise them up but I'm not sure if there is any more adjustment left in the lights.
Going from the HID's of the Charger to these is like day and night.
Are any of you guys with these LED lights having the same issues or is there something wrong with the lights in my Durango.?
If there isn't much adjustemnt left in my lights, I am wondering how the HID's in the RT's and SRT's are. Do they shine farther down the road than these lights? If they are a lot better, I may have to step up and buy the RT's light assembly to improve not only the lighting but the overall safety of the vehicle. I may have to ask the dealer where I bought the Durango if I can try one of the RT's they have at night.
I thought the headlights in my '16 Ram were bad, but these are worse.
 
#2 ·
My 2023 R/T TnG has self-levelling headlights. You can see the lights go through a levelling sequence when the engine is started. Does your GT have self-levelling headlights? If so, I wonder if there's a problem with the mechanism or the computer that controls it.

I'm pretty happy with the LED projectors in my Durango.
 
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#3 ·
My 21R/T headlights kick ass. If you want to see some dim headlights look for any mopar with halogen head lights. My wife's 15' JGC had the worst headlights I have ever seen. Yellow, not bright etc. I replaced them with Sylvania which had a much whiter light which helped. But again, the LEDs in my 21 R/T are excellent and that is without auto leveling.
 
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Discussion starter · #4 ·
bb37 said:
My 2023 R/T TnG has self-levelling headlights. You can see the lights go through a levelling sequence when the engine is started. Does your GT have self-levelling headlights? If so, I wonder if there's a problem with the mechanism or the computer that controls it.

I'm pretty happy with the LED projectors in my Durango.
Click to expand...
I do not have the self leveling lights. Just regular fixed lights with an adjustment screw.
I looked at the '23 Durango sales catalog I have and your RT has the SmartBeamTM High Intensity
Discharge (HID) headlamps, not LED's.
I think the LED's stop at the GT level.
 
#5 ·
ipa0628 said:
I do not have the self leveling lights. Just regular fixed lights with an adjustment screw.
I looked at the '23 Durango sales catalog I have and your RT has the SmartBeamTM High Intensity
Discharge (HID) headlamps, not LED's.
I think the LED's stop at the GT level.
Click to expand...
The R/T Town-n-Go is an SRT but with a 5.7 Hemi instead of the 6.4 Hemi.
My R/T like all standard R/Ts since 21 have LED headlights and they are awesome.
My wife's 21' JGC has HIDs and I prefer the LEDs because they are just as good.
 
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Discussion starter · #6 ·
Vice-White said:
My 21R/T headlights kick ass. If you want to see some dim headlights look for any mopar with halogen head lights. My wife's 15' JGC had the worst headlights I have ever seen. Yellow, not bright etc. I replaced them with Sylvania which had a much whiter light which helped. But again, the LEDs in my 21 R/T are excellent and that is without auto leveling.
Click to expand...
I believe your RT has the SmartBeamTM High Intensity Discharge (HID) headlamps. This is according to the '21 Durango catalog I have on my laptop.
If this is the case, and along with the other reply I received, I am going to try and try one of the RT's on my dealer's lot. I may have to spend some $$ to upgrade to the HID's. That is what was on the the Charger we had.
My dealer says my LED's are aimed as high as they will go.
Also, they cut out the fog lights starting in '22. I'm sure that doesn't help either.
They added the sunroof to the Plus package in '23. It is something we will never use. I would rather have fog lights, HID's, and power folding mirrors instead of the useless to me sunroof.
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
Vice-White said:
The R/T Town-n-Go is an SRT but with a 5.7 Hemi instead of the 6.4 Hemi.
My R/T like all standard R/Ts since 21 have LED headlights and they are awesome.
My wife's 21' JGC has HIDs and I prefer the LEDs because they are just as good.
Click to expand...
Are you sure your '21 has LED's. Take a look at the attached. It shows HID's If you have your window sticker, could you look at that to see what is shows.
I have these catalogs from '21 until '24. RT and above show HID's for all 4 years.
 

