2012 Dodge Avenger problems
Owners have filed 840 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Dodge Avenger. Wipers, windshield & visibility is the most reported problem area, at 15% of complaints. After that come air bags (13%) and electrical system (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 840 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Wipers, windshield & visibility 15% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 61 and 17
- Injuries and deaths
- 58 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 70,000 miles 589 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 47 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 60 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 103 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 143 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 99 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 78 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 34 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 8 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 10 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 3 |
What the data shows
Among the 589 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 70,000 miles. For wipers, windshield & visibility specifically, the median reported mileage is about 71,000 miles (90 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 61 complaints mention a crash; 17 complaints mention a fire; 58 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 13 model years of the Dodge Avenger with enough data (471 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Hit a deer at 60 MPH the car started on fire and completely burned up no air bags went off dodge investigated but will not tell us why the car burned up.
2012 dodge avenger act plus. Stopped heating on passenger side and only defrosts and unfogs the window on the driver side. This is an apparent manufacturer defect that requires the heater core to be replaced as a remedy. I would urge dodge to do a proper re all before somebody dies due to poor visibility. This, first, happened to my car while driving at night. The window was covered in steam or fog (whatever you call it) and the blower in the dash was not clearing it for proper visibility.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 dodge avenger. While attempting to heat the vehicle and activate the windshield defroster, the contact realized that the features were inoperable. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the heater core needed to be replaced also, mechanic diagnosed the problem as the actuator doors. Independent dealer cut and open the dash and found heater core was plugged with silicone and dust particals from when factory put engine together.