10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
67,407 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2012 Dodge Charger drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2012 Dodge Charger Owner Comments (Page 3 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #18

Feb 042014

Charger 8-cyl

  • 39,202 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While I was driving, the steering wheel (power steering system) became very hard to handle. I ran off road, due to the hard steering/wet road and hit a guard rail. Once I impacted the guard rail, the steering continued to be hard to handle plus the brakes was very hard.

- Baton Rouge, LA, USA

problem #17

Oct 152014

Charger

  • 49,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Charger. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph, an abnormal noise emitted from the front of the vehicle. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 49,000.

- Shreveport, LA, USA

problem #16

Feb 172015

Charger 6-cyl

  • 86,000 miles
Driving 55 mph on highway in my 2012 Dodge Charger, I began to smell oil burning, looked down and noticed that the car was running at the highest temperature, 264 degrees. Thankfully I was close to a reputable garage close to my home. I parked the car there, asked for a gentle man to assist me, and once the car cooled enough to open the hood, he took a look. He noticed that the hose leading from the coolant reservoir to the engine was completely sucked in, and the coolant reservoir was filling with oil. Upon inspection from dealership I was informed that the engine needed to be completely replaced due to metal shavings and debris found in oil pan.

- Bradford, OH, USA

problem #15

Dec 312014

Charger 6-cyl

  • 66,900 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The car jerks when taking off and also between gears.

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #14

Dec 312014

Charger 6-cyl

  • 66,900 miles
I was going over a speed bump about 2 mph and when the passenger rear tire goes over the speed bump it makes a loud clunk noise like it bottoms out. My ABS, traction and air bag light_ stays on and will not go off. When I make a right turn the shifter area clicks mutiple times like a type writer.

- Miami , FL, USA

problem #13

Sep 292014

Charger 6-cyl

  • 39,000 miles
I was driving my vehicle in rush hour, stop and go traffic. I came to a stop because of traffic congestion and my ABS and other warning lights became illuminated. There was no previous warning. The car ceased to function. Electric systems were locked and I was left immobile in the middle of traffic. I called a local tow truck from my cell phone and the car was towed to the local dealer. The diagnosis was alternator and battery needed to be replaced. The car was running fine in the days/weeks leading up to this incident.

- Port Jefferson, NY, USA

problem #12

Jun 092014

Charger

  • 81,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Charger. While driving 45 mph, the instrument panel illuminated intermittently. While in reverse, the vehicle jerked and became difficult to operate. The dealer stated that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The failure mileage was 81,000.

- Rembert, SC, USA

problem #11

Aug 062014

Charger 6-cyl

  • 841,334 miles
We went to church on the 5th of August out of town. And when I got home the car started to make a noise and when park into the garage it has a smile that something were burning so I had to remove it from the garage overnight. And got up on the 6th of August and it would not start. So now it's at the Dodge dealership in warner robins, ga one waston blvd.

- Byron, GA, USA

problem #10

Jun 232014

Charger

  • 36,900 miles
First, I received warning for "battery saver mode" on dashboard. Later in the day, I took car to dealership for a service visit and the car shut down right there. All lights went crazy and car put itself in neutral very violently. I am afraid of this car and what it may do if this were to happen at a higher speed. Once the car took over control, I could not shut it off, put it in gear, or anything else for that matter. Dealer says its simply a bad battery and I am very leery of the dealer's diagnosis at this point.

- Little Rock, AR, USA

problem #9

May 032014

Charger

  • 27,000 miles
Parked auto on gravel parking lot. The drive select did go into the park position upon shut-down and the engine did not turn off when the ignition button was depressed. No engine sound apparent due low RPM and good sound suppression material. Excited the vehicle and locked car door.the car did not move as I left the area.subsequent to my departure, the torque built up enough to propel the car across the parking lot and into a tree in front of a private resident adjacent to the fair grounds.

- Laurel, MD, USA

problem #8

May 212014

Charger 6-cyl

  • 62,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving 35 mph, I smelled something burning. My battery light came on and the car shut down. I had it towed to the closest Dodge dealer. The dealership has reported that my alternator, serp belt & tensioner need to be replaced at a cost of $876!!!!! with all the other complaints that are very similar to mine, I feel a recall is in order!!!....updated 07/23/14

- Bullhead City, AZ, USA

problem #7

May 142014

Charger 6-cyl

  • 36,480 miles
We were driving and the ABS and skid lights illuminated on the dash, all the function lights illuminated the steering column locked and the car just halted and stalled. Everything was dead, unable to start and the wipers were going. The wipers were never turned on but kept running despite the car being "dead" wipers in off position. Towed home and then to dealership (dealership has no off hour gate access) told (2) days later the battery was dead on a 2 yr old vehicle, then I received a second call stating the alternator was the culprit. The alternator needs replacement, and no one can explain the rhyme or reason why it needs to be replaced on a 2yr old vehicle. The vehicle also has automatic push start and will not work sometimes unless the remoteless key is pressed to start the vehicle on the start-button (instead of pressing with finger, use the remote less entry- I was told this resets the reading- having to do this once/twice a month).

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #6

Feb 072014

Charger 6-cyl

  • 23,489 miles
The automatic transmission will not shift properly. It gets stuck in second gear.

- Bartlett , TN, USA

problem #5

Jan 132014

Charger 6-cyl

  • miles
I was driving my car and all of a sudden it died on me, it gave me no warning signs of any type. I had it towed to shop and they told me that my alternator and battery were gone. Im wondering how could that be if I just got vehicle last year brand new with 0 miles on it. I don't drive my car rough or anything I take very good care of this vehicle so how can this be.

- Jackson, MS, USA

problem #4

Dec 112012

Charger 6-cyl

  • 18,905 miles
Since 2012 Dec 11 I have brought the car into the dealership numerous times complaining of a loss of performance/ ability to pass confidently and every time been sent away from the dealership with the same problem not being fixed. I have experienced a loss of power, loss of fuel economy (from 23mpg city to 15 mpg city), rough idle/shudder at idle consistently since the M30 recall was performed. Consistently I am being left to pay for this potential safety issue with no fix from Chrysler's dealership or Chrysler customer care directly. The problems happen without presenting any error codes though visual evidence exists pertaining to the problem. I feel that it is only a matter of time until the loss of power presents a severe safety issue while trying to pass in highway road conditions. Despite my involvement with Chrysler I feel that when other cars start experiencing this series of issues, Chrysler will be caught unaware placing potentially thousands of Dodge Charger owner's in harm's way without a significant means of repair.

- Longview, TX, USA

problem #3

May 062013

Charger 6-cyl

  • 29,496 miles
We bought this vehicle on May 6, 2013, two hours later the check engine light went on. Took it to autozone and hooked it to the computer said it was the transmission. Proceeded to take it to the dealer on May 7th 2013 where they ran a test and found code P0741 -U0002- checked for contaminated fluid, relearned transmission serviced transmission, reset computer. The car was in the shop again on May 30th 2013 for the passenger side window (electrical). We got the car back on June 1st 2013 and the window did not work so as we were waiting for Monday June 3rd to take it back to the shop, the check engine light came on again. We are waiting to hear from the dealership as to what is wrong this time. We have only had physical possession of this vehicle for 4 1/2 days since the purchase, it is still in the shop being fixed. We had gone to the Dodge website and found that this particular vehicle has previously been in the shop 3 times for electrical problems.

- Seymour, TN, USA

problem #2

Jan 012013

Charger

  • 10,372 miles
Car rolled eventhough vehicle was in park and vehicle was not running. 1st incident happened within 10 min of walking away from car, rolled into another car. 2nd incident happened nearly 2 hours after being parked, and 3rd incident happened within 1 hour of being parked on slight incline. Dealer unable to recreate incident. Factor rep called Dodge, Dodge called transmission mfg and had valve com replaced. No further incident 2nd problem, windshield has wave in glass, wipers leaving large streaks causing driver to have safety issue. Dealer polished windshield 3X to no avail. Contacted Dodge waiting for factory rep to authorize replacement of windshield on going for almost 10 months.

- Vernon, CT, USA

problem #1

Jun 062012

Charger

  • 1,865 miles
I purchased a brand new 2012 Dodge Charger on March 23, 2012. Shortly after the purchase I noticed the car had a hard shift when I shifted through the gears (park, reverse, neutral, and drive), and I could hear a loud pop when I was shifting. I thought the loud pop was coming from the transmission. I was finally able to get the vehicle to the dealership to have it diagnosed. The problem is actually a bad axle. They said the axle is not fitting properly in the vehicle. I have not had the vehicle 6 months and I do not even have 2500 miles on it. I believe the vehicle left the manufacturing plant in this condition. I am concerned other vehicles on the road may have this issue, but the owner may not be aware of this because they do not know what to look for or just may not notice the shifting issue.

- Detroit, MI, USA

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