2012 Dodge Challenger problems
NHTSA has received 338 complaints about the 2012 Dodge Challenger, and 41% of them involve electrical system. Next are air bags (14%) and engine (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 338 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 41% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 19 and 8
- Injuries and deaths
- 13 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 54,000 miles 261 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 | 41 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 45 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 58 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 46 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 25 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 20 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 12 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 7 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 4 |
What the data shows
Of the 261 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 54,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 55,000 miles (107 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 19 complaints mention a crash; 8 complaints mention a fire; 13 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 14 model years of the Dodge Challenger with enough data (237 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 6 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.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 dodge challenger. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH, smoke fumes started to emit inside the vehicle. The vehicle was merged to the side of the road due determine the cause of the smoke emitting from the engine compartment. The vehicle completely shut off and failed to restart. The contact stated that she lost her voice due to smoke inhalation. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure.
Tl* the contact owns 2012 dodge challenger. The contact stated while driving at approximately 10 MPH the vehicle started to emit smoke out of the cigarette lighter with a dime lodged in the hole. The contact was able to pull the vehicle over safely to attempt to extinguish the fire. Within a few minutes the vehicle engulfed in flames, the contact attempted to pour soda on the flames along with a fire extinguisher to no avail. However the fire department was able to put out the flames. A fire report was not taken.
Involved in a head on collision,the others drive was on our side of the road and hit us head on , the air bags didn't deploy and sent me into the dash board along with the driver , I sustained severe whiplash and so did the driver we were transported to the hospital by ambulance and I am now j sergio g physical therapy due to the airbags not deploying, the car was involve in another accident weeks later where the car was hit twice intentionally and the air bags didn't deploy then either .
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 dodge challenger. The contact stated that the air bag warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the contact was informed that there were no recalls. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure was not remedied. The failure mileage was 50,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 dodge challenger. While driving at approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. In addition, the air bag warning light illuminated continuously. The vehicle was not able to restart. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine timing needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 13v118000 (air bags). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure.