2013 Dodge Challenger problems
NHTSA has received 251 complaints about the 2013 Dodge Challenger, and 41% of them involve electrical system. Next are engine (11%) and air bags (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 251 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 41% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 8 and 17
- Injuries and deaths
- 9 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 52,000 miles 158 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 | 32 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 26 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 29 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 28 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 26 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 7 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 7 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 3 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 158 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 52,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 47,000 miles (54 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 8 complaints mention a crash; 17 complaints mention a fire; 9 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2013 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 14 model years of the Dodge Challenger with enough data (171 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 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.
My son was driving this car going back to college on the I 49. He noticed smoke coming out of the trunk. He stopped, opened the trunk and it was on fire. Luckily he had a bottle of water and put the fire out. In the process he burnt his hand (minor burn). He called the fire department who showed up and told him that the battery or wiring had shorted out and caused a battery meltdown and a fire in the trunk. His clothes and speakers were burnt. The car is now sitting at the dodge dealership in alexandria la.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 dodge challenger. The contact was driving approximately 10 MPH, shifted into sport mode and engaged the power shifter switch when the vehicle suddenly accelerated to approximately 40 MPH. The contact crashed into another vehicle and the air bags failed to deploy at the point of impact. The driver and passenger's side air bags erroneously deployed approximately two minutes after the impact.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 dodge challenger. While driving 35 MPH, the accelerator pedal became stuck and the vehicle shook. The contact attempted to apply the brakes, but the vehicle would not stop and crashed into another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to a dealer and repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.
The smart glass which is caused by the door latch in the vehicle will malfunction and while the vehicle is off will cycle up and down causing the windows to go up and down and causes battery to drain while parked and driving refer to 2011-12 dodge challenger smart glass recall