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#9 ·
From what I can find, you have to go up to the SRT 392 model before you get the PROJECTOR beam LED lights. I have a 2024 Durango SRT 392 and the headlights are fantastic. I live way out in the country, where there are more deer than people and I'm 20 miles from a grocery store. There are no street lights on most of the roads, until you get to a city. The headlights on my SRT 392 make even the darkest roads like daylight. They are truly awesome and highly recommended. It may be that some mechanical changes are needed for these headlights. A good dealer- or a GOOD custom shop that knows how to install them - should be able to help you. Be careful of custom shops, though. I has a 2022 Chsllenger T/A WITHOUT the Plus package, and it came with HALOGEN headlamps that were dangerous at night. I had a custom shop supposedly install LED headlights but they did a crappy job. I ended up trading it for a 2023 Challenger T/A with the Plus package and factory LED headlights. Huge difference.
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
ScottDurangoSRT392 said:
From what I can find, you have to go up to the SRT 392 model before you get the PROJECTOR beam LED lights. I have a 2024 Durango SRT 392 and the headlights are fantastic. I live way out in the country, where there are more deer than people and I'm 20 miles from a grocery store. There are no street lights on most of the roads, until you get to a city. The headlights on my SRT 392 make even the darkest roads like daylight. They are truly awesome and highly recommended. It may be that some mechanical changes are needed for these headlights. A good dealer- or a GOOD custom shop that knows how to install them - should be able to help you. Be careful of custom shops, though. I has a 2022 Chsllenger T/A WITHOUT the Plus package, and it came with HALOGEN headlamps that were dangerous at night. I had a custom shop supposedly install LED headlights but they did a crappy job. I ended up trading it for a 2023 Challenger T/A with the Plus package and factory LED headlights. Huge difference.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the great description of how good your lights are. Sounds like exactly what I need even though I know it will be expensive. The discount Mopar sites like allmoparparts only give me a price for the LED's in my GT. I'll have to open an inquiry with them for a price. They should be a plug an play thing except the bumper cover needs to be removed to get th headlights out.
My wife was used to the HID projectors in the 2 Chargers she had over the last 8 years. They were a $900 option in those cars. The Durango GT lights are close to the headlights in my '16 Ram, that is not great.
 
#11 ·
You're welcome. You may want to watch the installation process on YOUTUBE, just to make sure that it is as simple as you think. Also, you may want to ask around for dealers in your area that will do this work. Most of them will only install parts that match your VIN, which these LED lights won't. You may find a Charger/Challenger/Durango club in your area, and see if they can recommend a good shop to do this. Try not to go to one unless you have at least 3 recommendations for it. Good luck and let us know how it turns out. I am just concerned that the new lights may have a different board or wiring harness than yours do.
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
ScottDurangoSRT392 said:
You're welcome. You may want to watch the installation process on YOUTUBE, just to make sure that it is as simple as you think. Also, you may want to ask around for dealers in your area that will do this work. Most of them will only install parts that match your VIN, which these LED lights won't. You may find a Charger/Challenger/Durango club in your area, and see if they can recommend a good shop to do this. Try not to go to one unless you have at least 3 recommendations for it. Good luck and let us know how it turns out. I am just concerned that the new lights may have a different board or wiring harness than yours do.
Click to expand...
If I do change the lights I will let my dealer do it. No way I would mess with it or let a 3rd party touch it when it is only a month old. The problem is identifying the correct replacement lights. The guy at https://www.allmoparparts.com/
is trying to find the correct items I am looking for. They are a CJDR dealer near NYC. The self leveling are something I don't need, just the HID's.
I hope to drive an RT Monday night and compare the lights to my GT Plus. If there isn't much difference then I just live with the factory lights.
 
#16 ·
DRL’s stay on with low beams. The headlights in my 24 R/T are complete with a DOT cert from 2021 so they aren’t something new. My 21 SRT has the same light output but are auto leveling. The 21 and up LED lights have superior output compared to the 20 and below HID.
Image

Image
 
Discussion starter · #19 ·
LunarTRX said:
Pull your build sheet and see what it says. This is from the R/T. View attachment 135037
View attachment 135036
Click to expand...
Thanks for all your pictures and detailed explanations. My lights compared to your last picture show the same thing. All 4 lights are on. I was at my dealer last night dropping off my Ram for some warranty work. My salesman pulled a '24 RT next to my GT and the lights on were exactly the same and showed the same height on a wall used to measure the adjustment. The picture you show the low beam range and how high they shine tell me mine must need to need to be adjusted higher, even if the dealer maintains they are at max height. On my headlight switch I don't have a setting where I can only turn on DRL's . It has to be checked in the uConnect to turn on during the day. Again thanks much for all your efforts.
 
Discussion starter · #20 ·
LunarTRX said:
DRL’s stay on with low beams. The headlights in my 24 R/T are complete with a DOT cert from 2021 so they aren’t something new. My 21 SRT has the same light output but are auto leveling. The 21 and up LED lights have superior output compared to the 20 and below HID. View attachment 135033
View attachment 135032
Click to expand...
I enabled the DRL's in the uConnect. Started the car and the DRL'S were on. Switched on the low beams, and the DRL'S went out. The RT at the dealer 2 nights ago did the same thing when it was parked next to me.
How are your running lights staying on. There is nothing in the settings to keep them on.
I downloaded my build sheet and the lights are the same as yours.
 
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Vice-White
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