CarComplaints.com Notes: The first year of the new Dodge Dart had a rough start, with owners reporting a disproportionate number of engine and transmission problems.

For transmission, the main complaints are transmission failure & rough shifting. So far, average mileage for transmission failure is 25,000 miles. Not good.

For engine problems, it usually starts with the engine light coming on for any number of reasons: bad sensors, ignition coil replacement, bad wiring, faulty gas cap ... dealers are replacing various components with varying degrees of success, or telling owners they can't duplicate the issue.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
14 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 2
Average Mileage:
45,540 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.

2013 Dodge Dart drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2013 Dodge Dart Owner Comments (Page 10 of 27)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #349

Aug 252018

Dart

  • 140,000 miles

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

The powertrain control module was reprogrammed and the transmission control module was reprogrammed under warranty on August 29, 2013. March 13, 2015 the check engine light was coming on and the dealership had noted that several modules have stored code for lost communications with tcm module U0101-00. PCM needed flash update which was done. Tcm was replaced and reprogrammed. On Saturday, August 25, 2018. We then had problems with the car shifting into gear when leaving parked position. Could not reverse or go forward. We could physically put it into gear but the car itself would not shift properly. It then went into limp mode. On Sunday, August 26 it happened again while parked. We drove it to crowfoot Dodge on Monday, August 27. As we were bringing it in the car went to limp mode as driving. So we left it where it stopped. We called the Dodge mechanic and he told us that he thought the problem was the transmission control module. They needed to order the part but it should be fixed on Wednesday. The part was not there on Wednesday nor Thursday. We then called on Friday and was told that they replaced the transmission control module and the car still had some internal transmission problem. On the statement they wrote that the actuator for 1 clutch and 3 was faulty and because it was integrated into the transmission the whole transmission needs to replaced for $11,000. This car's warranty expired on June 29, 2018 and 140,000 km's current read. As the transmission control module has been a problem previously while we were still in warranty.

- Calgary, AL, USA

problem #348

Feb 102019

Dart

  • 160,000 miles
The shift cable has been coming out. It will jump off while driving.

- Memphis, TN, USA

problem #347

Apr 062019

Dart 4-cyl

  • 88,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Dodge Dart. When attempting to drive, the gear shifter failed to shift out of gear. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the shift cable detached and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer were notified of the failure. After receiving email about recall as recommended by the representative. Contact did not call the dealer since she to get repair the vehicle the day of the incident. The approximate failure mileage was 88,000.

- Indian Harbour Beach, FL, USA

problem #346

Nov 012018

Dart

  • 62,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2013 Dodge Dart. The contact stated that the vehicle shifted roughly and sputtered while driving. The contact spoke with the manufacturer and was informed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to NHTSA. The vehicle was taken twice to parkway Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram (21560 hall rd, clinton twp, mi 48038, (586) 203-2965. The first visit resulted in the outer sensors of the transmission being replaced. The second visit resulted in the inner sensors being replaced. Both repairs were at the contact's expense. The failure mileage was 62,000.

- Macomb, MI, USA

problem #345

Apr 092019

Dart

  • 56,000 miles
The parking brake has failed on two occasions, once while stationary when it was at the dealership. It crashed into a car in their parking lot in 2016. The vehicle has been in and out of the dealership over the last four years. It was in the dealership in 2015-2016 thirteen times for oil leaks and the engine either dying or almost seizing while in motion. This resulted in my vehicle starting on fire in late 2016 early 2017. The repair for the fire damage was covered by my insurance company and it was subsequently fixed by a different dealership after that. More recently, it was in my driveway and rolled into my truck and damaged the front of the vehicle's bumper while stationary with the parking brake was engaged. The symptoms with the engine have also started to reappear while in motion in 3rd or 4th gear... it starts to act like it's going to completely die. Needless to say, I have it back in the dealership for diagnostics. Some of the recalls listed on this website sound like things I have experienced, please let me know if there is anything I can do. My time is the main thing I care about at this point and don't want to spend another 2 years endlessly in and out of the dealership. I just want a car that operates normally.

- Yorkville, IL, USA

problem #344

Apr 062019

Dart

  • 62,000 miles
I have a 2013 Dodge Dart aero 6 speed manual, dual dry clutch, multi air turbo. I purchased vehicle in February 2017. 4 months later I had brought my vehicle into carsense for an oil change. Meanwhile I asked them to check the brakes also due to braking issues and my ebrake was not working properly and had a mind of it's own. It worked when it wanted to, but yet everything is in "great condition" says carsence.mind you that I had just purchased this vehicle in February and it was recently inspected in January 2017. Service dept. Inspected my brakes and gave me the current measurements of existing brake pads left. About June 2018 I was coming up to a stop sign in a 25 mph side street with light traffic. I had trouble slowing down to a complete stop. When I managed to come to a complete stop I heard a loud bang. Here my driver's side rear rotor was severely smoking and I noticed my rotor was redhot. My rotor snapped completely in half. My shifter would randomly pop out of gear or the clutch would lightly stick, smelling exhaust odor I'm now pushing 62, 000 miles and what do you know. I am coming home into my development. I'm in second gear turning onto my lane and doing maybe 10 mph well it decides to pop out of gear and accelerates, redlining second gear(I'm assuming it thinks it's in second) and all dashboard lights are flashing steering wheel it locked. Car is now doing 80 mph in a 15 mph zone. My brakes are not working at all brake pedal is harder than hard. I have no control of this vehicle!! engine finally cuts out after I removed the key from the ignition. Comes to a screeching halt. Thank god. It wont start still to this day..oil in turbo and up the hose. Battery plays dead along with my instrument panel and my transmission needs a computer upgrade that's not even available for the 1.4L turbo engine...it needs a tcm, new master cylinder.

- Quakertown, PA, USA

problem #343

Mar 292019

Dart

  • 92,500 miles

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

I put my car in reverse to back out of my parking space and it switched into neutral and is now stuck there. My key will not come out of the ignition due to it being stuck in neutral.

- Kerrville, TX, USA

problem #342

Mar 272019

Dart

  • 47,000 miles
The clutch gets stuck on the floor and I'm unable to shift gears. This happens on a daily basis. I've been stuck in my drive way because I can't get the gear into the reverse position. Same this has happened in traffic where I'm stuck because I can get the gear into first to move the car forward. Once I do get the gear to go the car shoots forward dangerously. There is also a significant loss of power. When trying to drive up a hill the car can barely move and the rpms go higher yet there's no power.

- Provo, UT, USA

problem #341

Mar 092019

Dart

  • 60,697 miles
Car slipped in nuetral and stuck in nuetral

- Seneca, Il, IL, USA

problem #340

Mar 082019

Dart

  • 48,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Dodge Dart. While the vehicle was parked with the key in the ignition, the "auto stick unavailable" message appeared, which then changed to "service transmission". the vehicle failed to start after several attempts. Also, the check engine warning indicator flashed. When the contact attempted to shift into reverse, "gear not available" appeared on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the failures occurred at least five times per week for the past five months. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 48,000.

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #339

Feb 272019

Dart

  • 51,515 miles

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

I have felt slips in the transmission lately but yesterday I was driving on a city street and it just went to neutral and would not go in drive or reverse. The dash displayed words saying service needed on transmission. I shut the vehicle off and wited a few minutes. When I started it again, it went into drive and I parked it in my driveway which was a block away. I researched online and saw where there is a recall for this problem. Am I covered on this?

- Ashland, KY, USA

problem #338

Feb 272019

Dart

  • 51,000 miles
I was driving to my local albertsons and when pulling into my parking space in the car lot I went to shift my transmission into park but when I moved the stick up from drive to park I noticed that the stick felt too smooth as if it didnt catch. Sure enough when I checked the light still read "D" for drive instead of "P" for park at this point I had a vehicle that I couldn't normally shift so maintaining my foot on the break I was able to power off the engine but my keys were still stuck inside as thats a feature of the car if the car is not set on park. I put on my emergency hand brake and luckly the car wasn't moving on its own. After calling aaa to tow my car the mechanic said that the shift cable bushing had broke. He said I was lucky to be in a situation where I was able to stop in the safe area to address this as had this happened if I was reversing on a hill or attempting park downhill and it broke then it could have led to a collision.

