2006-2025 Dodge Charger Problems: 13 Known Issues

The all-new 2024+ Charger Daytona platform experiences complete vehicle shutdown ('bricking') with all warning lights illuminating, charging port failures, passive entry malfunctions, 12V battery drain preventing power-on, and UConnect errors. First-generation software issues on an immature EV platform.

The alternator can fail, sometimes with little or no warning. When it stops charging, the car runs on the battery until voltage drops too low, and then the engine can stall. On 2011-2014 Chargers this failure is covered by two Chrysler (FCA) safety recalls. What goes wrong: according to FCA's recall filings, the diodes in the alternator's rectifier wear out from heat fatigue. The cause is high operating temperatures combined with the repeated load cycles from the electro-hydraulic power steering (EHPS) pump. A failed alternator may give no output, reduced output, or short to ground. As voltage falls, the ABS/stability control and the engine and body control modules can shut off. FCA's investigation also looked into reports of heavier steering effort and the engine stalling while driving. A failed diode can also develop a short that produces heat, smoke, or fire inside the alternator. FCA says a warning light may come on just before the failure in some cases, and the "Battery Saver Mode" message may appear. - Recall 14V-634 (FCA P60) covers 2011-2014 Chargers built from June 2010 to December 2013 with the 3.6L V6 and the 160-amp alternator. FCA changed that alternator in production on January 3, 2014. - Recall 17V-435 (FCA T36) covers 2011-2014 Chargers with EHPS: 5.7L cars with the 160-amp or 180-amp alternator, and 3.6L cars with the 180-amp alternator. Owners on CarComplaints describe an alternator smoking and the car dying, being left stranded in traffic, and a Battery Saver Mode warning appearing before the failure. The failures reported there averaged about 42,700 miles. One owner reports that the alternator installed under the recall also failed later. High electrical loads from added aftermarket accessories can also strain the alternator. 2015-2020 Chargers are not included in either recall.

The 2015 Dodge Charger is covered by FCA US LLC's recall of vehicles fitted with radios that have software vulnerabilities allowing third-party access to certain networked vehicle control systems. NHTSA states that exploiting this vulnerability may permit unauthorized remote modification and control of certain vehicle systems, increasing the risk of a crash — which is why this was handled as a safety recall rather than a routine Uconnect software bulletin. Note the narrow scope: on the Charger, only the 2015 model year is listed. The 1,416,903 units in the campaign is the combined total for every model included.

The Uconnect infotainment system can experience various issues including freezing, random reboots, Bluetooth connectivity problems, and touchscreen unresponsiveness. Software bugs and radio module failures are common causes.

The Mercedes-derived W5A580/NAG1 5-speed automatic in V8 Chargers suffers from water intrusion past the transmission oil fill tube/dipstick seal. Water contamination causes TCC to stick/slip, erratic shifting, and eventual internal damage. Separately, 2006-2009 police-package Chargers with a column shifter were recalled (08V583, 20,283 Charger and Magnum vehicles) because the gearshift cable can disengage from its steering-column bracket.

The ZF 8HP 8-speed automatic transmission can develop harsh shifts, hesitation, or clunking when shifting gears. While generally reliable, some units experience valve body issues or adaptive learning problems that cause shift quality complaints.

The 42RLE 4-speed automatic in V6 Chargers suffers from solenoid failures and corrosion in the 10-pin solenoid harness connector. It causes slipping, harsh shifts, limp mode, and P0750/P0755/P0760/P0765 codes. On some 2006 Chargers with the 42RLE, the cup plug that retains the park pawl anchor shaft may be improperly installed, which can keep the transmission from reaching Park (DaimlerChrysler recall 05V460).

High-torque Charger models experience the same driveshaft issues as the Challenger platform. The OEM two-piece driveshaft and U-joints may fail prematurely, especially with hard acceleration, drag strip use, or power modifications.

The 3.6L Pentastar V6 can develop a ticking noise often related to the rocker arms or hydraulic lifters. This is common on engines with higher mileage or irregular oil change intervals. Some early Pentastar engines had rocker arm design issues that were later updated.

HEMI engines with Multi-Displacement System (MDS) can develop a ticking noise from the MDS lifters. This tick is most noticeable at idle and during light acceleration. While often not causing immediate damage, it can indicate lifter wear that may eventually require attention.

All Charger generations suffer from rapid front suspension wear including tension struts (radius arms), tie rods, lower control arm bushings, and sway bar end links. Bushings typically worn by 45,000-60,000 miles. Endemic LX/LD platform problem shared with Challenger and 300.

The Chrysler LX/LD rear-drive cars use a saddle-shaped fuel tank that straddles the driveshaft, so a single sender cannot measure the whole tank. Fuel Level Sensor 1 lives on the primary (driver's) side with the electric pump module; Fuel Level Sensor 2 - the 'B' sensor in generic OBD-II terms - measures the secondary (passenger) lobe and is fed by a jet-pump siphon that transfers fuel across to the pump side. Both senders are read by the cluster/CCN and the fuel level data is then bussed to the PCM. Two things go wrong on the secondary side. The sender's resistive card wears or becomes contaminated so the float arm reads a fixed value, and the siphon jet pump can weaken or clog so the secondary lobe genuinely does not drain at the expected rate. Either way the module sees a fuel-level signal that is present but not credible against fuel consumed, and stores P2066 instead of the circuit-low or circuit-high codes. The classic owner complaint is a gauge that freezes somewhere between half and three-quarters and stays there for a hundred miles or more, then falls off a cliff, with range-to-empty and the low-fuel light never catching up. Because the same tank architecture is used across the platform, a Charger diagnosis translates directly to a Chrysler 300 or a Dodge Challenger.

A very common and frequently misdiagnosed problem on the Dodge Charger is failure of the EVAP (evaporative emissions) leak-detection device, which causes the PCM to log P0456 (small EVAP leak), P0455 (large EVAP leak), and/or P0457 (leak detected / fuel cap loose) and illuminate the check-engine light. On 2011-and-newer Chargers the system uses an ESIM (Evaporative System Integrity Module) — a natural-vacuum-based switch (the same NVLD-style monitoring concept) mounted directly on the charcoal/EVAP canister behind the passenger-side rear wheel well. With the EVAP system sealed, the PCM watches the ESIM/NVLD switch; if the switch's internal mechanical diaphragm fails or its external O-ring seal degrades, the switch fails to close within the calibrated time and the PCM falsely reports an EVAP leak. The classic giveaway is that a smoke test shows NO actual leak yet the code keeps returning. Because the code is almost always assumed to be a loose or failed gas cap, owners (and shops) often chase the wrong part first — replacing the gas cap and purge valve before discovering the real culprit is the inexpensive ESIM module. The code is low-severity (no driveability or engine damage, only a slight fuel-economy effect) but will fail an emissions/smog test and leaves the CEL on. In a worst-case escalation, the same codes can be caused by a pinhole leak on top of the fuel tank near a fuel-pump lock ring, which requires fuel-tank replacement. On 2022 Chargers with the 5.7L or 6.4L, Mopar TSBs 18-093-23 (5.7L) and 18-094-23 (6.4L) cover a check-engine light with P0455/P0456/P0440/P0441 that is corrected with a PCM software update rather than a part.