2008 Dodge Charger
Complaints about this year name electrical system far more often than the other years of this generation — 39% of them, about 27× the usual rate of 1.4%.
Generation 1 of the Dodge Charger, which began in 2006 and ran to 2010. Everything below compares this year against the others in that generation, not against a different car wearing the same name.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 624 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 226 |
| Involving a crash | 24 |
| Involving a fire | 22 |
| Recalls | 5 |
| EPA combined | 18 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- electrical system — 38.6% of this year's complaints, against 1.4% across the other years of this generation (27.3×).
- ignition — 26.4% of this year's complaints, against 8.2% across the other years of this generation (3.2×). Owners wrote it as: ignition, switch, ignition switch, wireless.
- part needed — 11.2% of this year's complaints, against 2.3% across the other years of this generation (4.9×). Owners wrote it as: part needed, needed repair, perform.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- ignition — 24% of complaints, 4× usual
- amount time — 26% of complaints, 3× usual
- time recall — 25% of complaints, 3× usual
What owners wrote
THE ENGINE WOULD NOT IMMEDIATELY START WHEN THE IGNITION SWITCH WAS TURNED. THE DEALER WAS CONTACTED AND STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS PREVIOUSLY SERVICED PER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V567000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM). THE [VIN] WAS ALSO CONTACTED, BUT NO ASSISTANCE W…
WHILE TURNING THE IGNITION TO THE ON POSITION, THE IGNITION FAILED TO START THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V567000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM). THE FAILURE WAS PERSISTENT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE [VIN]…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 16V352000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 14V567000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 15V313000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 08V583000 POWER TRAIN
- 08V295000 POWER TRAIN
How this was worked out
Every year of the Dodge Charger was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2008 Dodge Charger? What happened to yours?
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