- Westminster, CA, USA

problem #337

Feb 272019

Dart

  • miles
The check engine light periodically comes on and then the transmission doesn't work. The message given on the dash is that the gear box isn't available. When you put the car in gear, the indicator light flashes and the car won't move. The car sits for a couple of days, then it starts working again for a few weeks. It is asinine that there are so many complaints about the exact same thing, but nothing has been done about it by the manufacturer. Thank goodness this hasn't happened while driving on the streets, but it will eventually. When I backed it out of the driveway the other morning it stopped working and the engine just revved. I would rather junk this car than fix it, but we still owe on it. We've only had the stupid thing for 6 months and there was only one owner prior to us. This is two for two for crap Dodge cars. I will never own another!

- Altoona, IA, USA

problem #336

Jan 152019

Dart

  • 118,000 miles
Takata recall. Hi I have a 2013 Dodge Dart limited with 118,000 miles on it. I was at a 4 way stop sign I went to go and all of a sudden my car would not do anything. My gears would not work. Drive, reverse and neutral all do not work. I've been told it's the transmission.there should have been a recall on this transmission. It's a automix 1.4 turbo transmission. This should be on your guys to recall and relace my transmission.

- Bowling Green, OH, USA

problem #335

Feb 092019

Dart

  • 45,600 miles
When shifting car from park to reverse or reverse to drive vehicle move to neutral. While driving car shifts going 30mph into neutral. Current VIN number not under recall but other makes and model of this vehicle are on recall for this

- Springfield, MA, USA

problem #334

Jan 082019

Dart

  • 64,398 miles
I have taken this vehicle into elk grove Dodge 4 times for the transmission safety recall. Each time the transmission goes out. June 15, 2018 was the last time the transmission went out. Elk grove Dodge replaced the transmission.with approximately 59,893 miles on the car. Approximately 1.5 months ago 6 months later I was on the free way and all of a sudden the vehicle jumped out of gear and went into neutral. I then lost power to the engine and almost crashed into the center divide. I contacted elk grove Dodge when I finally got home with the vehicle. The service manager advised me that they were not going to honor their warranty even if it was under safety recall. I contacted Dodge resolutions dept. Spoke to a guy by the name of chance. This guy is taking his dear sweet time in helping me. This vehicle is a lemon and Chrysler is starting to refuse to do anything about this problem.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

problem #333

Jan 222019

Dart

  • 51,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Dodge Dart. While driving approximately 5 mph, the transmission erroneously shifted into neutral. In addition, the vehicle would not accelerate and could not be turned off immediately. The vehicle was taken to hendrick Dodge (81 mcknan dr, cary, nc) where it was diagnosed that the transmission control module was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified, but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 15V542000 (power train). The contact stated that the vehicle experienced the same failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 51,000.

- Cary, NC, USA

problem #332

Aug 162017

Dart

  • 80,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Dodge Dart. While driving, the vehicle failed to accelerate and the check engine and transmission warning indicators illuminated. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road and powered off the engine. The vehicle was restarted and was able to drive normally. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to larry H. miller Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram albuquerque (8528 lomas blvd ne, albuquerque, nm 87110, 505-404-0108), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

problem #331

Jan 012019

Dart

  • 85,000 miles
It appears there is an alarming noise coming from the engine when I start the car at degrees lower than 40. This is an intermittent issue but when it occurs I loose power while driving down the road resulting in my RPM's to jump higher than normal accompanied by vibration and rataling coming from under the hood or tire (its hard to tell). From my research, the cold start issue was a recall for 2013 Dodge Dart but it is not showing for my VIN. Could someone please reach out to me reguarding this complaint??

- Augusta, GA, USA

problem #330

Jan 072019

Dart

  • 123,064 miles
While driving on the highway to work the car will stall and begin to jerk. The engine light will begin to flash while in motion and the car will slow down in speed and then pick back up after a while. After cranking the car it will shut off while still parked. The car will also shut off when slowing down to turn onto another street.

- Nashville, GA, USA

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