2011 Dodge Charger
Complaints about this year name alternator far more often than the other years of this generation — 32% of them, about 81× the usual rate of 0.4%.
First year of a new generation. The Dodge Charger was redesigned for 2011. A first year carries problems nobody has found yet, and they are found by the people who buy it — which is worth knowing before you become one of them.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 698 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 226 |
| Involving a crash | 25 |
| Involving a fire | 64 |
| Recalls | 11 |
| EPA combined | 20 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- alternator — 32.4% of this year's complaints, against 0.7% across the other years of this generation (43.7×). Owners wrote it as: alternator, alternator battery, diagnosed alternator, alternator failed.
- battery — 29.2% of this year's complaints, against 6.3% across the other years of this generation (4.7×). Owners wrote it as: battery, mode, saver, battery saver.
- abs — 25.9% of this year's complaints, against 7.1% across the other years of this generation (3.6×). Owners wrote it as: abs, light came, traction, traction control.
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
- battery — 27% of complaints, 6× usual
- smell — 13% of complaints, 32× usual
- electrical system — 12% of complaints, 22× usual
What owners wrote
HAD A STRONG SMELL OF ELECTRICAL FIRE FOLLOWED BY BATTERY LIGHT AND BATTERY SAVER MODE, THEN SHORTLY AFTER THEY WHOLE CAR SHUT DOWN ALL THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS AND ENGINE WHILE DRIVING ON A 4 LANE DIVIDED HIGHWAY WITH MY DAUGHTER IN THE CAR. UPON CHECKING FOUND…
WHILE DRIVING 75 MPH, THE BATTERY SAVER WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. IN ADDITION, THE CONTACT SMELLED A BURNING ODOR. AS A RESULT, THE BATTERY EXPLODED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES SUSTAINED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ALTERNATO…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 19V018000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 17V435000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 18V021000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 15V467000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 14V101000 EXTERIOR LIGHTING Fixed free of charge.
- 16V352000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 16V043000 STRUCTURE Fixed free of charge.
- 13V118000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
Showing 8 of 11. The rest are on NHTSA's site.
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 2011 Dodge Charger? What happened to yours?
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