2012 Dodge Charger
Complaints about this year name alternator far more often than the other years of this generation — 30% of them, about 75× the usual rate of 0.4%.
Generation 2 of the Dodge Charger, which began in 2011. 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 | 661 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 226 |
| Involving a crash | 20 |
| Involving a fire | 50 |
| Recalls | 14 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 5/5 |
| EPA combined | 20 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- alternator — 30.6% of this year's complaints, against 0.7% across the other years of this generation (41.3×). Owners wrote it as: alternator, diagnosed alternator, alternator failed, p60.
- battery — 26.9% of this year's complaints, against 6.3% across the other years of this generation (4.3×). Owners wrote it as: battery, mode, saver, battery saver.
- electrical — 25.6% of this year's complaints, against 6.6% across the other years of this generation (3.9×). Owners wrote it as: electrical, electrical system, restart vehicle, part needed.
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
- electrical system — 17% of complaints, 30× usual
- stalled — 14% of complaints, 36× usual
- battery — 25% of complaints, 6× usual
What owners wrote
WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED, THE BATTERY DRAINED COMPLETELY, AND THE ALTERNATOR FAILED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURES WERE IDENTICAL TO THOSE LISTED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V634000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM), BUT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN T…
WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH, ALL THE WARNING INDICATORS ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL ILLUMINATED AND THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS BEGAN TO OPERATE INDEPENDENTLY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE STALLED, BUT WAS ABLE TO RESTART. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE ALTERNATOR AND BA…
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.
- 14V101000 EXTERIOR LIGHTING Fixed free of charge.
- 16V240000 POWER TRAIN Fixed free of charge.
- 16V352000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 16V043000 STRUCTURE Fixed free of charge.
- 15V467000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
Showing 8 of 14. 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 2012 Dodge Charger? What happened to yours?
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