2008 Dodge Magnum
This year drew an ordinary 93 complaints for a Dodge Magnum — the model's median is 321. What they were about is the unusual part: 49.5% of them mention electrical system, against 0% across the model's other years.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 93 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 321 |
| Involving a crash | 2 |
| Recalls | 5 |
| EPA combined | 18 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- electrical system — 49.5% of this year's complaints, against 0% across the model's other years (247.3×).
- part needed — 33.3% of this year's complaints, against 6.4% across the model's other years (5.2×). Owners wrote it as: part needed, failed start, start vehicle, perform.
- start — 28% of this year's complaints, against 5.3% across the model's other years (5.2×).
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.
What owners wrote
THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS. THE IGNITION SWITCH WAS REPLACED THREE YEARS AGO. THE FAILURE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V567000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM); HOWEVER, THE PART NEEDED WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE [V…
WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM BECAME DEFECTIVE AND CAUSED THE DOOR LOCKS, HEADLIGHTS, AND THE HORN TO ACTIVATE INDEPENDENTLY. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE ENGINE FAILED TO START. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER TO HAVE A DIAGNOS…
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 Magnum 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 Magnum? What happened to yours?
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